Putting: Tips and Tricks for that other game...

[kc8kir]

Made some great putts last time I was out, but I can't help feeling they were anything more than luck.

Can we start a thread for tips and tricks for putting?

Here is what I have found so far that works and doesn't work (for me):

Works:

1) Paul Runyan putting grip with hands at 45 degrees - promotes very little face action.

2) Aiming Spot - ahead of ball about 5 inches, or on short putts, about 2 inches in front of the cup. Encourages line and acceleration.

3) Brian Manzella's tip on swinging the shaft back and forth on a straight plane. One of the easiest and most effective tips I've ever gotten. Very easy to see, feel, and check even while playing.

4) Pick up the putter head prior to the stroke - to avoid the mistake of dragging the putter - my biggest putting fault

5) Examine the last 2 feet and the cup cut angle - I always forget this, then kick myself when a perfect put bends the wrong way at the last minute.

Doesn't Work:

1) Line on the ball - this just doesn't work for long putts. Maybe short putts, but on long putts it is always off when I stand up to putt it (for me).

Still Undecided:

1) Spiderman / Pool Shark Green Reading - I'm talking about actually getting down to the level of the green and reading it (Camillo V. style). Yeah it looks cool, but I'm not convinced it helps yet.

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I'd really appreciate tips on reading greens, especially grain, and lag putts. Maybe I just need someone to point it out to me, but I can never spot the "shiny" side!

 

[kc8kir]

Btw, I'm still waiting for the Manzella guide to side-saddle putting. Sam Snead was a genius and apparently Brian has personal experience putting lights-out with that method!

 

[Ripper]

Best putter I've ever seen putts side-saddle. Every time I borrow his putter results are better than standing sideways. One of these days I'll probably make the switch. Anything is better than 36+ putts a round.

 

[bcoak]

Putting Tips From the Master - WSJ.com

Fun article on Putting from Jackie Burke

 

[Richie3Jack]

Some of my tips:

1. Much like the golf swing, there is no one way to putt. Nicklaus, Tiger, Crenshaw, Billy Casper, Bobby Locke, etc. were all great putters who all used very different putting styles. So much like a certain teacher who has a show with a certain former NBA player on Monday Nights on the Golf Channel and teaches everybody the same golf swing, doing that for putting is equally foolish.


2. The D-Plane is alive and well in putting. Concern yourself more about the angle of the putterface in relation to the target at address and impact. Stroke path is important, but often overrated.


3. Learn to understand the 'fall line' and how the topography of the green tends to effect the putt. A lot of times it's easy to get fooled on the break by just reading the putt from behind the ball because the hole may not be cut properly and that can cause an illusion of it breaking one way when it actually breaks the other way. But, if you understand the fall line you can be much more accurate with your reads. Furthermore, understanding that downhill putts tend to break more and uphill putts tend to break less because of the velocity the ball is traveling.


4. Junk Pelz's 17" past the cup for speed theory. It's garbage and will cause you to hit everything too hard.


5. Head swivel. Learn it and execute it and you'll see an improvement with alignment and speed/touch.






3JACK

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

1) Line on the ball - this just doesn't work for long putts. Maybe short putts, but on long putts it is always off when I stand up to putt it (for me).

While i admit the line on the ball doesn't work for some people (at all) the reason why the above most likely happens to you is because what you see on the ground from behind the ball when lining up the ball will be VASTLY visually different when you are over the ball.

This is why i teach people to putt in "stages."

1st stage = diagnose the break
2nd stage = pick a spot that you are going to aim at after figuring out the break and aim ball at that spot with logo on ball or "line"
3rd stage = focus on stroke and how big of a stroke u will need for that particular putt

If you are at stage 3 and doubting stage 1 or 2; start over. The key is to COMMITT after stage 2. Realize that once you are in stage 3 the line/spot/etc will look radically different than when you were aiminig it when you were looking at it from a completely different position.

 

[Slicey McDuff]

I agree with Jim, marking a line on my ball and lining it up with where I want to hit the ball to, then standing over the putt and COMMITING to it, no matter how wrong it looks, has paid off big time for me.

I find I feel like I am going to hit it waaaaay left but I never do.

My 2c

 

[kc8kir]

I agree about committing to the line Jim. What I have found however is that even if you line up that line on the top with your intended line, if the putt is at all on a sideslope, the resulting line when viewed from the top is dead WRONG because of the way the golf ball sits on the slope. I'm still struggling to explain this one, but I have experienced it. I think it's a visual thing when lining up the line on the ball on a sloped surface. Otherwise, I'm quite comfortable with the fact that for me, the correct line is always left of the hole (actual compared to where I would see it from above).

Also, the ball has a tendency to sit into the surface of the green a certain way, which can throw off the line enough to miss the putt.

I always trust spot putting. But that line... arrrghhh... it moves!

 

[curtisj76]

I use a line and like it. The only thing, like others have mentioned, is that sometimes it looks dead wrong looking below. Sometimes I'll end up changing my aim and I'll miss it. Most of the time it would have went in if I would have trusted the line.

 

[curtisj76]

3. Learn to understand the 'fall line' and how the topography of the green tends to effect the putt. A lot of times it's easy to get fooled on the break by just reading the putt from behind the ball because the hole may not be cut properly and that can cause an illusion of it breaking one way when it actually breaks the other way. But, if you understand the fall line you can be much more accurate with your reads. Furthermore, understanding that downhill putts tend to break more and uphill putts tend to break less because of the velocity the ball is traveling.

How/where do you learn the "fall line"? Gracias

 

[curtisj76]

Anyone use a chalk line?

 

[Richie3Jack]

Anyone use a chalk line?

I do. Excellent, old school training device. I don't use a line on the ball either (studies show it really doesn't work for most golfers). To find the fall line, look at the last 3 feet around the cup. Now, look for the most straight, dowhill line. That's your 'fall line.'

You can then break it down like a clock. 12 o'clock is the top of the fall line which goes straight and downhill. 6 o'clock is the bottom of the fall line, which goes straight and uphill. Thus, 3 o'clock goes 'pure' right to left. 9 o'clock goes 'pure' left-to-right. And for good measure, 8 o'clock goes uphill and left-to-right. And say 11 o'clock goes downhill and left-to-right.

Once you get the Breakmaster, which figures the fall line for you, you'll probably understand it better.

Where it gets a bit tough is on the double breakers. You have to gauge how much the first break will effect the putt. The first break won't break nearly as much as the break towards the hole because the velocity of the ball is faster at the first break (thus you're sort of 'hitting thru that break') and is slower as it gets near the hole.

For instance, yesterday I played and on the 2nd hole and had a 20 foot birdie putt uphill. I read the fall line and determined I was at about 7 or 8 o'clock. Then when I read the putt from behind the ball, the cup was 'cut crooked' and it looked like I was more at 5 o'clock. But, I knew by reading the fall line that I was at about 7 or 8 o'clock and the cup was cut in a poor fashion. I also knew that because I was at 7 or 8 o'clock, the putt was somewhat uphill and it wasn't going to break that much vs. if I was at 11 o'clock because that's downhill. I then drained the putt.

Then on the 5th hole I read the fall line and I was at about 4 o'clock (uphill, right-to-left). But the initial putt had a definite left-to-right break. So I played for a I played the putt a little left of the hole because it was going to slight to the right initially and then break back to the left, and I made the putt.




3JACK

 

[needham]

would have went in if I would have trusted the line.

TRUST THE LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


you do this and putts go in


+1000000000000 curtis

the viewing angle has changed, not the line you pick.

TRUST IT......truer words cannot be spoken

 

[curtisj76]

Once you get the Breakmaster, which figures the fall line for you, you'll probably understand it better./QUOTE]

On it's way from UPS, can't wait. Gonna go to the local hardware store for the chalk line tomorrow. I assume they are fairly cheap. Need to work on the 3 to 5 foot range REALLY bad.

 

[curtisj76]

What would be the benefits be between a chalk line and an elevated string line? In my mind they would both accomplish the same thing. No?

 

[Richie3Jack]

What would be the benefits be between a chalk line and an elevated string line? In my mind they would both accomplish the same thing. No?

I think so. Chalkline *might* tick off the greenkeeper, but usually that stuff washes away in a few days. String line *might* be a little harder to get perfectly accurate. Although, with the string line you can understand how the ball reacts to the fall line. Not just reading the putt, but how to use the gravity from the fall line to get the putt on line and let it roll to the cup. Tough to see that in action with a chalkline.

An example of that is to find the fall line with your Exelys Breakmaster. Then stick the elevated string line on there. To make sure it's right on the fall line, hit some putts on that fall line and see if it's about as straight of a putt as you can hit.

Now that you've established the fall line, go to about 2 o'clock in the fall line position. Hit a putt, but try to hit the ball so it lands on the fall line. And if you have a decent speed, it will 'catch' onto the fall line and then gravity from the fall line will take the ball to the cup. You can really see that with the elevated string line.



3JACK

 

[puttmad]

re chalk lines

Go and buy a cheap builder's laser level (about $20-30) ......

They come with their own tripod, so you can use them anywhere without leaving a line or marks, even on your carpet at home....

 

[curtisj76]

I bought a chalk line and chalk this morning for like 12 bucks total. It may be the least expensive "training aid" that actually may work. Even my 3 year old son was putting better with it.