[igrowgrass]

How many putts do you hit before a round?
How long is your session before you go?
On average how many putts do you hit in each of these ranges
0-3ft
3-5
5-10
10+
Please include your handicap, trying to formulate a theory on practice putting.

[ChipRoyce]

First of all, I'm a 10 index.

I find that when I focus on mechanics and not feel, my game goes to pieces really quickly.

Instead of the usual kinds of putts you describe below, I pretend to putt 9 or 18 holes of varying length. I look for putts that mirror each of the holes on my home course.

For instance, first hole is a long par 5 so I pick a practice hole / target some 30-40 feet away and try to lag my putt so I can get home in 2 = par. Second is a par 3, so I give myself a 10-12 footer and so on. I keep score against par - started out around 4-5 over par and now tend to score between even and two over.

I'd reccomend this for many feel players as it builds confidence and helps groove your feel for distance and quality of your first read.

[igrowgrass]

Have you ever tried just to hit putts you have a better chance of making? Hitting 95 percent of your pre-round putts from inside 4 ft, and get use to what its like to see the ball go in the hole all the time.  Only hitting a few lag putts not even to a cup but to the edge of a green?

[Phil McDade]

I try to hit about 20-30 putts before a round, almost all from between 10 and 20 feet, leaning toward the latter. I simply try to guage speed, nothing else. I may practice a few 3-5 footers if I miss my first putts by that much, but don't conciously set out to make a bunch of short ones. It's almost all medium-length putts to guage speed. I play to about an 18 on my good days.

[Andy Troeger]

You mean golf courses have practice greens?  

Actually in all seriousness about a third to half my rounds I go straight from the pro shop to the first tee if its open and hope for the best.

The rest of the time I tend to like to work on longer putts on the practice green trying to get the idea of what speed is like. I don't worry as much about the shorter ones.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I am a five.

I wiill hit two uphill putts, two downhill putts and ten or so four footers.  It I am playing in a competition I will putt for about twenty minutes, mostly short ones.

[igrowgrass]

I've been trying this new thing the last few months were I hit 2 or 3 putts over 25 feet to try and get the 'speed' down.  Then I focus on putts inside 4 ft,  maybe hitting 35 of them or so, it doesn't take that long, using 2 balls.  Hearing that sound of the ball going in the hole is a confidence builder for me.  The last couple of those will be full routine and then its time to go.  
I now have much more confidence over short putts on the golf course.

[Jim Johnson]

Sometimes I'll choose a fairly level area of the practice green, stick a wooden tee in it, and putt to that tee from various distances.

Makes the cup on each green seem a whole lot bigger.

 

JJ

[Gordon Oneil]

Once upon a time I played at scratch...
Whether on the practice tee or green, I try and duplicate the entire process of hitting a shot or a putt as closely as possible.  For example, I never hit a range ball or putt without going through my preshot routine which includes, most importantly, lining the shot up from behind the ball.  Practicing any other way is usually an exercise in reinforcing mistakes and misalignment.
Also, when is the last time you played a round of golf with more than one ball.  Especially with regards to getting a feel for green speed, using only one ball forces you to concentrate on the speed for the length of every putt you hit rather than just trying to repeat the one before just a bit harder or softer.
Makes sense to me and has made a difference on the golf course.

[wsmorrison]

I love to practice, be it putting, short game and full swing.  I'll play one or two times a week but practice three or four times a week.  It takes less time and I consider it fun.  After practice, I may go play a couple of holes, but I make dedicated trips to the course just to practice.  Our putting green has some slopes and speed that there are dozens of interesting putts and I like to bring my boys and have competitions on the greens to make practice even more interesting.  The putter than won the last hole picks whatever putt he wants next.  With 16 and 14 year olds along, the putts chosen can be pretty imaginative.  When by myself, I practice long putts for speed and feel, medium putts for line and speed and short putts for line, intermingling them to keep it from being boring.  Usually end up by practicing "compass putts" where I try to make 6 foot putts with 2 balls from each of 4 points of the compass around each of the 9 pin locations.  If I miss one, I just keep going.

On days I am about to play, I just putt for about 10 minutes starting with long putts, then medium putts and finally short putts that I try to make a few in a row before I head to the nearby tee.  Our other course doesn't have a practice green (yet) so I go in with low expectations and try not to be aggressive on the first few holes.

I recently went to a more open stance (I have a heel-shafted putter) and my putting has significantly improved.  Kind of like Ray Floyd but not at all upright.  I see the line very well and make a solid stroke.

[Craig Sweet]

I find the fastest looking spot (usually downhill) on the practice green and try a couple of 8-10 ft putts to get the absolute fastest speed I can expect, and dial in my touch...then I try a couple of straight, flat putts of 6ft...now I am done.

[A.G._Crockett]

5 handicap, 5-10 minutes on the putting green before I play.

4-5 straight, flat putts from about 3 ft. with just my right hand, then the same with just my left, to get the feeling of each hand releasing the putter head.  
Then the same with my normal grip.  
Then 5 or 6 putts from the center of the putting green to the fringe in different directions, both uphill and down and breaking both ways to get the speed without worrying about making the putt.  
Then go play.

BTW, pre-round is very different from a practice session, whether it is full-swing or short game or putting.

[Tom Birkert]

It will depend entirely on the amount of time I have. My priority is not normally to practice, it is to have breakfast!

I will always make sure I stretch, and I will swing a couple of clubs together to loosen my muscles further. If I have time I will do some chipping and pitching and putting, but I very rarely hit balls on the range prior to playing.

With regards to putting, it will depend on which course I play (the first tee of one course is located just past the putting green, the first tee of the other course is in the other direction).

When I do practice putt, I will only ever use one ball, and I focus on hitting putts of differing lengths to try and get a feel for the speed of the greens. I couldn’t tell you the last time I plonked 3 balls down 5 feet away and tried to make them. I specifically don’t practice them because I expect to make them on the course.

For the record, I’m a 4.8 in England and my putting is considered - by my peers I hasten to add - as being very good.

[Ed_Baker]

6.8 index

I start with eight to ten 20 to 25 footers all uphill trying to set the tone for the day of making an agressive stroke. Once I am satisfied that I'm stroking through the ball instead of "hitting" or "punching" putts, I stroke about 4 or 5 ten foot downhillers for a little touch..

Next I find a fairly flat part of the green and try and make ten, 4 footers in a row, this usually takes a couple of trys, ie; I'll make 5 or 6 in a row and then miss and have to start over, I usually allow about a half hour for the whole process before I have to tee off.

Sometimes when the demon rum is invovled I never make ten in a row and run out of time, this usually translates in to a long day on the golf course.

[Ted Kramer]

6-10 handi.
No formal routine.
spend about 5-10 minutes putting before a round.
Most important part of my pre-round-routine is a quick nip of Jack Daniels from my flask before my first tee shot . . .

-Ted

[Matt_Sullivan]

I'm a 1 at present

I never practice putting before a social round, unless I have to wait 20 minutes for the first tee to clear.

Before a comp round I will practice 30-40 footers. Maybe hit 10-20 of these and try and two putt from where the first putts end up

Matt

[Ally Mcintosh]

4 handicap...

hardly ever go to the putting green... they are (criminally) almost always a poor representation of the actual greens and i find that by missing a bunch of four footers i put myself in the wrong frame of mind... i'd rather judge it when i get out there, sink one on the first and set myself up for the day...

...i do however try and hit some short chips as this area of my game goes completely to pot without practice...

[Phil Benedict]

My course has two practice greens, one of which is the funkiest green on the course by far.  I try to avoid this green because it's weird and doesn't replicate at all what you get out on the course.  The other green is small and can only accommodate a few players.  If it's not too crowded I'll take a few putts on this green before a typical round.  I try to make a few 4-footers from a variety of angles.  I will also take a few long putts to gauge the speed.

Loren Roberts contends that putting practice should consist mainly of hitting 40-footers and 4-footers, and I try to follow his advice.

[Andrew Mitchell]

How many putts do you hit before a round?
How long is your session before you go?
On average how many putts do you hit in each of these ranges
0-3ft
3-5
5-10
10+
Please include your handicap, trying to formulate a theory on practice putting.

Handicap 7.9
Using two balls I generally start off with 4 - 6 putts from 5 -10 feet, then a couple at 10 feet plus, another 4 -6 in the 3 to 5 foot range.  Here I'm just trying to get used to swinging the putter rather than feeling "cold" with it on the first green.

I then concentrate on the sub 3 foot range and will not usually leave the green until I've sunk at least four consecutive putts. I'm doing this to try and build up confidence on the short putts.  

I don't concentrate on green speed as on many courses in the UK they generally don't come anywhere near representing the speed of the real thing. Is this just common amongst UK courses, is it the same elsewhere in the world?

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I am a 4 handicap and time dictates part of this. However I try to hit 5 or 6 15 to 20 footers to gage green speed. A few 20 foot plus for distance and laging. Then I hit 5 or 6 10 footers with 5 or 6 or so 4 to 5 footers to set stroke and line up. If I have time i will hit a few left breakers and right breaking 5 to 10 foot puts as well. If the greens are grainy then check that as well.

[Jason Topp]

Long putts until I feel I can hit it at the correct speed

Short putts until I am hitting them straight

[Phil McDade]

Handicap:  don't carry one.

Practice putting routine:  none whatsoever.

Practice range routine:  none.  I hit other people's leftover range balls if there's any left...

Little wonder I'm completely in the toilet.  On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I 3-putted...

Is that three putts with two putters, or one?

[JLahrman]

9.2

I hit a handful of 40-50 foot putts to get a feel for the speed.  Then I put a tee in the green and try to make dead center contact with it from 18-24 inches.  When I putt on the course I putt over a spot about that far in front of the ball, I like to feel like I am consistently hitting my intermediate target.

[Sean_A]

Perenially a 9 mostly because I don't play many qualifying comps.

I will only practice putting if I am waiting for my mates or the tee to clear.  Never hit balls on the range, my back hurts enough without that nonsense.  When I do practice putting before a game it is always with one ball from 20-40 feet and I am trying to 2 putt.  Sometimes if I am annoyed that I missed a 4 footer I may stand there and hit the putt until I make it.  All told, I can take about 5 minutes of this before boredom or sore back sets in.  There is something very peculiar about how my back bends while putting because it hurts like hell - same goes for sweeping the floor.  

Ciao  

[ChipRoyce]

Have you ever tried just to hit putts you have a better chance of making? Hitting 95 percent of your pre-round putts from inside 4 ft, and get use to what its like to see the ball go in the hole all the time.  Only hitting a few lag putts not even to a cup but to the edge of a green?

Sean;
I subscribe to the Dave Pelz putting philosophy which is that the pros make so few putts outside of 6-8 feet. As a result, your scoring improves by how many you successfully lag. My drill also requires me to make the short putts and if for some reason I leave one 6 feet short, which I tend to do at least once every 18 "holes", I get that practice in as well. What I also like about the drill is that it puts much more pressure on than just regular practice. When I get on the course during a match, I'm much more prepared to hit the putt than if I practiced without any pressure.

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