My name is Jono and I'm becoming a putter ...

[Jono]

Right. I've decided to stick to the conventional putter and conventional method. Gonna stick to the conventional stroke ... None of this side saddle, thick grip, broomstick, belly putter stuff. Gonna work on how to read greens better (any tips on this?) and my lag putts. That's where I fall down. I don't lag the first putt close enough.

Hitting more fairways and improving my putting will be the key to getting the free dozen pro V's in December. 8-) :lol:

[3oneday]

and what is the lucky putter ?

[Jono]

Taylormade Modena 8. 8)

If anyone wants any weird and wonderful putters at low low price, let me know. :lol:

[rick3003]

Right. I've decided to stick to the conventional putter and conventional method.
Good to hear Jono :)

[Jarro]

Good luck Jono ;)

[goughy]

Better post them all in the pro shop!

Honestly, the best putting I did was when I got it out of my head to sink everything, and just hit the first putt with the thought of just getting it close. Sank more than I expected and generally got it pretty close.

Of course, I've gone back to my wanting to sink everything and now sink nothing, and don't get it within cooee of the hole!

[markTHEblake]

If anyone wants any weird and wonderful putters at low low price, let me know. :lol:

You have got me interested, at the moment I am willing to try everything. Considering i have never tried anything, that goes to show how desperate i am getting :neutral:

[gazgolf1]

Right. I've decided to stick to the conventional putter and conventional method. Gonna stick to the conventional stroke ... None of this side saddle, thick grip, broomstick, belly putter stuff. Gonna work on how to read greens better (any tips on this?) and my lag putts. That's where I fall down. I don't lag the first putt close enough.

Hitting more fairways and improving my putting will be the key to getting the free dozen pro V's in December. 8-) :lol:

Buy Stan Utley's putting book.

[Dazza]

Better post them all in the pro shop!

Please do as I'll be after a new putter shortly!

Cheers and good luck!

[Moe Norman]

Jono,

As a fellow horrendous putter who has improved 100% in the last 6 months, I can say tat personally the BIGGEST change for me has been ocming up with a routine for every putt and sticking to it.

This has been the single biggest change and I feel so much more comfortable over putts as a result.

[Toolish]

As a seriously bad putter who is starting to come good (25 putts today, although admittedly a lot of that was due to good chipping) there are 3 things I have done that have made big differences

1. Read putting out of your mind by Bob Rotella.
2. Routine including clear keys
3. Laws of Accuraccy training program

Stick to it and results will come mate....good luck.

[Jono]

Moe, I agree with you 100% about the routine thing. I'm going to work on getting one. 8)

[Courty]

Anyone got some hints or examples of putting routines (specifically the keys).

[Eag's]

Jono,

As a fellow horrendous putter who has improved 100% in the last 6 months, I can say tat personally the BIGGEST change for me has been ocming up with a routine for every putt and sticking to it.

This has been the single biggest change and I feel so much more comfortable over putts as a result.

Spot on Moe, since developing a routine for all putts my putting has improved bigtime :)

[Moe Norman]

My routine.

Mark ball and replace so that I can see only white on top when adressing putt. No logo, no markings, no lines, just white.

Read putt

Practice strokes behind ball getting a feel for the line, never EVER look down at putter head.

Walk to ball, a few practice strokes for speed, again not looking at the putter head.

Address ball with right hand on putter only and line up putter face to chosen line.

Take firm grip with left hand

Pull trigger

Once I have addressed the ball and have taken my grip, I try to pull the trigger immediately. If I am on my game and feel uncomfortable over the putt, I will step away and restart routine.

Still trying hard to convince myself to step away when uncomfortable, but I have this problem everywhere, not just with putter!

[jaybam]

Sounds a lot like Aaron Baddleys routine mate. Very similar except he doesnt have extra practice strokes when he addresses the ball. Just from behind walks in and pulls the trigger.

[markTHEblake]

I will step away and restart routine.

is it rude to have a sleep while your matchplay opponent is putting ;)

I have a fairly rock solid routine for as long as i can remember. I changed it slightly a couple of years ago, no practice swings now.

AND IT'S NOT BLOODY WORKING

[Bruce]

As a seriously bad putter who is starting to come good (25 putts today, although admittedly a lot of that was due to good chipping) there are 3 things I have done that have made big differences

1. Read putting out of your mind by Bob Rotella.
2. Routine including clear keys
3. Laws of Accuraccy training program

Stick to it and results will come mate....good luck.

I've done 1 and am working on 2 (maybe not clear keys) but tell us more about 3 mate.

What is the gist of the Laws of Accuracy?

[Jono]

I've done 1 and am working on 2 (maybe not clear keys) but tell us more about 3 mate.

What is the gist of the Laws of Accuracy?

Sh1t, I missed Toolish's post. :oops:

Yeah, what is Laws of Accuracy?

[napoleon dynamite]

don't know if i'm qualified to jump in but i will.

i try and imagine the channel to the hole working from the ball to the hole and back. once i'm happy with my line i try and pick a spot on the green about 3 feet or so in front of my ball, i.e spike mark, leaf, darker or lighter shade of turf, just something that i can line my putt up with in reference to my actual line i want. once i'm happy with that i'll line up the mark or logo on the ball with that spot. if i aim to hit that spot then i know my putt is on the line that i wanted then all i have to worry about at address is the pace.

another good tip i got for those 3-6 footers was to really shorten the backswing to make sure less can go wrong. don't aim for the hole, aim for a spot on line to the hole and if you can hit that then you are on line anyway so long as you have read it right.

as i said i'm only a mug but that's what helps me alot, my line is usually fine, it's more reading the pace of the green that stuffs me up

[Toolish]

Laws of Accuracy is a training program. It can apply to anything in golf, but it seems to have its best application in putting, because putting is so much about process and routine. It is fairly demanding and I must admit I have stopped it over the last 2-3 weeks due to time constraints and a lack of daylight now.

The idea is this.

First session go and hole 100 putts in a row from 10cm (yep, 10 cm, you read right)
Second Session hole 5 putts from 10cm then hole 100 in a row from 20cm
Third session 5 from 10cm, 5 from 20cm and 100 from 30cm, if you miss one of the 100 start again.
etc, etc. until you can hole 100 in a row from 2m. Then it starts dropping down to holing 90 in a row, etc.

To pass the program you have to hole 65 from 3m from memory.

I have passed the 100cm mark but failed a couple of times attempting 110cm. Plan to get back into it at the local driving range on the practice green there as they have lights!

There are a few things that it promotes:
1. Routine, repeating the same thing 100+ times each session will help cement a routine in. In the past I could only ever hit 20-30 putts and I would get sick of it as I didn't have a target and something to measure by.

2. Touch, you are meant to hole the putts at good speed, not ram the short ones in, once you can sense the difference between a 10cm putt and a 20 cm putt it flows on.

3. Mental, you train to the point where you actually get really bored and you stop thinking (that is where clear-keys come in too) and suddenly you have holed 20 putts without thinking. Reminds you how easy putting can be if you let it.

4. Confidence. Nothing like finding the bottom of the hole 100+ times each session.

People argue that there is no pressure, but after you have been putting for over an hour and you are into the 90's those last few putts sure have pressure. Much like putts at the end of a round where you are having a good score.

Routine wise, here is mine.

Mark ball.

Read putt.

Replace ball aligning pro-v1 alignment thing on the line I want to hit (Not anal about this, but I find it a good reference rather than a rock solid guide).

Take 2-3 practice swings focussing on target (not always hole).

Step into ball and align myself.

Take last look at the hole and trace back with my eyes the path the ball should take.

As soon as eyes get back to ball start the stroke.

[Flowergirl]

One of the older ladies at my club was watching me struggle on the practise green. She came up with ten balls and placed them reasonably close to the hole and made me putt all 10 into the holes without removing any one them. After there was 10 golf balls in the hole she said - "see - the hole is big enough to fit 10 golf balls - not as small as you thought is it". Then she walked away.
Now I would love to say that I am now a great putter - main problem is the speed of that first putt - but it has helped me to feel so much more comfotable standing over those shorter putts.

[chappy1970]

Something that has helped me enormously is to have a smooth, slow take away.

This seems to be able to set the putter face on the right line going back and coming through.

I wouldn't say that I am the best putter on this forum, but I can hold my own.

24 putts around Spring Valley was a result of this technique.

Chappy

[Bruce]

So how do you set up these 100 putts?

All from the same spot? On a flat piece or a slope? (obviously this would only matter beyond the 50cm mark)

[3oneday]

Got all this Jono ? write them ALL down mate ;)

You'll be lucky to be able to take the putter back at all with this all floating through your head :lol:

[Grunt]

For sure, Pete. I think I have Baddley's style of putting but I actually forget that he does line them up, not just walk up and hit it.

[miro]

Jono,

I know I have said this before but here goes. I feel I can now consider myself a reasonable to good putter from poor previously. Wny? Lessons from an outstanding pro -who? Richard Flood at the Lakes -he is Craig Parry's long time teacher and he knows how to putt. This is entirely different than routine, clear keys etc etc etc. If your fundamental stroke is in correct then all the other suggestions are cream on which you do not have a cake to place on.

Give richard a call. He is a great guy who will get you sorted out -he did for me and the ball "rolls" entirely differently now.

[kpac]

One of the older ladies at my club was watching me struggle on the practise green. She came up with ten balls and placed them reasonably close to the hole and made me putt all 10 into the holes without removing any one them. After there was 10 golf balls in the hole she said - "see - the hole is big enough to fit 10 golf balls - not as small as you thought is it". Then she walked away.
Now I would love to say that I am now a great putter - main problem is the speed of that first putt - but it has helped me to feel so much more comfotable standing over those shorter putts.
you can fit 10 balls in the hole?? huh - never would have thought.

[Toolish]

So how do you set up these 100 putts?

All from the same spot? On a flat piece or a slope? (obviously this would only matter beyond the 50cm mark)

A fairly flat area. All from the same spot. The idea is that any misses are from bad putts, not misreads etc. That said, it teaches you a lot about how much a ball moves when hit at the pace where it will just get to the hole.

Hitting them all from the same place makes it interesting for the greens keeper as by the end of a session you can feel small depressions where your feet are and the grass has browned off some.


you can fit 10 balls in the hole?? huh - never would have thought.

I have only ever been able to fit 8...depends how deep the cup is sunk in I guess.

[Moe Norman]

don't know if i'm qualified to jump in but i will.

i try and imagine the channel to the hole working from the ball to the hole and back. once i'm happy with my line i try and pick a spot on the green about 3 feet or so in front of my ball, i.e spike mark, leaf, darker or lighter shade of turf, just something that i can line my putt up with in reference to my actual line i want. once i'm happy with that i'll line up the mark or logo on the ball with that spot. if i aim to hit that spot then i know my putt is on the line that i wanted then all i have to worry about at address is the pace.

another good tip i got for those 3-6 footers was to really shorten the backswing to make sure less can go wrong. don't aim for the hole, aim for a spot on line to the hole and if you can hit that then you are on line anyway so long as you have read it right.

as i said i'm only a mug but that's what helps me alot, my line is usually fine, it's more reading the pace of the green that stuffs me up
I used to do the thing with lining up something close to the ball that is on the line I want, but then I would panic if there was nothing obvious to aim at, so I ditched it!

[markTHEblake]

First session go and hole 100 putts in a row from 10cm (yep, 10 cm, you read right).

my system is much easier, think i have mentioned it a few times on the forum :)
Just 100 putts from a putter length (about 100cm). Took me years to get the 100..... actually took me ages to get 10 in a row.

My old mate who taught me this, said "if you can hole 100 in a row from 3 foot, you can make one 6 footer"

whenever i have had the patience to do this I putt well. but its like trying to motivate yourself into doing pushups.....

[Toolish]

my system is much easier, think i have mentioned it a few times on the forum :)
Just 100 putts from a putter length (about 100cm). Took me years to get the 100..... actually took me ages to get 10 in a row.

My old mate who taught me this, said "if you can hole 100 in a row from 3 foot, you can make one 6 footer"

whenever i have had the patience to do this I putt well. but its like trying to motivate yourself into doing pushups.....

I used to do that. Go to 3 foot and try to hole 20, never could. Now in about 2 months doing this sytem once a week I have holed 100 from 1m. It is about a slow progression and building confidence. Thinking 'If I can hole 100 from 30cm, then 40cm is not much further so I should make 100 there too' and just keep building on it.

[Boonie]

[QUOTE=Toolish;219786]A fairly flat area. All from the same spot.

Hitting them all from the same place makes it interesting for the greens keeper as by the end of a session you can feel small depressions where your feet are and the grass has browned off some.
QUOTE]

'Interesting' is one way of saying it Toolish. If you did that on our practice putting green the super (and others) would be more than 'interested':wink:

[Bruce]

Alrighty - 100 putts from 10cm is done.

I assume the challenge changes a bit as you get further out.

[BrisVegas]

Alrighty - 100 putts from 10cm is done.

I assume the challenge changes a bit as you get further out.

doesn't count if you're making them on carpet at work Bruce.:roll:

[Bruce]

I'm WFH today (code for bludging) and I don't actually have any carpet in the house other than a strip of green stuff I got from Bunnings for putting purposes. It is nice and flat but I'm not sure what its' stimp rating would be.

So why wouldn't it count?

[kev]

I'm WFH today (code for bludging) and I don't actually have any carpet in the house other than a strip of green stuff I got from Bunnings for putting purposes. It is nice and flat but I'm not sure what its' stimp rating would be.

So why wouldn't it count?

Good point. Would one of those putting mats count for this exercise, or does the practice have to be on a green with slope?

[Toolish]

Only problem I can see with carpet is confirming it goes in. What are you using as a target.

And yeah...I didn't miss any putts until I got to 80cm...but started to get a lot harder from there!

[Bruce]

I'm using one of those Jack Newton putting partner things - with the popper turned off for now otherwise it might get a bit hairy.

[markTHEblake]

Alrighty - 100 putts from 10cm is done..

How is your back now?

the 100 in a row drill kills me.

My best is 170 odd, but once you get to 100 its easy :-)

[Bruce]

I had a stretch after every 20 - it was a while to be locked into position and I reckon I got a bit lazy with my setup from time to time just to get through it. That's OK for 10cm but will not be good enough later on.

[Jarro]

You're a machine Bruce

[Toolish]

My longest session was when I holed 100 from 10cm, then 100 from 20cm then 100 from 30cm...not how you are meant to do it following the program so I have since restarted, but 300 putts in a session sure made the back and hamstrings a bit tight!

[Jono]

I tried this drill on the carpet tonight using one of those metal putting cup. Thing that gets me is the boredom. After about 60 putts of same distance, I lose focus and concentration. So this might be a more of a mental challenge for me than my back not holding up.

Toolish, are you supposed to take your preshot routine for every putt? Or do you just stay in your stance and putt ball after ball?

[Toolish]

Jono...

Here is the bit that I hadn't got to yet. The boredom you experience will generally make you zone out and think of something else and then you have sunk 10 more putts before you sort of realise what is going on. You train through the boredom to get used to standing over a putt and not being anxious about it. Of course you can go too far and get sloppy, but that is the theory.

I step away each time, don't worry about reading it again, but step away and step back in and start the mental process again each time.

[Courty]

My longest session was when I holed 100 from 10cm, then 100 from 20cm then 100 from 30cm...not how you are meant to do it following the program so I have since restarted, but 300 putts in a session sure made the back and hamstrings a bit tight!

What about listening to some music? I've got an iPod (http://www.ozgolf.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9407) you can buy. ;) 8)

[3oneday]

Putt naked, see what it does to your boredom, might improve other things ;)

[markTHEblake]

I tried that but i kept moving the ball by accident.

[goughy]

Tripod!!

[Scottt]

Anyone got some hints or examples of putting routines (specifically the keys).

I have always been pretty consiatant @ 28-32 ppr hitting 8 or 9 greens. My putting has generally been a feature of my game.

While pre-putt routine is a very personal thing. This is what works for me:

1. Have a look at the general break of the green as I approach it from 20-30m away.

2. Mark and clean my ball. I always replace it with the plain white side pointing up. Your eye can see a straight line better than some alignment arrow on the siode of the ball.

3. Read the putt from behind the ball. I never read from behind the hole or beside the line because this justy creates doubt. It is more important to be confident abourt the line you choose than it is to pick the right line.

4. I select an intermediate target for anything over 10 feet, or any putt inside 10 feet where I have to give the hole away. Otherwise I just aim at a point on the cup or hole.

5. I approach the ball and take my stance and have a few practice strokes until I am happy that I have the pace. This can vary from 1 stroke to 5 or 6.

6. I align the putter with my right hand in the position where I hold the putter when I stroke the putt. My left hand is palm-down on my left thigh.

7. I add my left hand, take one last quick glimpse at the hole and stroke the putt. This stage rarely takes longer than a second or two.

[mikezone13]

As a very hot and cold putter I find that when I'm putting well sticking to routine is easy as it has become a habit. Then all of a sudden when another area of my game falls down I lose the concentration on my putting routine after a period of time and it's hard to get back again.

The main things for me are getting a feel for the speed while not in my putting stance, picking a spot to roll my ball over and a very small forward press to initiate the rocking back of my shoulders.

I know that if I get the pace of the greens early on I will typically have a good day, there's nothing worse than standing on a green with no idea of the pace. As the saying goes, it's very hard to miss a putt 6 feet wide for even the worst putter, but it's very easy to knock it 6 feet past or short of the hole.

[markTHEblake]

I have always been pretty consiatant @ 28-32 ppr hitting 8 or 9 greens. My putting has generally been a feature of my game..

bloody cheatin bastard

[markTHEblake]

I decided to practice my 3 foot drill tonight. failed at 10, then 5, then 1, thought here we go again, then made 100 not out. All I could think of in the 90's was Steve Waugh, but I made it. I'll admit no 100 wasn't the best stroke, but thats the point of the drill, not technique :-) The big test, what will happen tomorrow, if i can crack 34 putts I will be happy.

[v205]

Is putting stat a bit skewed given that a putt from 2 inches off the green doesn't count as a putt? Or is total putts viewed together with GIR to give the full picture.

Coz a low GIR can mate with a lower total putts easier etc?

[welshy]

have a look at this http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/putting/10626-progressive-putting-drill.html
Haven't tried it yet, makes sense and i will give it ago before next weekend, but love his ego comment :)