putting help please?

Question

I'm 14, 9 handicap, i can drive the ball about 290, and hit my irons good, but find myself hitting the ball offline and often long almost every putt...does anybody have any tips for me?

Answer 1

I shoot 120's but I regularly 2-putt from way the heck across the green, amazing my buddies. My drives are short, I shank my irons more often than not, but I can putt.

Here's what I do:
- I step back behind the ball about 8 feet and hold the shaft of the putter on the direct line between ball and hole. Also check the read, any debris etc in the area while I'm doing this. Finally I note a focus point - could be a blade of grass, whatever, about 1 foot in front of the ball, on the line. I look directly at that point as I step to the ball and square up my stance - so I know my stance is on-line.
- 2 or 3 practice swings, visualizing the ball track to the hole. And I'm really imagining this, everything from the sound of the contact, to the "chuff" on the grass, to the roll of the ball, into the cup with that beautiful clatter. And if it doens't feel right, I re-visualize until it does.
- Speed is really hard to get right; you already know the 1-2 cadence bit. I don't have a hard and fast rule - for instance if there's a nasty break behind the hole, I'll gladly leave it short. But being on-line is more important to me.
- the actual swing is on-line, standard golf form, eyes on the back of the ball.

FWIW

Answer 2

im 14 also. The thing with playing a great game is playing it safe. You cant go out there and want to kill the ball. It might work for a few holes but then you start getting tired and your whole game crashes. With putting, you want your goal to 2 putt every whole. I have played 10 rounds of eighteen wholes which is about 5 weeks without anything worse than a two putt. All i started to do was concentrate on par, not birdie, birdies will come as you go, play safe, and play serious.

Answer 3

Long is good...it's better than short. YOu will never make a putt short. Here's what I do. I suck, but my putting game dominates my brothers who is a relatively good golfer.

Try switching your putting hand. I swing right and putt left. I found if I put with my other hand that I am more careful, because I am weaker in my left hand.

Practice putting from 6 feet away as long as you can. Really a lot of putting is muscle memory. don't waste time and mental energy practicing from 30 feet away. once you become automatic from 6 feet away. All your putts are into an ocean.

Answer 4

9 handicap is quite impressive for your age. I would first suggest getting a couple of boards and put them on the floor parallel with each other just far enough apart for your putter to fit between them. Practice your putting stroke between the boards. This will promote a straight backswing and follow through the ball.

Second go to the practice green and try to practice like this.
Make yourself a little miniature 9 hole course. Play the course serveral times. Make some of them long holes and some of them short holes. This will help you develope muscle memory for the distances of each hole. Practice putting every day in this fashion and you should start to see a little better consistency in your distance.

This is a rather in depth answer but here goes. The subconscious mind is an amazing part of your body. It remembers 95% of everything you ever touched, felt, say, heard or experienced. It can control every muscle in your body. It makes your heart pump and your lungs breath while you're sound asleep. A man is driving down the highway and a dog runs out in front of the car. He slams on the brakes. He did not consciously think take your foot of the gas. move it 6 inches to the left put it over the brake pedal and push. He reacted. His subconscious just took over and did it. You have this ability in golf but you let your conscious mind take over and you think way to much. The most important thing is golf is being able to visualize your shot. See it going in the hole. This tells your sub conscious mind the result you want. Look at the break. Look at the sun and determine that grain of the green (depending on your type of greens and mower) because grain does influence break, look at the distance and visualize the putt going in the hole. STand over the ball, clear your mind and just hit it. I never think about how hard I'm going to hit the ball, I just do it. Guess what? The subconscious knows. I don't even try to approximate how hard I'm going to hit it with my practice swing. If anything I over exaggerate the practice swing so it's not even close.

Just remember. If Michael Jordan played basketball like golfers play golf, he'd never have won all those championships. Do you think Jordan thought about everyone one of those three pointers he made to win games? Did he think just before the shot to keep his eye on the basket, keep his left elbow in, follow through, etc? Or did he just shoot it. But don't forget, this doesn't work without giving your subconscious some imput. You have to practice a lot for this to work. But you're young and no one has ruined you yet. Learn not to think while you play golf. Someone once said he wanted to write a book called "The last 200 things to go through your mind just before you hit the golf ball". Try to cut that down to 1. Seeing the ball go where you want it to go. Visualize it!!

Answer 5

Get down and read the green. Even if you need to get down like Camillo Villegas, thats okay. Also try putting a little more firmly. The faster your putt is going, the less likely of it bouncing offline.

Answer 6

Practice. Follow through. I built an 18 hole minature golf course on my back deck and I play it regulary and my putting has improved 10 fold. I bought a new driver this week a taylor made and played awesome. I double bogeyed on 2 but I killed on the rest ended up with an 82.

Answer 7

Go to a golf professional to have a look at yuor stance.14 and a golf handicap you are not doing a lot wrong.

Answer 8

Don't hit it so hard , when you are putting. This will make the ball
not go so far ...

Answer 9

Try a long putter, like a belly putter.

Answer 10

i can't help with that question, i'm very sorry!