Re-dedicating my life to the art of putting

[vandyland]

Update, I might be a good (or at least streaky) putter now with all this practice:

 

[Droptopman]

@vandylandboy can I relate to your situation.  Thanks for posting your story and the data of your practice sessions. 

This year has been terrible on the greens.  4 handicap giving up 4-5 strokes on average on the greens a round.  Great year for ball striking though...I think I tried 12 different putters this year.  I have a nice collection of Scotty's but most are blades with lots of toe hang.  For most of my golf life I have been above average putter and putting was a strength.  Got the yips this spring and was routinely missing 3 footers.  Got so bad, I would rather have a 10 footer than a 3 footer.  So I did what any crazy golfer would do, buy more equipment.  On top of that, tried about every technique known to man.  Here is the list: 50 inch broom style, SIK 45 inch arm lock, Scotty T22 Newport II 37 inch, Scotty Phantom X 5.5 (JT), Scotty GoLo 5, Several old vintage Scotty's, Scotty Futura X7 38 inch, Taylor Made Spider EX,  SIK Pro 37 inch.  Multiple grips changes, grips, set ups.  Heads up, left hand low, pencil, saw, traditional....even tried putting left handed.  Finally snowed here so practicing on a perfect practice mat.  Trying to stick with something, so most consistent visually (where the putter face and track is and how the ball is rolling and of course going in the hole) is the Futura X7 which is the only face balanced putter I own with min toe hang.  Super stroke 2.0 XL grip, using the pencil grip.  I seem to be able to keep the face on my line the most consistent with this set up.  No yips.  I have used it before on the course and see improvement 10 feet and I, but historically have struggled with longer putts with mallets.  I did order a Odyssey Two Ball Ten 38 inch/2 upright which it total face balance and no toe hang, which will be here in a few weeks.  I hate giving up the feel I have with a blade putter, especially the trillium putters, but I need performance over feel at this point.  Will continue to practice until the snow melts or until the wife and I get to Palm Springs in February.  Come spring, practice, practice, practice on all lengths until I get comfortable with the set up.  I know I need to stick with something though.  Golf buddies are always cracking jokes about what putter and technique I will be using today.  

What kind of launch monitor are you using to track your putting?  

 

[joedeausen]

What is the website you are using to track your strokes gained putting stats?  Please share with us, so we can all experience some your putting magic, or not?

 

[vandyland]

@joedeausen Strokes Gained Calculator - Track And Improve Your Putting (golfrankingstats.com)

@Droptopman I can certainly relate. It is going well now but I know any day it could flip on me. I don't use a launch monitor, I use a Blast Motion sensor ( Blast Motion | Wearable Sports Analysis Technology - 3D Motion Sensor ) which, as noted above, tells me the face angle at impact which is the key (for me). I just practice 5-10 footers on repeat and try to keep the face angle between 0.5 and -0.5. 

 

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, Droptopman said:

@vandylandboy can I relate to your situation.  Thanks for posting your story and the data of your practice sessions. 

This year has been terrible on the greens.  4 handicap giving up 4-5 strokes on average on the greens a round.  Great year for ball striking though...I think I tried 12 different putters this year.  I have a nice collection of Scotty's but most are blades with lots of toe hang.  For most of my golf life I have been above average putter and putting was a strength.  Got the yips this spring and was routinely missing 3 footers.  Got so bad, I would rather have a 10 footer than a 3 footer.  So I did what any crazy golfer would do, buy more equipment.  On top of that, tried about every technique known to man.  Here is the list: 50 inch broom style, SIK 45 inch arm lock, Scotty T22 Newport II 37 inch, Scotty Phantom X 5.5 (JT), Scotty GoLo 5, Several old vintage Scotty's, Scotty Futura X7 38 inch, Taylor Made Spider EX,  SIK Pro 37 inch.  Multiple grips changes, grips, set ups.  Heads up, left hand low, pencil, saw, traditional....even tried putting left handed.  Finally snowed here so practicing on a perfect practice mat.  Trying to stick with something, so most consistent visually (where the putter face and track is and how the ball is rolling and of course going in the hole) is the Futura X7 which is the only face balanced putter I own with min toe hang.  Super stroke 2.0 XL grip, using the pencil grip.  I seem to be able to keep the face on my line the most consistent with this set up.  No yips.  I have used it before on the course and see improvement 10 feet and I, but historically have struggled with longer putts with mallets.  I did order a Odyssey Two Ball Ten 38 inch/2 upright which it total face balance and no toe hang, which will be here in a few weeks.  I hate giving up the feel I have with a blade putter, especially the trillium putters, but I need performance over feel at this point.  Will continue to practice until the snow melts or until the wife and I get to Palm Springs in February.  Come spring, practice, practice, practice on all lengths until I get comfortable with the set up.  I know I need to stick with something though.  Golf buddies are always cracking jokes about what putter and technique I will be using today.  

What kind of launch monitor are you using to track your putting?  

 

Looks like we miss each other in Palm Springs.  My wife and I are leaving on Feb 1.  But we are only an hour away the rest of the year.  Where do you normally play?  

[Haro]

Winter months is the time to review my putting stroke   This year I been doing drills at 4, 8, 12 foot range and less so from longer range   I feeling more confident as most off my chips or 2nd putts are from this range   And sometimes birdie putts too !  As  long as I make my fair share off those short putts im content.  Nothing worse then feeling that I will miss from 4 feet before I even step into the putt 

Also I notice that indoor putting to a table leg is sometimes detrimental as I found out when I go to outside afterwards I subconsciously hit it too hard and ball either rolls over the hole or bounces of the pin     I think it better to roll it to a hole if I can 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Haro

[Tom the Golf Nut]

My goal over the winter is to work on putting. I have always been a pretty good putter but I noticed this past season I didn't have as many 1 putts as I normally do. I got lazy to put it frankly. If I was on the green in regulation my mind was easy par instead of possible birdie and didn't focus. On my Christmas list is a putting mat. Well I saw a UPS delivery that I probably wasn't supposed to see. So for sure I will be focusing on putting. Even though I said I wasn't going to chase numbers next season, if I can play as well next season as I did this year and make one more putt per round that should be the ticket to scratch.  Wishful thinking but you always need a goal to shoot for.

Thanks for the link to the strokes gained calculator. I'm sure that will come in handy. Since I have no clue where I stand versus where I think I stand. Tools are good. 

[Droptopman]

14 hours ago, vandyland said:

@joedeausen Strokes Gained Calculator - Track And Improve Your Putting (golfrankingstats.com)

@Droptopman I can certainly relate. It is going well now but I know any day it could flip on me. I don't use a launch monitor, I use a Blast Motion sensor ( Blast Motion | Wearable Sports Analysis Technology - 3D Motion Sensor ) which, as noted above, tells me the face angle at impact which is the key (for me). I just practice 5-10 footers on repeat and try to keep the face angle between 0.5 and -0.5. 

 

Thanks for the response.  Makes sense.  Keep up the good work!

[Droptopman]

13 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Looks like we miss each other in Palm Springs.  My wife and I are leaving on Feb 1.  But we are only an hour away the rest of the year.  Where do you normally play?  

Terra Lago for the most part since we stay right next door in the condos.  But I usually hit a couple other courses during the week.  Try to hit PGA West for at least one round.  Wife cannot manage the harder courses well so those are generally solo or pair up with strangers rounds.  Not looking good here so I may have a long layoff from playing when we go.  

[Haro]

Had a really good day in the course putting All I can remember is that for the short ones I was not “finessing” Just using my shoulder blade muscles particularly my lead shoulder blade as pendulum and as I got more lengthy  putts used a bit more wrist as double pendulum wrist and shoulders. 
Probably something that only works for a day. Lol

[Kenny B]

5 hours ago, Droptopman said:

Terra Lago for the most part since we stay right next door in the condos.  But I usually hit a couple other courses during the week.  Try to hit PGA West for at least one round.  Wife cannot manage the harder courses well so those are generally solo or pair up with strangers rounds.  Not looking good here so I may have a long layoff from playing when we go.  

We've stayed at the Worldmark by Terra Lago several times; nice courses.  We also like Big Rock GC at Indian Springs; not too far away... decent pub food and nice outdoor patio dining.  This year we are staying at the Worldmark Cathedral City, which is across the parking lot from Cimarron GC.  We play there a lot.  We like Indian Canyons in Palm Springs too.

My wife plays most courses decently; struggles with forced carries and elevated greens with no way to avoid bunkers.  I was actually asking about where you play in Yakima.  We don't get up there much to play; wife's ex-SIL and her husband are members at the CC.  I played Appletree a few times but that was long ago.

[Droptopman]

14 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

We've stayed at the Worldmark by Terra Lago several times; nice courses.  We also like Big Rock GC at Indian Springs; not too far away... decent pub food and nice outdoor patio dining.  This year we are staying at the Worldmark Cathedral City, which is across the parking lot from Cimarron GC.  We play there a lot.  We like Indian Canyons in Palm Springs too.

My wife plays most courses decently; struggles with forced carries and elevated greens with no way to avoid bunkers.  I was actually asking about where you play in Yakima.  We don't get up there much to play; wife's ex-SIL and her husband are members at the CC.  I played Appletree a few times but that was long ago.

Lol, that is awesome.  We live on the 11th hole at Apple Tree.  My home club.  Love living on the course I can jump in my cart and get some practice holes most nights except in the winter.  I will look into Cathedral City.  Did not even know they had another location in the region.  Cimarron is a great track.  Heard great things about Indian Canyon but have not played it.  

[vandyland]

8 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Thanks for the link to the strokes gained calculator. I'm sure that will come in handy. Since I have no clue where I stand versus where I think I stand. Tools are good.

The calculator had the opposite effect that I expected, it made me realize I was a better putter than I thought. For better or worse, it might balance out your expectations. Congrats on the putting mat and have fun grooving that stroke. Also work on your fake surprise reaction for when you open it!

[Kenny B]

3 hours ago, Droptopman said:

Lol, that is awesome.  We live on the 11th hole at Apple Tree.  My home club.  Love living on the course I can jump in my cart and get some practice holes most nights except in the winter.  I will look into Cathedral City.  Did not even know they had another location in the region.  Cimarron is a great track.  Heard great things about Indian Canyon but have not played it.  

They have 4 locations in the area:  Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Plaza Resort, and Indio.  Indio is the newest; others are old and some show it.  I don't recommend the Plaza.  The one in Palm Springs is 1950's vintage hotel; nice but a little weird.  Indian Canyons has 2 18 hole courses; North is the original 1950's course, flat and longer than the South course which is fairly new.  North is our favorite.  Good breakfast and lunch at the South clubhouse.  Have fun!!

[JFish350]

This is one of the two areas I want to work on as well before March rolls around. I always thought of myself as a decent putter. After being lucky to do the White Hot OG putter #1 review, I have come to find out I am losing 3 plus strokes a round. Info I wish I had when doing the review. Lots of indoor putting for me with the hope of getting out on the course without drowning in rain. 

Is the Blast Golf similar to Arcos? I just did a quick look up. What are a couple reasons you choose Blast golf over Arcos? 

Great info in here and good luck to everyone. 

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, JFish350 said:

This is one of the two areas I want to work on as well before March rolls around. I always thought of myself as a decent putter. After being lucky to do the White Hot OG putter #1 review, I have come to find out I am losing 3 plus strokes a round. Info I wish I had when doing the review. Lots of indoor putting for me with the hope of getting out on the course without drowning in rain. 

Is the Blast Golf similar to Arcos? I just did a quick look up. What are a couple reasons you choose Blast golf over Arcos? 

 

First question is why are you losing strokes?  Missing short ones, too many 3 putts, lower overall make percentages, or something else?   What do you want to work on?

I think Blast and Arccos are two different things.  Blast is a training aid and Arccos is an oncourse peformance tool.     Blast motion lets you practice your stroke and capture metrics about the stroke like tempo, face angle, shaft lean and can be used for more than just putting and capture metrics for other clubs.   Arccos simply captures makes and misses while you are playing and allows you to determine strokes gained.  Since you are trying to improve indoors and not playing, I don't think Arccos will do much for you.  

[JFish350]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

First question is why are you losing strokes?  Missing short ones, too many 3 putts, lower overall make percentages, or something else?   What do you want to work on?

I think Blast and Arccos are two different things.  Blast is a training aid and Arccos is an oncourse peformance tool.     Blast motion lets you practice your stroke and capture metrics about the stroke like tempo, face angle, shaft lean and can be used for more than just putting and capture metrics for other clubs.   Arccos simply captures makes and misses while you are playing and allows you to determine strokes gained.  Since you are trying to improve indoors and not playing, I don't think Arccos will do much for you.  

Over confidence with 3 footers for one. I rarely practice them, shame shame on me I know. it's all an issue make percentage, lad putting, short putts, I just need to practice my putting more in general to become better. I've thought of taking a class on reading greens but that is further down the road. I don't believe I am good enough to break down my putting that far just yet. Master the basics first and go forward from there. 

 

Thanks for the info on the blast. I haven't heard of it before. 

[labillyboy]

Wow... if I had all that data running around my brain I don't think I could ever pull the trigger.

I am a pretty good putter winning my club's putting championship more than once.  I rarely 3 putt and drain quite a few long ones.

How do I do it? First, I am very good at reading greens, I rarely pick the wrong line.  I believe most people who struggle with putting are really struggling with reading putts for both speed and line. Next, I stick with the same putter, I've been using a Scotty Newport forever. I have a few of them but I stick with one "look".  I have a routine that does not vary and hasn't for many years. I pick the exact spot I want to hit 6 inches out and roll the ball over that spot. I use a standard grip and a square line up on most putts (open my stance on short right breakers).  I take a couple one handed practice swings away from the ball, before setting up to get a feel for the weight.  Once I take my stance I look at the hole, then my aim point set my head over the ball and pull the trigger.  Been working for over 30 years.  I find it amusing to see the pros who change putters, go left hand low, claw grips, long putters... I've done them all fooling around on the practice green of course but would never even think about taking it to the golf course.  Keeping it simple frees the mind in my case and I am blessed with some talent evidently... 

[tchat07]

Being someone who was also involved with the White Hot OG putting testing group I learned a lot about my putting from working through that review. One thing I found is I was not starting my putts on their intended line. Couldnt hit through a gate to save my life, thus I have been practicing putting through a gate so far this winter. I'm definitely doing better but its certainly not completely there am looking forward to seeing what happens once I get back out there this spring.

[Plumbob]

I admit that at times I am a bit slow, and in this case when it comes to strokes gained. I, like you are not a great putter, but lately overall are getting better, 3 putts significantly reducing or in many games eliminated. My yardstick in putting is my total putts. If I have more than 32 it’s a bad day, anything between 29 and 31 is good, and under 29, is a fantastic day. Crosshanded, better at reducing my tendency to swing with my hands, and using a Callaway hickory shafted putter.