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Determining how much power to apply when putting

• budfan4861 183 Posts

  Wed, Nov 12 2014 6:53 PM

   Have a question for the community. One that has been in the back of my mind since i started playing here at WGT. Let us say, for example, i have a putt of 17 feet with a 1 inch drop in elevation. Also with a fair amount of break. Once i've adjusted my aim, i am now looking at a distance of say 18 feet with an elevation drop of 3 inches. So now the amount of power i will need to apply changes. Over the years, i've adjusted the power needed for the putt based on both the 17 foot distance & the 18 foot distance with mixed results. I've just never been sure how to handle a situation like this. I might add also that  i do take a rather aggressive approach to putting. If anyone could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Nov 13 2014 7:24 AM

  I use a routine where the very first thing I do is decide how hard I will hit a given putt. In your example I'm going to hit that putt 16'. Then comes the aim and unless I'm looking at some bizarre up and down scenario where that elevation changes enroute to the hole I would hit it 16.

  There are occasions where you might want to hit to a specific spot in the line and let roll take over-like putting to a fall line such as you would see on Merion #6 if you're long right-get it to that point and let the downhill momentum take over. In those cases use the numbers to THAT point.

  IMO, if you trust that first determination you will be very close.

• scofnix 17 Posts

  Thu, Nov 13 2014 9:33 AM

  As a thumb rule( which I apply) is for tourney greens, I reduce the the length of the putt by 30% on red and 20% on blue with + or - for elevations.

   

• ApexPC 3,164 Posts

  Thu, Nov 13 2014 9:49 AM

  Same here. With 17 feet and the hole 1 inch lower than where my ball is, on a straight line to the hole,  I use 16 feet as the distance to the hole. If the ball was 2" lower I would use 15 feet as the distance to the hole. If the hole was 2" higher than my ball I would use 19 feet as the distance to the hole.

  I want the ball to have enough pace such that it would go 2 feet past the hole if I miss.

  An exception is when there is a lot of break. The ball will have to roll farther so a bit more power is needed to get to the hole.

  Note: I use somewhat less stroke power for downhill putts than I would for an equal length putt that was uphill.

• budfan4861 183 Posts

  Thu, Nov 13 2014 9:53 AM

      Thank you YankeeJim for taking the time to help me out.

• budfan4861 183 Posts

  Thu, Nov 13 2014 9:55 AM

     Thank you apexPC for your help.