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Putting strategy, to ding or not to ding

• gr8flbob 592 Posts

  Wed, Sep 18 2013 4:15 PM

  Inside 3-5 ft (depending on green speed) I leave the aim marker at the hole and hit off-ding 'into the up-slope' or 'against the break'  in proportion to severity of slope, If the slope is severe, I'll fudge the aiming point uphill, but rarely move the perceived line outside the cup.

  > 5 feet, I generally use a combination of moving the aiming point so it points along the initial line of the roll, and hitting off-ding 'opposite the break'. My experience is that this 'dies the putt' closer to the hole than a dinged shot started on a wrong line. How? I add a foot or so to my calculated distance, to get at least to the hole on a dinged putt and a bit past even if elevation or actual distance is off by half an inch or half a foot due to WGT rounding of those numbers. So the intentional mishit is penalized by a bit lost power, and the roll dies out a bit earlier.

  If you miss the ding on the 'sui-cide' or down-slope side, assuming you've chosen a good initial line, expect a long one - another good reason to avoid underestimating break.

  I use the Nike Method putter, which has high forgiveness, so I need to be significantly off-ding; I want to have a visible gap between the leading edge of the moving meter and the DING line. I increase that gap as break increases

• JonJHarris 33 Posts

  Mon, Sep 30 2013 4:53 PM

  Hello, I also put as you do, I find it more consistent as well as my pace of play has picked up considerably.  I blogged about this myself awhile back lol

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Thu, Oct 2 2014 3:27 PM

  Old thread, I know, but I thought this would be a good place for the video.

  When I choose a significant off-ding it's usually because of a major slope and I want my ball to stop near the hole.

  IMO I can judge the off-ding on my Ghost Spider L92 better than my O. Versa L97 but maybe I just haven't used the 97 enough to know its forgiveness, etc. Some say that the Versa 97 is a 'ding putter' and I understand that viewpoint.

  Sometimes I won't move the aim off the hole, usually I'll move it right some, and sometimes I'll move it left a little (rarely) , it's all about the situation and the instincts you feel about how big the slope is, or how hard you will hit, and how hard you will off-ding.

   

   

  "This is to avoid a roll away on a green with a strong tilt. If the typical method cannot judge the power and/or aim accurately, the off-ding push may be a method to perfect. Even if the putt misses, the 'spin' will stall the ball nearby. The aim will depend on the slope, power applied and how much you intend to miss the center 'ding'. Generally, you may need to add some power because of the off-ding."

  If the green speed is slick, like Champ greens, etc. I may choose to miss the ding significantly and adjust aim because I want a major 'spin' on the ball to keep it from rolling after it's been struck. This will take trials to learn how much power is needed to add, and to observe how the ball reacts on the big slope with a large 'push' or miss-ding right.

   

  The off-ding effects of a 'push' (past ding) against a slope R-to-L compared to an off-ding 'pull' (pre ding) against a slope L-to-R seem to be somewhat different so if you choose to apply the method be sure to observe the difference during trials.

  Many suggest that the Daytona Rossa L55 is great for off-dings and I might get one in the future. The TM Spider L92 is working out for off-dings for me. I had it for a while.

  Note: the putt in the middle of the vid was around the ding and it rolled down the slope, several feet away, the miss-ding stays by the hole.

• PBaldwin 108 Posts

  Fri, Oct 3 2014 9:45 AM

  I transitioned to the miss ding method last year and had some success with it.  I left for a while and came back and decided to go back to the ding method.  I find I make more putts dinging.  The only problem is if I miss ding I will miss the putt most of the time by a fraction since I use the 60 ft and 100 ft scales since it slows the meter a little more.  It seems to me like the misses are exaggerated with those scales so it's extremely important to ding.

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Fri, Oct 3 2014 6:31 PM

  PBaldwin:

    It seems to me like the misses are exaggerated with those scales so it's extremely important to ding.

   

  Yea, the miss ding may be used by me only 'to avoid a roll away on a green with a strong tilt. '.  With the O. Versa 97 it seems the ding is very much needed.

  The thing about a strong tilt on the green, and a putt around 15 feet is that you may have a 60% chance of dropping the putt on a ding, and maybe less approx. 40% on a miss ding, but on the ding the chance that the ball ends up within 9 feet of the hole is 30% whereas the miss-ding ball has a 80% chance of remaining near the hole.  (speaking only for myself)

  And sure:  Generally, you may need to add some power because of the off-ding. 

  I learned how my miss-ding putts react because i tried the method so many times that I get comfortable with it, but on green that isn't heavily tilted, I'd go with the ding. Esp. w/ the Versa putter. It's like it's required.

  recent 69 foot eagle miss-ding putt

   

• TopShelf2010 10,880 Posts

  Sat, Oct 4 2014 4:50 PM

  .

• JimbeauC 5,835 Posts

  Sat, Oct 4 2014 4:59 PM

  Dinger here. I use my own variation on Gold's method. 

  I'd assume mis-dingers would want high Precision and low Forgiveness. 

  ??

• dryspot 690 Posts

  Sat, Oct 4 2014 5:59 PM

  I agree with topshelf stats dont lie  im living proof of that   lmao.

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Sun, Oct 5 2014 9:06 AM

  I saw that notonthis, an expert putter, mention the Daytona was built for miss ding putting, "missing ding which is a bonus using rossa putter cause IMO it was built just for that" and I also saw he was renting it.

  Now, with all his career earnings you could buy it, but maybe it performs better during rental. If you know his youtube channel you can watch him putt using the Daytona, and I might buy/rent it to compare it to the Spider.

  --

  This was a miss ding, but it was supposed to be a ding putt but I always consider 'If I were to miss the ding, considering all my calculations and aim point - I'd like to miss on the right side of the ding', I think Stonecold called it 'playing the percentages'

  ..and that's what happened and the putt curved and dropped on this undulated green.

  REPLAY Kia 17 undulated green miss-ding to the right putt

   

  1st putt - far off ding, stops near hole on a big slope

  2nd putt - ding or near ding, rolls far away even when under power

  That's why I use both methods depending on the conditions.

• Tamsach 2,823 Posts

  Thu, Oct 16 2014 3:57 PM

  I move the aim and I miss the ding 90% of putts. For deceiving the software. This my purpose. I just leave the aim on the hole and I miss the ding with very light slopes and short putts. Bye