I suck at putting

[chalos13]

so i should ask santa for putting skills, or at least a basket. check

 

[discwizard81]

i would, couldnt hurt. a basket would help also.

 

[sonny]

Exactly, I've never met anyone who says they are good at putting.

If you're ever in NC, look me up. I'm a good putter. When I step up to a long putt, I see it going in. I've worked hard on my putting game and dammit - this putt is going in!

Now I'm probably lying to myself. I'm for sure no pro. But I believe having confidence in my putting game helps. Babying a putt is the surest way to miss it. Looking back at the last five rounds on my scorebook and counting 32 footers a putt, I see three rounds with two 2-putts, one round with four 2-putts (drats!), and one no 2-putts round. Room for improvement, you bet, and I'm doing it.

If you think you suck at putting, you probably do. It doesn't have to be that way. Practice! Pay attention to what you're doing. Practice some more. It pays dividends you don't know about until you are confident that a 25 foot putt is no big deal.

And even if you aren't a good putter, it's best to pretend when you step up to your mark. Putt with confidence.

 

[Jay Dub]

I agree, Sonny. I feel the same way. When I'm ready to putt, that ^%@&#& disc is going in. Concentration and confidence. Get total confidence 20 feet in...If you can make a 20 ft putt then you'll feel more confident when you go at it from a longer distance.

 

[TerryP]

On a good day,and I don't have many,with putting,I notice I'm always doing the same thing...and all learned from watching better players. This is by no means professional advice,but these things have helped me make many more puts than I used to.

1. Lead foot(right for me)pointing at basket,and other pointed sideways.
2.Bend legs just a bit and before putting rocking towards dirction of basket. Stand still when release
3. When you putt,release,look at your hands afterwards. I was told a clean motion/release and after release your hand should look like you are shaking hands with the basket,sort of meaning you had a clean release and followed through giving the disc a good line.

Might not make sense in words,or at least mine,but these things have improved my putting much. The next guy it might totally ruin his.

 

[Stan the Blue Man]

A basket will help this is my routine. I mark it off from 5 to 20 feet to the basket. Start at the 5 foot mark and do ur whole routine and make it 25 straight times from there so u get the muscle memory. Then move to 10 feet then do ur whole routine and make 20 Straight and so on. This will help w/ repetition of ur form, comfort and confidence. My biggest advise is do not try to practice jump putt cuz it will mess u up and u dont have to worry about does when u get ur to the intermediate, advance and pro divisions.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Get a basket and practice, practice, practice.
YouTube has some good putting videos.
David and Ken's DVD is excellent for putting advice.

 

[SpringDgLover]

If you're ever in NC, look me up. I'm a good putter. When I step up to a long putt, I see it going in. I've worked hard on my putting game and dammit - this putt is going in!

Now I'm probably lying to myself. I'm for sure no pro. But I believe having confidence in my putting game helps. Babying a putt is the surest way to miss it. Looking back at the last five rounds on my scorebook and counting 32 footers a putt, I see three rounds with two 2-putts, one round with four 2-putts (drats!), and one no 2-putts round. Room for improvement, you bet, and I'm doing it.

If you think you suck at putting, you probably do. It doesn't have to be that way. Practice! Pay attention to what you're doing. Practice some more. It pays dividends you don't know about until you are confident that a 25 foot putt is no big deal.

And even if you aren't a good putter, it's best to pretend when you step up to your mark. Putt with confidence.

I agree with being confident, no doubt, just saying that most people I ask say they suck at putting. Its kind of an inside joke with DG players, even great putters have said this to me. As for impoving and I might be a YouTube slave but Mark Ellis' putting program has worked wonders for me. Its the best way to gain confidence in putting that I have ever used.

 

[NothinButChing]

you gotta go for it.. cant kinda toss it n hope it goes in. You want it in the basket you gotta throw with confidence and authority to make certain it hits those chains n drops into the basket

 

[Fleshgordon]

you gotta go for it.. cant kinda toss it n hope it goes in. You want it in the basket you gotta throw with confidence and authority to make certain it hits those chains n drops into the basket

thats it in a nutshell along with practice,practice,practice

 

[chalos13]

so I've tried several and for now, i've settled on the soft banger GT. I'm not really getting improvement that much, but now i've got consistency. now I need to just consistently throw it in, not to the left. thanks for all the advice

 

[Technohic]

so I've tried several and for now, i've settled on the soft banger GT. I'm not really getting improvement that much, but now i've got consistency. now I need to just consistently throw it in, not to the left. thanks for all the advice

Well, at least your taking a step in the right direction.

 

[biscoe]

Exactly, I've never met anyone who says they are good at putting.

i'm good at putting- if the game were all putting i'd be 1000 rated. unfortunately there are drives and approaches as well.

practice primarily putts you can make. your body knows how to throw the disc 30 feet or so with no problem. you are trying to train your brain that all of those suckers are going in. find a routine, stick to it every time. ALWAYS finish your practice routine with a set of shorter putts that you make every one of- that way you get to sleep on your success.

more technique specific- i try to put as little spin as possible on putts, to the point of trying to think the putter is a brick or some other object you are tossing rather than a frisbee. reducing spin reduces variables. pick a chain link on the opposite side of the basket to aim for and try to putt through it- it will help you avoid coming up short.

 

[ChainMan]

more technique specific- i try to put as little spin as possible on putts, to the point of trying to think the putter is a brick or some other object you are tossing rather than a frisbee. reducing spin reduces variables. pick a chain link on the opposite side of the basket to aim for and try to putt through it- it will help you avoid coming up short.

On my best days putting that's how I'm throwing. Sometimes I get a bunch of ugly wobble on it but I'll take ugly wobble into the basket any day over a nice glider that blows by for a long come-backer. When I was watching the US championships though it looked like those guys are putting a lot of spin on?

 

[tmahan]

i'm good at putting- if the game were all putting i'd be 1000 rated. unfortunately there are drives and approaches as well.

practice primarily putts you can make. your body knows how to throw the disc 30 feet or so with no problem. you are trying to train your brain that all of those suckers are going in. find a routine, stick to it every time. ALWAYS finish your practice routine with a set of shorter putts that you make every one of- that way you get to sleep on your success.

more technique specific- i try to put as little spin as possible on putts, to the point of trying to think the putter is a brick or some other object you are tossing rather than a frisbee. reducing spin reduces variables. pick a chain link on the opposite side of the basket to aim for and try to putt through it- it will help you avoid coming up short.

I'm a decent putter and agree with this, especially the part about setting a distance and making it yours. You can always move the line back gradually. I like the part about aiming at a link on the back side. I aim at the pole about half to two-thirds the way up but it's the same idea. Only thing I'd add is that helps me to remember to finsh with my hand pointing at my target.

 

[biscoe]

On my best days putting that's how I'm throwing. Sometimes I get a bunch of ugly wobble on it but I'll take ugly wobble into the basket any day over a nice glider that blows by for a long come-backer. When I was watching the US championships though it looked like those guys are putting a lot of spin on?

depends on who it is- many of them do, feldberg in particular. climo does not. i got the idea of minimal spin putting from an article climo wrote or co-wrote in disc golf journal (long defunct publication) in the mid-90's- it suited me well so i have stuck to it. i too get ugly wobble sometimes, particularly between 35-45 feet.

 

[biscoe]

if you are missing putts long or short that is not nearly the problem that missing them to one side or the other is. missing long or short is merely related to speed/power, missing left or right is indicative of something more insidious. i never get mad at myself for missing long or short but missing the direction (particularly to the right for me) means i have f'ed something up (usually rolling my wrist) and drives me nuts.

 

[tmahan]

if you are missing putts long or short that is not nearly the problem that missing them to one side or the other is. missing long or short is merely related to speed/power, missing left or right is indicative of something more insidious. i never get mad at myself for missing long or short but missing the direction (particularly to the right for me) means i have f'ed something up (usually rolling my wrist) and drives me nuts.

John, that's where I came across the observation about finishing pointing toward the basket. I found if I missed right, I was pointing right, miss left and I'm pointing left. It's even somewhat true (for me at least) with high or low. The high low stuff drives me nuts because it tends to stick around for awhile.

 

[andrewkh]

practice makes perfect

i too am not so good at putting. i have days were i am hitting 30 ft + and can't miss so i know i have the ability to make some putts but for the most part i am lucky to hit 20 footers on a regular basis. my problem however is keeping focused and confident. when i am putting my mind goes to places it shouldn't like what I'm gonna do when i miss this putt. i have found that my best putting goes on when I'm not thinking about putting at all. my advice is figure out a good form that works for you at 10ft (10 ft putts are pretty easy) and practice it until you can't miss this will make you more confident and able to start making longer putts more regularly. also, maybe try a new putter....there might be nothing at all wrong with your putter but you might have some mental ties with your current putter that could hold you back...go check out some putters and buy one that you "think" you can make some putts with and then go make those putts. practice practice practice.....i know that's not what you want to hear but its the truth. the best players i know are also the best putters and they practice practice practice all day long. also, focus focus focus. this is my problem that i don't concentrate on making the putt and just throw it and hope it goes in, line your feet up, line your arm up, go threw the motions a few times to get the muscle memory to kick in, focus your shot and make that putt. but most importantly and this is very critical.....have fun!!!!!!!! don't get stressed if you don't make a putt because this will make you miss more putts. don't get to serious about it. just practice and have fun with it and soon enough you'll be hitting putts like a champ

 

[jesus]

For a beginner, I would suggest something that is rather simple.

Stand ten feet away from the basket and practice that **** until you own it.
Move five feet back and repeat this process.
keep going