TGCT Version Of Doctor Who's "Heaven Sent"

[Deleted]

In the Doctor Who episode "Heaven Sent" the doctor is locked in this prison for like a million years trying to chip his way out until he finally breaks free and ends up on Gallifrey.

Unfortunately, I don't have a million years.

I'm kind of at a crossroads with this game. To improve, I pulled out Doyley's charts and did the math and went about this as robotically as possible. To that end, I am now finally in D Class with an exemption into C that will shortly end in being sent back down to D.

Why?

With all the math, it still comes down to one thing.

I can't putt consistently.

I'll make a 37 footer and then miss a 5 footer. Anything over 4 feet is an adventure. So while I'm coming closer to the pin, unless I'm pretty much on top of it, I'm missing a lot of putts that I should be making.

So on courses with semi tough wind conditions that used to bury me, I can now score 2 to 4 under par. But then I look at the leader boards and under those same conditions, there are guys shooting 9 and 10 under.

And the reason is simple. I watch the ghost balls. They're not coming that much closer to the pin than I am, albeit somewhat closer, but they are sinking putts more consistently than I do.

And I am not missing by much. 10 to 20 footers I'll miss by 1 to 3 feet. Sometimes inches. Putts under 10 feet are almost always missed by inches. Either left, right or short. There are just too many variables on the greens (speed and size of slope) to put a "math equation" to it like you can with approach shots.

With all the practicing I've done (going on close to 1000 hours with this game) my putting is only marginally better than a couple of months ago. I'm only scoring a little better because of finally using the math completely.

But I've hit a wall. I've gone as far as I can go on the math. I'm now chipping away at something that I don't have an answer for.

I know the responses coming. Keep practicing your putting. Well, practicing without knowing just what the heck it is I'm looking for that's finally going to turn me into Sweeney, or at least something close, isn't going to do much if I keep hitting the same shots the same way and getting the same results.

So with all that said, I haven't really come here looking for answers. I just needed to vent a little bit.

I will pretty much be a D/E class player for as long as I play this game until I can start making putts with some kind of regularity. And in a way, I'm kind of okay with that.

But I just can't help wondering what the secret to putting is.

Until I figure it out, Peter Capaldi and I will just keep chipping away at that ice.

Thank goodness we don't play this game in the North Pole.

[mcbogga]

Good putting is all about confidence. NEVER say you miss putts.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2016 10:46:21 GMT -5 mcbogga said:

Good putting is all about confidence. NEVER say you miss putts.

Except I do miss putts. The scores don't lie. And all my 7 footers, with 2 inch downhill declines breaking moderately right to left that either miss by 3 inches right, left or short, don't lie either. I seem to find every way of putting that ball around the hole except in. I miss left, so I adjust, and then I miss right. I adjust again and I miss short. I adjust again and I miss long.

I get very few bogies in a round. Maybe 1 or 2 tops. I'm pretty much a slightly better than par golfer on the moderately difficult courses. I will never be a 10 under golfer on those courses until I can sink 15 foot putts like these guys do.

Think of all the variables.

Green Speed - From 101 to 187.
Slope - Numerous possibilities
Break - Infinite possibilities
Distance - Anywhere from 1 to 60 feet or more

Combine all of that and it's not like you can look at a green putt and, like you can with approach shots, say to yourself. "Okay, 3 clicks right with the putter and bring putter back to one click past back shoe."

Outside of setting the marker, which essentially just keeps your putts from running wild, there is no formula. Putting is almost 100% by feel.

[mcbogga]

Can't help you any more than that.

Bad putting is known to be contagious.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2016 11:07:50 GMT -5 mcbogga said:

Can't help you any more than that.

Bad putting is known to be contagious.

Wasn't expecting any help. Like I said, just venting.

[HeMan1202]

I assume you are using the yellow marker.

My advice to you is simple if you truly are missing by inches. Take note of which side of the hole you are missing on (high side/low side). Every time you line a putt up, take 1-2 extra clicks over to compensate. See where this leaves you. It really is all about judging how the ball will break at XXX speed at XXX length.

Also try putt preview, take a look at you 15-20 footer from about halfway, read it, and then look at it again from behind the ball.

[Deleted]

It's just practice dude. I have the same issue.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2016 12:18:44 GMT -5 HeMan1202 said:

I assume you are using the yellow marker.

My advice to you is simple if you truly are missing by inches. Take note of which side of the hole you are missing on (high side/low side). Every time you line a putt up, take 1-2 extra clicks over to compensate. See where this leaves you. It really is all about judging how the ball will break at XXX speed at XXX length.

Also try putt preview, take a look at you 15-20 footer from about halfway, read it, and then look at it again from behind the ball.

Done, done and done. In fact, I've gotten to the point, at least, where I can ignore the early break on most long putts provided I can give it enough gas.

For example, 25 foot putt where the first 12 feet the green is breaking slightly left to right but for the last 5 or 6 feet, the green is breaking right to left. I know enough now to pretty much just aim slightly right of the pin. It will ignore the early break and then go left at the last few moments.

Having said that, there is no consistency as to how I miss those putts when I do. Sometimes it's on the left. Sometimes it's on the right. Sometimes I fall a little short. I have no consistency in my aim and swing. I am off by just enough that I miss by those few inches.

Truth is, the putts I actually do make are just as much a fluke of chance as the ones i miss by inches unless I'm as close as 4 feet. And even then, with severe breaks, I will, at times, miss a 4 footer. The 5 footers with a 3 inch downhill incline with a severe right to left break are pretty much "close my eyes and pray." I can't pinpoint that resolution on the screen to nail these putts 100% of the time. I'm pretty much a 70% putter on putts that most people good at this game will nail 100% of the time or close to it.

Combine that with the small difference in our approach shots (I'll come within 10 feet, but they'll come within 7 feet), the one or two bad drives I'll have per round to their none and it all adds up to an extra 6 to 8 strokes. So if they're shooting 10 under, I'm shooting 2 to 4 under.

On the easier courses, the variance isn't as great. They'll shoot 12 under and I'll shoot 9 or 10 under. As the courses become more difficult (mostly in the greens and/or approach shots) the variance increases.

Once in a blue moon, I get really locked in and can read the greens like a 3rd grade novel. The problem is, I have no idea what actually just clicked in my brain to do that and the next day, I'm back to hit and miss.

That's the problem in that I don't know what the problem is.

But I will keep working at it.

I mean it's not like I got anything better to do.

[HeMan1202]

Lol, hopefully it comes to you man.

It sounds like your speed is inconsistent, not your green reading. Do you use a set spot on your golfer (like his back foot) to judge your backswing or do you go by feel? Maybe just try to use the back foot for distance and see how that works for you.

I personally putt in various views depending on the distance from the hole. For anything in the 18 ft. and above range, try putting in the slightly behind overhead view and use the back foot as a reference. Typically, just past the back foot equals around 21 ft. (for me anyway). Obviously adjust based on green speed.

Good luck, putting is the hardest but most important part of this game.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2016 13:04:48 GMT -5 HeMan1202 said:

Lol, hopefully it comes to you man.

It sounds like your speed is inconsistent, not your green reading. Do you use a set spot on your golfer (like his back foot) to judge your backswing or do you go by feel? Maybe just try to use the back foot for distance and see how that works for you.

I personally putt in various views depending on the distance from the hole. For anything in the 18 ft. and above range, try putting in the slightly behind overhead view and use the back foot as a reference. Typically, just past the back foot equals around 21 ft. (for me anyway). Obviously adjust based on green speed.

Good luck, putting is the hardest but most important part of this game.

I use my back foot for every putt. Not only that, but I've developed a countdown method that's kind of hard to explain. I'll count up from 10 in 10 increments as i pull the stick back, i.e. 10, 20, 30, etc. It's a semi quick count that corresponds to the position of the putter to the golfer's back foot. The count speed will vary with the green speed. The faster the speed, the faster the count, but not too fast.

For the most part, I've got this down fairly well. The hardest part is transitioning from one round of 187 greens to a round of say 144 greens. Even then, I'm usually not off by more than 1 or 2 feet and I can adjust quickly, usually 2 holes tops.

So that's not my problem. My problem is when I see those lines on the green going from right to left or left to right. How many clicks do I move the marker in either direction? I've yet to develop some kind of accurate visual for that. At least not across the board. Some putts I have down pretty well and don't miss too often. Others give me fits. It doesn't take much, as far as moving that marker, to miss by just a few inches. Putting leaves almost no room for error. In fact, I've had putts that have gone over the right third of the hole at what I thought was the correct speed and yet just kept going right over it. Other times, it would hit the lip and bounce around the hole literally horseshoeing from right to left. I should make a greatest hits reel of some of my putts, They're almost criminal.

My only consolation is that the days of missing putts by 10 feet (unless the pin is just above a steep decline and I miss just right or left) are over. Yeah, really bad tricked up greens still give me fits, but for the most part, every putt is very close. That's the infuriating part. My 3 to 6 inch misses have to be at least 4 to 6 per round. So in a round where I shoot 4 under, there's my 8 to 10 under that I need to compete with the big boys. At least the big boys in CC. I'm never going to be good enough to shoot in the 50s. But I should be shooting low 60s every round with no question. Instead, I'm around 68 with an occasional 65 and the very rare 62.

And it's all my putting.

[Deleted]

Jut for the hell of it, I pulled up a current tour I've been practicing for an upcoming event. The first two rounds I shot even par and 3 under. Having a hard time with the course, again, all my putting.

So I tried something. I figured I had nothing to lose.

I decided to attempt some kind of click right and left method based on distance from the pin and speed of break. This particular course I was fortunate enough that I only found 2 speeds and types of breaks. Essentially steady/slow and steady/moderate.

For steady slow, I took the distance from the pin, added the number of inches incline, if any, and then made that many clicks left or right depending on the break. I had no idea how far off I'd be but at the very worst, I could see how far off I was after putting.

My first putt from about 9 feet went dead straight in.

Long story short, I did this throughout the round, discovering where I was greatly off and where I was dead on.

I ended up shooting 8 under.

I have never come close to shooting that well on this course.

Granted, my approach shots are much better now. But I was making putts, through math, that I would miss as often as I would make them.

Naturally, this needs more testing, but I think I'm onto something. I'll need to see how many clicks are needed for super fast running breaks and everything in between.

It's going to take time but I think I will see significant improvement if I can put some math into the putting as I've done with the rest of my game. Because it's obvious to me by now that I can't do this by feel.

[Doyley]

Watch twitch feeds of the top players and pay close attention to how they use the marker and aim for certain types of slopes. Watch what they do with the cameras as well as most of the top guys pretty much ignore the dots on the grids these days and read the grid lines themselves.

[Andrea]

In my experience 100% agree with Scott on this, @wagtunes. Besides the yellow marker positioning, all the rest I've kinda figured out (and not even entirely) I did just watching better players than me playing and reading greens.
I'm not a "top player" per se, but if it can be of any help check this out --> tgctours.proboards.com/thread/6952/streaming-courses-on-request?page=1#post-102531

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2016 1:01:32 GMT -5 Doyley said:

Watch twitch feeds of the top players and pay close attention to how they use the marker and aim for certain types of slopes. Watch what they do with the cameras as well as most of the top guys pretty much ignore the dots on the grids these days and read the grid lines themselves.

Scott, I'm not sure what you mean by reading the grid lines. They don't move so how can I tell the slope from them?

[mcbogga]

Just read the green. If it slopes it shows. Whatch some no grid streams. It will help.