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Reading the putt break: Help

• pdiehm 292 Posts

  Mon, Jul 19 2021 4:03 PM

  BWerthy:

  pdiehm:

  That said, when I get a 6-8' putt, there's probably a better than 90% chance I'm going to miss it.  And that's the frustrating part of this.  You can approach on average to 2 yards, but if you can't seal the deal, then it's worthless to approach well

   

  Hi pdiehm,

  mobile only player here. Im not a great player or putter, have only been playing this crazy game one year and a few months and so I feel I still have a lot to learn.  

  For me it is the uphill putts.  An uphill putt breaking the whole way does not break the same way a downhill putt does. It isn’t half or “just mark it less than you would a downhill”. It is all experience and practice. And I miss those routinely in the same range but usually mine are fast breaking uphill putts  

  I had a rough time back in September where nothing was working.  I did the dot counting using Naturali’s method.  dot counting takes so long but it helped me see where the aiming line was laying across the breaks. I don’t use it anymore but it helped me get to a point where I am less frustrated by the 6-8’ uphill breaking putt that grazes the lip or just flat out misses.    

  but for me, I prefer a downhill putt most of the time.  Uphill putts just look weird to me and I have learned how to use that to my advantage.

  I have one more piece of advice.  Download the Omlet arcade app and follow GoShooterMcGavin.   Dude is an iPad player and plays with no aids.  Just some math in his head for putts. He is fricking amazing to watch. And I have learned a lot just from watching him play, oh and when he is having a good day, he doesn’t miss many putts.   

  Just stay positive :) you got this. :) 

  Since July 3, i have been tracking putts.  I'm averaging 1.4 putts per hole and 59% 1 putt.  both very respectable numbers (today I am 1.27 putts per hole and 69% 1-putt on 13/14 greens).  

   

  But the putt that i have missed consistently today is this one:

   

  7.1' 

  Down 2.4"

  13 greens.  

   

  The math says hit it 36% on my 10 foot putt scale.  But i'm falling woefully short of the cup, and miss low.  this is a problem from about 4.5' to about 9' for me, though it's primarily between 4-7'

   

  No idea what to do or how to aim those as if I hit harder, I miss high and have a 15' (or more) par save.  

• Dex000 109 Posts

  Tue, Jul 20 2021 12:09 AM

  My math says to hit that putt 41% on a 10 ft scale.

  Sounds like it's the formula you're using. 

• MasterHacker74 94 Posts

  Tue, Jul 20 2021 8:29 AM

  Go into practice mode and use a combination of putt preview and mulligans until you get the right pace & line.  For that particular putt you may be a bit light on the power... I hit that putt between 39% and 46% on a 10 foot scale.

• Yiannis1970 3,305 Posts

  Tue, Jul 20 2021 10:02 AM

  pdiehm:

  BWerthy:

  pdiehm:

  That said, when I get a 6-8' putt, there's probably a better than 90% chance I'm going to miss it.  And that's the frustrating part of this.  You can approach on average to 2 yards, but if you can't seal the deal, then it's worthless to approach well

   

  Hi pdiehm,

  mobile only player here. Im not a great player or putter, have only been playing this crazy game one year and a few months and so I feel I still have a lot to learn.  

  For me it is the uphill putts.  An uphill putt breaking the whole way does not break the same way a downhill putt does. It isn’t half or “just mark it less than you would a downhill”. It is all experience and practice. And I miss those routinely in the same range but usually mine are fast breaking uphill putts  

  I had a rough time back in September where nothing was working.  I did the dot counting using Naturali’s method.  dot counting takes so long but it helped me see where the aiming line was laying across the breaks. I don’t use it anymore but it helped me get to a point where I am less frustrated by the 6-8’ uphill breaking putt that grazes the lip or just flat out misses.    

  but for me, I prefer a downhill putt most of the time.  Uphill putts just look weird to me and I have learned how to use that to my advantage.

  I have one more piece of advice.  Download the Omlet arcade app and follow GoShooterMcGavin.   Dude is an iPad player and plays with no aids.  Just some math in his head for putts. He is fricking amazing to watch. And I have learned a lot just from watching him play, oh and when he is having a good day, he doesn’t miss many putts.   

  Just stay positive :) you got this. :) 

  Since July 3, i have been tracking putts.  I'm averaging 1.4 putts per hole and 59% 1 putt.  both very respectable numbers (today I am 1.27 putts per hole and 69% 1-putt on 13/14 greens).  

   

  But the putt that i have missed consistently today is this one:

   

  7.1' 

  Down 2.4"

  13 greens.  

   

  The math says hit it 36% on my 10 foot putt scale.  But i'm falling woefully short of the cup, and miss low.  this is a problem from about 4.5' to about 9' for me, though it's primarily between 4-7'

   

  No idea what to do or how to aim those as if I hit harder, I miss high and have a 15' (or more) par save.  

   

  Sometimes the indications (up/down, red - green) are wrong. To decide what should be your final speed, you need to hit the arrow in the right side and open the putt line in vertical axis. Sometimes you 'll see there that meanwhile you have a downhiller at your feet, the putt ends up hill close the cup. So, in these cases you need to play more.

   

• Cicero733 2,312 Posts

  Tue, Jul 20 2021 11:11 AM

  Yiannis1970:

  The math says hit it 36% on my 10 foot putt scale.  But i'm falling woefully short of the cup, and miss low.  this is a problem from about 4.5' to about 9' for me, though it's primarily between 4-7'

  I was experiencing the same issue on 13 greens a few months back. Like you I was coming up short with some rather exaggerated breaks. What I was noticing was that my putts were not traveling the distance I hit for. I would hit for 5’, the putt would trickle off the putter face, and rarely make it to the hole. My solution was for putts 6’ or less to disregard the math and use the actual physical distance to the hole. So if my putt is 6’ long, I hit for 6’. Plus at those speeds I will usually align my breaking putts no further out than the edge of the cup. I do make some mental adjustments especially if it is a steep downhill putt and maybe take one-half foot of distance off. And yes there are exceptions especially at places like Merion or Oakmont, but it has been working for me and my putting stats overall have remained fairly consistent and I play mostly all ranked rounds with 13 greens (1.25 average putts per hole, 73.75% one putts).

  My biggest problem at the moment is putts inside 4’. For some unknown reason they will come off the putter face at a 45° angle and miss by huge margins. I have had a number of 2’ putts hit for 4’ that have missed the hole by 6” or more.

• pdiehm 292 Posts

  Tue, Jul 27 2021 3:13 AM

  I don't understand.  Can you clarify?  You're talking about seeing which way the grain is going?  if it's going against you, then you have to hit a little more, or if it's away from you, a little less, then push the break out a touch more.

• birdiesfly1 32 Posts

  Tue, Dec 7 2021 8:15 AM

  Check out Hole Lion's You Tube video on calculating putt breaks.  There is also a calculator there to figure these breaks.  Good Luck!

   

• pdiehm 292 Posts

  Thu, Jul 28 2022 11:49 AM

  i've never been able to accurately count dots.  common sense would say count the one thats moving the fastest.  But doesn't seem to work that way.