My guide to confident putting!

Being a good putter is about confidence and understanding how to be mentally strong and focused on the greens. A good putter is a confidente putter. If you are scared of putting, or if you just don't understand it, improve your putting stroke and your putting mind and take a whole lot of pressure off of the rest of your game.

Think about it this way. You occasionally play a hole very well (par, bogey, double, or what ever is a good score according to your ability) by getting on the green in two or three or four and getting down in two putts. However, more often than that you are around the green in two or three or four shots and require up and down (a good wedge shot onto the green and one putt) to finish the job. How often do you one putt? My guess is that you 3 putt more often than you get up and down. If you putted well, your scores would drop. If you putt well, then there is less pressure on your wedge shots, and less pressure on your wedge shots puts less pressure on you irons shots, and it works that way all the way back to the tee box. It's all directly related to confidence.


Here are some ideas that can help lower your scores with improved putting:

Step 1: Understand what makes a consistent putting stroke

The shaft of the putter stays on plane through out the stroke, which will keep the path of the stoke consistent with target line. At impact, if the putter face is square to that path the ball will leave the putter on line. If you have read the green correctly and hit the speed correctly, your ball will have a good chance of going in the hole, of course it's not a guarantee.

As consistent with all golf shots: the initial direction of the golf ball is determined 85% - 90% by the position of the clubface, and about 10% - 15% by the path of the swing. Meaning that the putter face will have the most influence on the ball.

When the putter sits naturally with the sole flat on the ground, the shaft of the putter comes upwards on an angle. This angle is the plane that the putter shaft should maintain through the back and forward motion in the stroke.
When the shaft of the putter leaves this plane, the path of the stroke will change giving you an inside out or outside in type of stroke.

If you are using a stroke that is inside out you have to hit the ball with a putter face that is closed (relative to the path) in order to make the ball go towards the target. An outside in stoke would require an open face (relative to the path) to get the ball towards the target.

I made huge improvements to my own stroke and will often use video analysis to help my students get a much better understanding of their own putting stroke. With the help of my favorite training aid, can usually get the students on plane and square with the stroke. The video session and the use of mirrors in our classroom will often help them understand their own stroke, any set up faults that they may have, and whether or not their putter fits them.

Step 2: Make sure that you are using the right putter
Find a putter that you like the looks of and gives you the feeling of confidence. Make sure that the length and the lie angle are correct so that the putter fits your comfortable and correct setup positon. In other words find a putter that you like and have it custom fit for your stroke.

Step 3: Learn how to read greens and plan the putt
My experience with my students is that most amateur golfers simply don't play enough break and do not understand the relationship between the speed and the break. My putting lessons often revolve around two basic ideas that have to do with the relationship between the speed of the putt and the break of the putt and usually have a huge impact on the golfers ability to read the green and plan the putt properly.

Step 4: Practice Practice Practice
It's quite simple. If you don't practice your putting, you will never become a good putter. You will never become a confident putter. A golfer will make roughly 40% of the shots during a round with the putter, so it is probably a good idea to put 40% of your practice time into putting. Learn how to practice putting, do it productively and I have no doubt that you will become more confident and you will see your scores drop in a hurry.

Step 5: Tell yourself that you are a good putter. Believe it!
If you tell yourself that you are a bad putter it will absolutely be true and you will probably always be that way with out a whole lot of possibility of that ever changing. However, if you understand the importance of a properly fit putter, and you understand what makes a good stroke, and you understand how to read the greens and plan your putts properly, and you putt the appropriate amount of time into practicing these thes things productivly, your confidince will grow, you will start to tell yourself that you are a good putter, and from there the possibilities are amazing.

Happy Putting!!

punkrockpga wrote:

Step 1: Understand what makes a consistent putting stroke

When the putter sits naturally with the sole flat on the ground, the shaft of the putter comes upwards on an angle. This angle is the plane that the putter shaft should maintain through the back and forward motion in the stroke.
When the shaft of the putter leaves this plane, the path of the stroke will change giving you an inside out or outside in type of stroke.

This is good information!.... din understand what people meant by 'plane' until I read this...

I feel it's usefull , maybe I could learn more , swing my discount golf clubs better.

edited.........No Spamming.

Step 5: Tell yourself that you are a good putter. Believe it!
If you tell yourself that you are a bad putter it will absolutely be true and you will probably always be that way with out a whole lot of possibility of that ever changing. However, if you understand the importance of a properly fit putter, and you understand what makes a good stroke, and you understand how to read the greens and plan your putts properly, and you putt the appropriate amount of time into practicing these thes things productivly, your confidince will grow, you will start to tell yourself that you are a good putter, and from there the possibilities are amazing.

Exactly what Vijay Singh did a year or so ago, telling himself he was the best putter in the world. Some laughed, but the results showed till he lost his putting mojo again.

Punkrockpga, care to further elaborate on the relationship between speed and break for the benefit of all here?

Quote :

Birdman wrote:

Step 5: Tell yourself that you are a good putter. Believe it!
If you tell yourself that you are a bad putter it will absolutely be true and you will probably always be that way with out a whole lot of possibility of that ever changing. However, if you understand the importance of a properly fit putter, and you understand what makes a good stroke, and you understand how to read the greens and plan your putts properly, and you putt the appropriate amount of time into practicing these thes things productivly, your confidince will grow, you will start to tell yourself that you are a good putter, and from there the possibilities are amazing.

Exactly what Vijay Singh did a year or so ago, telling himself he was the best putter in the world. Some laughed, but the results showed till he lost his putting mojo again.

Punkrockpga, care to further elaborate on the realtionship between speed and break for the benefit of all here?

cant agree more.....if you don believe in yourself, then who can.

thats why my next phase of pursuit of golf excellence is to ensure tat I dress like one....all these addup to being able to play well.

*cant agree more.....if you don believe in yourself, then who can.

thats why my next phase of pursuit of golf excellence is to ensure tat I dress like one....all these addup to being able to play well.[/quote]*

You funneeee...

Very Interesting post... I like the part where u said 40% of our training time should be practising putting. Now how many of us do that instead of just swinging away at the range.

Thanks for the information!

Hello all

I have seen many golfers putt with the toe of their putter slightly higher, is it better?

peter.golfer wrote:

Hello all

I have seen many golfers putt with the toe of their putter slightly higher, is it better?

Peter, it's not better. A putter usually have a loft angle of 1~4 degree. If the toe is up, the ball may hit to the left (for right hand). I do see some good putter putt in this way but they will have difficulty putting when they change their putter. That's something related to the way they aim/align the ball - in a compensate way.
A correct putter shall sit flat/level to the ground.

Hey bro JimmyC, maybe you can help me.....I am totally useless at putting

here is my problem......when I putt, my ball skid the moment it leaves fm putter face....macam do back spin...before it does forward roll.

I tried to do wat Dave Stockton said, by pushing my shaft forward ala Mickeyson...but still no good le.

Question: For the longest time, I was told backskid is no good. Is this true? If yes, then any tip for me?

PS: PLS don tell me to chip in...hor

Duval_S wrote:

Hey bro JimmyC, maybe you can help me.....I am totally useless at putting

here is my problem......when I putt, my ball skid the moment it leaves fm putter face....macam do back spin...before it does forward roll.

I tried to do wat Dave Stockton said, by pushing my shaft forward ala Mickeyson...but still no good le.

Question: For the longest time, I was told backskid is no good. Is this true? If yes, then any tip for me?

PS: PLS don tell me to chip in...hor

bro duval, play more snakes game...... your putting will improve

Jimmy Pro

Thanks for the sharing.

Birdman wrote:

Punkrockpga, care to further elaborate on the relationship between speed and break for the benefit of all here?

Speed vs. Break

There is no such thing as one correct read on a putt. In fact, there are many. It all depends on the speed you have in mind. A ball that is rolling slowly along the green will curve or break a lot more than a ball that has more pace.

Do you picture your putts moving slowly and falling into the hole on it's last roll? Dieing it into the hole? If so, then you will need to play lots of break, probably more than you think other wise you will see your ball curving away from the hole about half way there.

or

Do you picture your putt hitting the back of the hole with speed before it drops down, and are not affraid to see it roll a meter or more past the hole?
If so and you are more of an aggressive putter you will have to play a little less break.

Once you understand what kind of speed you want to give the putt, then you can decide the break.

My putting focus and my putting lessons revolve around these ideas:
1. A ball that comes short never had a chance. The ball can't possibly go in the hole if it does not go far enough.
2. Also a ball that misses on the low side of the hole never had a chance.
It can not possibly go in if it is curving away from the hole.

Learn to give your putt a chance by getting it slightly past the hole on the high side. Watch more putts start to fall. Based on those two ideas, ask yourself after every putt, did that have a chance?

Reading Greens

How many of you just let your caddy read the green for you and just try to hit it where he / she tells you?

Does your caddy know exactly what speed you prefer to play?

Will you ever improve your putting, and your ability to read greens, and understand the relationship between the speed and the break, and develope your very own consistent putting style if you just follow the advice of a different caddy each time you play?

Do you feel totally lost when you don't have a caddy there to help?

When I play golf with a caddy I always tell the caddy that I prefer to mark my own ball with my own coin and read my own putts because it's part of my routine and it helps me continue to learn and improve my own unique putting stlye. If I have no clue about the read I may ask for a vague, left to right or right to left advice from the caddy but other than that I really prefer to do it my self.

I have no doubt that you will improve when you learn to trust your own preferred speed, your own read, and you understand what it means when you ask yourself, did that even have a chance?

Try It!

i do agree that we should spend a lot more time practising on putter, however back to reality, which driving range in singapore offer putting green to public ?

MBGC could be one better choice with $10/hr

I reckon most of the range offer putting green only to their members, not to public.

golf_snowman wrote:

i do agree that we should spend a lot more time practising on putter, however back to reality, which driving range in singapore offer putting green to public ?

MBGC could be one better choice with $10/hr

I reckon most of the range offer putting green only to their members, not to public.

Putting greens may be good practise for line reading and also a real feel. But in my opinion, the first 1 to 2 foot maybe the most critical to what comes out of the putt. So even a putting matt maybe an option. Alot of us spend too much time on long putts but its those 4-8footers that make the difference. So i think the real practise can even be done with a putting mat or on carpet. U dun really need a putting green if you seriously want to put hours into practising your putting. But of course, having a putting green to practise is still the best option.

Duval_S wrote:

Hey bro JimmyC, maybe you can help me.....I am totally useless at putting

here is my problem......when I putt, my ball skid the moment it leaves fm putter face....macam do back spin...before it does forward roll.

I tried to do wat Dave Stockton said, by pushing my shaft forward ala Mickeyson...but still no good le.

Question: For the longest time, I was told backskid is no good. Is this true? If yes, then any tip for me?

PS: PLS don tell me to chip in...hor

DS, see this,



Hope you understand because I don't

Duval_S wrote:

Hey bro JimmyC, maybe you can help me.....I am totally useless at putting

here is my problem......when I putt, my ball skid the moment it leaves fm putter face....macam do back spin...before it does forward roll.

I tried to do wat Dave Stockton said, by pushing my shaft forward ala Mickeyson...but still no good le.

Question: For the longest time, I was told backskid is no good. Is this true? If yes, then any tip for me?

PS: PLS don tell me to chip in...hor

time to get ZEN...haha !!

I saw the zen in action by one of the proud owners yesterday. Can really see the true roll of the face of the putter upon the contact. Its also true to say that the puttee is a good putter. But to see the ball start rolling so early irregardless whether its a lagging or a uphill putt is a total different story. I think the RDE face may have just brought ZEN putters to another level.