Putting Drills

[DHura87]

On 2/22/2024 at 10:07 PM, SDunne said:

Exactly what I have been looking for. I would saying putting is my weakest part of my game and is what I believe keeping me from getting into that single digit handicap. Thank you so much for the in depth explanation of some of these especially the palace one. Would never have thought to practice it that way.

 

[Rob Person]

7 hours ago, cnosil said:

There are many schools of thought on putting.  There are people that say you need to putt a certain way and other that say that putting is easy and just do what you naturally do.  Just because a PGA player putts well,  does that mean their approach is the best or that they are capable of describing what they actually do?    You made a statement based on what is written in Tiger's book and it doesn't align with what he said Crenshaw told him to do.    Like @cksurfdude my putting instructors haven't defined a specific measure or number for grip pressure, but one that is firm enough to keep the putter from drooping or twisting during the stroke.  

I personally think there are fundamentals that players should follow but players need to make decisions on how they want to putt.    For example,  how should the player move the putter:  left arm dominant, right arm dominant, shoulder driven, arms around passive shoulders, pop stroke, etc.   We can find people that are considered great putters that do any ones of those.   IMO, players should work through various methods and find what they can do most consistently and starts the ball online and gives them solid distance control.   

This!  

I've worked through a bunch of stuff to correct a problem that wasn't a problem (swing arc) 

Also, every putter out there has design tendencies for your type of Stroke. A good example is the AI-ONE DB putter. It had came with a bent shaft as stock. 4 weeks later odyssey released a plumbers neck option.  The plumbers neck is designed for those with a stronger arc in their swing. So I worked through making a straighter stroke to compensate for the bent shaft.

[matt_puttercup]

I subscribe to the Izzy Justice school of thinking about as little as possible while golfing/putting.  It helps to know that from 8 feet even the pros only make it half the time.  A perfect putt can still miss due to so many factors.  After I've committed to a line, my only thought on short putts is "get it to the hole."  On longer putt I'm just trying to get it as close as possible with dying speed.  I'm a fan of the drills you posted, except I do it with a PutterCup in the hole.

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, matt_puttercup said:

 It helps to know that from 8 feet even the pros only make it half the time.  

The best player made  70% of their 8 footers and the 193rd made 35%.  Average seems like a nice number to look at but there is a great bit of disparity from the top to bottom 

[Kenny B]

On 2/28/2024 at 12:35 PM, HighFade said:

I wish I could, brother.  My friends describe me as a really good player, but a horrible putter.  Hoping to change that!

 

Welcome back to the forums!  Nice to see you here again, and hope you have a great year!

[arodrig29]

On 2/28/2024 at 2:45 PM, HighFade said:

For me, it has more to do with putts inside 10 feet.  I am an abysmal putter.  I have been doing a lot of practice with 6 footers and I miss the hole completely - won't even catch the edge.  But after reading a ton of articles, and watching a million YouTube videos on putting, I found out I am cross-eye dominant (I am right-handed, but left eye dominant).  I moved the ball a little further up in my stance, and I close my right eye when lining up the putt, and I even keep it closed while putting.  Dead straight into the heart every time.   

This is great. I have the same "issue" as I am right-handed but left eye dominant. I will definitely be trying these processes out. thanks for posting. 

[Iamsecond116]

I make sure my stroke can make the ball roll end over end first and foremost. Have used Aimpoint to help with green reading and, quite frankly, using it on the practice green with only one ball has been tremendously helpful. I know Stack has a putting practice component that has had some phenomenal reviews... I have read it helps open your eyes to how often a missed putt is actually a misread. 

A lot of the drills mentioned above are great, but each stroke doesn't have to look/be perfect to be an effective stroke. I feel getting the ball is rolling end over end consistently and practicing green reading techniques have been undervalued in putting practice. 

[BallsLeon]

I usually start by practicing setup with gates, and then I work on speed by trying to stagger balls in either ascending or descending order. After that I just try to get a feel for the practice greens, trying to read uphill and downhill breaks.

[Donn lost in San Diego]

FYI I just posted a new thread in Member Community General Q&A:   A Step by Step guide to cross handed putting.  I put a lot of time into how I made the switch and my opinions on the subject.  I hope some who have putting issues find it helpful.

[Donn lost in San Diego]

On 2/28/2024 at 11:45 AM, HighFade said:

For me, it has more to do with putts inside 10 feet.  I am an abysmal putter.  I have been doing a lot of practice with 6 footers and I miss the hole completely - won't even catch the edge.  But after reading a ton of articles, and watching a million YouTube videos on putting, I found out I am cross-eye dominant (I am right-handed, but left eye dominant).  I moved the ball a little further up in my stance, and I close my right eye when lining up the putt, and I even keep it closed while putting.  Dead straight into the heart every time.   

I posted a new thread   Step by step guide to putt cross handed.  take a look.

Grip pressure has to be enough to not let the shaft twist in your hands.  Not necessarily a light grip.

[MNUte]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ruler drill yet. 

 

By a cheap flat metal yardstick from home depot/lowes/local hardware store. Hit a ball from one end of it off the other end without it falling off to the side. Absolute magic in terms of giving yourself confidence that you're hitting the ball straight. For me, that helps me be comfortable focusing on my green reads and distance control without having to worry I'll push or pull my putt. 

[BMart519]

58 minutes ago, MNUte said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ruler drill yet. 

 

By a cheap flat metal yardstick from home depot/lowes/local hardware store. Hit a ball from one end of it off the other end without it falling off to the side. Absolute magic in terms of giving yourself confidence that you're hitting the ball straight. For me, that helps me be comfortable focusing on my green reads and distance control without having to worry I'll push or pull my putt. 

I use a ruler a lot (almost daily), but I've recently started to wonder if it translates to the course due to my putting statistics being poor from everywhere except outside 30' which is just measuring speed control on lags. The ruler gives you reference lines perpendicular and parallel to help align the putter face that aren't there on grass. It has me interested in the putting laser from the pop-up ads I see online to see if I can roll the line. 

[MNUte]

4 hours ago, BMart519 said:

I use a ruler a lot (almost daily), but I've recently started to wonder if it translates to the course due to my putting statistics being poor from everywhere except outside 30' which is just measuring speed control on lags. The ruler gives you reference lines perpendicular and parallel to help align the putter face that aren't there on grass. It has me interested in the putting laser from the pop-up ads I see online to see if I can roll the line. 

I've never actually thought of that. My odyssey has a line marker, so I've never felt like I've had issues lining up my putter. In doing my ball set up, I pick a point a foot or so in front of my ball that's along my chosen path. I then try to have a consistent line going from the back of my putter mark through the line on my putter, through the line on my ball, and to that point on the ground. But if you have a dot instead or nothing, that becomes a lot harder. 

[Rob Person]

On 4/22/2024 at 11:04 AM, Donn lost in San Diego said:

I posted a new thread   Step by step guide to putt cross handed.  take a look.

Grip pressure has to be enough to not let the shaft twist in your hands.  Not necessarily a light grip.

Liked the information alot!  Well-done