Putting Practice that Works

[Sheep]

DO putt when you're tired...if you already have a good putting stroke. You are absolutely going to have to drain putts in real situations when you are tired or otherwise not in a perfect mental state of mind. You will need practice battling yourself. I find myself battling in those basement winter sessions almost every time. Work through it. Don't make yourself a stranger to triumphing over this during real rounds. Work through this in the basement.

You putt, like, 36 times maximum in a round.

What is the benefit of putting till you're exhausted you can barely lob the putts at the basket and just absolutely destroy your muscle memory after 200-300 putts?

The point of not putting while fatigued is to maintain your form perfection. When you are fatigued you create bad muscle memory.

You putt till you get a little tired and stop. You take a break for 10 or 15 mins and come back and putt again.

After time you can putt longer and longer sessions.

But if you just put while tired and drained where you cannot perform the motion clean and smooth, you're literally making bad muscle memory. All the work you just spent draining putts for the last 5 minutes will go right out the window.

Our muscles do bad things when we over work them and dont give them a break.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Hey, the new site is up and I can comment!

I did mention that my way of battling through it in practice is probably best for those who have worked up and solidified their stroke. Maybe you missed that.

I would imagine a lot of people fall between you and me in the continuum of this issue. Mileages may vary once people discover what works for them.

Let's remember a few things.

I can assure you it works for me and I have no issues with my form degrading when I practice battling through a little fatigue or otherwise less-than-ideal frames of mind so that when it matters I have lots of experience dealing with this. The results have spoken for themselves for me and I've won actual money with my putting. When a tester putt for par comes up several times in a round with ratings points and standings on the line, I am much more able to battle myself instead of the putt because, like I said, in my brain the mechanics of a putt are like a horse automatically going home to grandma's house, and I gave myself 100 mental reps a hundred times the previous winter. I have had stellar results doing what I do.

I only putt 100 times in a practice session. It's like 15 to 20 minutes. I'm not advocating for hundreds and hundreds of putts at a time over hours especially for an age-protected guy like myself. Honestly, if you can't work through 15 minutes of this, how tough are you going to be all the live-long day in a tournament when it's not sunny, calm and 72 degrees and you haven't gotten 8 hours of sleep?

You do you, and others are welcome to follow either of our words of advice. Some say the advice you get is worth what you pay for it...

 

[Sheep]

Hey, the new site is up and I can comment!

I did mention that my way of battling through it in practice is probably best for those who have worked up and solidified their stroke. Maybe you missed that.

I would imagine a lot of people fall between you and me in the continuum of this issue. Mileages may vary once people discover what works for them.

Let's remember a few things.

I can assure you it works for me and I have no issues with my form degrading when I practice battling through a little fatigue or otherwise less-than-ideal frames of mind so that when it matters I have lots of experience dealing with this. The results have spoken for themselves for me and I've won actual money with my putting. When a tester putt for par comes up several times in a round with ratings points and standings on the line, I am much more able to battle myself instead of the putt because, like I said, in my brain the mechanics of a putt are like a horse automatically going home to grandma's house, and I gave myself 100 mental reps a hundred times the previous winter. I have had stellar results doing what I do.

I only putt 100 times in a practice session. It's like 15 to 20 minutes. I'm not advocating for hundreds and hundreds of putts at a time over hours especially for an age-protected guy like myself. Honestly, if you can't work through 15 minutes of this, how tough are you going to be all the live-long day in a tournament when it's not sunny, calm and 72 degrees and you haven't gotten 8 hours of sleep?

You do you, and others are welcome to follow either of our words of advice. Some say the advice you get is worth what you pay for it...

That makes a bit more sense when you explain it like that.

Some people really take advice all the wrong ways, so you gotta be careful how you explain some things.

It's important to have some stamina putting, but the main point I try and make is, if you get tired at 5 minutes, stop trying to putt for 15.

Build up the stamina to putt longer, don't just trash your form trying to put for a set time period.

Gotta treat it like lifting weights. Dont over do it, but over time you can do more reps.

 

[Waddball]

There's been a lot of block drill practice recommended in this thread, and it can work for certain aspects of form changes (in any sport).

But my experience, as a coach and a player across several sports (and decades), is that once you're good on form changes (understanding/internalizing the mechanics), you should primarily be concerned about game execution. You'll get way more bang for your buck with random drills. You'll never take the same putt twice, so practice more like you actually play.

 

[Sheep]

There's been a lot of block drill practice recommended in this thread, and it can work for certain aspects of form changes (in any sport).

But my experience, as a coach and a player across several sports (and decades), is that once you're good on form changes (understanding/internalizing the mechanics), you should primarily be concerned about game execution. You'll get way more bang for your buck with random drills. You'll never take the same putt twice, so practice more like you actually play.

Practice like you play is part of the whole deal behind my putting drill.
It forces you to re-set every time and run your routine vs standing in one place and slinging discs randomly at the basket. cause that's what youre doing there.

It's also why when I give lessons, we go to a course, not a field.
I want to see you throw on the course.
We play a few holes then we start the lesson, because you gotta get the jitters out.

When I practice, I practice on the course, not in a field.

Field work is good if you dont have a net, so you can drill out some mechanic, but when it comes to legit practice, it needs to be on the course, not in a field.

The more real world you can make anything the better.

Which is why you need to practice tournament brain at tournaments.

I can play 50 dollar money rounds just fine, but put me in a tournament. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. omg its a joke.

 

[ChrisWoj]

You putt, like, 36 times maximum in a round.

What is the benefit of putting till you're exhausted you can barely lob the putts at the basket and just absolutely destroy your muscle memory after 200-300 putts?

The point of not putting while fatigued is to maintain your form perfection. When you are fatigued you create bad muscle memory.

You putt till you get a little tired and stop. You take a break for 10 or 15 mins and come back and putt again.

After time you can putt longer and longer sessions.

But if you just put while tired and drained where you cannot perform the motion clean and smooth, you're literally making bad muscle memory. All the work you just spent draining putts for the last 5 minutes will go right out the window.

Our muscles do bad things when we over work them and dont give them a break.

Eh... I'd say that, considering the relatively tiny amount of effort, and the amount of time taken between each rep, it should not be hard to putt a few hundred times without an extended break. The worry for most people is going to be mental fatigue more than physical fatigue during long sets of putts. Note I'm not talking about ALL putting - obviously if you're taking jumpers thats going to be more fatiguing than C1s from 18, or even C2 standstills from 35-40. But really putting in general is not nearly as physically fatiguing as lifting weights. You're performing maybe a quarter-squat, and flinging a 170ish gram disc. If you're practicing proper setup on each putt you're easily taking 15-20 seconds between reps. That gives me up to 1/3 as much rest time as I get between sets of 10+ reps with weights (hypertrophy workout).

I wouldn't worry nearly as much about my form slipping as my mind wandering, building bad mental habits for tournaments, if I'm not used to long putting sessions.

 

[Waddball]

Hard to disagree that putting isn't all that fatiguing. I've certainly cranked out a couple hundred putts in a block session (pick a spot, throw 10, pick 'em up and do it again from a different spot, etc.). And I think being "comfortably" fatigued is probably best, as it's like a normal round.

I mostly do all that for fun, though; it's intrinsically enjoyable, like casually tossing darts or cornhole bags. I don't feel it actually improves my putting all that much, and in fact I think it sometimes causes regression. I feel like a subconscious sense creeps in that the aggregate matters more than *this putt right now*. I do improve in actual rounds at making my frustration putts with the driver after I clank the putt that actually counts. I'm amazing at those.

I don't play tournaments, but I do play frequently (a few times a week). If I'm in a bad place with putting, I'm much better off going out and doing 20-30 approaches and putts from varying distances, elevations, wind, obstructions (must do some straddles) and so forth. I learn more that way, and it resets my mechanics better than tons of reps. And if you watch that video I referenced above, it's easy to see why: every putt requires reading, planning, and execution, instead of overwhelmingly focusing on the latter.

 

[ChrisinFL]

Percentage makes at various distances…

So, no wait. First session. Notes: My son has a few of my putters. I had ten putters available and used them all - only 4 are my normal use ones (3 Judges/1 Warden). Did rapid fire. Up to 30 feet, I held putters in my left hand and putted with my right - how I usually do rapid fire. From 35 feet on, I sat them down and used both hands - same putting style, but I think I get more power more easily with second hand free. Also, at 35 feet I noticed I had to aim a little right to account for fade, or purposely add more wrist flick spin to the disc, or best seems to maybe be a combination of both. Results:
10' - 10 of 10 (I will miss sometimes, but should not be often).
15' - 7 of 10 (I think 2 misses were at start, then found my rhythm and made 7 of 8).
20' - 4 of 10
25' - 4 of 10 (happy with that).
30' - 1 of 10 (not happy).
35' - 1 of 10
40' - 1 of 10
45' - 1 of 10 (threw all in one session, starting closest and working to longest; noticed at 45-50'
50' - 1 of 10 I was tiring some, and many putts were coming up short).
At some future point, I will post results again, hopefully showing improvement!

10/21/2023 update:
Putting practice, ten putts, ten putters, throwing all at 10', back up to 15', etc. I know this is not live play percentages - it is just my way to gauge progress (or lack of):
Makes out of 10:
10' - 10
15' - 10
20' - 8
25' - 7
30' - 4 **Current goal is to consistently get over 50% at 30'.
35' - 3
40' - 1
45' - 2
50' - 1
I practice all distances, but for now I do a lot extra at 20', 25', and 30'.

 

[DumfriesLizzie]

Putting is the only strong part of my game. What am I doing? I have two practice baskets in my garage. One is a standard-size basket that you would find on a course. It's near one of the garage doors. The other is a collapsible basket that I sometimes take out to the field. It's positioned closer to the door that goes into the house. There are lots of obstacles between the baskets as I am using that side of the garage as a tool shed: lawnmower, bicycle, two snow throwers, wheelbarrow, trash can, recycle can, etc.

I'm going somewhere most days. And even on those days when I stay home, I'm doing the following *daily* practice (unless I am sick):

1. Raise the garage doors so as not to crack another window... And, of course, to vent the exhaust from the car.
2. If I am going somewhere, crank up the car and as the engine is warming up...
3. Putt 5 discs (a mix of worn-out (and just plain cheap and lame) putters and mid ranges) into one basket. Distance is 10-12 feet.
4. If three or more of the five throws are misses, then I have to try again from the same position.
5. If one or two are misses, I get to tap in from 4-5 feet.
6. I have a second starting position that uses the first basket and that is maybe a little longer (12 to 15 ft). Engine still warming up. Miss rule still applies.
7. Putt to the second basket either short or long or a combination. Miss rule still applies.

If I don't miss anything, then I have thrown in 15 putts in maybe 3-5 minutes. But, of course, I miss sometimes. If I'm having a particularly bad morning, maybe it's a 10-minute affair, and I've thrown 25-30 putts.

I think it's important to practice the short putt at least some of the time because you will often have that distance that's not quite a gimme. When playing the course recreationally or in a tournament. Need to develop confidence in that stroke as well.

I try to be aware of what is actually working mechanically on those good throws. And repeat those movements over and over again. There's a whole range of them, and they don't all always come into play. Grasping what works when is what I'm aiming to continue learning.

I should also add that I have become a regular user of the step putt (with an understable midrange or fairway driver) for a more controlled final approach to the basket. (I am just trying to lay up, but sometimes it goes in!) I do practice that step putt from 35-50 ft out in the field. Maybe once every 1-2 weeks.

And, of course, on the course during recreational play, I may practice the regular putt and the step putt just for my information (not a mulligan or part of the stroke count). If there's no one waiting!

 

[Nick Pacific]

Having a basket right outside the door was definitely the catalyst for stepping up my practice game, best 300 bucks I ever spent. That, and some good tunes, podcasts, good craft beer, cigars, smoke, and meat cookin on the grill. What a great way to spend time after work getting in some exercise.

Shots out to all my buddies who came over and gave me their lunch money in games of horse.

 

[ChrisinFL]

I got an MVP Black Hole Pro for $150 on Amazon - definitely a difference maker to be able to practice putting in the back yard any time it isn't raining.

 

[Sheep]

Having a basket right outside the door was definitely the catalyst for stepping up my practice game, best 300 bucks I ever spent. That, and some good tunes, podcasts, good craft beer, cigars, smoke, and meat cookin on the grill. What a great way to spend time after work getting in some exercise.

Shots out to all my buddies who came over and gave me their lunch money in games of horse.

Yeah, Grillin and puttin.
Can't beat it.
Unless you cookin stuff that needs attention.