Famous or Funny Quotes about Putting.

[cksurfdude]

A lot of you may have read or heard Ben Hogan's famous line about putting - "a game within a game".

I'm currently reading Sam Snead's "The Game I Love" and came across this gem ...

"Yes, golf is a funny game, and putting is the strangest thing about it."

What other good ones do you have..??

[vandyland]

In "Golf in the Kingdom" Michael Murphy attributes another Ben Hogan quote to putting, "putting should be abandoned as it ruins an otherwise exciting game." 

As someone who is struggling with putting, I tend to agree. But really it is just sour grapes on my part at the moment. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Find a man with both feet firmly on the ground and you've found a man about to make a difficult putt.

Fletcher Knebel

[CarlH]

"Happy learned to putt."   Happy Gilmore

[Kenny B]

1000 bucks you miss that putt  -   Al Czervik

[fixyurdivot]

"Never up, never in".  No clue of its origin, but they are words to live by if one wants to be a great putter. 

 

[cksurfdude]

17 hours ago, Kenny B said:

1000 bucks you miss that putt  -   Al Czervik

HAH!! See? The Classics never die!

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, fixyurdivot said:

"Never up, never in".  No clue of its origin, but they are words to live by if one wants to be a great putter. 

Yeah it'd be interesting to learn where that actually originated, but we'll probably never know....

Maybe the same dude who said, "Keep your head down!"

[Motoboss]

After a rather pitiful putt attempt my Father would say “ I’ve seen better rolls at the bakery “!!!

[Middler]

On 10/21/2021 at 4:38 PM, fixyurdivot said:

"Never up, never in".  No clue of its origin, but they are words to live by if one wants to be a great putter. 

I always thought that was a credo Arnold Palmer used a lot, but I don’t know if he originated the phrase.

[Headhammer]

"Never up never in" was the quote I heard all the time when I was younger. Also, every time I came up short on a putt it was "does your husband play golf too?" 

[Middler]

2 hours ago, Headhammer said:

"Never up never in" was the quote I heard all the time when I was younger. Also, every time I came up short on a putt it was "does your husband play golf too?" 

And other versions on leaving a putt short, "Nice putt Alice" (Peter Alliss originally) and "my skirt got in the way."

[BIG STU]

16 hours ago, Motoboss said:

After a rather pitiful putt attempt my Father would say “ I’ve seen better rolls at the bakery “!!!

Gary Player told this on a interview one night--- One of his first Open Championships the putts were not falling and he said "he was rolling it good he thought" He had an old school Scottish caddy who said "ROLLS? Rolls are in a bakery mon"

[BIG STU]

I think the best putting advice I have heard to this day was from Annika Sorestam and I use it to this day--- Stay down until you hear the putt drop in the cup

[Haro]

Rock Hudson putt

Looks straight but it isn’t 

 

If the ball lips out  it’s called a Monica Lewinsky 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Haro

[Haro]

The putting green should be considered as a hazard.  Once the ball lands on the green take a 2 stroke penalty and move to the next hole 

[BIG STU]

1 hour ago, Haro said:

The putting green should be considered as a hazard.  Once the ball lands on the green take a 2 stroke penalty and move to the next hole 

We actually did that one time on a supposedly upscale course here. We would putt the first one if it went in it counted if not pick it up. What was bad was that they had not told anyone the condition of the greens and had charged full price. People were complaining and the staff sorta smirked as in FU. They were not smiling the next day because a bunch of us got on Social Media and reported it. One guy I knew who worked there said they had like 20 group cancellations the next day about the same the following day. I know they were running $20 specials the next 2 weeks. I have never been down there since. 

[Motoboss]

When seeing an advertisement for a new course we always say “beautiful 36 holes of golf”. That was a slogan on a billboard for a course on route to the vacation lake. On one trip we decided to stop and play the “beautiful 36 holes” ,  only to discover it was a 9 hole goat ranch that you played four times! We played 18 and still get a good laugh out of it.

[BIG STU]

8 hours ago, Motoboss said:

When seeing an advertisement for a new course we always say “beautiful 36 holes of golf”. That was a slogan on a billboard for a course on route to the vacation lake. On one trip we decided to stop and play the “beautiful 36 holes” ,  only to discover it was a 9 hole goat ranch that you played four times! We played 18 and still get a good laugh out of it.

I do not have any problem with a goat ranch in fact they can be fun with funky bounces etc----- But do not charge me a preminum price to play it or misrepresent it--- Ever since the Chinese Group called Founders group bought 21 courses here it has became rampart and I am afraid it is going to reach up and bite the golf industry in the butt here. We used to have aerification specials but lately they do not tell customers or give reduced rates. Now my course I am a member at is not a pristine Tourist Themed course nor is it a goat ranch. The walk in rates for non members is around $35 $45 in season compared to like $65 or more at the Tourist courses. And I have seen our owners on walk ins tell them if they had aerated like normally the rate is say like $35 just give us $20 because we just aerated. Exactly how my Old Man would have done it

[Motoboss]

I agree @BigStu, we have no problem playing a “goat ranch” course. Just tell me up front and charge appropriately. It seems “truth in advertising “ is a thing of the past and aeration specials have also gone with it. Fortunately in our area a $40.00 and up course is rare as most are $30/35 m-thur, but typically $25 for seniors at 50 years and up. Our State Park courses are $26 May thru September and only $20  Spring and Fall and are some of the nicest courses around with zoysia and bent grasses superbly maintained.

[WhoaNellie]

"That was a Zippo!" Burned the edge.

"Does your husband play?" Bystander to Bush the Elder at Cape Arundel when he came up short.

[Tom S]

On 10/21/2021 at 5:44 PM, cksurfdude said:

Yeah it'd be interesting to learn where that actually originated, but we'll probably never know....

Maybe the same dude who said, "Keep your head down!"

There was a study done several years ago on the PGA tour.  The study showed that over 90% of putts left short don't go in.  I think "never up, never in" was just the "Executive Summary" of that study.

[550025KV]

Everyone worries about "never up, never in" but 100% of those putts that go past the hole don't go in either.  

[cksurfdude]

12 minutes ago, 550025KV said:

Everyone worries about "never up, never in" but 100% of those putts that go past the hole don't go in either.  

Agreed.

Not a funny quote, but Scott Fawcett DECADE suggests that *overall* your target for speed should be _just short_ of the hole (ie. not 18" past) ... as overall/on average about half your putts should be a little long of the hole so that the weighted avg distance of all your putts is *at* the hole. (Yes he explains it MUCH better in one of his videos!)

[Kenny B]

On 12/20/2021 at 7:30 PM, Motoboss said:

After a rather pitiful putt attempt my Father would say “ I’ve seen better rolls at the bakery “!!!

My wife and I played today and we were pair with another twosome.  Great guys, but we had never played with them before.  On Hole #10 one guy was putting downhill from about 25 feet and left it 10 feet short!!  I used your Father's line and my wife was shocked that I said it to strangers.  The other guy said, "Nice!  I'll have to remember that."  

[Motoboss]

18 hours ago, Kenny B said:

My wife and I played today and we were pair with another twosome.  Great guys, but we had never played with them before.  On Hole #10 one guy was putting downhill from about 25 feet and left it 10 feet short!!  I used your Father's line and my wife was shocked that I said it to strangers.  The other guy said, "Nice!  I'll have to remember that."  

Thank you for passing that one along, it made me smile.

[MadMex]

“ 90% of all putts of putts that are short, don’t go in”  Yogui Berra

 

[Thin2win]

"other then line and pace, that was a good putt." 

[Kenny B]

6 hours ago, Thin2win said:

"other then line and pace, that was a good putt." 

I remember you using that at our PNW MGS meetup.

Here's another variation I heard on The Golf Channel from Rich Lerner:  "With the right line and the right speed, the ball will go in the hole."

[DaveP043]

On 12/22/2021 at 6:33 PM, cksurfdude said:

Agreed.

Not a funny quote, but Scott Fawcett DECADE suggests that *overall* your target for speed should be _just short_ of the hole (ie. not 18" past) ... as overall/on average about half your putts should be a little long of the hole so that the weighted avg distance of all your putts is *at* the hole. (Yes he explains it MUCH better in one of his videos!)

This is in close agreement to Broadie in Every Shot Counts.  For longer putts, Broadie says exactly the same, for shorter putts (more likely to make, less likely to make significant speed control mistake) the target should be past the hole.

And for a putt left well short, a player says "Dang, the line was perfect," to which I'll often reply "How could you possibly tell?"