Putting practice “expectations”

[Rastnav]

My putting is beyond awful right now. I've tried so many different things, stagger vs. straddle, different loading points, different foot angles, spin, push, etc. Every time I think I have something figured out, it won't transfer over to the next day, or even the next practice session. And I don't even want to talk about taking it to the course. It's just beyond a nightmare out there the last month or two.

But this question isn't about that, or at least I don't think it is.

My question, in its simplest form, is what percentage of putts do you expect to make from 20 feet in your backyard? I'm not talking one time, I mean every time, over time.

The reason I'm asking about 20 feet is because it seems to me that's roughly the distance where putts stop going from "I can yeet this into the basket any old way" to "I need to actually putt this with proper form". That's the distance things go from trivial to terrible for me. And it seems to me, in your backyard, under ideal conditions, you ought to be pretty near 100% at 20'. If you can't make putts nearly automatically at that distance, I'm thinking something has to be off with what you are doing.

Is that off base? Or is it valid?

 

[RowingBoats]

My putting is beyond awful right now. I've tried so many different things, stagger vs. straddle, different loading points, different foot angles, spin, push, etc. Every time I think I have something figured out, it won't transfer over to the next day, or even the next practice session. And I don't even want to talk about taking it to the course. It's just beyond a nightmare out there the last month or two.

But this question isn't about that, or at least I don't think it is.

My question, in its simplest form, is what percentage of putts do you expect to make from 20 feet in your backyard? I'm not talking one time, I mean every time, over time.

The reason I'm asking about 20 feet is because it seems to me that's roughly the distance where putts stop going from "I can yeet this into the basket any old way" to "I need to actually putt this with proper form". That's the distance things go from trivial to terrible for me. And it seems to me, in your backyard, under ideal conditions, you ought to be pretty near 100% at 20'. If you can't make putts nearly automatically at that distance, I'm thinking something has to be off with what you are doing.

Is that off base? Or is it valid?

100% is a rough target haha. 9+/10? Ya, Id say that with the same footing and basket orientation from 20', the average enthusiast in this sport can probably do that. Just vibing at the same spot over and over is pretty easy to get super high consistency at 20' for me.

If I put a disc 20' out, take a putt, go inside for 5m, then go back out and take a putt from that spot, and repeat this 100x? My score would be substantially negatively impacted. And really, THIS to me is the real test of putting consistency.

 

[drk_evns]

Valid. If I miss a putt from 20 and in, I've pretty much not focused at all or something is really wrong.

I'm making 97/100. Just checked my last 4 rounds of PP360 for that number.

 

[RowingBoats]

I just threw a stack of 10 random mismatched putters on my back porch, 20' from the pole, pristine conditions, 10x.

I missed the first and last ones, and if that doesn't say everything about my disc golf game, I don't know what does.

 

[autocrosscrx]

So I've been keeping tabs of my C1X putting on course for scored rounds for a while. So that is a mix of shorter putts, 30 footers, puts in the rain, putts in the wind, putts with 10 feet elevation change, putts from a knee, putts from the thorns, putts straddling a dead tree, etc. I hit about 60-63%. Not great, but also in line with the bulk of the FPO field (under obviously different circumstances). And from what I can see on course, in line with or better than most on course with comparable skillsets.

When I practice as you describe, resetting every shot, I hit about 80% on bad days and over 90% on good days.

 

[ru4por]

IMO...putting is comfort and concentration. Having played for a long time, I never had the YouTubes to show different styles and techniques. I found a comfortable toss that I could put into the chains. Developed a pre shot routine that I don't waiver from, this provides me the opportunity to focus. I have practiced my throw extensively on and off. Putting just like KJUSA, will not make you a good putter like KJUSA. Putting is throwing your disc to a friend. Find a comfortable action that you can consistently deliver the disc to your friend from the circle in.

Now I am still not a great putter, but more practice would likely make me one. I am not interested in changing putters or styles as the interwebz changes. One routine, one putter, one throw.

 

[autocrosscrx]

IMO...putting is comfort and concentration. Having played for a long time, I never had the YouTubes to show different styles and techniques. I found a comfortable toss that I could put into the chains. Developed a pre shot routine that I don't waiver from, this provides me the opportunity to focus. I have practiced my throw extensively on and off. Putting just like KJUSA, will not make you a good putter like KJUSA. Putting is throwing your disc to a friend. Find a comfortable action that you can consistently deliver the disc to your friend from the circle in.

Now I am still not a great putter, but more practice would likely make me one. I am not interested in changing putters or styles as the interwebz changes. One routine, one putter, one throw.

Personally, I find putting to be an incredibly unnatural movement and it took a lot of copying forms and trial and error to find something that consistently gives me a chance of making a putt from past about 20 feet.

 

[ru4por]

Personally, I find putting to be an incredibly unnatural movement and it took a lot of copying forms and trial and error to find something that consistently gives me a chance of making a putt from past about 20 feet.

I suppose a childhood of throwing frisbees is an advantage.

 

[Waddball]

My question, in its simplest form, is what percentage of putts do you expect to make from 20 feet in your backyard?

I'm a bad putter in the wild, but in my backyard I expect to make ~85% of 20 foot putts with no pressure and no weird conditions (wind, lie, rain, etc.).

I'm in no position to give advice, but I generally practice putts from a bunch of effectively random (but reasonable) distances and lies rather than try to dial in a repetitive putt over and over. I'm improving little by little, but it's a long way to go before I feel confident about anything in C1.

 

[txmxer]

This winter/spring I was doing a lot of putting from marked distances inside my shop building. I did it inside to minimize variables and try to find a stroke I was comfortable with.

I improved some. I've also had times when I went backwards and had to regroup. When I feel that, I move in close and try to get my feel, form, and sequence back.

This may take multiple sessions or days.

When I feel good with the above, I have 2 baskets outdoors at 45' apart. I throw 5-10 discs between the two. Anything outside 15' I'll clean up. The rest of the discs I'll throw back to the other basket from the lie. If it's in the basket I'll move around in front or beside the basket.

I don't make a lot of these 40-50' putts, but I'm okay with that if I feel good about my stroke. I make 0-20% of my throws from that range on a given set of 5-10 discs.

When I move in to c1 it feels like a short putt and I'm pretty confident—no idea what the percentage is. My cleanups are generally 15-25 and if I miss I know it's because I failed to follow through my routine.

 

[B The V]

If you are constantly changing your putting stroke you are never going to gain muscle memory. Find something that feels comfortable and putt 100 times at like 10 or 12 feet. Do that for a few days and it will start to feel natural. Then push back to 15-20 and keep repeating your routine and stroke. 100 putts sounds like a lot but it really doesn't take that much time to squeeze in 100 putts in a day. I'll putt from 20ish feet about 100-200 putts a day the week or two before a tournament. By the time I play the tournament those inside the circle putts and my routine happen without me thinking about it.

 

[Rastnav]

If you are constantly changing your putting stroke you are never going to gain muscle memory. Find something that feels comfortable and putt 100 times at like 10 or 12 feet. Do that for a few days and it will start to feel natural. Then push back to 15-20 and keep repeating your routine and stroke. 100 putts sounds like a lot but it really doesn't take that much time to squeeze in 100 putts in a day. I'll putt from 20ish feet about 100-200 putts a day the week or two before a tournament. By the time I play the tournament those inside the circle putts and my routine happen without me thinking about it.

The issue has been that I'm putting hundreds and hundreds of putts, getting to feel natural, make a bunch of putts ... and then I start at ground zero the next day and struggle to get anywhere close to the previous results. I mean 60%+ of my putts missing, frequently missing the chains entirely, wide right.

Although, the latest iteration is maybe working, finally. A basic straddle, low to high, push putt. That's finally netting repeatable results. At some point I'll have to play in wind and be sad, but I'll cross that bridge when I've crossed this one. I mostly play woods golf in NC, so it's not like I have to deal with Oklahoma where the winds come sweeping 'cross the plains.

As for things happening without thinking about them, that's not a place I can go. If I'm unfocused, I won't make anything. Probably not what you really meant, but I have to consciously focus.

 

[autocrosscrx]

The issue has been that I'm putting hundreds and hundreds of putts, getting to feel natural, make a bunch of putts ... and then I start at ground zero the next day and struggle to get anywhere close to the previous results. I mean 60%+ of my putts missing, frequently missing the chains entirely, wide right.

Although, the latest iteration is maybe working, finally. A basic straddle, low to high, push putt. That's finally netting repeatable results. At some point I'll have to play in wind and be sad, but I'll cross that bridge when I've crossed this one. I mostly play woods golf in NC, so it's not like I have to deal with Oklahoma where the winds come sweeping 'cross the plains.

As for things happening without thinking about them, that's not a place I can go. If I'm unfocused, I won't make anything. Probably not what you really meant, but I have to consciously focus.

1) You may already do this, but make sure you have a pre-shot routine.

2) Have you ever used video? It might help you identify the why.

 

[txmxer]

The issue has been that I'm putting hundreds and hundreds of putts, getting to feel natural, make a bunch of putts ... and then I start at ground zero the next day and struggle to get anywhere close to the previous results. I mean 60%+ of my putts missing, frequently missing the chains entirely, wide right.

Although, the latest iteration is maybe working, finally. A basic straddle, low to high, push putt. That's finally netting repeatable results. At some point I'll have to play in wind and be sad, but I'll cross that bridge when I've crossed this one. I mostly play woods golf in NC, so it's not like I have to deal with Oklahoma where the winds come sweeping 'cross the plains.

As for things happening without thinking about them, that's not a place I can go. If I'm unfocused, I won't make anything. Probably not what you really meant, but I have to consciously focus.

When I was trying to find my stroke, I found inside 20', the straddle push putt to be accurate and repeatable. I can't jump putt and find it hard to get much more distance accurately doing that, but it's a confidence boost to get some consistency inside 20'.

Out to about 40' maybe 50', I now try to throw a straight and level putt from the waste. Chris Clemons has a putting video that I found helpful. He's a lefty, but it's the same mechanics right or left.

 

[Rastnav]

I would think that finding yourbpre-putt routine is part and parcel of finding your putting stroke?

In any case, I'm not just stepping up and winging putts. I reset after each putt' completely leaving the spot , picking up the next putter ' resetting and go through several practice strokes, trying to focus on one or two "keys". I have a disc dot and I try to make sure I'm focusing on that through the stroke. But, I have ADD and I can easily ending up losing focus from the start of my stroke to the end.

I've haven't yet taken video of my putt. May try it, but ... putts are like snowflakes.

 

[Horsman]

I feel like I'm an oddball here. I try to clear my mind and just let me body take over. I try not to focus on on anything. I also have the muscle memory built up so I just try to trust my body. When I try to think about the wind or the band or a chain or two I tend to miss those putts and then I kick myself for thinking that much about it just to miss the putt.

 

[txmxer]

I feel like I'm an oddball here. I try to clear my mind and just let me body take over. I try not to focus on on anything. I also have the muscle memory built up so I just try to trust my body. When I try to think about the wind or the band or a chain or two I tend to miss those putts and then I kick myself for thinking that much about it just to miss the putt.

I think that is the natural consequence of many many throws.

I'd compare it to a jump shot in basketball. When I played daily as a kid/teen, it was all second nature because I had done it 1000s of times.

You mention wind conditions—I'm assuming you adjust for it, you just don't actively think "I need 10 degrees of anhyzer to compensate for the right to left wind"?

 

[R-Ogre]

Since you're talking wind….As with driving it seems to me that getting a basic swing that gets you a flat or even slightly down nose angle goes a long way to dealing with wind. For me and maybe a lot of other people our instinctual putting mechanic gives a nose-up release which magnifies the adjustment you need for head/tailwind by a lot.

 

[Horsman]

I think that is the natural consequence of many many throws.

I'd compare it to a jump shot in basketball. When I played daily as a kid/teen, it was all second nature because I had done it 1000s of times.

You mention wind conditions—I'm assuming you adjust for it, you just don't actively think "I need 10 degrees of anhyzer to compensate for the right to left wind"?

Definitely adjust for it but yea I dont actively think about it. Generally the only time I stop and think about a putt is when Im putting from jail and need to choose which bad line I want to try and putt thru. My best putting performances come when I can get into a flow state of mind.

 

[Horsman]

Since you're talking wind….As with driving it seems to me that getting a basic swing that gets you a flat or even slightly down nose angle goes a long way to dealing with wind. For me and maybe a lot of other people our instinctual putting mechanic gives a nose-up release which magnifies the adjustment you need for head/tailwind by a lot.

I also have a big advantage here. Im 6'6" and Im usually putting down at the basket so I naturally putt with the nose down