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I seem to have gone downhill over the past several rounds in terms of my putting. I used to usually 1 or 2-putt, with only a couple or a few 3-putts per round.

However, I seem to feel very tense when I address the ball, sort of like half-yips, half OVERconfidence. A STRANGE combination, huh? Well, that's what it feels like.

Especially when it comes to otherwise gimmes; not technical gimmes, but gimmes in the sense that on the practice green, or under ordinary circumstances, making the putt would be trivial. For example, I had a 4-foot straight shooter putt for bogey the other day. Heading to the green with putter in hand, I was thinking, 'oh, this'll be a piece of cake.' However, when I got there, I actually felt my legs sort of shaking, and all this negativity flowed through my brain, wiping out any trace of possibility of making the putt. I contorted horribly when I released and PUSHED THE 4-FOOT PUTT TO THE LEFT OF THE HOLE (note I am left-handed). I was EXTREMELY angry and frustrated.

Lately, I have just been awful in putting, oftentimes miscalculating the line so much from any-distance putts that it may go more than 5 feet off-line!!!

Any tips? I am left-handed and my dominant eye is my left.

robertg, sounds like your sub-conscious is telling you that you are not lined up correctly and there is conflict between your stroke and your sub-conscious in trying to putt. If your alignment is good then check to see if your stroke is twisting the putter face during the stroke by useing some type of track.
Gary

Borrow a belly and try it for a few rounds. It'll help keep your hands and wrists a little quieter through the stroke and just might translate back to your usual flatstick. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a teacher. I'm not a pro. Maybe some of the guys here can give a better solution.

This is exactly what I think the problem is. As suggested by most, I first try and read the green, then I take a couple practice strokes, then I line up the PUTTER HEAD square (perpendicular) to the target line. Lastly, I line my feet up and take the stroke.

Perhaps breathing exercises and rational thinking would help. I have been doing some cognitive therapy lately, perhaps that will help. Some of you may know what cognitive work is, it 'corrects' your thoughts and thought processes by really querying them and asking if they are correct. I.e. the thought 'I MUST make this putt for bogey'. That's a bad, irrational, misinformed, and just plain wrong thought. A correction might be something like. 'I don't have to make this putt, even if I don't, I can still get double-bogey, and save the round.', similar to previous suggestions... just as an example.

dbl, I think a belly putter would really help me. As i am looking for a new putter, perhaps I'll go to the store and ask to take a belly putter out, then I'll end up buying a standard-length one.

Do you use a line on your ball to aim your putts? That might help restore confidence in your alignment and setup.

Nope, I should probably draw one. I just don't like the idea of writing on my ProV1Xs! No, but seriously, I will do that.

I bought one of the inexpensive ball stencils (Line-a-putt maybe?) from Golf Galaxy for a few bucks. It makes a big difference knowing that your putter is aligned with the correct path. Speed is pretty much the only concern I have while standing over a putt.

I have read that changing grip thickness can help your putting - thicker grips help to reduce hand action?

roberg everyone has given you some great tips I do not know if this tip will work for you but when my putting goes south I will use the following to get my confidence back. I will place both index fingers parallel to the shaft and spread my hands just a bit this seems to help me get less hand action and more arm/shoulder action then I will slowly go back to a normal putting grip as my confidence regains hope this and all the tips helps.

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

The thing is, I don't think it's a problem of too much hand action, I think it's mostly mental, as I have this shaky, unsteady feeling in my body as I am about to putt.

Go through the same thing play occasionally with the owner of the company I work for and I will get this uneasy unsteady feelings at times best thing is just take a deep breath and try to relax as best you can good luck.

Thanks Halk. Yep, I get that feeling even if it's just me.

Do you have a set routine for putting? If not, you should find one. The more your game is a matter of routine, the less you'll doubt yourself. I promise!

Spend time at the putting green...use one ball...start at 1 foot, yes one foot...make 3 in a row...move back a foot make 3 in a row, etc. If you miss go back to the start. Do it till you can go to 5 feet and back. That will cure your uneasiness.

And a routine does help.

Anxiety is the anticipation of a situation you may not be able to control.
A routine and practice build confidence to control the situation.
Good putters feel like they can make just about any putt.
Good putters miss two-footers when they get overconfident and lose focus...they're still good putters, they just lost focus and missed a putt.
On short putts start looking for a particular blade of grass or specific spot, not just this or that side of the hole.

Practice = confidence = no yips.

Shade

Very good advice. I was putting a *BIT* better yesterday with my longer putts, but don't recall any short 3/4-footers.

Still very frustrating, with 52 putts...

EDIT: Take off 20 putts, and I'll be in low 100s!