golfrewind.com

Here's the deal, I currently shoot great, everyone I play with and more so my group thinks I hit the ball GREAT!! and I know I do..

My drives are pretty good, straight and about 210-240 yards on an average, my irons are extremely accurate, I hit a 7 iron about 150-160 yards and my 90-20 yards out game, is great.. I use my trusty Vokey Spin milled wedge and pretty much always get on the green..

I am shooting mid to high 90's consistently, with a once in a while a 91-92, (my best was an 88)

Here is the crazy part about my game, I DO NOT! know what it is, but I CANNOT PUTT for the life of me.. I am 3-4 putting almost all the holes, YES! Its that crazy, I honestly feel if I can hone in my Putting skills, I would be in the 80's almost no problem. I know everyone says putting is where its at, and I agree, but my putting is not even average, its way below.

I have 3 putters at home and the current one I am using which believe it or not actually helped me ( Can you believe someone could of been worse? LOL ) is an odyssey long putter

2 ball.

While everyone goes to the driving range, I go to the putting range, I can line up 10 balls 3 feet from the hole and maybe make 5, MAYBE!

I have had TWO lessons from my local pro on putting, not with my current long putter but with my short putters, nothing seems to help me.

The reason I went with the long putter was because I COULD NOT get my wrists out of the action, the long putter forced me to get my wrists out, but its still not helping..

I really need some advice guys. Training tips? Even those gimmicks if you think they are worth it.

I know putting is a touchy thing to train on, I am just afraid I will never get it.

I am currently half way through the book, Golf is not a game of Perfect and I love it, but still don't think its going to help me out.

I laugh at when I play with my friends and they are shagging balls out of bounds left and right, I am hitting perfect shots, get to the green, 20 feet from the hole, and 3, or many times 4 putt and lose the hole

Lay it on me guys..

THANKS!!!

EDIT** I would like to add, that my speed is pretty good, its my aim, my 3 footers that I miss so often sits next to the hole, either 6 inches to a foot (Yep, that bad) My speed is good, my aim is off!

Are you trying to perfect a straight-back-straight-through stroke? or trying to perfect an arc stroke? If you are trying some combo of the two, I'd suggest devoting yourself to just one. Dave Pelz's Putting Bible is probably the biggest authority on the SBST stroke, and Stan Utley's Art of Putting is probably the authority on the arc stroke. It is probably worth checking both books out from the library and seeing which one appeals more to you.

I do the SBST stroke, and I can give you some good drills to work on that, but if you like the arc stroke, the drills I know aren't going to work for the arc stroke.

The design of the putter does some into play depending on what stroke you want to use. If the putter is heel-and-toe weighted (also known as heel-toe weighted, or face balanced), then it is easier to promote a SBST stroke. If a putter is heel balanced, it is easier to promote an arc stroke. Also, I don't know what the MOI of that odyssey putter is, but you want as large of an MOI as you get to help reduce the effects of mishits. That means you want as much mass as possible toward the outer edges of the putter face. Something like: TaylorMade Golf - Putters - Rossa Tourismo - Overview or http://www.heavyputter.com/store/pro...products_id=30 (you can find many other examples)

If you haven't tried it before, you might think about the arc based stroke. If you can hit pitches and full shots well, you might like the arc stroke better since Utley considers the putting stroke to be exactly the same as all the other strokes. I.e. every club uses the same stroke, just different objectives.

One thing to add, to improve your aim, pick out a spot just a foot or so in front of your ball and aim at that spot. There is always a discolored patch, or blade bending differently, or a healing pitch mark, or a scrap of leaf or something there. It is much easier to hit a target 6 to 16 inches in front of the ball than it is to hit a target 10 or 20 feet away. You might consider drawing a line on the ball to help this too.

Putting is all about confidence but building confidence comes from honing the skills and being calm in stressful conditions. Bignose has covered the skill portion but from the "sound" of your post, I wonder if your anxiety heightens negative thoughts whenever you get on the green. Example:

" I know putting is a touchy thing to train on, I am just afraid I will never get it.

I am currently half way through the book, Golf is not a game of Perfect and I love it, but still don't think its going to help me out."

These have a negative tone and may not be good for your confidence. Try to eliminate the negative thoughts about putting. I know, easier said then done but make small achievable goals, work on them, and try to harness the positive thoughts that come when you achieve each goal. Done right, your confidence will build.

Either use a ball that has them or put an alignment mark on the balls you use. I would say it has taken 4 to 5 strokes off a round for me.

alf brings up a good point. Confidence issues, and very related to them, are stress/nervousness issues. What you have to do is practice stress/nervous situations.

The best drill for this is the "x in a row" drill. x is usually some high number, like 40 or 50. What your goal is to do is to sink x putts in a row. Since you mention 3 feet is too far, start closer. Start close enough that you feel that you have at least an 80% confidence. If that is 2 feet or even 1 1/2 feet or even 1 foot, so be it. Then, promise yourself -- and you have to follow through -- but you aren't leaving the practice green until you sink 50 putts in a row or the golf course workers throw you out. This is a great drill to practice pressure situations since once you get to 40 in a row, you will start to put pressure on yourself since you are not going to want to start over. And, after 46 & 47 in a row, those next 3 are going to be hugely pressure packed. Once you can start sinking 50 in a row from your starting distance, back up 6 inches or a foot. And, keep doing 50 in a row. Once you start getting really far out, you'll probably have to start lowering your expectations at least a little. I.e. 40 in a row from 7 feet out 25 in a row from 10 feet out.

But, start with those short ones, build up a lot of confidence, and practice the pressure packed situations by doing 50 in a row. Oh, and you can do this drill no matter is you like the straight-back-straight-through stroke or an arc stroke.

Mate i know exactly how you feel, nothing "insert naughty word" more then getting on the green in reg and taking 3 putts even 4 on a bad day to make that birdie chance seem a distance mem.

Something i have been doing to sort mine and and are working is:

Locking the wrists and arms On a long putt i was not using my shoulders properly, so just as i go to hit the ball, my brain must think "Not going to make it" and i use my arms to hit the ball which is a disaster

Right palm I know use the thought to push through the ball with my right palm. Added bonus of this it stops me turns the putter and stops me pushing the ball off line

Keep putter head low Keep it low and smooth. If i dont, i find i end missing the centre of the putter which robs the putt of power

Long putts On long putts, setup to the ball for your pratice stroke, make sure you are looking AT the hole and not the ball. I read something, its today with a mental thing. If you can see the whole when looking at the ball, your brain is not reading it right and your more then likely going to come up short

A short putt never has a chance! Although you dont want to be goign 20 ft past etc ;)

In addition to all the good advice, I would say for simplicity reasons...

#1 Throw the long putter away.

#2 Employ the straight back and straight through stroke.

#3 Practice the SBST method by making "gates" by sticking tees into the green. The distance between the tees should be just a little more than the length of your putter blade. You'll feel what it's like to get the putter head moving in the right path.

In conjunction with #3, experiment putting cross-handed and see if it's easier to keep the putter-head inside the gates.

My putting ,too, has been an absolute disaster. This year I've gotten it going, by doing the following.
1. SBST stroke
2. Blade not a mallet putter, forces you to align putts more carefully
3. Jumbo oversized grip, to take hands & wrists out of play
4. Lock your left wrist
5. Swing from your shoulders, not arms
6. Practice the Phil Miick putting dril
Good luck!

slow your stroke down a little.

i know when i was having problems aiming all over the place i slowed my stroke right down and concentrated on straight back and straight through like the other guys were talking about,

whats your pre shot routine when putting?

After really thinking about it, I realize my problem, is not even my aim or my line.. Every putter I hit, right before impact, the head turns, I do not squarely strike the ball..

Also, I have no idea what an arc or straight through putt means??

And why should I throw my long putter out?? I would love to get a blade putter, right now that Is all I think about, learning one day to be able to hit a blade putter with accuracy. I don't like carrying my big goofy long putter around, but I feel I do better with it than the normal 34" putters..

maybe a putter like this one day?

Guerin Rife 2-Bar Blade 35"Center Shaft Putter Fleegolf - (eBay item 200164098822 end time Oct-24-07 13:40:57 PDT)

I heard the ripples on the front give a more true hit.. But again, every time i go through impact, the head of my putter is not square, it always turns on me, and forces me to miss the easiest putts.. When I play friends, and we are playing a friendly 2 bucks a hole game, I could be on the green in 2 on a small par 5, they would get there in 4, think they're scared? Not at all, they know I am horrible at putting. Its pathetic.. Next time I play I am going to really keep track of my putts per game.. Again I say its about 55 or so..

So whats the deal with an arc stoke?? Also, what about those putting tools?

If your problem is turning the putter head, you probably don't want to try an arc stroke. (It is exactly like it sounds, instead of the putter head being perpendicular to the target line the entire stroke, the head rotates open and closed.)

You can ingrain a SBST stroke using almost anything. Like Martini said, you're going to want to make some gates. This can be using tees, you can set two other clubs down. I like using balls as the best, actually. You are going to set them up like this

* * * * *

* <--- ball to be putted

* * * * *

Every * represents a ball. The height of the rows of balls should probably start out pretty wide because your stroke is in bad shape at the moment. Make the height around a half inch wider than your putter on each side to start. As you get better, you can make the height smaller. Then, practice taking the putter straight back and straight through the ball to be putted. You will know when you don't do that right, since you will hit one of the "gates". This is why I like using a row of balls, because it will be annoying to have to go and fetch it and put it back in its row. Thus, you will concentrate on straight back and straight through much more closely.

But, you can do this anywhere, which is nice. You can easily do this on the carpet or rug at home. At the beginning, you don't want to worry about speed at all -- just direction and the stroke.

You might also think about using a funky grip to take your wrists out of the equation. I like left hand low, but there are many others, such as the various claw and saw grips. Getting a large diameter grip may be an idea, too.

The gate drill will work, and if you couple it with the x in a row drill, you will improve. You just have to work at it.

Thanks!!! I think this will really help me out.. I will try it later on at home!!