I need putting help!

[natep]

My putting sucks. I feel like I can't make the same stroke twice. I'm confused about what people mean when they talk about a shoulder stroke.

Do they mean the sternum stays still and the shoulder joints make the stroke?

Or do they mean keep the armpits closed and tilt the upper torso?

I feel like I putt better without moving my shoulders independently (torso tilt) but I can't keep my head still when I do this. It wobbles slightly in like a counter-balance motion of the putterhead.

Or should I blend these motions together?

 

[Chip Putterman]

First, you need to make sure you have a putter that fits. From my experience I would say 85% of amateurs use an ill fitting putter.

 

[natep]

By that do you mean length?

I use an old school Anser 2. About 36" from the bottom of the sole to the top of the grip.

I grip it in a different place for every putt!!

Sometimes I like to choke up on it, sometimes not.

That's how bad it is.

 

[spktho]

I bought Geoff Mangum's ebook Optimal Putting a couple weeks ago after seeing his Youtube videos. It has helped free up the stroke a lot for me.

 

[softconsult]

Sounds like that putter could be too long for you. There are many places to
try different putters. I am not recommending one model over another, but it
is worth considering/trying a high MOI putter, which might fit better with a
straight back / straight through pendulum stroke. It will swing back and forth
and tend to want to stay square. Blade putter could be less compatible with
a pendulum style stroke.

Buy a book on putting to gain a better understanding of the different stroke
approaches and technique.

 

[ZAP]

You need to do an unbiased review of your putting. Decide why you miss putts. Is your speed bad? Do you miss the line?

It was the middle of last year when I did this and realized I did not know how to aim. People thought I missed short putts because of nerves or whatever. It was because I had no idea how to aim. I would make longer putts because my speed was always good and the ball was finishing around the hole.

Do you have one of those laser levels to make a line on the floor? See if you can putt down that line. I always missed left of the line until I trained myself to aim down the line.

Just my .02

 

[natep]

I usually miss left. And I miss the sweetspot toward the heel often.

I've been hitting the ground before the ball sometimes too.

When I can hit the sweetspot I'm usually ok. But it happens too infrequently.

I feel like the putter wobbles all over during the stroke.

I have Dave Pelz's book but it hasnt been much help.

I have used a string suspended above the target line and even when I try to make a SBST stroke it's an arc.

I think I do have a laser level. I'll try it out.

 

[ZAP]

Do not be afraid to try stuff. As some have said perhaps the putter is just too long. Your mishits would indicate that it is a little bit long.

I used the setting on my laser level which made a line. It was kind of embarrassing that I could not hit a putt down that line.

 

[spktho]

Like I said above this helped me a lot, just letting gravity drive the downstroke alone.

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Brian sorry if this is against the rules.

 

[SteveT]

First you must envisage what you are attempting to do when putting.

I believe you are somewhat taller, and with your 36" putter your pendular stroke radius could be about 54" .. from putter sole to where you rotate your arms. Since you hold the top 10" of putter handle, you are stroking with an arm radius of about 24" and a putter radius about 30" ... for a total stroke radius of about 54". Do you follow that??

That means for a 10" length backstoke, your hands move only about 4 1/2" .... and that is your personal "control radius arc length". However, with a 10" backstroke, you swing arc is only about 10º, so in effect your putter is moving quite horizontal in the last 2-3" of the stroke into Impact. All you need do is come in square to the ball in the last couple of inches .. and everything else is virtually irrelevant, providing you have developed 'touch'.

Think about that for a while and even pick up your putter, at home, and look at the putter head and then your hands as you familiarize yourself with your stroke mechanics. Do that for about a week and then see what happens to your putting stroke on the greens.

 

[natep]

I don't even know how to power the stroke anymore.

Left shoulder? Both? Tilting ribcage? Elbows?

Does the sternum stay still? Can my head move?

It's not like I'm 3-putting every other hole, but typically I'll be facing a 15-20 ft. birdie putt and misshit it and miss the hole by 3 feet and the ball never even has a chance to go in.

I don't know how to explain it. I have no confidence. It's like I just spazz out in the middle of the stroke.

 

[SteveT]

Hey, natep .... why not just regress back to the 1960s, when Palmer, Nicklaus and Player were burning up the greens with their wrist pivot putting strokes ...!!!!

Just press your upper arms against your still chest and simply flip your wrists and hands to swing the putter from a very shortened swing radius. That should eliminate all your "whole body" putting yips and settle you down. You can work on your 'touch' from this compact positioning. Whole-body putting just involves too many moving body parts ... and with wrist putting, your don't need a big backstroke, just a short tapping hit will suffice ... believe it.

One warning .. don't use a mallet or offset putter ... use a heel-shafted 8802 style putter like Mickelson uses, or a bullseye putter, or any simple old putter with the shaft in line with the small putter head ... no need for a heel-toe weighted putter either. If you don't have one, go to a second hand sports equipment shop and you may find something for $5. Put a new thin grip on your find and don't worry that it doesn't look new ... that will spook your playing partners as they struggle with their $300 ego-toys.

 

[suns11111]

You need a putting timeout. Or do everything the opposite, never practice putting to a hole, when playing no practice swing, dont care about how the stroke looks (take it outside for bs or inside). When hitting your putt look directly back (instead of hurry to see if you ball goes toward the hole).......................why opposite....you've been out of routine for awhile. Were golfers. We like change not routine.....
JeffS

 

[natep]

Yes I think I'm over-analyzing and mentally defeating myself at this point.

"Just be the ball, Danny."

I was using a bullseye a few weeks back and did OK with it.

I like the idea of Mangum's gravity stroke, but the problem is the greens where I typically play are pretty slow. If I tried that gravity drop outside of 10 feet I'd have to pull the club back to parallel with the ground.

 

[SteveT]

natep .... If you attempt the wrist pivot putting method, you can control putter head energy with wrist action, and forget about gravity which is very weak for short stroke putting.

I prefer to use a heel-shafted blade putter over the bullseye ... better putter face control.

 

[natep]

I have an old Wilson George Low blade that I used to use. I would hit that on the heel too and miss left. I used to miss the sweetspot so much that I started lining up every putt on the toe and hitting off the toe just to have some consistency. I did ok with that as well, but not great.

I have tried the wrist stroke before. I didnt really give it a chance for very long. But thats the stroke they used to use on the old substandard greens, and I play on slow greens as well.

I've never been a good putter, but I'm really tired of sucking now.

 

[danattherock]

Nate,

Get a lesson from someone with a SAM putting lab. I did this with David Orr and Glen Coombe last year and it was the best thing ever. Revealed faults in my stroke, my aim bias, putter specs being off, etc..

Get on Geoff Mangum's website and read the "Tips" section. Tons of great articles there. I also bought the $10 e-book "Optimal Putting". The book by Geoff was printed and sold out in 2008. Hardback copies now (if you find them) are $200+. The e-book is all the info of course. A guy sells them on Ebay and he is in SD. Also, you can get them from Geoff's website.

Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone - Putting Instruction ZipTips

One of my favorite articles is below. I used a 36.25" putter for years. Used a 33" Yamada the other day, best I have ever putted in my life. I am rethinking the length and my current custom Sunset Beach putter being made will be 34.25" as opposed to the 36.25" I had previously decided on.

Find the below article under Geoff's "Tips" section. It is in the "Equipment" section. I tried to put a link below, but my work computer is not allowing me.

"The Long and Short of Putter Length and Lie"

My new putter build...

SSB Masonboro -----> Bald Head 001 proto begins....

I read a great book recently I found on Amazon. Dr. Craig Farnsworth's "The Putting Prescription". Tons of info on grip, stance, stroke, aim, putter fit, etc...

One thing that has helped my putting. A more forward ball position, flat left wrist, not using my wrist in the putting stroke. This has allowed me to gain more distance control than ever. Wrist bending makes every stroke different unless you can time it exactly the same. I couldn't.

Don't listen to Steve!


-Dan

 

[natep]

Thanks Dan I'm checking it out right now.

 

[SteveT]

One thing that has helped my putting. A more forward ball position, flat left wrist, not using my wrist in the putting stroke. This has allowed me to gain more distance control than ever. Wrist bending makes every stroke different unless you can time it exactly the same. I couldn't.

Don't listen to Steve!

If you can't control your wrist action in a simple putting stroke, how can you control your wrists in a full-blooded golf swing???

Flat left wrist, right bent wrist ......

 

[danattherock]

Just yanking your chain man. I didn't even read all your post. Just funnin ya.


-Dan