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6’ putts

• pdiehm 285 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 7:34 AM

  YankeeJim:

  pdiehm:

  missed every putt inside of 7'

  What do the misses look like?

  What other putter do you have besides the golden one?

  The misses more often than not are edge burners equally high and low, though the high is becoming more often.  

  The other putters I have are the 98 Sabertooth, and the 96 Method 001

• BPeterson8256 2,908 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:17 AM

  This is slightly off topic of how to putt, but positioning is crucial for making putts. There are 3' putts that are 50% for me (speaks as much about my putting as anything I reckon 😂). Then there are 10' putts that are virtually 100% success. And straight 6' and under putts are virtually 100% as well. My best rounds come when I am leaving the ball under the hole and mostly straight. Granted that is not easy to do on all approach shots. I do think positioning is every bit as important as technique though. 

  I just finished 18 @ Pebble Beach. I had 14 or 15 putts on the front 9, and I was within good distance to make every putt (had a few lip outs). I adjusted my strategy on the back 9 because of how I was putting, making sure to never be above the hole. My back 9 was a 26 with 9 putts.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:23 AM

  My thought was to get away from that golden putter for a bit, it's gaudy stats might be affecting the way you think. Go back to one of the others for a spell and see if you can change what is happening.

  FWIW, this may have already been pointed out but if you miss the ding on the downhill side of a putt you will always miss it. That being said, the way you explain edge burners is by thinking speed first. Burned edges mean the side door to the cup was closed and that's what putting too hard does-slams them shut. Many times the correct speed will offset a slight miss and you get the drop anyway.

  I have the since discontinued 96 Method putter, too.  The biggest thing moving to that putter did for me was to solve my under-10 foot woes.  :-)

• pdiehm 285 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:29 AM

  BPeterson8256:

  This is slightly off topic of how to putt, but positioning is crucial for making putts. There are 3' putts that are 50% for me (speaks as much about my putting as anything I reckon 😂). Then there are 10' putts that are virtually 100% success. And straight 6' and under putts are virtually 100% as well. My best rounds come when I am leaving the ball under the hole and mostly straight. Granted that is not easy to do on all approach shots. I do think positioning is every bit as important as technique though. 

  I just finished 18 @ Pebble Beach. I had 14 or 15 putts on the front 9, and I was within good distance to make every putt (had a few lip outs). I adjusted my strategy on the back 9 because of how I was putting, making sure to never be above the hole. My back 9 was a 26 with 9 putts.

  yeah, I would try to stay under the hole, but I honestly don't know how to read the colors on the grid to aim, but as a club member said, if you don't go for the flag, it has no chance of going in....

  But yeah I agree with the premise of leaving uphill putts...just wish I knew how to do that.  

• pdiehm 285 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:31 AM

  YankeeJim:

  My thought was to get away from that golden putter for a bit, it's gaudy stats might be affecting the way you think. Go back to one of the others for a spell and see if you can change what is happening.

  FWIW, this may have already been pointed out but if you miss the ding on the downhill side of a putt you will always miss it. That being said, the way you explain edge burners is by thinking speed first. Burned edges mean the side door to the cup was closed and that's what putting too hard does-slams them shut. Many times the correct speed will offset a slight miss and you get the drop anyway.

  I have the since discontinued 96 Method putter, too.  The biggest thing moving to that putter did for me was to solve my under-10 foot woes.  :-)

   

  I may...I'm not sure yet.  the thing about the GP is it's sooooooo damn consistent on those 12+ foot putts because it really holds the line exceptionally well.  On shorter putts, it's as good as a starter putter IMO.  You can't miss ding because of it's ability to hold the line, so I think of the GP as a ding putter vs an off ding putter such as the Sabertooth and it's lower forgiveness and precision (which is still one of the better putters in the game).

  My method for putting is this...((Distance +/- Elevation + 2) * Green Speed (ie: 0.64 for 13 greens).  That's been getting me really close...I'm wondering if maybe that 2' extra should be a 1.5'...

• BPeterson8256 2,908 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:51 AM

  pdiehm:

  BPeterson8256:

  This is slightly off topic of how to putt, but positioning is crucial for making putts. There are 3' putts that are 50% for me (speaks as much about my putting as anything I reckon 😂). Then there are 10' putts that are virtually 100% success. And straight 6' and under putts are virtually 100% as well. My best rounds come when I am leaving the ball under the hole and mostly straight. Granted that is not easy to do on all approach shots. I do think positioning is every bit as important as technique though. 

  I just finished 18 @ Pebble Beach. I had 14 or 15 putts on the front 9, and I was within good distance to make every putt (had a few lip outs). I adjusted my strategy on the back 9 because of how I was putting, making sure to never be above the hole. My back 9 was a 26 with 9 putts.

  yeah, I would try to stay under the hole, but I honestly don't know how to read the colors on the grid to aim, but as a club member said, if you don't go for the flag, it has no chance of going in....

  But yeah I agree with the premise of leaving uphill putts...just wish I knew how to do that.  

  I totally agree with shots left short have no chance of going in. That is why I most often go for it. And it does take a lot of time to learn all the greens and where you want to be. Those are valid points. It also makes a difference what type of game you are playing. A fun game with friends is always green light. If I am playing "smart" (which I rarely do) in a Ready Go for $$$ though, then it is better to take the bird than trying for the 1 in 500 eagle.

  YankeeJim:

  Many times the correct speed will offset a slight miss and you get the drop anyway.

  +1

  pdiehm:

  My method for putting is this...((Distance +/- Elevation + 2) * Green Speed (ie: 0.64 for 13 greens).  That's been getting me really close...I'm wondering if maybe that 2' extra should be a 1.5'...

  Don't get completely hung up on the formula. Be willing to adjust based on circumstance. And then if you do adjust, you need to rethink what the ball will do. I think this is why the theory of hitting short putts real firm and YJ's "correct speed" are both true statements. I personally like the right speed approach, but there are times I hit it firm to be sure to keep the line. To do that you have to think about the fact that you are taking some of the break out of it though. 

  Like everything else, give yourself a few thousand more putts while paying attention and always learning, and you will get real good. (at least I hope that works for me some day)

  Cheers   Brett

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 8:57 AM

  pdiehm:

  My method for putting is this...((Distance +/- Elevation + 2) * Green Speed (ie: 0.64 for 13 greens).  That's been getting me really close...I'm wondering if maybe that 2' extra should be a 1.5'...

  I have a hard time understanding exact math like that when putting. When I look at a putt that basic +/- calculation is first. I already know whatever green speed I'm on so it becomes a matter of what I have to do to get as far as that math says. This is where the feel part comes in for me and it involves having more than one way to get that distance.

  For instance, a 12 foot put down 3" says hit it 9 on the surface. Now is that a hard 9 or a soft 9? The putt is downhill so it's probably going to be a soft 9 and because I use avatar moves for distance control (doomed there-new version has no movements so I'm working on the values using the PP) I can get there 2 ways-one with the 15 scale and one with the 30 scale. If I miss with the 30 scale the putt is going to tend to lip out if I miss hit it and if the slope is not as steep as I think, the 15 scale putt might be short. I would opt for the softer 9 because it's 13 greens. I might take the harder 9 if it was 12 greens.

  That kind of thinking is going to help you, IMO, more than using a calculator. Mind you, more players play with that calculator than don't so my way might take a while to get. Heh, been doing it that way from Day 1 so it's second nature but basically relies on the feel I get when looking at that arc I spoke of.  :-)

   

• pdiehm 285 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 9:28 AM

  9 feet is 9 feet.  I'm not following a hard 9 or a soft 9.  Whether you use the 10 scale, 15 scale, 30 scale, 60 scale or the 100 scale, 9' is 9'...

  but that's my interpretation, and my putting stats validate that I have no clue lol.

• BPeterson8256 2,908 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 10:15 AM

  pdiehm:

  9 feet is 9 feet.  I'm not following a hard 9 or a soft 9.  Whether you use the 10 scale, 15 scale, 30 scale, 60 scale or the 100 scale, 9' is 9'...

  but that's my interpretation, and my putting stats validate that I have no clue lol.

  What YJ is saying is the same thing I meant when I said don't get too hung up on formulas. I can give you an example on a longer putt. Example: If you are 40' above the hole on #6 at Pebble Beach and the greens are 13 speed greens. There is no standard formula that won't putt the ball all the way off the green if you miss the cup. It is not even a "soft 40". You just have to know from playing that you need to deduct an extra 2' from your calculation. That will get it to the hole and stop it there. This same thing applies for short putts. There are situations when it isn't actually 9' even if it says 9'. You need to know when to make that a firm 9, and when to make it a soft 9. It takes time to learn all these greens. 

  sorry if I just made things more confusing

  Brett

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, Jun 1 2020 11:13 AM

  BPeterson8256:

  sorry if I just made things more confusing

  Not at all, Brett, a different way to say it. 

  "9 feet is 9 feet" is the problem because it's not. 9 feet on a downslope turns into 12 feet if you aren't careful. Conversely, 9 feet on an upward incline isn't going 9 feet if you don't hit it hard enough. 

  There is no calculation for the momentum on 13 greens, you have to gauge it yourself and know when to choose soft over firm. In my case, a soft 9 comes from the 15 scale and a firm 9 comes from the 30 scale.