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Straight putt that behaves strangely

• msulaman 452 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 7:31 PM

  St Andrews #16 (back pin) 8.2 ft putt 2 in down, vf green, almost no perceptable dot movement in chip or putt view. Ball is short of pin to the left. I hit the putt 6.5 ft & ding it but the putt misses the hole to the right without even touching the lip. 

  My question is, why did the putt miss? Is this a case where you just have to know this particular putt from experience to realize that it's going to break? Did I miss something in my read that should have told me the putt would break? Is this something built into the code for the game? Occasionally random things happen and there's nothing that can be done except shrug your shoulders and move on to the next hole. 

  My sense from playing this game over 4000 rounds and from talking with other players and reading the wgt forums is that the cause here is the last one mentioned. However I really hope that this is not the case. It would be very difficult for me to keep on playing this game and trying to improve my scores if I know that I have limited control over where the ball goes once it is hit.

• K7JBQ 1,468 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 8:01 PM

  Some putts that you would swear were straight aren't quite. Same as in real life. All you can do is keep notes.

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 8:11 PM

  K7JBQ:

  Some putts that you would swear were straight aren't quite. Same as in real life. All you can do is keep notes.

  
  
  +1

  And conversely, there are some putts that look like they have more break than they actually do. So, you either take notes or rely on your memory. I rely on my memory. And there are some putts that, after missing them yet again, I tell myself, "One of these days, I'll learn." 
  
  But I just don't feel like taking notes.  

• borntobesting 9,706 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 8:53 PM

  Robert1893:

  K7JBQ:

  Some putts that you would swear were straight aren't quite. Same as in real life. All you can do is keep notes.

  
  
  +1

  And conversely, there are some putts that look like they have more break than they actually do. So, you either take notes or rely on your memory. I rely on my memory. And there are some putts that, after missing them yet again, I tell myself, "One of these days, I'll learn." 
  
  But I just don't feel like taking notes.  

  I have the notebook and put things like that in it. But 2/3 of the time I don't read the note until I have missed the putt yet again.

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 8:59 PM

  Slim chance, but I'll ask to be sure: Was there any wind? Esp. a crosswind?

• msulaman 452 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 9:25 PM

  That's a good question JF. As I recall there was a 10+ mph crosswind blowing to the right, which was the direction that the putt went. However I don't remember for sure. 

  If that was the case, I suppose it could have caused the strange behavior. However it seems like a pretty short putt to be affected like that.

• K7JBQ 1,468 Posts

  Fri, Dec 9 2016 10:58 PM

  Ditto that.

  Since you can't add notes during MP games, which I play 90% of the time, I wonder why I bought the damn notebook.

   

  borntobesting:

  Robert1893:

  K7JBQ:

  Some putts that you would swear were straight aren't quite. Same as in real life. All you can do is keep notes.

  
  
  +1

  And conversely, there are some putts that look like they have more break than they actually do. So, you either take notes or rely on your memory. I rely on my memory. And there are some putts that, after missing them yet again, I tell myself, "One of these days, I'll learn." 
  
  But I just don't feel like taking notes.  

  I have the notebook and put things like that in it. But 2/3 of the time I don't read the note until I have missed the putt yet again.

   

• Yiannis1970 3,305 Posts

  Sat, Dec 10 2016 12:53 AM

  msulaman:

  That's a good question JF. As I recall there was a 10+ mph crosswind blowing to the right, which was the direction that the putt went. However I don't remember for sure. 

  If that was the case, I suppose it could have caused the strange behavior. However it seems like a pretty short putt to be affected like that.

   

  In my opinion winds like that (10mph) do not affect putting especially on such close ranges like that you had (8ft). SA has many many holes like that. Another example is the 9 or 1. Grids that you would swear they are straight, instead they are not. In these cases, study the putt a bit longer. Leave it there for 10-20'' and see what dots do. Go to chip mode and verify. Play the putt by missing the ding just a bit on the opposite side.

   

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Sat, Dec 10 2016 5:18 AM

  borntobesting:

  I have the notebook and put things like that in it. But 2/3 of the time I don't read the note until I have missed the putt yet again.

  :-)
  
  If I were to take notes, that definitely sounds like something I would do.  

• 11BC2 555 Posts

  Sat, Dec 10 2016 7:09 AM

  msulaman:

  My question is, why did the putt miss?

  Of course it could just be that hole and that location but take notes and verify because...........

  The M1 and M2 have a defect which pushes the ball abruptly to the right immediately upon impact  (maybe 1 in 15 putts).  I've mentioned this in some of my previous youtube videos.  I've also messaged the same thing to other players/friends who have asked me my opinion on the putter and whether they should upgrade from say the Versa 96 (not worth the $$ imho, unless you have cash to burn or big credits).