Best Putting Tip I ever heard....

[mikemakeitso]

Was watching ther Golf Channel, and Dave Peltz (sp?) was giving one of his putting lessons.

He sampled players in the 30, 20, & 10 handicap... as well as scratch players.

The interesting thing here is that the 30, 20 and 10 handicappers always were below the hole after their putt, we're talking 100% of ALL the players sampled. That's amazing...

The scratch players were alittle better, and were approx. 86% always below the hole. Still that's unbelievable - when you talk about scratch players who basically always look at their putt from the front and back...

The bottom-line here ladies and gent, is what ever break you "think" you read... double it... And on your score card, score - on each putt, mark if you wnet above or below the hole...

Next time your on the links give this try... and see if this helps...

[tjhayko]

Was watching ther Golf Channel, and Dave Peltz (sp?) was giving one of his putting lessons.

He sampled players in the 30, 20, & 10 handicap... as well as scratch players.

The interesting thing here is that the 30, 20 and 10 handicappers always were below the hole after their putt, we're talking 100% of ALL the players sampled. That's amazing...

The scratch players were alittle better, and were approx. 86% always below the hole. Still that's unbelievable - when you talk about scratch players who basically always look at their putt from the front and back...

The bottom-line here ladies and gent, is what ever break you "think" you read... double it... And on your score card, score - on each putt, mark if you wnet above or below the hole...

Next time your on the links give this try... and see if this helps...


I guess if you are going to miss, you probably want to miss below the hole. Still, it is amazing that such a small percentage of golfers actually read the break correctly.

[Jaydog]

I guess if you are going to miss, you probably want to miss below the hole. Still, it is amazing that such a small percentage of golfers actually read the break correctly.

that's why they call it missing on the pro/high side. ;) kinda surprised the difference is only 14% tho :eek:

a buddy of mine always says, "if you have to misread a putt, miss it on the pro side." :D

it's similar to not leaving a putt short. you don't even give your putt a chance if you don't make it to the hole. :help:

[Flogger]

One of the other things that I find really challenging is having the time to properly read the greens. I prefer to look at the putt from all angles, however there's no way I'd do that to my golfing buddies. I'd slow everyone down.

I picked up some tips that have helped with this a little:

1. When you start to approach the green from the fairway, or forest in my case :), start the process of reading your putt before you get there. Look at the undulations and and where you ball is.

2. As you get up to the green, if it's not your turn, walk around and view it from other angles (side, behind the the hole, etc).

3. Also when you walk on the green, be aware of how the green feels under you feet. Does feel softer or harder than the last green. This may infuence the speed of you putt.

4. Also take notice of the direction of the grain the green. E.g. if you're putting into the grain, it's likely to be a little slower, etc.

The trick is to do this while waiting for you turn if possible. That way you don't slow down play.

It would be nice to have the amount of time the tour players take to read greens, but like I said, I know I'd get kicked out of my group if took as long as the pros to read a putt.

[Ego Woods]

so far the best tip I heard for myself was making sure that u don't move ur head while contacting the ball....a lot of ppl's tendency is to look up while striking the ball which results in not hitting the sweet spot of the putter......

[tjhayko]

One of the other things that I find really challenging is having the time to properly read the greens. I prefer to look at the putt from all angles, however there's no way I'd do that to my golfing buddies. I'd slow everyone down.

I picked up some tips that have helped with this a little:

1. When you start to approach the green from the fairway, or forest in my case :), start the process of reading your putt before you get there. Look at the undulations and and where you ball is.

2. As you get up to the green, if it's not your turn, walk around and view it from other angles (side, behind the the hole, etc).

3. Also when you walk on the green, be aware of how the green feels under you feet. Does feel softer or harder than the last green. This may infuence the speed of you putt.

4. Also take notice of the direction of the grain the green. E.g. if you're putting into the grain, it's likely to be a little slower, etc.

The trick is to do this while waiting for you turn if possible. That way you don't slow down play.

It would be nice to have the amount of time the tour players take to read greens, but like I said, I know I'd get kicked out of my group if took as long as the pros to read a putt.

Good tips.

By the way, are complaining about our pace of play being too quick? ;)

One other one is to look at the direction water drains in. The grain will be pointing in the direction that water drains off the green.

[Greywolf]

Yep, it is always better to miss it on the "pro" side, below the hole never has a chance of going in.

[Focker Singh]

Was very interesting the other day when I casually asked one of the Pro's I work with, "why do I always leave my putts short?". He took me out to the hallway and told me to scan the hallway which had a mat about 20 feet away. Now walk with my eyes closed and stop when you think you will reach the mat. I walked and came up about 3 feet short. Then he told me to go back to where I started and look beyong the mat and repeat the walk with my eyes clothes. I ended up right on the edge of the mat and he said the reason why is people will read a putt and try to putt to the hole. Our tendancy is to be a little short cause its like walking up to a cliff, you dont want to fall off so you stop short. The key is to read and look beyond the hole and you will find yourself not coming up short. Try it! I will.

[tjhayko]

Was very interesting the other day when I casually asked one of the Pro's I work with, "why do I always leave my putts short?". He took me out to the hallway and told me to scan the hallway which had a mat about 20 feet away. Now walk with my eyes closed and stop when you think you will reach the mat. I walked and came up about 3 feet short. Then he told me to go back to where I started and look beyong the mat and repeat the walk with my eyes clothes. I ended up right on the edge of the mat and he said the reason why is people will read a putt and try to putt to the hole. Our tendancy is to be a little short cause its like walking up to a cliff, you dont want to fall off so you stop short. The key is to read and look beyond the hole and you will find yourself not coming up short. Try it! I will.

Interesting tip. I'll give it a try on my next round.

[XQSmi]

Any tips on trying to develop speed then. I like tip by Focker Singh and will definitely try that. However, one tip given to me was to take distances into accont and change your backswing length to suit that distance, while taking into consideration speed of the green, break, etc... For example, if about 3 feet from the hole, I would take my putter 1/2 of a putter length back, 6 feet I take it back 1 full putter length.. etc... I've found that since I keep changing my stroke, I'm really inconsistent, being long excessively one putt, then on the return being excessively short. I end up 3 putting more than usual sometimes, even from 10 feet away. Really frustrating. Anything simpler, or more concrete than the above example? Thank guys.

[thecoach]

Wow - interesting timing - I just went through this with my coach - and we tested it on me - and it works - I was reading one third of the break only - when you read the entire break and hit the putt on the correct line, the ball will always approach the hole from the highest point, thus making the hole as big as possible (all 180 degrees becasue the approach line is perpendicular) - if the putt approaches the hole from any other angle you are in fact shrinking the hole - and gravity works better if the ball is rolling downhill (last I heard ...);)

I can't wait to try it on the course ... this Thursday for men's night at Tangle Creek ...

[thecoach]

Any tips on trying to develop speed then. I like tip by Focker Singh and will definitely try that. However, one tip given to me was to take distances into accont and change your backswing length to suit that distance, while taking into consideration speed of the green, break, etc... For example, if about 3 feet from the hole, I would take my putter 1/2 of a putter length back, 6 feet I take it back 1 full putter length.. etc... I've found that since I keep changing my stroke, I'm really inconsistent, being long excessively one putt, then on the return being excessively short. I end up 3 putting more than usual sometimes, even from 10 feet away. Really frustrating. Anything simpler, or more concrete than the above example? Thank guys.
I'd have to say stop with all the technical measuring etc. etc. and start letting your natural athletic sense (hand eye coordination etc.) take over and just let it go - too much technical stuff in putting causes tension and tension causes missed putts.

Think about all the truly great putters (like Ben Crenshaw) - ask him how far to pull the putter back on a 6 footer and he says "I don't know - I just stroke it by feel" (on the correctly read line I'm sure) .

What do you think?

[tjhayko]

I'd have to say stop with all the technical measuring etc. etc. and start letting your natural athletic sense (hand eye coordination etc.) take over and just let it go - too much technical stuff in putting causes tension and tension causes missed putts.

Think about all the truly great putters (like Ben Crenshaw) - ask him how far to pull the putter back on a 6 footer and he says "I don't know - I just stroke it by feel" (on the correctly read line I'm sure) .

What do you think?

I think putting is probably one of those areas where all the technical stuff doesn't matter as much as feel. You can be a great putter with a very unorthodox technique.

[Grass Roots Tour]

Was very interesting the other day when I casually asked one of the Pro's I work with, "why do I always leave my putts short?". He took me out to the hallway and told me to scan the hallway which had a mat about 20 feet away. Now walk with my eyes closed and stop when you think you will reach the mat. I walked and came up about 3 feet short. Then he told me to go back to where I started and look beyong the mat and repeat the walk with my eyes clothes. I ended up right on the edge of the mat and he said the reason why is people will read a putt and try to putt to the hole. Our tendancy is to be a little short cause its like walking up to a cliff, you dont want to fall off so you stop short. The key is to read and look beyond the hole and you will find yourself not coming up short. Try it! I will.
This is good stuff FOCKER!

I love it. I'll be trying this tomorrow for sure.

In my last tourny I left at least 8 putts short that were centre cut. :nono:
I can't tell you how much that hurt.
When you play tournaments at away courses every two weeks without 3 days of pratice rounds (like the pros get) its tough to get used to different green speeds and trust it all day.

[XQSmi]

I'd have to say stop with all the technical measuring etc. etc. and start letting your natural athletic sense (hand eye coordination etc.) take over and just let it go - too much technical stuff in putting causes tension and tension causes missed putts.

Think about all the truly great putters (like Ben Crenshaw) - ask him how far to pull the putter back on a 6 footer and he says "I don't know - I just stroke it by feel" (on the correctly read line I'm sure) .

What do you think?Makes sense, and it has been said to me before. It's just weird that the method I described above is something that was taught to me (by a CPGA pro no less). Maybe its a way to get beginners learning how to control speed and develop speed. Not sure anymore at this point in my game development as it has just thrown me for a loop sometimes. But the one thing that made it more appealing to use rather than the "feel" method, is that it felt more concrete. I felt I at least had feedback to the putting stroke. It just seems that by just using "feel", the concept seems so ambiguous for new players, hard to know how much power to put behind that putt while taking into consideration all other aspects of the enviornment. I guess, for me it was hard to really put that concept into use (but that's probably only me...:confused: , analytical by nature). Actually, the concept of "feel" in a putt is still a bit alien to me. But, it has improved somewhat. Hope to read more of the tips on this thread to get that ball in the cup. Thanks guys...

[thecoach]

Makes sense, and it has been said to me before. It's just weird that the method I described above is something that was taught to me (by a CPGA pro no less). Maybe its a way to get beginners learning how to control speed and develop speed. Not sure anymore at this point in my game development as it has just thrown me for a loop sometimes. But the one thing that made it more appealing to use rather than the "feel" method, is that it felt more concrete. I felt I at least had feedback to the putting stroke. It just seems that by just using "feel", the concept seems so ambiguous for new players, hard to know how much power to put behind that putt while taking into consideration all other aspects of the enviornment. I guess, for me it was hard to really put that concept into use (but that's probably only me...:confused: , analytical by nature). Actually, the concept of "feel" in a putt is still a bit alien to me. But, it has improved somewhat. Hope to read more of the tips on this thread to get that ball in the cup. Thanks guys...
Yes, a pro will start with the putting method you described for new players - once the concept is ingrained, then work on feel ...

To help develop feel, find a 20 ft putt ... then toss a ball underhand and try to sink it ... then try to sink it with a putter ... this let's your brain do what it does naturally ...

Think about it ... when you throw a baseball, do you "think" that you have to take your arm back 8 inches and then forward 8 inches to get the ball to 1st base or do you just do it?

[XQSmi]

Thanks again for the tips "coach".I'm sure they'll make some impact. Will be making sure to try those suggestions.

[golferboy]

Pendulum stroke with your shoulders...no wrists!

[mikemakeitso]

17 inches past the hole... Pro Side... Don't move your head, listen for the sound of the ball going in the cup.