Pacing Off Putts

[brianmontgomery2000]

I paced off my putts and short chips for a couple of years and had similar experiences while playing with a group. I also would translate the distance into stance width which I used to gauge my stroke length. Eventually, I became familiar with what a 10' vs. a 20' putt looked like (the stroke length between these is about one full foot WIDTH). Unfortunately, this highly mechanical process did not bode well for actually making putts. To make a VERY long story short, I can tell you that I put so much emphasis on distance control simply because it was difficult for me to control distance otherwise. One day I attended a putting lab for a couple of hours which thoroughly analyzed my stroke (my best golf lesson ever..and that includes taking lessons from some of our distinguished contributors on these pages who shall remain nameless!). I never could have imagined how much improvement in line and distance control can be achieved by actually rolling the ball. Many golfers THINK their ball rolls to the hole but, particularly in the case of someone who leaves putts short frequently, they actually "skid" the ball to the hole. Even someone who watches their putt actually rolling to the hole, will never see the first several inches of the putt immediately post impact. For me, roll is best achieved by matching the loft of my putter to the launch angle of my stroke. Combined with a lead hand guided (for me left hand) "release" of the putter head (past my hands, pendulum style so the handle always points to my belt buckle) and tracing the targetline, I have created a stroke which delivers distances which are more consistent with the distance that I "see" as opposed to what I've paced off. I still believe that, subconciously, my days of pacing putts may be at work, but I no longer find it helpful to incorporate it into my crosscheck. Interestingly, however, my chipping (using the rule of 12) still incorporates a "visual" estimate of distance in feet which I tend to measure in blocks of 10' (since I've so thoroughly ingrained this distance in my mind from my more methodical putting days). I'm not sure if this will be helpful to you, but I can say it is a lot more comforting to hear my playing partners comment on a quality stroke as opposed to them watching me walk up and down the length of my putt. This is not to say I don't read my putts from multiple perspectives (I'm actually more methodical about identifying fall line, break from 90 degrees to fall line and translating this distance up (or down) the fall line for targeting purposes)...but once I have zeroed in on my target, I just focus on a quality roll and I know as soon as the ball comes off the putterface if I will hit my target (which is NOT to say results in making 100% of my putts). My biggest problem now is green reading. I've grown overly dependent on all of the visual cues inherent in my beloved Bermuda grass greens to help me read break. Lately I've played a lot of golf in the mountain west and I find myself guessing or pacing the greens hoping to catch a clue just from the feeling of gravity below my feet. Golf is much easier back on the teebox.

Very interesting...this is sort of what I'm aiming for. I want to hone my eye so that I can do more estimating. Become a better feel player with just confirmation on occasion.

I'm trying to develop my distance feel -- I say to myself "33 feet, uphill" while making my practice stroke. I then try to repeat that exact feel and pressure. I then watch the result for feedback. My goal is to tie the pressure/feel to the result with an objective distance measure -- over and over and over. Like knowing how "hard" to shoot a basketball simply from knowing where you are on the court. (Something else honed with lots of practice and feedback.)

I have noticed that my distance has gotten better, but I've missed some lines significantly! I figure that comes next year, much like you describe.