Suggestions on where to get a good putting/ sand lesson? I played twice this wknd and I can not believe how bad I putt. I 3 putt 2/3 holes and its just pathetic, I can be on the green in regulation and still end up with a bogey, even worse be putting for par and end up with a bunch of triples. Cant decide where I should take a lesson I am in the SW area.
BTW I played Pine Crest the wknd and also at my golf course, but Pine Crest wasnt that bad except for all the water. Just a nice little cheap place that even allowed a 5 some on Saturday morning
Movies will always have the answer... THWOCK! A hideous shank squirrels across line, almost hitting a group of U.S. Open officials. Heads turn. TIN CUP (to anyone who'll listen) Who hit that shot? Anybody see? He addresses another one. And swings. THWOCK! A disaster. He crumbles. ROMEO A little thin, Boss. TIN CUP A little f**king thin?! I still got the shanks! Everybody's watching! Christ, Simms is here... Simms has arrived and is watching Tin Cup with delight as he loosens up. ROMEO Maybe we should work on putting. Ya can't shank a putt. Tin Cup pretends to limber a little more before daring to strike another ball. TIN CUP If you're the Mexican Mac O'Grady, Romes, you gotta figure out why I'm still shanking the ball. (beat) What's the problem? I'm catching it on the hosel, right? Moving my head? I'm laying off it, I'm pronating, I'm supinating, I'm clearing too early, I'm clearing too late, I'm off plane, I ain't dropping in -- oh, God, my swing feels like an unfolding lawn chair. ROMEO You got a virus in your brain. I got to kill the brain to kill the virus. TIN CUP Anything. Kill me now! ROMEO Put all your change in your right pocket. Tin Cup follows orders, not questioning the logic. ROMEO Very good. Now tie your left shoelace in a double knot. Again, Tin Cup dutifully follows orders. ROMEO Esta bueno. Now, turn your hat around backwards and put a blue tee behind your right ear... TIN CUP I'll look like a fool. ROMEO What you think you look like hitting those squirrelly chili peppers up Freddy Couples' ass, eh? Do what I say or I quit. TIN CUP Okay, okay... ROMEO Perfect... now hit a seven iron into that tree over there. You're ready. Tin Cup hits a perfect seven iron into the trees. TIN CUP How'd I do that? ROMEO You ain't thinking about shanking, you ain't thinking about the doctor lady, you ain't thinking period. You just lookin' like a fool and hittin' it pure -- your natural state. TIN CUP F**k you. ROMEO You cured. TIN CUP That's it? ROMEO That's it. Your brain was getting in the way. TIN CUP That's rarely been a problem. What now? ROMEO Well, I should recommend you go work on your short game but I think it's better if you go get drunk instead. TIN CUP Get drunk? ROMEO Yeah. You always play better when you're wasted.
Mr Dave, You didn't really say how you were missing your putts,long short left right. That could tell you something. To me putting is an individual feel thing. You read the green for break and speed, decide where you want to hit and and how hard and try to roll it like you see it. A good putt finishes inside the leather, a great putt finishes inside the leather past the cup. If it goes in, that's just a good putt that gets lucky. If you look up the stats, the pros will make less than 50% from 6'. In the old days they used to pop the ball with their wrists because all greens were slow. Today most teachers teach you to leave your hands out of putting ; using your shoulders to move the club. The triangle from your hands to your shoulders should stay the same throughout the stroke. Some teach a stroke where the putter opens and closes a little like a full swing but the timing is hard to master. I would suggest the straight back , straight through stroke. You can easily practice it by laying down a club on your intended line and making a stroke so that the back of the putter stays almost touching the shaft. The takeaway distance should be equal to the followthrough distance for whatever distance you are trying to putt. For those maddening little short ones, don't try to guide the ball. Get a line inside the cup, maybe just inside one of the lips if it really breaks, then put the ball firmly enough that if it misses the ball won't stop until it is 18" past the hole. Most of the shorties are missed by decelerating the clubhead or by putting so timidly that the ball won't hold it's line. I did get to have a talk with Loren Roberts , the boss of the moss, once about putting. He said most people waste their putting practice time by trying to make too many 10 and 15 footers. Your not gong to make many of those no matter how much you practice. He said he practices lagging inside of 4' from all around the practice green 50% of the time and then he practices nailing the 4' ers the other half of the time. Seems like a good idea to me, hold your 3 putts down to one or two a round, make a couple and you will have a pretty good putts per round average. Jeep
Jeep, Thanks for the lesson. I wish I had read it before playing today at Meadowbrook Farms. Actually, I only had a few "blocks/shanks" today. I just had about 3 blow up holes (8's) and had some major sand trouble. I do agree with you on the "inside" swing plane causing it. I, too, have played Carlton Woods once. Awesome clubhouse. Nice course but I wouldn't rank it way up there. I played a pretty forgetable round there so that may have something to do with my so-so review of it.
Gene, Sad part is I cant tell you how I am missing them. I am all over the place either way too long or way short. I an get the read pretty easily its the speed I have a problem with. I just dont know how to read it right and how to differentiate between distances for my stroke. If I could at least 2 putt from anywhere That would be awesome, but I constantly miss a 6 footer so bad that I end up 8 ft away....Same story with the short game gotta learn difference in distance but thats another story.. thanks for your tips its an honor just to talk to u...
Not really.. Dave sounds like you just need more practice time to develop some muscle memory. Most courses have a practice green that doesn't cost anything to use. Go out at 7 o'clock in the evening when it's cool and putt for an hour or so using these tips. After just a few sessions you'll see the difference. As for the kitty kitter..Most folks seem to think you have to hit it hard to get it out but I think the opposite is true. Remember the glory shots from Fred Couples; he just lets the weight of the club drop on the ball. When the ball is in the bunker, picture it like it is sitting on George Washington's face on a dollar bill. The sandwedge should enter the sand at the back of the dollar bill and exit at the front of the dollar bill. Swing just hard enough to carry the clubhead through the sand. For longer shots just follow through a little longer. For more lofted shots, open up your stance a little and swing a little out to in. In Houston we seem to have a lot of stiff sand in our bunkers because it rains so much and there isn't much elevation change to drain them. In stiff sand you need a more upright swing path. "The stiffer the sand the steeper the swing" I have been running into so much stiff sand lately, I have added a 60' lob wedge with a small bounce. Nothing makes madder than a skulled shot!! Jeep
Well I am 20 and have been playing probably for about 3 years but nothing serious until about a couple months ago. II used to play every couple months, but now I probably play at least 2 times a month. I am moving back to austin this week so I will have a lot of free time and wanna try and improve a lot so I can finally beat my dad. Thanks again for the tips
Getting a feel for putting is something that you'll catch on to the longer and more regularly you play. Take a lesson or two somewhere just to make sure your mechanics are good, but you need experience to learn how to judge speed.
Dave, go out and buy: Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by Ben Hogan It's only around $10. Read it twice and then take it to the driving range. Spend atleast 20 hours on the range trying to incorporate the books lessons in your golf swing. Then spend 10 hours on a good short game practice area. You could get the Dave Pelz short game book but it is kind of expensive. Maybe they have itr at the library. Just learn how to put the ball on the green with a wedge and sandwedge. Then spend 10 hours practicing putting. (as above) If you put in this one week's worth of work I guarantee you will break 100 in you next round. Put in one more weeks practice (40 hours) and you will break 90. The learning curve gets a bit steeper after that but if you can break 90 you will be better than 90% of all people who play golf. good luck and have fun
Gene I will definately go out and buy the book....i shoot around 101-103 right now and have the occasional 97 but being in low 90s would be nice and 80s would be my dream. Ill let u know after this wknd what I thought about the book. Then I will have to take you golfing for all your help
