What to Practice
It might not be what you think
Almost all of the feedback I get is around "not knowing what to practice."
If you are a serious player, and you want to be a great player, here is what I would recommend to practice:
First, there are two KEY elements when it comes to making putts (distance and direction). In my e-book I focus mainly on teaching players how to precisely control distance. When it comes to direction, it is all about the LAUNCH DIRECTION of the ball off the putter.
If we have a perfectly flat putt, there are two variables that control the Launch Direction- the path of the putter and the direction of the putter face at impact.
If the putter is square to the path the ball will roll in the direction of the path. If the club face is open or closed to the path, than the ball will leave in a direction that is a factor of both positions with the putter face angle having the biggest influence of the result (about 80%).
If you spend a lot of time practicing 5 foot putts (I don't recommend it) then it is important to understand that at a distance of 5 feet, your Launch Direction can be +/- 1.7 degrees open or closed (from the center of the cup), and if your speed is correct, you will make the putt. However as you get farther away from the hole, the same degree of Launch Direction error will result in a miss every time. So you could make every 5 foot put you hit, and on the same day miss every 10 footer you hit with the same stroke!
On a 10 foot putt your Launch Direction can only be off +/- 1 degree at impact and at 20 foot it is only slightly lower at +/- 0.7 degrees.
So, if you are spending a lot of time working on 5 foot putts, you may make a lot of putts, but when you move out to 10-20 foot range you may see drastic results in number of putts made, and let's face it, that range is where you cut strokes off a round. "Aim small, miss small" is good practice and 10 foot is the best range for it.
My recommendation is that 10 feet is the "sweet spot" for working on your putting. If you can square up your Launch Direction to the true line of a putt from that distance consistently you will actually make more putts at, and inside that range with ease.
I like to practice on the putting green and it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to see +/-1 degree (1/8") or even feel that kind of precision. So I recommend before you buy another putter or take a putting lesson to consider the following:
Buy a putting simulator, Yes, I said buy your own!
Here is a great link to a sim you can buy that will give you all the info you will ever need for the price of a modern high end putter.
Check out this link: ExPutt and if you use promo code: GOEXPUTT&SL5 for 10% off the purchase price.
It is affordable, accurate and you can work out all the fine details you need to make your practice time effective and see results immediately. Rain or shine, night or day. Also, once you know what your habits are, then you can fit yourself or test putters with different toe hang until you get it dialed in.
Focus on the launch angle, and learn where your hands need to be on the club to bring the putter through around 0.3 degrees consistently. This will be the first breakthrough. From there you will be able to start the ball on line every time, and adding the distance control will immediately take strokes off your rounds and eliminate the need to spend hours on the putting green trying to figure out how to be consistent.
Now at that level you are getting somewhere.
Let me know if this helps and if this gives you the direction you were looking for.
Good luck, hope the advice helps you make more putts this season!
If you are a serious player, and you want to be a great player, here is what I would recommend to practice:
First, there are two KEY elements when it comes to making putts (distance and direction). In my e-book I focus mainly on teaching players how to precisely control distance. When it comes to direction, it is all about the LAUNCH DIRECTION of the ball off the putter.
If we have a perfectly flat putt, there are two variables that control the Launch Direction- the path of the putter and the direction of the putter face at impact.
If the putter is square to the path the ball will roll in the direction of the path. If the club face is open or closed to the path, than the ball will leave in a direction that is a factor of both positions with the putter face angle having the biggest influence of the result (about 80%).
If you spend a lot of time practicing 5 foot putts (I don't recommend it) then it is important to understand that at a distance of 5 feet, your Launch Direction can be +/- 1.7 degrees open or closed (from the center of the cup), and if your speed is correct, you will make the putt. However as you get farther away from the hole, the same degree of Launch Direction error will result in a miss every time. So you could make every 5 foot put you hit, and on the same day miss every 10 footer you hit with the same stroke!
On a 10 foot putt your Launch Direction can only be off +/- 1 degree at impact and at 20 foot it is only slightly lower at +/- 0.7 degrees.
So, if you are spending a lot of time working on 5 foot putts, you may make a lot of putts, but when you move out to 10-20 foot range you may see drastic results in number of putts made, and let's face it, that range is where you cut strokes off a round. "Aim small, miss small" is good practice and 10 foot is the best range for it.
My recommendation is that 10 feet is the "sweet spot" for working on your putting. If you can square up your Launch Direction to the true line of a putt from that distance consistently you will actually make more putts at, and inside that range with ease.
I like to practice on the putting green and it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to see +/-1 degree (1/8") or even feel that kind of precision. So I recommend before you buy another putter or take a putting lesson to consider the following:
Buy a putting simulator, Yes, I said buy your own!
Here is a great link to a sim you can buy that will give you all the info you will ever need for the price of a modern high end putter.
Check out this link: ExPutt and if you use promo code: GOEXPUTT&SL5 for 10% off the purchase price.
It is affordable, accurate and you can work out all the fine details you need to make your practice time effective and see results immediately. Rain or shine, night or day. Also, once you know what your habits are, then you can fit yourself or test putters with different toe hang until you get it dialed in.
Focus on the launch angle, and learn where your hands need to be on the club to bring the putter through around 0.3 degrees consistently. This will be the first breakthrough. From there you will be able to start the ball on line every time, and adding the distance control will immediately take strokes off your rounds and eliminate the need to spend hours on the putting green trying to figure out how to be consistent.
Now at that level you are getting somewhere.
Let me know if this helps and if this gives you the direction you were looking for.
Good luck, hope the advice helps you make more putts this season!