Putting - are you looking at the hole? Sometimes? No way?

[cksurfdude]

All:

Wanted to break out the discussion (somewhere, cannot find it right now) about putting while looking at the hole, a la Jordan Spieth.

 

Do you - intentionally, not "peeking" - look at the hole while putting...

• Always
• Shorter putts (e.g. from inside say 6 - 8 ft or so)
  • Shorter but only sometimes
• Longer putts (outside of say 20 ft and more)
  • Longer but only sometimes
• NEVAH (dammit)!!!

If you do, do you find it has helped your...

• Make percentage
• Accuracy
• Stroke technique
• Lag proximity
• other?

Thanks!!!

[cksurfdude]

For me, I've been looking at the hole almost exclusively while practicing ... and find that it helps me...

a. smoooth out my stroke, and even out my tempo

b. ingrain better feel for distance control; ie. lag proximity

 

I focus on setup while addressing and looking at the ball, and try to keep my stance square and still, then rotate my view to the hole ... keeping the feel of the "rehearsal" strokes in my arms and body. 

 

Have not fully translated this into play, but use the technique more often on longer putts - including from the fringe - to help with that first putt / lag attempt.

[mcavoy]

The thread so nice he started it twice.    FWIW I don't look at the hole.  Although I recently played w/someone who said he had just started doing so and he feels it has helped him a lot.

[jbil8802]

I've messed with it on the practice green but not enough to try it on the course yet. The idea makes perfect sense. Pitchers look at their target, shooters look at the hoop, quarterbacks...so on and so forth.

 

What I want to examine more is whether or not it would be more effective to putt looking at the hole or a point on the green. For instance on a downhill left to right putt - would it be better to look at the hole or a spot to the right and short of the hole that you want to putt the ball to?

 

Once I can get some more practice time in I'll be re-examining it.

[PlaidJacket]

I don't look at the hole when making my stroke. Ever. If I can claim the best part of my game is putting which it is.... I'm not changing a thing.

[Sproutland]

I tried it for a short time, but got away from it. I don't know why I stopped. It seemed to have worked okay. I should probably go back to looking at the hole now that you mention it.

 

 

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[revkev]

I've looked at the hole for anything outside my 50/50 point, about 6 feet, for years. I find that it really helps me with distance control and thus the most under rated stat, 3 putt avoidance. It's way more important than fairways hit and a much better measure of putting ability than putts per round.

[Kor.A.Door]

I did try it a few times putting around the house, but it was just to awkward, so I never do it.

[cksurfdude]

I've messed with it on the practice green but not enough to try it on the course yet. The idea makes perfect sense. Pitchers look at their target, shooters look at the hoop, quarterbacks...so on and so forth.

 

What I want to examine more is whether or not it would be more effective to putt looking at the hole or a point on the green. For instance on a downhill left to right putt - would it be better to look at the hole or a spot to the right and short of the hole that you want to putt the ball to?

 

Once I can get some more practice time in I'll be re-examining it.

 

YES - excellent clarification: looking at the point you want to putt to; ie. either hole or spot/target.

[cksurfdude]

The thread so nice he started it twice.    

 

Yeah screwed that up... asked the admin to delete the 'ooops' one...

[mcavoy]

Yeah screwed that up... asked the admin to delete the 'ooops' one...

No worries.  Just funnin' w/ya.  Anyone who has spent any amount of time posting on forums has done it at some point or another.

[Chris O.]

I tried the look at the hole technique and it didn't really work for me. However, something that has helped me is I've started to pick a spot in my line just a couple inches in front of the ball to try and keep the putter square longer through impact. I don't know if it's just a new found confidence or it is really working but I like it, most of the time.

 

 

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[Kenny B]

I posted this topic last summer. 

http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/14327-looking-at-the-hole-or-not/

 

Update:  Last year, I looked at the hole on putts less than 6 feet.  It really is kind of scary at first, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.  I gave it up last winter when I changed golf clubs and wasn't doing a very good job reading the greens.  Once I figured out most of the breaks, I went back to looking at the hole... BUT this time I started looking at the hole on all putts, based on RoverRick's posts.  

 

Again, it was scary at first, but I think you get a better feel for the stroke and distance by looking at the hole.  This is something you can't "give it a try".  It takes a commitment to do it every time on every putt regardless of the initial consequences.  It starts feeling better after a couple of weeks.  My lag putting is much improved, speed is great, and I make more putts.  I thought I was a decent putter before, but I am better after this change.  I won't be going back.  One caveat... if you are the type of person that doesn't line up the ball and your putter with your intended line using a line on the ball (my wife doesn't), then I don't think this method will work very well.

 

I was curious how this method would travel to other courses.  Typically, I play mostly at my club, but two weeks ago I went to a course that I used to play at exclusively years ago.  I looked at the hole on all putts, but the green speed was much slower than my course.  I left a lot of putts short but the line was great.  I still shot 79.  Last month my wife and I went on a week golf trip to Central Oregon; played 4 courses and never had an issue.

 

As I mentioned in the Post Your Handicap thread, my handicap has dropped every revision of GHIN since April from 10.4 to 8.8 and it coincides with my looking at the hole again. 

[sp0rtsfan86]

I don't look at the hole. I think it jumbles up my stroke too much. On the other hand, I try to look at the hole right before making a stroke. I have to get back to doing that just before pulling the trigger.

[chershey]

I look at the hole on shorter putts sometimes especially if it's an uphill put because it causes me to finish my stroke better and putt it more aggressively. I used the look at the hole technique a ton during my last 4 person scramble golf tournament when it paid to be more aggressive and made some long putts with it. I just struggle with distance control using this method.

[Kenny B]

That's interesting, because I struggled more with distance control when not looking at the hole.  Sure, I looked at the hole a couple of times before making the stroke, but looked at the ball during the stroke.  I was going by memory when I looked at the ball; maybe I putt better now looking at the hole because I'm old and when I looked at the ball, forgot how far it was when I made the stroke.  lol.

 

Have you ever seen the pros on TV look up quickly on a shortish putt and miss.  That's from the pressure of having to make the putt when in contention.  That was me; no, not the pro, but I looked up too and usually missed short and to the right.  When I have a putt lined up now, I can focus purely on a smooth stroke when I only look at the hole.  Think about any other sport where an object is thrown to a target; baseball, basketball, hockey, darts, horseshoes...  You don't look at what you are throwing, you look at the target.  That tells your brain the direction and distance and your brain sends the proper message to your arms.  

 

Not everyone can putt like this, but I submit it's because it feels so different and uncomfortable that people won't want to change.  That's fine.  But if putting is a problem in your game and practicing doesn't help to get better. it may well be worth the commitment to spend a month in the off season to give it a try.  Try short putts first, but give it a month not hours.  If it doesn't work, going back is easy.

 

EDIT:  Obviously, I don't always look at the hole.  If there is a break, then my eyes look at a spot on the green that is a similar distance on the line that I want the ball to start on.

[Seef824]

I am really glad this thread was made and I came across it yesterday.  I have been struggling really bad with my putting for most of this season and needed something to change it up.  When I say struggling, I mean I couldn't sink a 3 ft putt more than 50/50.  This offseason I decided to switch to the claw grip because last year I had misses left or right that I wanted to fix.  The grip worked well at the start of this year with keeping my putts online, they just weren't dropping and my distance control was awful.  So I had already decided to switch back to my conventional grip.

 

Because I came across this thread I decided to give looking at the hole a try.  THANK YOU cksurfdude and Kenny B!!! I read this and Kenny's thread and thought I had nothing to lose.  So in league last night (probably not the best time to make a change, but I was desperate) I got to the course extra early and spent quite a bit of time on the practice green just looking at the hole from all distances.  It kind of felt weird, but at the same time comfortable.  I finished with my best round of the year thanks to putting. I made almost all of my putts inside of 10ft on a night where I was not driving the ball well or hitting a ton of greens (only hit 3).  The couple putts inside 10ft that I did miss were more of a misread than a mishit.  I still need to work on what distances to look at the hole vs the ball, but I am a believer that this works for me!  My putts had such better speed than ever before.  I found my line, used the alignment mark on the ball, squared up to the ball and made sure the putter was aligned, looked at the hole and pulled the trigger.

[cksurfdude]

Seef:

Awesome!!! Glad you had that success!

 

As others mentioned, it's really helped me too with distance control on mid- and long- putts. It's also helped me smooth out my stroke and tempo .. Including on those shorter 'knee-knockers'

 

As Rev said - really helps the "three-putt avoidance"! Great way to put it! Or... putt it ... :-)

 

Kenny:

Great great analogy to throwing a ball; great way to think about and look at executing this.

 

And thanks for the link to the earlier thread; good stuff in there, too! (sorry missed it first time I searched)

[Kenny B]

I am really glad this thread was made and I came across it yesterday.  I have been struggling really bad with my putting for most of this season and needed something to change it up.  When I say struggling, I mean I couldn't sink a 3 ft putt more than 50/50.  This offseason I decided to switch to the claw grip because last year I had misses left or right that I wanted to fix.  The grip worked well at the start of this year with keeping my putts online, they just weren't dropping and my distance control was awful.  So I had already decided to switch back to my conventional grip.

 

Because I came across this thread I decided to give looking at the hole a try.  THANK YOU cksurfdude and Kenny B!!! I read this and Kenny's thread and thought I had nothing to lose.  So in league last night (probably not the best time to make a change, but I was desperate) I got to the course extra early and spent quite a bit of time on the practice green just looking at the hole from all distances.  It kind of felt weird, but at the same time comfortable.  I finished with my best round of the year thanks to putting. I made almost all of my putts inside of 10ft on a night where I was not driving the ball well or hitting a ton of greens (only hit 3).  The couple putts inside 10ft that I did miss were more of a misread than a mishit.  I still need to work on what distances to look at the hole vs the ball, but I am a believer that this works for me!  My putts had such better speed than ever before.  I found my line, used the alignment mark on the ball, squared up to the ball and made sure the putter was aligned, looked at the hole and pulled the trigger.

I'm glad it worked out for you.  Like I said a year ago, it was uncomfortable for me at first but I was only using it for short putts.  Before, I would stand over the putt too long and since I was not confident with my stroke, I would peak at the moment of impact.  Not good.  By looking at the hole and swinging the putter back and forth to get a feel for speed, then step in and make the stroke, my stroke was much smoother.  

 

Don't get discouraged though if you miss several putts.  You are still in the "getting comfortable" stage of making a change.  The longer you do it, the more natural it feels.  Sure, I still have days when I miss a bunch of putts; I'll burn the edges, but rarely leave anything short except when I play on a course with much slower greens than I am used to.  But it seems like the next day, I am back to making putts again.  That's golf.  

 

Good luck and have fun with it.

 

@cksurfdude -  Not a problem.  There have been many threads posted on multiple subjects that end up being the same as previous discussions.  However, each time we discuss, we have new members and new input.  I am just glad that some of it is helpful.  That's why forums exist.

[McGolfer]

I look at the ball. I will look at the hole sometimes when I am practicing, and I tend to putt fine that way, but I have always had good results looking at the ball and concentrating on the relative position of the hole in my mind.

 

One thing that does help me is "listening for the ball to go in" or taking a moment to consciously look at the ground below where the ball was after its gone. I think this helps me stay down and putt through the ball instead of moving my head and shoulders and pulling the ball.

 

I recently heard an interesting method for reading greens and putting, which advocated looking at the most likely entry point of the hole and watching that spot while you putt. I did it on the putting green for a while one afternoon and putted a lot better than I would have thought I would.

 

 

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[jlew2144]

Same boat as Seef, I happened across this thread yesterday and decided I would give it a shot at the range last night. So after spending time on other areas, I hit the putting green and have to say my speed/distance was so much better by looking directly at the cup instead of my ball. It does take some getting used to, but I've found that it helped me smooth out some issues I'd been seeing recently and I'm hopeful with some practice it will keep dropping strokes on my rounds!

 

Thanks for this one all!

[Kenny B]

Same boat as Seef, I happened across this thread yesterday and decided I would give it a shot at the range last night. So after spending time on other areas, I hit the putting green and have to say my speed/distance was so much better by looking directly at the cup instead of my ball. It does take some getting used to, but I've found that it helped me smooth out some issues I'd been seeing recently and I'm hopeful with some practice it will keep dropping strokes on my rounds!

 

Thanks for this one all!

Glad it helped.  Give it longer than a few days if you have a bad round putting.  That happened to me, but the longer you do it, the more consistent you become.

[Seef824]

Glad it helped.  Give it longer than a few days if you have a bad round putting.  That happened to me, but the longer you do it, the more consistent you become.

I am not one to change mechanics frequently, I am patient enough to give this a try for as long as it takes.  In my mind I can't putt any worse than I have been.  I just need more time with figuring out what distance I should look at the ball vs the hole.  I feel the more comfortable I get, the longer from the hole I will use this.

[Kenny B]

I am not one to change mechanics frequently, I am patient enough to give this a try for as long as it takes.  In my mind I can't putt any worse than I have been.  I just need more time with figuring out what distance I should look at the ball vs the hole.  I feel the more comfortable I get, the longer from the hole I will use this.

That's what I thought last year.  I only looked at the hole inside 6 feet.  But this year when I went back to it, I committed to looking on all putts.  I am making more long putts and when I miss, I don't miss by much because my speed is better.  I suppose I could have started with 6 footers, then moved to 10 footers, then longer, but I wanted to get the uncomfortable feelings out of the way so I didn't have to think about it anymore.

[josmi15]

I've enjoyed reading this thread, I normally only look at hole within 4 foot. I'm teeing off in 2 hrs will try to look at hole in long putts, seems to be my problem.

 

(Was on green in two and 4 putted during a tournament recently)

 

 

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[Badfish]

I've tried it, but develop a loop in my back stroke when I do.  

[Jmikecpa]

It's Yeti

 

 

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[jlew2144]

Still partaking in this and must say it's greatly improved my stroke with the flat stick.

[Kenny B]

I've been doing this all year, and actually I don't even think about it anymore.  Just look at the hole and putt.  

[MattM11]

I've been working to not look until the putt is well on its way.