Putting Practice?

[KWK82]

How do you practice your putting? How often? Any tips? I did a quick demo of what I do but usually with all the same putter not a bunch of different discs. Check in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDs4CYqGtAk&lc=z130wtxg4q2hjzkyr04cgbjhnw2yx32xyuo0k

 

[Halcón]

I think most players here would say that putting with the same disc, in the same weight, is best for effective putting practice. Try getting a small stack of those KC Aviars and see if that helps.

 

[Ender175]

Get a small stack of identical putters and find a way to gamify your practice time. Once you mark off set distances there's several different ways to keep score. I warm up by throwing "all-ins" from 20, 25, and 30, then a few stacks of ladders (start close and move back one mark after every throw).
Once I feel good and loose I start playing "1650" with 6 discs (my modified version of 1025, which is on the forums if you do a search). I've been doing this almost daily since February and its made a huuuge difference in my putting.

The keeping score keeps it from getting boring and let's you track your progress over time in a more tangible way. It also helps your mental game by creating mini pressure situations that you don't get just throwing stacks of putters aimlessly(whenever I realize I'm on pace for a new personal best round score I tighten up and the next stack is wicked dicey).

 

[mm1315]

^^ he's got the right idea. Another thing is don't forget to work in elevation changes with the basket both slightly above and below you as well as "obstacles" like trees and bushes if your courses have them around the basket. It helps you learn your putters more and work on angles and tight lines.

 

[bnbanbury]

i throw 50 putts every day from a distance between 20 and 25 feet. If i feel like i am a little bit off mechanically somewhere i might make some little adjustments before i start my set of 50. I do this because i only practice from a distance that i make a high percentage (over 80%) and the most important thing to me when i step up to a putt is the ability to remind myself that i hit 47 out of 50 putts like this just the other day and its nothing to worry about.

The other reason i don't putt more than that in a given day is because i think it is hard to commit to a consistent pre-shot routine when i'm throwing hundreds of putts. I want every putt to be taken only after i go through the same pre-shot routine i would go through in competition. That way when facing pressure putts in competitive rounds i have a comfortable pre-shot routine to immerse myself in and relieve thoughts about the situation.

 

[corin_brown]

For me, putting comes down to two separate things: technique & mentality. Technique is easy to practice: you just have to identify a technique, fold it into a routine you commit to and then do the reps. But the mentality that goes into putting is more difficult, if it's even possible, to practice. Having and using the correct mentality is more of a decision that you have to remember to make in the first place when you putt, rather than something you can practice, I've found.

All the above methods of practicing technique sound good. I use a stack of 10 putters identical to the ones I use during competition (175g KC Aviar) and start at 15'. Once I make all 10 putts from there, I move back 5'. Once I make all 10 putts from 20', I move back another 5' and so on until I've thrown 100 putts. I think most practice routines are some variation of this.

During a competitive round like in a tournament, it's important to have a routine and set technique and to not deviate from that at all. Burning calories on fixing your putting game during a competitive round is an easy way to score high and play your way out of the money.

Find your technique & do the reps - BEFORE you compete.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

My suggestion is based off what I've done for the last 6 months: you're done playing casual rounds unless you're playing against somebody who wants a proper battle.

If you park an upshot or drive, and you walk up and tap it in and move on - you just missed an opportunity to test yourself. I drop 4-5 putters randomly at every basket and take each putt as serious as a "real putt". What it's done for my putting is probably on par with 100 hours of backyard putting - because it has ultimately desensitized me to any pressure. If you're putting 18x5 tester putts during a round - your physiology starts to changes so that there's zero voice in your head or feeling of "oh, I better not miss this long!"... I finally found that feeling of "let the chains stop the disc".

 

[Broken Shoulder]

I realize that everyone is different, but I'm not sure it matters that much if you putt with a stack of identical putters, or have ten different putters, assuming you're practicing mostly inside the circle putts. I think it's more about putting in the reps than anything, and I like to vary my practice. Sometimes I do my whole "routine" on every putt, sometimes I don't. Doing the same thing every single time just sounds boring to me. The more fun you have the more likely you are to enjoy it, reap the benefits, and continue to do it.

As Corin stated, it's two parts: Technique and Mentality, and the latter is far more important. Find a comfortable, repeatable motion and do it the same every time. As for the mental aspect, you should decide and know you're a good putter. You should not be thinking about the outcome of the putt (miss or make) when you address it. It should be a foregone conclusion that the putt is going in because you're using the same comfortable, repeatable motion every single time. Pick your target and throw it in. Too often we make putting harder than it has to be because of mental obstacles that we are creating for ourselves. Get rid of those, they don't help you.

 

[sumo21]

Usually twice a week at a course where I can use the basket. Mentally, 24/7/365.

 

[DiscJunkie]

My best advice that I have learned lately is:
"Practice as long as you can fully concentrate on every putt"
When your concentration lags, then quit and pick it up again when you're ready to fully concentrate again.

 

[corin_brown]

As for the mental aspect, you should decide and know you're a good putter. You should not be thinking about the outcome of the putt (miss or make) when you address it. It should be a foregone conclusion that the putt is going in because you're using the same comfortable, repeatable motion every single time. Pick your target and throw it in. Too often we make putting harder than it has to be because of mental obstacles that we are creating for ourselves. Get rid of those, they don't help you.

Word to all this.

Once you've decided to run a putt, using your mind to decide you are going to make it is not about Buddism or about crystals or about any kind of self-help mumbo jumbo. This is about scoring low and was winning tournaments. A positive mentality will not guarantee a successful putt. But a negative mentality will guarantee a missed putt. (And I'm not talking about sitters from 5'-15' or any putts from a distance you can make at 100%. I'm talking about the putts you make at a much lower %.)

Like in any competition, there are no guarantees, so the only logical approach to take towards scoring lower & improving your results is to increase your odds of success as best you can. There is zero upside to entertaining thoughts of failure while attempting a putt. Your odds are much higher with an irrationally high level of confidence.

 

[ru4por]

I realize that everyone is different, but I'm not sure it matters that much if you putt with a stack of identical putters, or have ten different putters, assuming you're practicing mostly inside the circle putts.

Everyone is different, for sure. I would not want to practice inside the circle with a Zone and then look to knock down putts with my Magnet at a tournament. That would not work for me. I am trying to hit a link, and the difference in flight characteristics would make me adjust my motion to do so.
I also do not use a mid to putt, ever.....well, I guess in really crazy winds, but that has not happened yet.

 

[KniceZ]

i don't do it as much as I should - Finnish putting game.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Everyone is different, for sure. I would not want to practice inside the circle with a Zone and then look to knock down putts with my Magnet at a tournament. That would not work for me. I am trying to hit a link, and the difference in flight characteristics would make me adjust my motion to do so.
I also do not use a mid to putt, ever.....well, I guess in really crazy winds, but that has not happened yet.

And I get that, but from 15 - 25 feet are they flying radically different? I guess maybe a Zone might...
Point is, I have a couple Yetis, a couple beadless Aviars, an XD, and some P1X sitting in my skillshot. If I'm in the yard or garage zoning out and putting, I don't notice enough of a difference in the circle to make me take everything out of the rotation except for the P1X (what I putt with on the course.) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[hook_nuts]

Word to all this.

Once you've decided to run a putt, using your mind to decide you are going to make it is not about Buddism or about crystals or about any kind of self-help mumbo jumbo. This is about scoring low and was winning tournaments. A positive mentality will not guarantee a successful putt. But a negative mentality will guarantee a missed putt. (And I'm not talking about sitters from 5'-15' or any putts from a distance you can make at 100%. I'm talking about the putts you make at a much lower %.)

Like in any competition, there are no guarantees, so the only logical approach to take towards scoring lower & improving your results is to increase your odds of success as best you can. There is zero upside to entertaining thoughts of failure while attempting a putt. Your odds are much higher with an irrationally high level of confidence.

So self help mumbo jumbo is logical? You argue against it for some reason and then your explanation is it basically. I'm a little confused.

 

[runningDoc]

if you don't already do a straddle stance putt, don't forget to practice straddle putts (weather its a spin, straddle, or push), putting from the anny/off side (from the left side if you're right handed) in situations where you have to putt around things/bad footing, and also putting from the knee (to go under stuff/when the going from the knee makes the lie a lot easier).

I practiced them this winter (a lot of straddle putt/from the knee situations in these wooded/bushy new england courses) and it seems like its saved some significant strokes.

So I'll practice my normal spin putt until if feels good, then do some straddles, and offside putts sessions with 5 putters.

towards the end of practice I'll walk out to different distances (20, 25, 30ft) then spread 5 putters around the area and do the different putts (linear spin putt, straddle putt, anny/offside putt) to break the monotony.

 

[corin_brown]

So self help mumbo jumbo is logical? You argue against it for some reason and then your explanation is it basically. I'm a little confused.

Yeah, sorry. That wasn't clear. The logic I was referring to was the logic of deciding not to entertain the possibility of missing a putt you've decided to run, because you'll never increase your odds of making that putt by entertaining those thoughts.

I only mentioned that this approach wasn't "self help mumbo jumbo" because all I want to accomplish with this approach is to make a higher % of my putts. Not trying to improve my life, just score lower.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I'm feeling really good about my putting right now. My mentality toward putting practice changed recently. Possibly coincidence, but I'm choosing to believe it's consequence.

Previously, I made sure I was putting the same way every time. I focused on inside the circle putts, and tried to only practice from where I could make putts.

Now I don't worry about any of that stuff. I don't think about how my form today might be different from yesterday's. I just try to make everything however seems right at the moment. I call it "working on my disc IQ". I'm just working on being able to make a disc do whatever my whimsical desires dictate. I putt from anywhere I feel. 10', 50', 100' ... I don't count makes and misses; only good putts.

Oh, and I spend time at a bar with a basket in it.