# putting stroke



## sdoowregit (Feb 16, 2010)

Hi, new here so I have not researched this but wanted some opinions.

I am 44 and recently started playing golf again for fun. I was a scratch player in high school but gave it up because I was burned out.

I have played for fun on and off through the years but am a lot more serious as of late.

I have new equipment and average about 80...........I hit the ball better than I ever have but my scoring is not there yet.

Question........I have been experiencing with putting strokes.......I have tried the long slow smooth pendulum type, and recently started with a much shorter back stroke and deliberate accelation through the ball.........especially 8 foot and in............what are your opinions on these strokes? It seems like the shorter stroke allows for less error.

I have taken a few lessons and polished up so I am hitting the ball pretty good but my short game is hurting........any drills that would get me up to speed for putting and chipping?

Thanks in advance.


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

I struggle with putting too. I've been taught to use a pendulum stroke. I've been doing too much experiementing and my putting absolutely sucks in comparson to others. What I just started to do is the short stroke with a long follow through and this appears to have improved my leg putts but one time does not say I found the fix.

Good to have you on the forum. Join us more :thumbsup:


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## Surtees (Sep 11, 2007)

Yes this is an area that I trying to get right also I have gone away from the pendulum swing for putts longer then say about 2-3 foot and gone with what I think is the more aggressive shorter back stroke and deliberate accelation through the ball and this seem to be work well even more so for long putts I may still 2 putt on say a 15 foot putt but I am getting a lot closer to the pin with this method. I think it is a lot easy to judge how hard to hit it with this style of putting, but I am still trying to get this right too. This is just what I am doing.

As for chipping I'd give two piece of advice practise, practise, practise and maybe look at getting lesson to focus on your short game.

Welcome to the forum also.


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## Up North (Jul 3, 2008)

putting is usually one of the strengths of my game, I say usually because on certain days you'd never think that. But several years ago I switched to the pendulum type stroke from the short backstroke and really concentrate on keeping the putter moving in a straight line well beyond my ball. Keeping the wrists, arms, and shoulders in one seamless motion is key. 

A couple years ago for whatever reason I started to waver a bit, couldn't follow that imaginary straight line. Then I happen to be messing with some putters at Austad's Golf one day and found that when I used a putter with a jumbo grip my ability to stay on line was not a problem. So I switched grips on my putter, put the Winn jumbo grip on and the putter has been money again. One day while talking to a club pro he mentioned that the bigger grips on putters do in fact help you from turning the face in or out, assists in keeping alignment. When someone is having problems with putting, this is always the first thing he reccommends.

Buck


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## Cajun (Jan 17, 2010)

Up North said:


> putting is usually one of the strengths of my game, I say usually because on certain days you'd never think that. But several years ago I switched to the pendulum type stroke from the short backstroke and really concentrate on keeping the putter moving in a straight line well beyond my ball. Keeping the wrists, arms, and shoulders in one seamless motion is key.
> 
> A couple years ago for whatever reason I started to waver a bit, couldn't follow that imaginary straight line. Then I happen to be messing with some putters at Austad's Golf one day and found that when I used a putter with a jumbo grip my ability to stay on line was not a problem. So I switched grips on my putter, put the Winn jumbo grip on and the putter has been money again. One day while talking to a club pro he mentioned that the bigger grips on putters do in fact help you from turning the face in or out, assists in keeping alignment. When someone is having problems with putting, this is always the first thing he reccommends.
> 
> Buck


I have to agree, I switched to a Winn Jumbo Pistol just a little while back and it seems to me that it's much easier to hold on line. It may just be in my head, but then again, aren't most things with golf.


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## Surtees (Sep 11, 2007)

o hI could give this a try but my putting was about the only part of my game that I was happy with today...


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

Surtees said:


> o hI could give this a try but my putting was about the only part of my game that I was happy with today...


Way to go Luke! I'm so glad the therapy is working. Now we'll work on opening the eyes.:laugh:


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## Surtees (Sep 11, 2007)

oh yes Bob that could surely help, image what you could do if you put your hands the right way round!


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

Surtees said:


> oh yes Bob that could surely help, image what you could do if you put your hands the right way round!


You must remember I use the Arthur right us grip


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

There's a lot of talk among golf teaching circles in recent years about each person having what amounts to a distinctly different stroke that puts them into one camp or the other. We can read ourselves to death in books and magazines, all professing to be correct, but nothing is correct about putting except what helps you personally get the ball in the hole.

Some people are old fashioned like me, and take the putter back and through with a stroke that opens and closes. For them, the modern school of thought is to use a more blade style putter or if a mallet, one that is heel balanced.

Other people are comfortable making a straight back, straight through stroke and for them, a putter that is face balanced is best. For some strange reason, I've never gotten along with this technique, regardless that I believe it may be more technically sound as a way to putt.

Your posture and stance seem to be a lot of what makes you fall on one side of the fence or the other. As for how easy it might be to change, I don't know because I've never changed well enough to tell you anything from experience.

My point is, after taking off from the game for so long, maybe you need to think about what you are setting yourself up to do and adapt to your comfort zone, choosing the right putter to fit your style. Certainly, your local pro could watch and advise you.


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

DennisM said:


> There's a lot of talk among golf teaching circles in recent years about each person having what amounts to a distinctly different stroke that puts them into one camp or the other. We can read ourselves to death in books and magazines, all professing to be correct, but nothing is correct about putting except what helps you personally get the ball in the hole.
> 
> Some people are old fashioned like me, and take the putter back and through with a stroke that opens and closes. For them, the modern school of thought is to use a more blade style putter or if a mallet, one that is heel balanced.
> 
> ...


Dennis; you're fairly tall and I'm just 6' but I question my putting stance,such as, should I stand more erect or have the feet further than shoulder width, am I leaning to far forward? so I've got my putting so inconsistant when I do something right I don't know what I did.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Yes, at 6'7" tall, my height affects a lot of my game... posture, stance, swing plane, how well I keep my balance, especially in the wind.

What I've tried to do recently came from something I read about a putting lesson Michelle Wie got before the Solheim Cup. In general, it was suggested she stand a little taller and drop her arms slightly further away from her body to provide a freer pendulum motion. When I read that, it just rang bells to me... Made sense...

It's worked reasonably well since I started trying it, other than for today. I putted like a 3 legged blind mule.


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

Just my $0.02 worth, but decent golfers, or anyone else for that matter, who struggle with a putter, would do much better if they were to be fitted to a putter designed for their own stroke. In my case I use a toe weighted putter, with 5* loft, that is 32" long. I average right around 30 putts per round.

I do not use the straight back, and straight forward stroke, because it caused me problems on longer putts. My stroke opens on the back stroke, squares on the froward stroke, and then closes after I hit the ball. For me, the open, square, closed putting stroke used in conjunction with my fitted putter works quite well with all distance putts up to about 60 feet. If I miss the pin by 20+ yards, I can't blame a bad score on that hole because of poor putting..lol


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

Frogshair: based off of your $0.02 I'm a lefty playing right handed so I'm left side dominate. What factors then should be mentioned to a pro for fitting


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

broken tee said:


> Frogshair: based off of your $0.02 I'm a lefty playing right handed so I'm left side dominate. What factors then should be mentioned to a pro for fitting


A competent club fitter would "dig" more needed info out of you once you gave him/her all the info you knew about, and could share. One piece of info would be to see how you miss putts on a level surface. Say you tend to pull putts left. Unless you had a poor grip, alignment, posture, or a stroke problem that could be fixed, the fitter would take your misses into account, and possible adjust your present putter to fit your stroke, or steer you to a different style putter that better fitted your stroke, and fine tune the new putter. 

The loft, length, and lie angle of the student's present putter needs to be known to the instructor/fitter.

The instructor/fitter should know what type of ball the student is using. Some golf ball designs don't collide well with some putter face designs. 

Another issue might be eye dominance. The instructor/fitter should know what's going on there. 

Pretty much all a golfer can do when putting, after reading the green, is hit a straight putt, the proper distance. Even a ball that curves due to slopes on a green are still hit straight to point other than the hole. That, or they take the break out with a faster, nerve free putt. When I practice my putting, one of the things I work on is rolling the ball over a ball marker 3'-4' in front of my ball, on a level surface. When a person leaves their putting guru, they should be able to hit a straight putt along their intended target line. 

There are some who say they can "work" a putted ball, and that is just fine by me if they are that good with a flat stick. I have just never seen anyone "work" a ball off the putter face, so I am a bit unsure of this feat. I do believe a putter does not always have to impact the ball on it's sweet spot. Heel, and toe hits have their place for certain types of putts.

Just for the record, I am not a golf instructor by any means. Never was. I just have a lot of info I have gathered over the years, that I don't mind sharing.


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## broken tee (Jan 13, 2008)

This is what the forum is all about, golfers helping golfers at all levels of play. plus we or I poke a little fun at one another and we agree to disagree. I haven't played that long and not as often as I'd like to, the boss, she won't let me, so I'm gaining in knowledge and skill but not as fast as I'd like. so thanks for your comments


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

In my opinion, the key to putting is getting the putter to the ball with the face square to the intended line. If you can do that consistently, then you are 3/4 of the way home. If your stroke accomplishes that repeatably, then all you have to worry about during the stroke is speed. 

Read the line, set up to the line, hit the ball squarely. If the power is right, then that's all there is to it. You won't always read the line perfectly, but if you can always hit ball squarely, you will be a pretty good putter. This is what I do, all of the time, every time. And I am a better than average putter. I rarely miss the line I aim for. When I miss a putt, it's either speed or just a miss read. 

I putt purely by feel. My style is not exactly classic. I hunch over, slightly open, standard interlock grip that I use for all shots, and with my left elbow leading the way. But I get the ball started on line, and I find that to be the biggest key to good putting. I've never been fitted for a putter. On the rare occasion that I change putters, I shop until I find the one that feels right to me. I've only had 2 putters in at least the last 15 years.


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