I am usually pretty good inside 6 feet with the putter. All it takes is see the line, control the speed and get the ball rolling. But at the moment I can't do neither.
Nowadays, when I stand over the putt, what seems to be a straight line to me is a line that curves to the right.
This is probably the computer's way of compensating an error in my putting stroke. I try to putt with angled hinging, but now I am striking the putts with a closed clubface and I am closing the clubface going through impact. Snap- hook, maybe pull hook. I've missed more than my share of short left-to right brakers lately.
I have had quite a few sessions on the putting green lately, trying to get the alignment right. What I do is pick out a spot that is midway to the hole on a straight line - and from address try to see the straight line going through that spot. From there I try to adjust the stance, swingplane, flying wedges etc. And finally strike the ball and whatch where it goes.
Whenever I have an alignment device lying on the ground everything seems to work fine, but without it, I'm lost in the fog.
I am pretty sure I will see the correct line as soon as I get a proper putting stroke back, alternatively be able to strike the ball on line as soon as I start seeing the line again.
I think this is quite a usual problem related to putting so it. So any shed of light on the issue might help me now and others when they experience the same problem.
1) Every putt is a straight putt, only does gravity make the ball go left/right. So find your "spot" and putt to THAT and let gravity do the rest. Just remember that the faster the ball rolls the smaller the effect does gravity have on it.
2) Once you do #1, setup SQUARE to you your "spot." COMPLETELY SQUARE.
3) Stroke 10 putts with your eyes open and chart the results
4) Now stroke 10 putts with your eyes CLOSED and chart the results.
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I'm not a TGM or PGA certified Pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night
The putting green is a very tempermental place. If we stand out there at 6 feet working on our mechanics and watch putt after putt miss we can really get crazy.
My advice is to work on your mechanics at home. Get the ball out of the equation. Work on your eyeline, your stroke path, and your hinge away from the putting green.
Then when you are at the putting green hit a bunch of 2 footers and 40 footers at first. At the end of the session hit 20 or so putts from different distances going through your routine.
Why not mark your golf ball with a stripe and line the ball up to the target (Tiger and Faxon do this). I do this even when praticing.
Square the putter perpendicular to the line and make your stroke. If the ball is not rolling over your target or in the cup --- then most likely your stroke/blade is faulty. Alignment golf !!!!!
I have had quite a few sessions on the putting green lately, trying to get the alignment right. What I do is pick out a spot that is midway to the hole on a straight line - and from address try to see the straight line going through that spot. From there I try to adjust the stance, swingplane, flying wedges etc. And finally strike the ball and whatch where it goes.
Be careful about what your spotrepresents. See this post:
I posted a putting problem a couple of days ago. I got a few replies (tanks) , but none of them triggered what had bin hidden in the back of my mind.
Here's a follow-up:
The last days my putiting progress has advanced from bad to *just* poor. And I can almost trace a straight line with my eyes standing over the ball now. After today's weekly medal I rounded it up with a short session on the putting green. Soon good ideas reaced my concious.
vj has somewhere on this forum written that the ball always shall be struck at lowpoint with the putter. That Idea appeared as I was playing a round on the putting green. So I started to pay attention to where my low point (also the aiming point) was in relation to the ball. It was not consistent from shot to shot, it was blurred - and it was not at the ball.
As soon as I started to am "at" the center of the ball (actually an imaginary line around the ball at right angles to the plane line)- and not just tracing the plane line through the ball, the putter became more obidient instantly.
Then another image appeared: The way Brian traps the ball in "confessions of a former flipper" video.
So I started focus on trapping the ball and make sure that the low pont of the stroke was where the ball had been. From there it was easy to release the ball on the intended line with the intended speed. Pressure point control was being restored.
As I write these words, it becomes clear that "Impact fix" is not just a geometric position. Perhaps more important than aligning the grip and the hands is the mind zooming in on impact - seeing and feeling how the club needs to be moved in order to get the correct impact.
If I manage to take this to the course the next time there will be less than 2 putts/gir. And a bonus: I know in my guts that this mindset - this mental (and geometric) impact fixation will do good for the rest of my game also. I've been there before and it's a fun place to be for a golfer; Playing with the feeling that this shot will go where I decide.
If I wasn't visiting this site regularly, the two ideas would not have emerged and I would still be in the fog. What a great community this has turned into.
10.000 thanks to all posters (one for each of the posts sofar).
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Hybrid Mode
