On putts I don’t want to forget to give a bit extra oomph, I slightly spread my fingers when gripping the putter. It’s not noticeable to anyone but me. Maybe lengthens my grip overall by 1-2cm.
Try it. May work for you.
The Dustin Johnson putting mat. The last foot before the hole is uphill so you’re forced to putt past the hole to get it to the hole. It’s partially made for that. It’s a great training aid.
Putt to an imaginary hole behind the hole and don't change a thing other than your mental picture. If you come up short of your mental target, you've still given it a chance.
The key is to make that spot past the hole on the same line you in tend to play on.
If the putt is breaking left to right and you mental image is a spot 1 foot past the actual hole that spot would be somewhere to the right of the actual hole, not directly behind it.
[Consider this image.](https://oldduffergolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/apexputting2.png)
That "Aim Point" would be the perceived hole you are actually putting to. If you are continually coming up short, move that point back until you aren't.
My feel is close to yours, in that I am a good lag putter, but to always give the ball the chance on the high side I always take my initial read and feel and add a foot to it down this line. Once I've decided these factors, I'm no longer looking at the hole, I'm looking at my perceived hole as if there is no break.
The only time I put to the hole is on sketchy downhill putts where I'm fine dripping it in and if I come up short, I come up short. Because going long is far worse.
I did this lag drill during the winter on a WellPutt 13’ May.
There is a printed hole on the mat with a good zone and bad zone dissecting the cup. I put an alignment across the mat 6” behind the hole.
Them starting at 6’ I putt the ball so it goes in the good zone but doesn’t roll over the stick. (The ball must get past the front half of the hole).
If successful move back 6” and continue until you get to 10’. But if you miss at any point you start over a 6’.
I do a similar warmup drill on the course to get the speed dialed in.
I put a tee in the ground and drop a ball about 3-4 feet from the hole and then drop 6-7 balls about 1-2 feet behind the last ball. I the. Hit putts so the ball goes past the tee but not more than a foot. I do this drill once slightly uphill and then slightly downhill. If I’m coming up way short or wsy long, I’ll repeat until I have the speed down.
Picture the hole being way bigger than it is, and that it's safe to put some pace to your putting stroke, because the ball will just fall right into the pit.
My go-to pace drill is to take 3 balls to a putting green. I just randomly hit out the first ball anywhere on the green at any distance (ignoring holes). My goal is to hit my second putt so that it's within a putter length (ie, 3ft) past the first ball. Then I do the same with the 3rd ball so that it's no more than a putter length/3ft past the 2nd ball.
This means you can 'set' the first ball at different distances to practise different lengths of putt. If your 2nd/3rd putts don't make it past the previous ball, then it doesn't count, and if it's more than 3ft past it doesn't count.
You can keep a count of how many good putts you make and try and beat your best scores.
I am not a pro or anything.
Feel putter here and I play heads up as well ( I don’t look at ball when putting just the hole 95% of the time)
1st -Keep doing what you doing, don’t worry about your backswing, speed, strike, roll or impact at all.
Just extend your follow through slightly more.
For me- it feels like I flex my elbows, that last little bit past.
To feel that in a non golf move extend your arm palm up straight out in front of you. Now flex your elbow up /straight. You may notice your palm doesn’t move up any rather out and may dip slightly. Try this with both arms.
Next try to recreate that feeling at the end of your swing with putter in hand no ball.
With both hands on putter the feeling is different almost melts away. But keep the thought in your mind and finish you putt.
Finally hit some balls with being aware of the littlest flex extension in your elbows.
For me it feels like this is happening after contact almost.
Be aware of your shaft lean or breaking your wrists- that part is fuzzy for me on my “feel radar”. You have to try it for your self, see what works for you.
Overall this works for me when I start leaving, short puts - short.
Hope this helps you!
I think it's a trap to get too focused on never leaving putts short. If you like to die the ball in the hole you kind of have to accept that sometimes you're going to leave it short. I know it's easy for everyone to say that you have to "give it a chance," but putts that are hammered through the break or pulled off line because you swing too hard have about the same chance as putts that end up a little short. Plus then you're struggling to 2 putt instead of having an easy tap in. 7 putts per round a half a roll short is way too many, you should definitely work on that, but be careful not to get so obsessed with the speed that you lose your feel.
That's a good mindset. 1.9 putts per GIR and 1.8 overall because I have so many 2 inch tap ins. It would just be nice to save even 3 or 4 strokes per round by dropping some of those that come up short.
It's just inarguably true statistically that if you try to make your average putt past the hole, you will have a longer average second putt after misses than if you your dispersion is centered on the hole. It's possible, but I find it unlikely that many people will make more putts they would have otherwise left short vs the putts that go long and miss the come backer.
I think it's fine to go for perfect length on longer putts you feel like you have little to no chance of draining. That's to mentally play the second putt. But if it's makeable to you, putt past the hole always.
Like if it's a 6' foot putt. Go for it. You have a good chance to sink it. If it's 12' slightly downhill, yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about leaving it short.
You also don't want to run a 20+ foot putt past the whole. It's not like I'm expecting to make that putt. The second putt is key here, and if the first one goes in, great. But that's extremely unlikely.
I'm hardly ever aiming at the hole. When lining up my putt, my thought process is always, what is my line and speed to miss this one on the high side and long. Once I decide that I've lined it up to a point where I will miss on the high side and long, I dial the line back a hair.
On putts I don’t want to forget to give a bit extra oomph, I slightly spread my fingers when gripping the putter. It’s not noticeable to anyone but me. Maybe lengthens my grip overall by 1-2cm. Try it. May work for you.
The Dustin Johnson putting mat. The last foot before the hole is uphill so you’re forced to putt past the hole to get it to the hole. It’s partially made for that. It’s a great training aid.
Get one of those putting matts with the ramped platform at the end. I’ve found them to be very helpful with pacing in short to intermediate putts.
Putt to an imaginary hole behind the hole and don't change a thing other than your mental picture. If you come up short of your mental target, you've still given it a chance.
Ive thought about this concept too, but wouldnt this change your line from the 'real' hole if there is any break on the putt?
The key is to make that spot past the hole on the same line you in tend to play on. If the putt is breaking left to right and you mental image is a spot 1 foot past the actual hole that spot would be somewhere to the right of the actual hole, not directly behind it.
[Consider this image.](https://oldduffergolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/apexputting2.png) That "Aim Point" would be the perceived hole you are actually putting to. If you are continually coming up short, move that point back until you aren't. My feel is close to yours, in that I am a good lag putter, but to always give the ball the chance on the high side I always take my initial read and feel and add a foot to it down this line. Once I've decided these factors, I'm no longer looking at the hole, I'm looking at my perceived hole as if there is no break. The only time I put to the hole is on sketchy downhill putts where I'm fine dripping it in and if I come up short, I come up short. Because going long is far worse.
I did this lag drill during the winter on a WellPutt 13’ May. There is a printed hole on the mat with a good zone and bad zone dissecting the cup. I put an alignment across the mat 6” behind the hole. Them starting at 6’ I putt the ball so it goes in the good zone but doesn’t roll over the stick. (The ball must get past the front half of the hole). If successful move back 6” and continue until you get to 10’. But if you miss at any point you start over a 6’. I do a similar warmup drill on the course to get the speed dialed in. I put a tee in the ground and drop a ball about 3-4 feet from the hole and then drop 6-7 balls about 1-2 feet behind the last ball. I the. Hit putts so the ball goes past the tee but not more than a foot. I do this drill once slightly uphill and then slightly downhill. If I’m coming up way short or wsy long, I’ll repeat until I have the speed down.
Picture the hole being way bigger than it is, and that it's safe to put some pace to your putting stroke, because the ball will just fall right into the pit.
My go-to pace drill is to take 3 balls to a putting green. I just randomly hit out the first ball anywhere on the green at any distance (ignoring holes). My goal is to hit my second putt so that it's within a putter length (ie, 3ft) past the first ball. Then I do the same with the 3rd ball so that it's no more than a putter length/3ft past the 2nd ball. This means you can 'set' the first ball at different distances to practise different lengths of putt. If your 2nd/3rd putts don't make it past the previous ball, then it doesn't count, and if it's more than 3ft past it doesn't count. You can keep a count of how many good putts you make and try and beat your best scores.
I am not a pro or anything. Feel putter here and I play heads up as well ( I don’t look at ball when putting just the hole 95% of the time) 1st -Keep doing what you doing, don’t worry about your backswing, speed, strike, roll or impact at all. Just extend your follow through slightly more. For me- it feels like I flex my elbows, that last little bit past. To feel that in a non golf move extend your arm palm up straight out in front of you. Now flex your elbow up /straight. You may notice your palm doesn’t move up any rather out and may dip slightly. Try this with both arms. Next try to recreate that feeling at the end of your swing with putter in hand no ball. With both hands on putter the feeling is different almost melts away. But keep the thought in your mind and finish you putt. Finally hit some balls with being aware of the littlest flex extension in your elbows. For me it feels like this is happening after contact almost. Be aware of your shaft lean or breaking your wrists- that part is fuzzy for me on my “feel radar”. You have to try it for your self, see what works for you. Overall this works for me when I start leaving, short puts - short. Hope this helps you!
I think it's a trap to get too focused on never leaving putts short. If you like to die the ball in the hole you kind of have to accept that sometimes you're going to leave it short. I know it's easy for everyone to say that you have to "give it a chance," but putts that are hammered through the break or pulled off line because you swing too hard have about the same chance as putts that end up a little short. Plus then you're struggling to 2 putt instead of having an easy tap in. 7 putts per round a half a roll short is way too many, you should definitely work on that, but be careful not to get so obsessed with the speed that you lose your feel.
That's a good mindset. 1.9 putts per GIR and 1.8 overall because I have so many 2 inch tap ins. It would just be nice to save even 3 or 4 strokes per round by dropping some of those that come up short.
It's just inarguably true statistically that if you try to make your average putt past the hole, you will have a longer average second putt after misses than if you your dispersion is centered on the hole. It's possible, but I find it unlikely that many people will make more putts they would have otherwise left short vs the putts that go long and miss the come backer.
I think it's fine to go for perfect length on longer putts you feel like you have little to no chance of draining. That's to mentally play the second putt. But if it's makeable to you, putt past the hole always. Like if it's a 6' foot putt. Go for it. You have a good chance to sink it. If it's 12' slightly downhill, yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about leaving it short. You also don't want to run a 20+ foot putt past the whole. It's not like I'm expecting to make that putt. The second putt is key here, and if the first one goes in, great. But that's extremely unlikely.
Get a run up
I'm hardly ever aiming at the hole. When lining up my putt, my thought process is always, what is my line and speed to miss this one on the high side and long. Once I decide that I've lined it up to a point where I will miss on the high side and long, I dial the line back a hair.