# My putting tips...



## Big Hobbit (Nov 2, 2010)

Thought I'd share my practice routines, maybe there's something in there that may be of benefit to some of you.

First of all its pointless practicing if you basic set up is flawed, or your putter just doesn't suit you. The choice of putter is a personal thing so I'll leave that one up to everyone to find something they're comfortable with but just one pointer on making sure the putter you choose has its sweetspot where its marked, grip the putter half way down the grip between finger and thumb with the putter face facing you at about chest height. Tap the face of the putter with a finger right where the sweetspot is supposed to be. If the putter doesn't twist in your grip, and it moves away from you without oscillating it is balanced, and marked correctly for the sweetspot. Try tapping it towards the toe and you'll find out what the twisting motion is, and also how the putter behaves if you hit it off centre.

Your stance should be square to the line, with your eyes directly over the ball. A tip for making sure your eyes are over the ball. Take up your stance, addressing the ball as you normally do. Take a second ball out of your pocket and hold it between your eyes on the bridge of your nose. When you let go of the second ball it should strike the back of the ball you have addressed.

Next thing is find a flat part of the practice putting green, preferably about 3ft. Then its aim and stroke.

For aiming I use a '3 spot rule.' Spot 1 is the ball, spot 2 is about 1ft in front of the ball. Spot 3 is the hole. If you draw a straight line through all 3 spots and hit the ball along that line it will drop. But to hit the hole the stroke will have to be good, along the target line and preferably accelerating as it hits the ball. Having the putter square to the line is a practice/judgement thing and will be helped by on getting a putter with some decent alignment markings. If the backswing is too long you will decelerate into the back of the ball, waving the damn thing around like Zorro and his flashing blade. A tip for practicing a shorter backswing, and will give you a stroke that accelerates into the back of the ball. Stick as tall tee into the ground about a foot back from the ball. If on your backswing you keep knocking the tee over you're taking the putter back too far. The shorter the backswing, the more you'll accelerate into the back of the ball.

Once you've got the ability to aim consistently, and hit the target, you can then go onto practicing various putting 'games' like 'round the clock.' From 6ft place a ball at 2,4,6,8,10,12 o'clock to the hole. One of the added benefits of putting from around the hole like this is you'll have different grains along the different lines to the hole.

For swinging putts, with only one break, pick an imaginary hole equivalent to the break of the putt and aim at that. A few looks at the real hole to gauge the power required then concentrate on hitting through the line to the imaginary hole. Treat it as a '3 spot rule' straight putt. For putts with two breaks, consider it as 2 putts. One gauging the first break, and one gauging the second break. There's no easy method to give you for this other than make sure your basics are right, and practice learning how to judge the putts.

And finally a tip for fast, downhill, putts. These can be really difficult, especially trying to hit it softly whilst maintaining a smooth steady swing. I use a 'fault' mentioned earlier that allows me to swing a little harder but hit the ball a little softer. When addressing the ball line it up more towards the toe of the putter. Some of the power will be lost in the twisting motion as it strikes the ball but it will allow you to be a little firmer with the putt. It is one you'll have to practice a fair bit to get the hang of but it is worth perservering.

When I get to the club before a round my putting practice consists of about 10 short putts to sort out my aiming. Then a few swinging ones to get the break, and finally about 6 long ones to get the feel of distance. The reason I do the long ones last is thats what I expect most of in the first few holes.

My record for yesterday included two misses from inside 4ft but only 27 putts. It works for me.

At the end of the day, all you need is good basics and plenty of practice. Good luck.


----------



## garyinderry (Jun 3, 2011)

if i dont make any 3 putts in a round im happy enough. i tend to have quite alot of makeable par putts. its depending on these to drop wether i have a good round or not. some days im hot, others not ! its a confidance thing really.


----------



## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

I do pretty much everything Hobbit described. The part he described about finding the sweet spot on the putter's face is good, important stuff. 

A good rule of thumb is that a cheap putter that sinks putts for the golfer is better than an expensive one that misses. I speak from experience on this one. 

I have always believed that being able to hit a "straight" putt is paramount to putting well. If the golfer can't hit a straight putt, or is off just a little, their score card will take some abuse. All putts are straight, to an aim point that is not necessarily the hole every time. Hobbit uses his "3 spot rule". Me, I use a dime 3 feet in front of the ball,, and practice rolling the ball over it on a level surface. When hitting an actual putt, I just imagine that dime being on my aim line. 

Another thing I do, is I check out the condition of the area about a 1-1/2 feet around the hole. Since the ball will be rolling at a slower pace than when I hit it, it will be more effected by the green's conditions in that immediate area. Ever had a putt roll straight up to the hole, then at the last second veer off right, or left? 

I also spend time practicing on reading greens. 

In the end, all a golfer can do is hit a straight putt to a (hopefully correct) chosen target point, at the correct speed. After that, Ma Nature, and the imperfections of the green take over, It's been stated countless times that the golfer can do everything right, but do to things beyond the golfer's control, the ball won't find the bottom of the hole on some putts. Putting is just one of the games, in the game of golf.


----------

