I'm pretty good at getting those 10~20 footers to 1~3ft of the hole. However, 2 putts from 3ft is my norm. What should I do to nail these shorties? It's not only embarrassing, but very detrimental to my score.
BTW, what I found is that using the same method, I have little alignment error for long putt. But the closer it gets, the more alignment error it gets too. What's up with this?
Also, I seem to miss more to the left than right (for short ones).
I'm pretty good at getting those 10~20 footers to 1~3ft of the hole.
On line? Or to the left, like the short ones? You ever make the longer ones? If everything's going left then obviously your pulling. If that's the case then you might try this. On those shorties choose a specific blade of grass on the lip to putt to unless of course you have to give the hole away, in which case you still putt to a specific blade of grass (should be a rarity on 3-footers)...forget about the hole, pick a much smaller target and execute with acceleration and conviction.
stroke mechanic flaws are maginifed the closer you get to the hole. You can be a little off from 20 feet and still get the ball within 1-2 foot, but if your standing 3-6 feet away and you have a 4" target and you mis hit or use bad aim its going to feel worse. Best thing I have found for the shorter putts, and longer putts is to either put a line on your ball or line up the logo on the line your wanting to putt on. Once you get over the ball all you have to do is send the ball down the line you picked, if the ball goes in great, if it doesn't you still may of hit it perfect for your line you picked.
On line? Or to the left, like the short ones? You ever make the longer ones? If everything's going left then obviously your pulling. If that's the case then you might try this. On those shorties choose a specific blade of grass on the lip to putt to unless of course you have to give the hole away, in which case you still putt to a specific blade of grass (should be a rarity on 3-footers)...forget about the hole, pick a much smaller target and execute with acceleration and conviction.
Shade
My long putts are good enough and don't favor either side of the hole.
It's the short putt that drives me nuts. It's either mental or alignment technique I believe.
Just curious, but do you practice the 3 footers? If you spend 20 minutes putting each evening, 10 minutes of that time should be dedicated to making those 3 footers. They're not gimmee's.
Some good things to remember on short putts -- keep your head still. Make a confident stroke, with good pace. Accelerate through the putting stroke, visualizing the ball going into the back of the cup. Just free your putting stroke, and by that I mean nothing more than making it a point to focus on one thing and one thing only -- hitting the ball exactly where you intend to hit it on the putter face. If you do that, the ball will go exactly where your putter is aiming, which is hopefully at the center of the cup (on straight putts).
One of the best ways to become a better short-range putter is putting to a wooden tee (instead of the cup) on a practice green. You're narrowing your focus. If you're hitting the tee, the ball will certainly go in the hole on a regular putt. Even if you're brushing the tee with the ball on either side, most likely the ball will still be in the hole. Condensing your focus to a smaller target will enhance your confidence. Suddenly, that cup will look twice the size it normally does.
stroke mechanic flaws are maginifed the closer you get to the hole. You can be a little off from 20 feet and still get the ball within 1-2 foot, but if your standing 3-6 feet away and you have a 4" target and you mis hit or use bad aim its going to feel worse.
I didn't realize this! I thought there's nothing wrong with my putting mechanism. Then maybe all I have is good speed control but bad alignment for either long or short putts. Come to think of it. I actually didn't align to precisely for long putt as my goal is only to get the ball within 3 ft. But I did try to align carefully for short putts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by viper1314
Best thing I have found for the shorter putts, and longer putts is to either put a line on your ball or line up the logo on the line your wanting to putt on. Once you get over the ball all you have to do is send the ball down the line you picked, if the ball goes in great, if it doesn't you still may of hit it perfect for your line you picked.
I have the device to mark the ball but rarely used it. I'll start experimenting more with it for short putts. Thanks!
Just curious, but do you practice the 3 footers? If you spend 20 minutes putting each evening, 10 minutes of that time should be dedicated to making those 3 footers. They're not gimmee's.
You're right... I didn't practice 3 footers much. It's an ego thing I guess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PA PLAYA
Some good things to remember on short putts -- keep your head still. Make a confident stroke, with good pace. Accelerate through the putting stroke, visualizing the ball going into the back of the cup. Just free your putting stroke, and by that I mean nothing more than making it a point to focus on one thing and one thing only -- hitting the ball exactly where you intend to hit it on the putter face. If you do that, the ball will go exactly where your putter is aiming, which is hopefully at the center of the cup (on straight putts).
One of the best ways to become a better short-range putter is putting to a wooden tee (instead of the cup) on a practice green. You're narrowing your focus. If you're hitting the tee, the ball will certainly go in the hole on a regular putt. Even if you're brushing the tee with the ball on either side, most likely the ball will still be in the hole. Condensing your focus to a smaller target will enhance your confidence. Suddenly, that cup will look twice the size it normally does.
Thanks for the wonderful advises here. I'll be more serious about short putts and practice as suggested. On carpet I likely will try to hit another ball straight 3 ft away to make sure it's straight.
Think I'm having a paradigm shift from the advises given here.
practice em! haha, but seriously, if your looking for a drill or something, take four balls, put them on the four sides of the hole at 1-3 feet and just make as many of them as possible, try to make an accelerating stroke and KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN. on that short of putts, i think it is ok to hit em a bit firmer and the break out, unless it does have a huge slope in which case, you will have to play the break somewhat. but yea, just pick a little spot in front of your ball that will be your starting line, and just trust it, it might not feel right but it will be. and like i said, keep your head down, and nail as many 1-3 footers in that drill as you can to get your confidence up.
After some practicing, I still think it's due to more alignment errors the closer it gets; or that I unintentionally applied different alignment method for long and short putts. It's possible that with long putt, I rely more on "feel" or general sense instead of visual alignment. But when I get close, feel is no longer accurate enough but my visual alignment is bad. This is likely why I have pretty good rate of draining 10~20 footers but miss the 3 footers just as much.
After bending down more to ensure that my eyes are not inside the ball or putting line, this visual alignment error now seems to dramatically reduced. I'll be trying to ingrain this posture to both short and long putt so my putting can be consistent.
I used to have your problem... My coach gave me a drill and it planted confidence in my head... I dont have any problems now.. Set up 3 - 5 feet from the hole. Go around in a circle around the hole using 12 hours of the clock. Start at 12, drop 4 balls, make 3 of 4 and move on. It makes you learn how to knock them under pressure too. If you make 2 of the 3 and need to make the 4th to move on it really helps. You have no idea how many hours I've spent stuck at 4oclock on my drill or 6 oclock... Its crazy!!
Could also be mental. If you find yourself hitting the three footers on the practice green but not on the course, that would be my guess. That would cause tension. Try a looser grip.
Try the Phil Mickelson drill: line up 10 balls in a clock-like circle and go around hitting the 3-footers until you knock in 50 in a row. By the end of the day- you will become automatic from that range.
Could also be mental. If you find yourself hitting the three footers on the practice green but not on the course, that would be my guess. That would cause tension. Try a looser grip.
I think it's half-half. I don't do that well on practice green either but usually after some practice and adjustment can improve it. Making sure my left eye is right above the ball seems to help. Next time I'll try a more relaxed grip and see how it does. Thanks!
Since the visual is such a large part of aim, I practice with a chalk line on a straight putt from time to time, 2-5 feet.
I also use a line on the ball, and I drew a line down the middle of my 2-ball putter. They have all helped. I think the alignment practice has helped the most.
September 12th, 2006, 11:01 PM
Shade
Linear Mode
Similar Threads
