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*Putting by the Numbers - UPDATE*

• JCSneed 54 Posts

  Sat, May 16 2015 9:42 PM

   

• ISH47 1,963 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 12:39 AM

  As with every other precision shot taken, every bit of your calculations are garbage if you can't stop the meter exactly where you want to every time.. no matter if you're a ding or off-ding shooter.. Therein lies my problem.   :)

  If you don't have these issues with the meter whilst playing at your favorite internet cafe.. aww F it, carry on.. Great thread!

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 12:58 AM

  ISH47:

  As with every other precision shot taken, every bit of your calculations are garbage if you can't stop the meter exactly where you want to every time.. no matter if you're a ding or off-ding shooter.. Therein lies my problem.   :)

  If you don't have these issues with the meter whilst playing at your favorite internet cafe.. aww F it, carry on.. Great thread!

  I hear ya, ish, and I'd like to add that 70% of my calculations for a putt are made with the intention of hitting the ding. But as an added consideration I ask myself, 'Now, if I were to miss the ding on this putt by mistake, which side would I prefer?'  

  Granted, this almost leads back to your original point! lmao but sometimes I do miss on my prefered side and the putt drops more often than not, if that makes sense.

• ISH47 1,963 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 7:20 AM

  No, you're right J.. it's not as simple as I made it out to be and missing on the right side is crucial.  No one thing is more important either imo.. Putt speed, break applied, and meter skill are all needed to be successful.. and any one of those being off can screw your whole game up. 

  To sum it up, putting is hard.. I forget who said that, but it's so true.. lmao

• oneeyedjohn 9,581 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 12:08 PM

  Went to Merion to try this out, was 2 under after three holes and promptly lost a ball on #4.

  Takes me a day to recover from losing a ball, c ya 2moro

  Another day, went to Chambers qualifying and gave it a whirl.

  Using numbers for putting just removes all the fun, and as putting is an art and not a science, I cannot play this game like that.

  Watching some videos I have pretty good proof my method works, but whether that is by coincidence or not I don't know.

  No method is foolproof that's for sure.

  Grid lines and intersections.

• xlviii 502 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 8:41 PM

  oneeyedjohn:

  Using numbers for putting just removes all the fun, and as putting is an art and not a science, I cannot play this game like that.

  Watching some videos I have pretty good proof my method works, but whether that is by coincidence or not I don't know.

  No method is foolproof that's for sure.

  Putting is almost totally about feel. I generally stare at the moving dots for a while as I get a feel for the break. The more you practice, the more you'll intuitively know how far the putt should break. On some longer putts and occasionally to double-check, I reference G0LD's method which is a numbers approach. It's pretty accurate, but I believe lots of practice and feel is the best method. Then change green speeds and "learn" the feel all over again.

  I have to say that I believe the OP's advice not to use the chipping grid is not good advice. Many times the putting grid doesn't line up properly so a switch to the chip (I use pitch myself but no difference) grid helps you adjust the grid so you can see what the break is on the path of the ball. This is not just for long putts but for putts of any distance. I have yet to play an excellent putter who doesn't occasionally use the chip/pitch view to help read a putt.

  Also, as mentioned above, missing the ding can be an important strategy in making putts. Personally, I almost never ding, but miss the ding on purpose to hold the line. I aim as normal, but just as what can happen when you miss the ding to the wrong side of the wind, missing the ding to the wrong side of the break can start the putt off terribly and give you no chance to hole it. I find some of the toughest putts to be long, straight putts where I need to hit the ding.

• 11BC2 555 Posts

  Sun, May 17 2015 11:35 PM

  "Using numbers for putting just removes all the fun, and as putting is an art and not a science, I cannot play this game like that."

  While I think there is an art to putting I also believe its a science in how you read and aim ^^.  Personally, I very rarely do anything more than an "initial" eyeball of the line to get me started.  After that, I no longer visually try and verify line/break. 

  There are just too many funky camera angles where it's almost impossible to try and track the balls break (visually) from start to finish.  I find the ART comes in reading the grid, line, numbers, and finding a scientifically correct aiming point.

  So do I believe putting is an Art or is about Feel?  Absolutely.  It takes quite a bit of time and finesse to acquire the perfect line but for me, that is arrived by properly reading (art and finesse) the Grids, Vertex, Angles, Measurements, etc.  It's all about finding the art in the perfect number, sequence, etc.

  But in the end i suppose quite a bit of this game is all about personal preference and interpretation.  If nothing else, a quick peak at someones putting stats.  50+, 25-50, and 10-25 should be paid special attention because there's more skill needed to consistently sink putts.

• oneeyedjohn 9,581 Posts

  Mon, May 18 2015 3:27 AM

  EDIT:   my post is directed at xiviii's post

   

  ^^^^^                     totally agree, I do exactly the same.

  Missing ding ding on high side fractionally can be very very beneficial.

  I may not be the best putter here ( Champ is my default speed now ) , but I am pretty sure over the six green speeds ( Slow > Champ ) I can hold my own with anyone.

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Mon, May 18 2015 12:24 PM

  11BC2:

   If nothing else, a quick peak at someones putting stats....

  Be aware that many members have spent time bashing around putts to finish off 6 rounds a day on tournys to get the massive XP points to level up quicker. Putting stats along w/ other stats may have less bearing on their abilities than someone might conclude.

   

  On a different thread there is more info about off-dinging on a major slope. The 2nd putt in this video was dinged and because of the heavy cant the ball rolled very far away. The off ding putts (that missed long & short, and also the one that dropped) were more rewarding because they avoided the rollaway due to the off ding method.

  Granted, results might be different if programming was modified during the updates, this video is several months old.

   

  http://www.wgt.com/forums/p/196243/1889916.aspx#1889916

• oneeyedjohn 9,581 Posts

  Mon, May 18 2015 2:23 PM

  An example of  how stats can be screwed is when I played 300 rounds during the 17 days of the London Olympics in 2012.

  I paid no regard to my scoring, it was all about getting the rounds done.

   

  One should also bear in mind that since Uneven lies was introduced, the detrimental affect on stats playing this way is huge. I have played UEL since it started, again with no regard to how it may affect my stats.