Most of my golf over the last few weeks has been played alone on the course. Yesterday, I played with a foursome for the first time since adding this to my routine.
It was really hard to do my pacing!
Anyone have a routine they use with when playing with a group? Pace off to the side away from putting lines?
When I am playing in a group, no one ever waits on me to pace off putts. Most of the time no one even knows I'm doing that. It is the first order of business when I get to a green. While others are marking their ball or repairing ball marks, I am getting the measurement. I am careful to not step in someones line and am never discourteous in the process.
Many times you have to walk past the hole to get to your ball anyway.
If it is an extremely long putt, I will walk half way.
I would no more guess or estimate the distance anymore than I would when hitting an approach into a green.
As I have told many of my students, "If you're waiting on me, you are backing up" (also it takes me less time to one or two putt than it does for you to three putt).
When I am playing in a group, no one ever waits on me to pace off putts. Most of the time no one even knows I'm doing that. It is the first order of business when I get to a green. While others are marking their ball or repairing ball marks, I am getting the measurement. I am careful to not step in someones line and am never discourteous in the process.
Many times you have to walk past the hole to get to your ball anyway.
If it is an extremely long putt, I will walk half way.
I would no more guess or estimate the distance anymore than I would when hitting an approach into a green.
As I have told many of my students, "If you're waiting on me, you are backing up" (also it takes me less time to one or two putt than it does for you to three putt).
interesting discussion, for me putting is best as a right brain, creative, intuitive activity in the same way that lobbing someone a golf ball for them to catch is, we don't really need to know how far away they are to do it.
that said, maybe it would all be information going into the super-computer that might be be called upon somewhere down the road - i'm going to give it a try, by mentally noting the distance prior to the usual routine.
For those who pace off putts, do you do some sort of calibration on the practice green before the round? For full shots, there is a reasonably predictable "coarse knob" to tune in distance (ie the club selection). But for putting, there is considerably more dependence on the course you are playing (green speed, grass type, grain, slope, etc)
For those who pace off putts, do you do some sort of calibration on the practice green before the round? For full shots, there is a reasonably predictable "coarse knob" to tune in distance (ie the club selection). But for putting, there is considerably more dependence on the course you are playing (green speed, grass type, grain, slope, etc)
Thanks.
Yes, if the practice green is representative of the greens on the course (if not I will base it off of the first green I putt on).
On a level medium fast green from six feet for example I will use a 3 inch backstroke and 3 inch follow through. This would hold true for all level putts. This becomes a baseline to work from (for example a severe downhill putt of 20' might be struck like the level 6' putt). In other words you would subtract for the downhill and add for the uphill. You could also factor in grain or moisture or grass type. The real key to this working is to have a pace to the stroke that is consistent. As green speeds change from course to course you can adjust your formula.
I have had countless students who had zero distance control and averaged beyond 36 putts per round to averaging 30 putts and below per round, using this system.
Yes, if the practice green is representative of the greens on the course (if not I will base it off of the first green I putt on).
On a level medium fast green from six feet for example I will use a 3 inch backstroke and 3 inch follow through. This would hold true for all level putts. This becomes a baseline to work from (for example a severe downhill putt of 20' might be struck like the level 6' putt). In other words you would subtract for the downhill and add for the uphill. You could also factor in grain or moisture or grass type. The real key to this working is to have a pace to the stroke that is consistent. As green speeds change from course to course you can adjust your formula.
I have had countless students who had zero distance control and averaged beyond 36 putts per round to averaging 30 putts and below per round, using this system.
The number of inches backstroke technique was troublesome to me several years ago. Completely destroyed my feel. I then ended up with the other extreme where I essentially put zero objective data into the equation. My current pacing off with then a pressure to correlate is my plan to strike the right balance of feel and objective info.
Hybrid Mode
