Putting Questionnaire

Sharkguy95

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Putting, to me, is the most fascinating part of the game. Not everyone can hit a 300 yard drive, but everyone can make a 10ft putt. A few buddies of mine reminded me today that Tiger Woods said in an interview after the 1999 PGA Championship that he was thinking his "Grandma could make this" in reference to a 4ft putt on 18 that he made to get into the playoff. This got me thinking about putting in general so I have three questions for you guys.

1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

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1. Personally I think my putting is the strongest part of my game. It really saves me, although I wish I didn't have to rely on it so much.

2. My favorite drill is dropping 6 balls around a hole and going around in a circle. If you miss you start all over again. If you make it around the circle without missing, you place the balls farther away and do it again. I prefer one foot increments starting at 3 feet.

3. I don't know if this is much of a confidence booster as much as it is a reminder. Whenever I have a straight putt I always say to myself: "It's hard to miss a straight putt if you hit it straight". Obviously it's redundant but I find it helps me really focus on getting the ball to start on line. Since it's a straight putt (if I read it correctly) it will go in with a good pace 100% of the time (excluding unforeseen circumstances).
 
Great thread! Here are my answers.

1. I'm middle of the road with my putting. I definitely have room for improvement, but it's typically the part of my game that I'm the least frustrated with.

2. As far as drills go, I don't do much more than putt 3 balls from a number of distances starting from around 4 feet. Once I drain 3 in a row, I'll move further out. Towards the end of my practice time I'll work on lag putts.

3. I don't say anything more than, "You're going to make this," or something to that effect. I try to keep it positive because I do believe that thinking negative can effect your putting.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

Weakness, I use my putter like it's a sledge hammer. I have no distance control.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

None.


3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

Just sink the effin thing.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.
Depends on the day. One day I 3-jack everything, the other I leave with a sub2 putts per. I think it has a lot do do with my warm up.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?
20 three foot putts, then 10 5-6 footers. After that I space out five balls ranging from 3 feet to 20. Once that is done I hit balls through a gate on a sloped part of the green and aim at a tee on the othe side of said gate.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?
"Let's two putt this and move on."
 
Putting, to me, is the most fascinating part of the game. Not everyone can hit a 300 yard drive, but everyone can make a 10ft putt. A few buddies of mine reminded me today that Tiger Woods said in an interview after the 1999 PGA Championship that he was thinking his "Grandma could make this" in reference to a 4ft putt on 18 that he made to get into the playoff. This got me thinking about putting in general so I have three questions for you guys.

1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

1. Strength. Although I know I won't make all of them.
2. Just to get a feel of the speed of the green, since I play in different courses.
3. Priority one is to try to make the putt. Priority 2 is to keep it close to the hole in case I don't achieve priority one.
 
Putting is one of my strong suits. I am positive strokes gained to scratch player and if you dump the off season round I was positive strokes gained by .05 using the PGA strokes gained database.

I usually hit some in the house everyday but once I go to full grind mode I usually practice 5 times a week. I start by making 25 straight 3 foot putts and start over if I miss one, I also use tees as a gate during these. Next I make 25 straight 5 footers starting over if I miss. Then I do 19/20 lag putts inside 4 feet from 25 feet and then 18/20 inside 4 feet from 35 feet. Last I don the clock drill where I put 8 balls in a circle around the cup at 3 feet and 8 at 5 feet and I have to make everyone before I am done in a row

This can take forever if you are having a bad day. I think the shortest I have finished is in 45 mins. I also gave up some especially long ones after 3 hours because I had somewhere to be.

I expect to make every putt 5 feet and in so I am not afraid to run putts by. Mostly the thought is smooth back and through hitting your mark a foot away from the ball. From there you either read it good or bad and can't do anything else but say make a good stroke.
 
My putting is neither a strength or weakness. I putt ok and could be better but I also sink some clutch putts.

i use two drills. Clock drill at 4&5' one ball at each distance at 4 locations around the hole. The other is 5 balls from 12-24' from 4 locations around the green and have to get 10/20 inside a 3' circle.

nothing I say to myself before I putt
 
1) no, putting is not my strength. It usually causes me 4-8 strokes a round.

2) I just putt. I may set up some alignment rods and sometimes do the gate drill.

3) "just make the putt dumb dumb."
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

Neither for me. I'd say my lag putting is a strength; however, making a 5 footer when I need to? Yikes.....

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

I simply just knock the ball around trying to get a feel for the speed of the greens. Maybe I should work on actually making some putts (I seem to make more on the practice green than I do during the round).


3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

I was a fan of the book unconscious putting, so I simply pick my line and go. I can't say that I really think anything​ while putting--other than trusting my eyes.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain. Yes, I spend most of my time on putting and have a putting coach to help me. I am a good putter; not great, but overall I am consistent.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most? The most important aspect of putting is starting the ball on your intended line. I putt through gates or over a dime to make sure I am doing this. I also putt to the edge of the green or do the ladder drill to work on controlling distance.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt? Nope. Just try to follow the same routine everytime.
 
1. I've been a below average putter for my index for quite a while. Certainly at least since since moving to California in 1998 and having to putt on all these Poa Annua greens. Most of my rounds are late in the day which only makes the problem worse. I putt better on bent or Bermuda, probably at least average for my index.

2. Lots of different drills including the one handed gate drill. Putting from 3 different spots 7 feet apart on the line of a 20 foot breaking putt. I used to putt a lot of 3 or 4 footers but those putts are not my problem. Now I focus my drills from about 8 to 20 feet. I took my first putting lessons last summer and will start up again next month which is helping. I also played twice as many rounds last year compared to any of the previous 16 years and that will continue from here on out so that is helping my putting and scoring in general.

3. I try to focus not on the outcome of the putt but just hitting my spot that is a blade of grass 6-8 inches in front of the ball. Every putt is a straight putt to that spot 6 inches away!
 
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1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

Both. I feel that I do very well with long putts outside of 15 feet, but don't make enough from 6 feet in.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

I find the small cup cut into the green and practice at that. It makes me concentrate better.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

No
 
1) Most certainly not a strength, short putts 3'-10' is a weakness.

2) 10' breaking putts is what I setup for to practice before a round

3) More of a 'I just made this same putt 2 holes ago'
 
Putting, to me, is the most fascinating part of the game. Not everyone can hit a 300 yard drive, but everyone can make a 10ft putt. A few buddies of mine reminded me today that Tiger Woods said in an interview after the 1999 PGA Championship that he was thinking his "Grandma could make this" in reference to a 4ft putt on 18 that he made to get into the playoff. This got me thinking about putting in general so I have three questions for you guys.

1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

-------

1. Personally I think my putting is the strongest part of my game. It really saves me, although I wish I didn't have to rely on it so much.

2. My favorite drill is dropping 6 balls around a hole and going around in a circle. If you miss you start all over again. If you make it around the circle without missing, you place the balls farther away and do it again. I prefer one foot increments starting at 3 feet.

3. I don't know if this is much of a confidence booster as much as it is a reminder. Whenever I have a straight putt I always say to myself: "It's hard to miss a straight putt if you hit it straight". Obviously it's redundant but I find it helps me really focus on getting the ball to start on line. Since it's a straight putt (if I read it correctly) it will go in with a good pace 100% of the time (excluding unforeseen circumstances).

Putting is the easiest part of the game. Everything else is hard. I'm a firm believer that anyone can learn to putt with a little practice.

To answer your questions:

1) I'm a decent putter. I can be streaky where for one round I hole anything inside of 5 or 6 feet, then it goes away and I have to be 3 feet and in to feel confident. I'm usually a good lag putter on long putts.

2) I've never done a putting drill aside from just dropping 2 or 3 balls in random spots and playing them as they fall. I mostly do that when warming up before a round. I've never really done any focused putting practice.

3) Nothing. I just focus on making a good stroke to start the ball in the line I chose.
 
Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness?
Putting is definitely a strength in my game. I know if I make a good stroke I can make it from just about anywhere. I get the ball rolling quickly off the face and usually have good speed control. I don't have any fear of missing short putts and subsequently no worries about occasionally leaving it 3-4 ft past the hole on long putts.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?
My favorite drill is the Pelz Drawback Drill. With ONE ball start at a distance of 15 - 20 ft and putt to various holes from different locations to make a 9 hole course. When you putt to the hole, if your putt misses but ends up within a one putter length radius semi-circle from the the BACK of the cup then you can continue to hole out from there. If the putt is short of the BACK of the cup, or left/right/long by more than one putter length you must draw the ball back away from the hole an additional putter length from that spot and continue holing out from there.
PelzDrawbackZone_zpszphf6evk.png

The drawback is in play on every putt. Keep score for 9 holes and try to improve your score next time out.

This drill helps (a) get the ball to the hole (b) distance control (c) making short putts under pressure to make a score. I will vary the distance from one practice session to the next, anywhere from 15 to 50 feet, so I don't get locked in to a certain distance too much

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt? "Hit your spot and it's in" and on long putts "Good speed and it will fall right in the hole"
 
For a long time I thought of my putting as a weakness in my game. Then I asked a great friend of mine who is an exquisite putter of the ball to teach me. We can't see ourselves putting so we can't see crooked strokes, bad strikes, etc. He had me put a PENNY in front of my stroke and also one in back...each penny approximately 5-6 inches in front/back of the swing path. He told me to make sure to bring the putter back over the penny, then over the the forward penny. This insures a straight swing path with no "sweeping" to the left or right. I had a BIG problem with my blade opening up and pushing the ball out to the right. It has helped me tremendously. Now, I always do that drill before my rounds. I estimated that it has saved me 5-8 strokes on the green. Now if I can figure out the REST of my game! I hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
1. I believe I am a solid putter but nothing extraordinary although there are times when I'm really streaky and seem to be better than I am on a regular day.

2. I like the wagon wheel drill from 3, 4, and 5 ft. Four balls evenly spaced around the hole at the different distances and have to make all four before I can finish or change distances.

3. Keep your head still and watch the back of the ball! Nothing amazing, that's for sure.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

I do consider putting to be a strength....I always visualize putts rolling into the hole and I can usually "see" a line on the green from my ball to the hole.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

I work alot on "gate drills" with tees helping to keep the putter face square....I also like to work on breaking putts by putting tees or a bottle of water in front of the cup and working the ball around them into the hole.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

Not really.....I just to the "see" the putt drop...pick out a spot about 3 feet in front of the ball and concentrate on rolling the ball over it.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain. - Very much so. Explain? I just consider myself a very good putter and have saved numerous holes/rounds/matches due to putting.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?- Setting up distances 3-5-7feet away from the hole. Make 3 straight putts from 3 feet before moving to 5 and so on.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt? - I like to say to myself on 10' and less putts "These are the type of putts that are the difference between single and double digit HC's." Seems to help me focus and worked well at the end of the year.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

Strength. I like working on my short game and it's free so why not..

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most?

I just take 3 balls and practice every kind of putt in no particular order. One thing I like to do is.. say on a lag putt I put two close enough for a tap in and the third is 5ft away, if I miss that putt I will place all the balls 5ft around the hole(different lines) and won't move on till I make 3 in a row.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt?

No statements but I picture it going in.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Right now overall it is a weakness. I putt very competently from a distance but my short putting is horrid.



2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most? I have to find some. When warming up I worry most about getting speeds down, not alignment. I do have one where I use two alignment sticks to frame the ball to grove my stroke.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt? No, not sure I would believe myself.
 
1. Do you consider putting to be a strength of yours or a weakness? Explain.

Neither - It is what it is. The problem I have is that I have no consistent system. I take short cuts. I've watched Bernard Langer's system with the long putter, which I'm using, and when I follow it, I putt well. When I take a short cut, I putt poorly. This is going to mean that I will be taking more time going through my putting routine on the greens and probably pissing off some people in my league this summer again for slow play. I need to line up the putt. I can read the green and pick my point while others are putting. But I still need to line up with that spot during my pre-shot routine. Then I need to stand next to the ball and anchor the putter and take two or three practice strokes to get the distance and feel the smoothness with which I need to stroke the club. Then I need to address the ball and anchor the club, then unanchor the club and make the putt. On a short putt the ball will go in the hole. On a long putt it will get close to the hole but only if I do this routine.

I wish the hole was about 5" in diameter.

2. What are your favorite drills on the practice green that help you the most? Practicing the clock drill at 3 feet distance. I usually can make about 90% of my putts from 3 feet. What I find amazing is the drop off in accuracy that happens when I go to 42" or 48". My accuracy drops to about 70%. At 6' it's around 50%. At 8' it's around 20%. 10' or longer I consider a lag.

3. Do you have any confidence building statements that you say to yourself before a putt? No. Platitudes don't sink putts. I have an attitude like Bubba about missed putts.
 
1. Strength. Probably the best part of my game right now.

2. I use the See More at home just to make practice strokes to make sure I am hiding the dot. I also focus on my posture and setup to make sure it's muscle memory when I actually get on the course. On the practice green I first focus on distance control. I try to hit putts of different distance in sequence. Hit one to the farthest flag first, then one to a closer flag. Then take that one to the next flag. Changing up the distances for me is key, because I don't think I have ever had the same putt twice in a row on the course.

Once I am comfortable with distance I will work on making 4-6" putts from around the hole. Then usually some more lag putting to get the distance dialed in.

3. Nothing, just go through my preshot routine and let it roll. My best advice besides working to get distance control down, is develop a consistent preshot routine. It get's me out of wondering about my line. I pick my target, line up the ball, go through the routine and then stroke it. Doesn't always go in, but my putting has improved a lot since developing that routine.
 
1. Strength. I've always been a good putter. I really like to practice putting so I'm sure that helps.

2. I start from 3 feet and move to 5 feet. Most of my time is spent on speed of greens. If I miss the line a little but my speed is good, I'm ok. A good line and bad speed is a bad combination.

3. Not really. I use the same routine with every putt but it's not too elaborate. Get my line, practice stroke, get comfortable, and roll it. If I think too much bad things happen.
 
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