Putting (2 part question)

[808nation]

Been having some distance control issues with my putting lately. Just curious, do you tend to use the gravity of the putter head to control the speed of the ball to a certain distance, do you use the length of the swing to gage distance, or do you control distance with the pressure of your hands.

 

Secondly, do you put more emphasis on your right hand (right handed player) when you take your putter back and left hand when coming through the ball, or both equal amounts

[Kenny B]

I'm right-handed. I try to have a very light grip; if I am having problems putting, the first thing I check is my grip.  I don't use one hand more than the other, and my putting stroke is a pendulum motion except that I accelerate the putter.  For me I have found that when I accelerate on every putt, I rarely decelerate, leaving a putt short.  I don't like long backswings because I tend to mis-hit the ball.  On very long putts, of course I have to take it back further.  The amount of acceleration I use is judged by feel for the speed of the greens, uphill/downhill, amount of break, and wind.  This is why I practice putting a lot.  As I have written elsewhere, I look at the hole when putting, and I judge how hard to stroke it in the same way I would judge how hard to throw darts or horseshoes at the target.  It take practice.

[BIG STU]

I do not analyize at all. I am an feel and instinct putter always have been. I sorta get the line and think put it in the hole and go from there. I have absolutely no idea how far I pull the putter back or such.

 

IMHO I have always been of the thought that if one thinks or gets too mechanical it leads to tension and the first place  tension shows up is in the hands. You get the hands jerking around and then the head of the putter goes all over the place which is not good. Now putting was always one of the strong parts of my game but as I got older I had to do a few changes due to age and medications. I did have to go to the claw method with a 2.0 SS grip but it seems to be working for me. If you look on the tour now very few guys use a conventional putting grip. Quite a few use the left hand low now.

 

Really putting is such an individual thing and IMHO the hardest and most important part of the game. You just have to practice and find what is comfortable for you. If you are not comfortable then you create tension and I have said it many times before tension transfers directly to the hands.

[BIG STU]

Something I forgot to add on the last post. On the distance and control I basically let my eyes tell my body how hard to hit the putt and that is where the instinct comes in. I do not think about it at all there is where the instinct comes in. 

 

Another great member here Rover Rick is an instinct putter also. He and I have had many discussions on here and I think he did an article on here a few years back on instinct putting. He and I are of the same thought on that

[PlaidJacket]

Been having some distance control issues with my putting lately. Just curious, do you tend to use the gravity of the putter head to control the speed of the ball to a certain distance, do you use the length of the swing to gage distance, or do you control distance with the pressure of your hands.

 

Secondly, do you put more emphasis on your right hand (right handed player) when you take your putter back and left hand when coming through the ball, or both equal amounts

 

I can't say I do any of that. Not consciously anyway. I'm a feel putter I suppose. Seems to have served me well.

[BIG STU]

I can't say I do any of that. Not consciously anyway. I'm a feel putter I suppose. Seems to have served me well.

For me feel combines with the instinct

[Liberty Ball Markers]

I'd say everything for me is feel too. I don't get the line on the ball thing - I look at it from behind, look again from over the ball, and let my mind and hands do the rest. Sounds crazy, but I average 30-31 putts per round doing that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[revkev]

Really good questions that are hard to answer - Putting is like throwing a baseball.  In baseball I played 3rd base, outfield, pitcher before finally settling on catcher my junior year of high school and on into college.  Aside from pitching baseball required throws that went different distances all the time.  Of course there was no time to think about it so I worked on those throws as best as I could in practice and playing around in the backyard with my friends.  There was a basic technique for throwing (it differs if you play a middle infield position hence no SS or 2nd base in my background) and the distance is altered either by taking a few steps before releasing the ball (outfield) or applying more force (Catcher) - Third base was a blend that I never quite got down right - I was a train wreck there so they moved me elsewhere (because I could rip the cover off the ball.)

 

The key element is that the faster you can move your arm at the proper angle with the proper release point the faster the ball will go.  Like wise with the putter and like baseball there really isn't the time to think about it.

 

I've found then that the best way to work on speed is by practicing it.  Some drills that have worked for me are looking at the hole (I often do that when I putt for real), putting one handed - 10 putts right handed, 10 putts left handed, 10 putts hands together,  2 putts up hill - 2 putts down hill repeatedly until I can get the ball to go the same distance past the hole in both directions with both balls - putts from the middle of the green that climb onto and stop on the fringe.  There are lots of other ways to do this those happen to be the ones that I prefer because they've worked for me.

 

I know that's not answering your question but doing the drills and practicing your putting will accomplish what you want without having to think so much about which hand is dominant and how long your stroke is.  Whether you employ a longer or shorter stroke its important that it seems to be accelerating through the ball (it won't for real because the contact will slow the putter head down but the goal should always be to accelerate through it,)  I'm generally a pop putter which is why I'm a better putter on Bermuda even though I grew up on Northern grasses.

 

Regardless - I hope that some of this helps.  Good luck with it.

[KrudlerAce]

For me it's about the distance that I take the putter back but also how far I follow through with it. I try to replicate the stroke I want by practicing my stroke right beside the ball towards the target.

 

I focus on having a bit of cocking or hinging in the right wrist as I go through the stroke. For me this helps keep the ball on line with a squarer putter face.

 

I hope this helps and you get it sorted soon.

 

Cheers

[null]

Unconscious Putting by Stockton

 

Read it immediately

 

You are getting way too mechanical with your putting and its not going to get better until you free up your stroke

[Gogolf]

To your questions, I've tried fiddling with all of these methods and what really helped was this simple drill I learned from my coach. 

 

He recommended picking up three golf balls and standing 30 feet away from a cup on the putting green. From there, just start rolling the ball with your dominant hand from a standing position and try to get the ball as close as you can to the cup. After about 10 minutes or so, start using the same 'feel' you developed in your dominant hand and replicate it with your putter.

 

It turned around my game and there are other drills you can do after you've fine-tuned this.

[Kenny B]

To your questions, I've tried fiddling with all of these methods and what really helped was this simple drill I learned from my coach. 

 

He recommended picking up three golf balls and standing 30 feet away from a cup on the putting green. From there, just start rolling the ball with your dominant hand from a standing position and try to get the ball as close as you can to the cup. After about 10 minutes or so, start using the same 'feel' you developed in your dominant hand and replicate it with your putter.

 

It turned around my game and there are other drills you can do after you've fine-tuned this.

A very good starting point.  Just like pitching horseshoes to gauge distance.  I should have done this first, but I jumped right into putting by looking at the hole during the stroke.  If I had started by rolling the ball by hand, it might not have taken so long to get used to looking at the hole while putting.  I got used to it though, and now it feels natural to me.

[bullldog]

Best advice I got & sharing is:, and especially on long putts, roll the putt, dont hit it.

Just look & see the putt then dont think & put a smooth roll on it.. Hope ya know what I meant.. Kind of hard to explain.