Putting

Symptoms in this group

Each one starts from something you can see for yourself. Open it to find what that shot can come from.

• Missing short putts

  Putts from three to six feet, the ones you expect to hole without a second thought, keep sliding past the edge or lipping out.

• No distance control on the greens

  Long putts finish well short or well past the hole, so the first putt seldom leaves you a tap-in.

• Three-putting too often

  Too many greens take three putts or more, usually because the first putt leaves a second that is longer or harder than it should be.

• My head moves or I look up too early on putts

  Your head turns or lifts to follow the ball before the stroke is finished, and your shoulders and the putter go with it, which costs both the start line and the strike.

• The putting yips

  A sudden jerk, flinch or freeze takes over the stroke, mostly on short putts, and the ball leaves the face on a line or at a pace you never chose.

• Putts don't start on the line I picked

  The ball leaves the putter left or right of the line you chose, so a putt you read correctly still misses.

• Misreading the break

  Putts you struck the way you meant take more or less break than you allowed for, and miss, often below the hole on the low side.

• Uphill putts come up short, downhill putts run away

  Flat putts finish about the right length, but uphill putts die well short of the hole and downhill putts race past it or bend far more than you played for.

• My wrists break down in the putting stroke

  Your hands and wrists hinge or flick during the stroke rather than moving with your arms and shoulders, so the start line and the roll change from putt to putt.

• I've lost my putting stroke

  Putting that used to be the best part of your game has fallen apart over a few weeks or rounds, and nothing you have tried has brought it back.

• I can't putt on grainy greens

  On Bermuda or other grainy greens, putts into the grain pull up short, putts down the grain run past, and the ball bends in ways the slope on its own does not explain.

• I putt well in practice and badly on the course

  Putts that drop on the practice green start missing once you are on the course, and the misses get worse when the putt actually matters.

• Putts bounce or skid instead of rolling

  The ball hops or skids off the putter face before it starts to roll, so it bobbles off line in the first couple of feet and finishes shorter than the stroke deserved.