How's all your indoor putting paying off?

[GolfSpy MPR]

I think many of us did more indoor putting these past few weeks that we normally might have. As courses have started opening, how has that putting practice transferred to the course for you?

On the positive side: I'm starting my ball on my intended line really well. I'm rarely hitting a putt that I'm instantly disgusted by, where I know that I didn't do what I wanted to do.

The biggest negative is that perfect putting mats are (surprising, I know) not quite the same as real greens, especially just as the course is opening. I've been leaving a lot of putts short as I'm adjusting to the slower speeds on the course.

I've also been disappointed missing a greater share of really short putts than I would like. I'm not sure why, but I find it difficult to transfer my practice at those distances to the "need to make" putts on the course.

[cnosil]

The skill I practice at home is face control to start the ball online
for different stroke lengths. For me that works really well to keep my stroke in check. When I get to the course I fine tune the distance control for the current speed. This approach has been very effective for me.

[juspoole]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

The skill I practice at home is face control to start the ball online
for different stroke lengths. For me that works really well to keep my stroke in check. When I get to the course I fine tune the distance control for the current speed. This approach has been very effective for me.

I use a similar approach.  My stroke feels extremely fluid right now as I have been hitting at least 30 putts per day in the basement.  What I still need more work on is green reading.  I find that my line and speed are usually what I plan on, but have not made many more putts thus far.  

Also on a putting related topic, I'm thinking about trying to do some DIY putter repair rather than spending $200 on refinishing.  Nothing crazy, just some things like getting dings out, polishing, and paint refill.  I'm far from handy so we'll see how it goes.

[GolfSpy BOS]

Well on the plus side, I still have not missed a putt on a real green this year!

 

Joking aside, indoors I’ve been able to really work on my impact and the AlignXL balls have given me a great visual as to how well I’m striking it. I’ve made a fair share of putts with wobbly lines and missed some where I hit the ball very well with the line going end over end and just misplayed the “break” of my carpet.

 

It’s actually been quite informative for me to get that instant feedback and I’m looking forward to bringing it out on the course.

 

Also have been switching between my Newport and ER2B. I notice something the other day... both are the same length and lie but the ER2B sits closer to me due to the hosel design, seems like that’s why it still works even with less toe hang than the newport as I don’t have as much of an arc with it being closer in. Here’s a photo showing it’s about 1/4 inch closer to my toes while putting. Both these shafts are on the same plane up against the wall.

 

 

Edit: adding a second angle.

[Jmikecpa]

I changed from a standard putter to the long putter this year and considering all I can do most days is putt, it has gone really well. I think I rolled close to 1,000 putts yesterday out of shear boredom.

 

 

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[Headhammer]

21 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I think many of us did more indoor putting these past few weeks that we normally might have. As courses have started opening, how has that putting practice transferred to the course for you?

On the positive side: I'm starting my ball on my intended line really well. I'm rarely hitting a putt that I'm instantly disgusted by, where I know that I didn't do what I wanted to do.

The biggest negative is that perfect putting mats are (surprising, I know) not quite the same as real greens, especially just as the course is opening. I've been leaving a lot of putts short as I'm adjusting to the slower speeds on the course.

I've also been disappointed missing a greater share of really short putts than I would like. I'm not sure why, but I find it difficult to transfer my practice at those distances to the "need to make" putts on the course.

 The pristine surfaces of the practice green don't always match up to speed, bumps & grain of a real green and like you I'm leaving a 10-15' putts woefully short. On the other hand, I have not missed from 3' & in, my stroke feels more solid and square. Additionally, having spent so much time on the practice green, when I do miss, I know exactly what I did wrong from the putter head feedback.

[Kanoito]

It's been a mixed bag for me practicing daily with my PuttOUT.

Line and aim have been fantastic, can go 100 putts without missing the target.

On the other hand, this has been detrimental for my speed control. Played 18 for the first time last weekend and I left all my putts short.

[Nolan220]

Not sure yet the last time I played the greens were air raided so they were terrible so the putting was bad, but I had a lot of confidence in my putting so that was a positive

[edteergolf]

All practice needs to have context to the task and taking away context hurts us when we play golf.  What can we do inside that is beneficial:  setup, stroke pattern, start line, tempo, impact for a variety of stoke lengths, and length of time to strike the ball.  The good news is that all putts start straight so you are practicing an important skill to make the makeable putts. Read and speed are for the golf course.  The other great thing one can do indoors is better understand putting expectations and what good speed control looks like.  Having reasonable expectations and understanding how the best players actually approach putting makes the task much easier.  

[beelzeberto]

I've been following and doing some of the drill that the putting engineer has posted on Instagram, stroke is better with the new putter and I'm averaging 1.8 putts. Not the best but its coming down.

[THEZIPR23]

I won a webinar with Scott Fawcett via twitter in early January. We talked that the fact that my SG vs tour was -1.78/round. We discussed speed and while it wasn't bad, very few 3 putts, that is what I worked on. Last 20 rounds my SG putting is -0.1, the last 6 rounds it is +0.92. A very significant change. 2.7 strokes every round and my scores reflect this. So yes, the putting practice has paid off big time!

[cnosil]

I won a webinar with Scott Fawcett via twitter in early January. We talked that the fact that my SG vs tour was -1.78/round. We discussed speed and while it wasn't bad, very few 3 putts, that is what I worked on. Last 20 rounds my SG putting is -0.1, the last 6 rounds it is +0.92. A very significant change. 2.7 strokes every round and my scores reflect this. So yes, the putting practice has paid off big time!

The big question is what did you do to work on speed control? I would assume reduce miss diameter the closer you get to the hole. I’ve seen and do the drill with I think 4 coins that are a foot apart and inside of 10 feet you have to stop the ball between the first 2, from 10-15 inside the first 2, 15-20 the first 3, and outside 20 inside the 4.

[THEZIPR23]

5 minutes ago, cnosil said:

The big question is what did you do to work on speed control? I would assume reduce miss diameter the closer you get to the hole. I’ve seen and do the drill with I think 4 coins that are a foot apart and inside of 10 feet you have to stop the ball between the first 2, from 10-15 inside the first 2, 15-20 the first 3, and outside 20 inside the 4.

That's it. 

[THEZIPR23]

18 minutes ago, cnosil said:

The big question is what did you do to work on speed control? I would assume reduce miss diameter the closer you get to the hole. I’ve seen and do the drill with I think 4 coins that are a foot apart and inside of 10 feet you have to stop the ball between the first 2, from 10-15 inside the first 2, 15-20 the first 3, and outside 20 inside the 4.

The other thing I have focused on is start line. I have a laser that I throw behind the hole and just match line and start line. Even with -1.7 SG I wasn't a bad putter, but my make rates were really low. So doing drill and laser has helped me match speed with line and resulting in more makes.  

[PMookie]

The big question is what did you do to work on speed control? I would assume reduce miss diameter the closer you get to the hole. I’ve seen and do the drill with I think 4 coins that are a foot apart and inside of 10 feet you have to stop the ball between the first 2, from 10-15 inside the first 2, 15-20 the first 3, and outside 20 inside the 4.

Any coins PAST the hole???


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[THEZIPR23]

10 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Any coins PAST the hole???


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No hole. Takes the thought of making anything out of the mind. Focus is just on speed. 

[cnosil]

The other thing I have focused on is start line. I have a laser that I throw behind the hole and just match line and start line. Even with -1.7 SG I wasn't a bad putter, but my make rates were really low. So doing drill and laser has helped me match speed with line and resulting in more makes.  

I am guessing the laser lines shows on the green to the ball and you make sure it starts on that line. What laser are you using? Hard to find one bright enough to use outside.

[cnosil]

Any coins PAST the hole???


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Somewhere I saved a video that explains the drill. I’ll try to find it an post here.

[GolfSpy BOS]

Update: got my first round scheduled for Saturday!

So I guess we shall see then. The greens at the course in playing are usually much slower than what I usually play so It might get interesting.

I’ll just be happy to play a round but hope to have decent speed control.


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[THEZIPR23]

6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I am guessing the laser lines shows on the green to the ball and you make sure it starts on that line. What laser are you using? Hard to find one bright enough to use outside.

I use a black & decker laser level 

But you're right it is almost not bright enough. Have to turn off light above green to be able to use it effectively. Brighter in the pic than real life. 

[cnosil]

Any coins PAST the hole???


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Can’t find the video, Looks like it was deleted. Found this modified version but it should give you the idea.

https://breakthroughgolf.ca/putting-speed-drill-5-feet-to-40-feet-coin-drill/

[cnosil]

On 5/13/2020 at 1:10 PM, PMookie said:

Any coins PAST the hole???


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Found a video of that distance control putting drill.  He starts discussing at the 55:39 mark.   I have been skimming through the whole video;  looks like lots of good info on course management, expectations, miss patterns, and ways to practice indoors.  

 

 

[edingc]

Still mediocre! **surprised, but not really surprised face**

In all actuality, though, I have gotten a lot better and more consistent. I fixed my setup over the winter, as I was previously standing way too close with toe down, and cutting across the ball with my stroke. Led to all sorts of distance control and start line problems. I feel like I've really improved my lag putting and start direction because my stroke and impact location is much more repeatable.

I really am loving the new-to-me Spider X, which at the same length as my old Spider Tour, just feels so much better in my hands.

I need to reduce the number of three-putts per round, as I currently am good for three or four. I'd like to attribute this somewhat to me being the first off on the course most days. I typically play around and through the maintenance staff, so I play a few holes with uncut, dew-covered greens, a few holes with fresh-cut wet greens, a few with drier, uncut greens and finally a few with cut, dry greens. And because my course doesn't mow the greens in order, it's not uncommon to change between all of the available options in just a few holes.

[GolfSpy MPR]

Perhaps a good time for me to weigh in on my own question. Using April/May rounds last year versus my rounds this year, I'm currently seeing:

• 2019: 1.91 avg | 2020: 1.8 avg
• 2019
  • 1 Putt: 23%
  • 2 Putt: 63%
  • 3 Putt: 14%
• 2020
  • 1 Putt 28.7%
  • 2 Putt 61.1%
  • 3 Putt: 10.2%
  • Putts per GIR: 2.0

So on the whole, this is looking quite promising. I'm not seeing in GG where to pull up putts per GIR, but moving percentage points from both 2- and 3-putts into 1-putts is very encouraging. Let's hope it continues and even improves as speed control on real greens (and longer putts) continues to get dialed in.

[Erik-M]

those are pretty good gains for how hit or miss the greens are to start this year

[edteergolf]

On 5/13/2020 at 9:22 AM, beelzeberto said:

I've been following and doing some of the drill that the putting engineer has posted on Instagram, stroke is better with the new putter and I'm averaging 1.8 putts. Not the best but its coming down.

How many putts per hole (average) do you believe you should have? 

[golfingbrock]

I have putted around my office for a long time before Covid without much results, but the last few months I have worked on some drills and had competition with myself, tried every grip imaginable, and really honed in on a consistent stroke for short putts in the 3-6 foot range.  I work a bit on speed too, but my carpet is faster than a lot of greens out there, so working on a consistent stroke and set up on the round saving short putts has paid the biggest dividends.

 

I have been pretty consistent at around 1.8 putts per hole, but got to 1.6 putts per hole and 7 birdies this past weekend.

[beelzeberto]

1 hour ago, edteergolf said:

How many putts per hole (average) do you believe you should have? 

Honestly I think I should be lower than that because I miss some easy putts that in practice I don't miss. Still building up the mental fortitude to putt well when the scores count.

[GolfSpy BOS]

Perhaps a good time for me to weigh in on my own question. Using April/May rounds last year versus my rounds this year, I'm currently seeing:

• 2019: 1.91 avg | 2020: 1.8 avg
• 2019
  • 1 Putt: 23%
  • 2 Putt: 63%
  • 3 Putt: 14%
• 2020
  • 1 Putt 28.7%
  • 2 Putt 61.1%
  • 3 Putt: 10.2%
  • Putts per GIR: 2.0

So on the whole, this is looking quite promising. I'm not seeing in GG where to pull up putts per GIR, but moving percentage points from both 2- and 3-putts into 1-putts is very encouraging. Let's hope it continues and even improves as speed control on real greens (and longer putts) continues to get dialed in.

That’s nice all around improvement seeing 4% less three putts and an increase in one putts!

Are you chipping/pitching better leaving you easier looks? Or is it all in the putting?


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[GolfSpy MPR]

15 hours ago, B.Boston said:

That’s nice all around improvement seeing 4% less three putts and an increase in one putts!

Are you chipping/pitching better leaving you easier looks? Or is it all in the putting?


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It's a great question, and the data I have doesn't seem to let me get at it directly. My GIRs are up very slightly this year over last (22% vs 19%), so if anything, that should slightly increase my putts. But my chipping and pitching has definitely gotten better, so I imagine it's some factor, but without the accuracy of ShotLink, I don't know yet that I'm able to quantify its impact on my putting.