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Putting, its killing me (slowly)

Tue, Dec 4 2018 2:12 PM (44 replies)
  • pmm711
    5,505 Posts
    Tue, Mar 21 2017 4:25 AM

    Heath021:

    How do you guys watch each other play in person? Travel to each other's house? Don't get it.

    JayW won a WGT Golf Contest to the US Open last year in Pittsburgh, PA.  He invited Mags to join him on the trip.  Mags flew into Atlanta, GA to meet up with Jay and had a few days of layover on both ends of the trip.  I was the host/driver in Atlanta.  Or was it at the WGT World Convention in Bali last year?  I forget.


  • oneeyedjohn
    9,567 Posts
    Tue, Mar 21 2017 6:23 AM

    Let's assume u all know how to hit the distance for any putt on any green speed.

    Rule 1.  the faster the green the more the break

    Rule 2. uphill less break, downhill more break

    Rule 3. Find the apex, and this isn't necessarily half way along the putt. On a fast downhiller the apex is much closer to you, on  a slow uphiller the apex is a lot further away from you.

     

  • Heath021
    378 Posts
    Tue, Mar 21 2017 11:25 AM

    Oh ok, I live in Pittsburgh and took the family to the U.S. open at Oakmont on Sunday. Spent pretty much the whole day in the bleachers on the 18th green. Great day! I wish I would have gotten to meet you guys.  :)

  • Heath021
    378 Posts
    Tue, Mar 21 2017 1:21 PM

    oneeyedjohn:

    Let's assume u all know how to hit the distance for any putt on any green speed.

    Rule 1.  the faster the green the more the break

    Rule 2. uphill less break, downhill more break

    Rule 3. Find the apex, and this isn't necessarily half way along the putt. On a fast downhiller the apex is much closer to you, on  a slow uphiller the apex is a lot further away from you.

     

    Oneeyed...that is a really great tip. Easy to understand and simple.

    Untill...you look at a put from every direction... look past the hole and look at the grid color. To finally determine for example...it's a 8 ft put uphill 1 inch. So, you have been programmed to hit this put at a predetermined speed from the past 30,000 puts you have hit that distance. You ding the put to all of sudden come up too short or somehow it squirts by 3 ft for no unknown reason? So now what...what did that mean? Who the hell knows!...lol. That's what I have been trying to figure out for the past 9 years playing this game.  There are so many variables associated with playing this game...(ie) is the wind going to take this shot farther than normal? Is the wind going to affect this putt like it did the last time? Is this green a little faster than before?  Way too many variables. That's why when someone shoots so low consistently is raises questions. I guess this person is a genius and can calculate on the fly or has some kind of knack of knowing exactly what to do.

  • AEli16
    56 Posts
    Thu, Mar 23 2017 7:34 PM

    oneeyedjohn - you are spot on. Kiawah greens are killing me though. If I miss another 6ft putt.........Have a great formula for distance on any green speed, its the break that gets me. Somedays I have it, others I can miss 10 to 11 birdie putts by an inch in one round. Drives me crazy!! Finding my best putting days are when I go off my first initial read of the break and then just putt it. Look long, go wrong. Also it appears to me that Olympic, Oakmont and Merion greens break harder than other courses. 

  • YankeeJim
    25,827 Posts
    Fri, Mar 24 2017 11:28 AM

    AEli16:
    Kiawah greens are killing me though

    They kill everybody that hasn't memorized the inaccuracies in the green mapping. This was WGT's early attempt at it and they didn't get it all quite right. We won't even mention the pins they added. LOL

    Each succeeding course got better but Kia is notorious for dots that don't tell the real story. 

  • K7JBQ
    1,468 Posts
    Fri, Mar 24 2017 12:33 PM

    AEli16:

    . Also it appears to me that Olympic, Oakmont and Merion greens break harder than other courses. 

    I agree. I wonder if the type of grass used was factored into the algorithms.

     

  • phred952
    2,714 Posts
    Fri, Mar 24 2017 9:23 PM

    K7JBQ:

    AEli16:

    . Also it appears to me that Olympic, Oakmont and Merion greens break harder than other courses. 

    I agree. I wonder if the type of grass used was factored into the algorithms.

     

    Crab grass?

  • drmoose
    3,531 Posts
    Sat, Mar 25 2017 5:15 AM

    phred952:
    I agree. I wonder if the type of grass used was factored into the algorithms.

    Maybe our Canadian Ambassador Frapp would have an answer to that one.

    Doc :)

  • Luckystar5
    1,636 Posts
    Sat, Mar 25 2017 5:15 AM

    Coincidence or ME thinks too much.............in my younger days, I was privileged enough to be able to play a very good game in real life.  Even played the amateur tour for a few years.  In doing so I met alot of golfing greats.  Gentle Ben once said that golf was a four letter word for a reason. Just like alot of you out there, we play in real life, with that being said, how much of that experience do we try to factor in to this game?  Open courses, ie  chamber Bay,  it says 14-16 mph, crosswinds, we know in real life that it's actually 20plus mph, due to nothing blocking the wind, so subconsciously we maybe give it a little more? Merion greens, protected from wind? (Give it less)  Time of day, greens get faster,  later in the day, sun baked, etc.  Is this us thinking too much? Or coincidence? Do the programmers know these things and factor them in?  Some greens are more shaded, hence slower, others like painted concrete, all on the same course. In my short time here on this game, I've learned the most important thing, GENTLE BEN was right,  golf is just a four letter word,  computer land or in real life......Second guessing ourselves, on any shot or putt, is our worst enemies, the worst 7 inches in golf, is the distance between our ears.................Mark Twain described golf as a beautiful walk in the park, spoiled by a little white ball. (Coincidence or thinking too much)   I'm now not trying to compete with you big boys here, but get new friends, and enjoy them and this dumb game......

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