three weeks in, missed one day. i think i am swinging all clubs with more consistency. i feel very confident with my putter. i've never made so many putts >15ft. i am getting upndown from all over the place.

club try-outs for various men's teams this weekend and wed/thurs; best 2 of 3 rds. i am trying out for the men's best net, and the senior men's best gross. will update.

our course is a brute. zero level lies. 14 uphill greens. hard greens. thick grassy rough 4-8 inches all around the greens. the chipping and pitching work has been especially fruitful.

Today was the first day of the season I set aside time to go through the entire putting green practice plan.

Third day I've done it...it's getting easier.

One question about lag putts - I've posted this in the Misc. thread, as well - I seem to hit my lag putts better if I slightly "slap" the ball instead of stroking through it, pendulum style. Anything wrong with that?

after rd 1., i am tied for fourth (top 4 make the A-team, next four are alternates). made several putts. pleased about that. sent too many 30-80 yd heat-seeking pitches into deep rough. thank cristo for liftclean-n-cheat. must correct pitch tempo.

tomorrow will be windy. merde.

best round ever under pressure. five upndowns. very pleased with the progress i've made in my short game. i am now in second among those trying to make the men's team. two rounds to go, wed and thurs.

on the team. first match tuesday.

doubt i'd have been anywhere near the top if i hadn't spent so many hours working on putting and chipping. this routine will continue to be my summer project. i think i can get my cap <7.

Good job loafer. I'm happy to hear a success story from this routine!

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I'm finding that when I 'slap' uphill lags, I get better results. On downhill lags, stroke works better than slap.

Won my match 5 and 4. Best short game ever under pressure. Got to the course forty minutes prior to teeing off and spent every minute putting and chipping. In the past, all pre-game would have been on the range.

Practiced at a different course than my own after work this evening ( my wife entered a charity event, and my presence was required ) . Didn't have my putter, so used my wife's 60 and hit around 150 pitches to their practice green ( we have two pitching greens at the home course. the first is uphill, two tiered, and mimics most of our course's long chip and pitch shots. the second banks steeply front to back, very firm, and holds nothing ). The pitching green at this course has three flags, 60 yds., 70 yds., and 80 yds. The green is slightly downhill, soft and will hold most lofted approaches.

Found a great rhythm. At one point I'd landed 74 of 76 pitches onto the green. Pitching has been my Achilles heal. Tonight I think I've made a break-through; about a third of the way through the session, I started to really groove the 'box', ( as described by Ernie Els https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxrAE0pJe8 ). I begin the swing pulling the right shoulder back, form box, then swing the box through the ball to target. Similar to the putt break-through I described previously, when I focus on my right elbow ( keep it pointing down, move it through the ball ), I get a high, straight, softly-landing ball.

Tomorrow I'm playing a practice round on the course I'll be competing at next Tuesday. I've never played well at this course. Too many manufactured holes. Hopefully I'll get past my prejudice and build a good round.

Two matches this week. First is this afternoon at the course I've often struggled. Then tomorrow afternoon at our home course.

Shot an 80 at the 'difficult' course, Saturday, at least ten shots better than my previous best. The course has massive greens and I suspect that was the source of my previous trouble there. My putting and chipping have improved to the point where I no longer feel that deep dread facing a long lag or chip.

I've slightly changed the putting routine. I've reached the point where getting my ball inside 3 ft. on 20 foot lags is fairly automatic. Therefore, I now consider any lag <20 ft which finishes short of the hole a miss. I give myself at least an extra foot grace on putts that roll past.

lost both matches.

yesterday i got two strokes, but failed putting. 5 3-putt greens. no excuse. feel shame.

today i gave 5 strokes. putt my best round, easily, ever (missed one 8 foot putt, which decided the match. other than that one, made every putt inside 15 ft ). opponent deserved the win. no shame. we won the team match on the strength of my sandy-par at 18.

next test of the short game will be a stroke play tournament, may 21-22. fingers crossed my new irons will be delivered prior.

New irons arrived yesterday. Taking them out this morning for a test run on the tournament course. Two-day event begins tomorrow. Short course, 5,164, par 67. Fun tourney; bomb it at the short fours, try and wedge it close. Last year's net winner was close to 20 under. Played it daily about 25 years ago. Not at all since.

Feeling very confident in my short game after all these hours put in. Four to get down has near completely disappeared from my game. I'm looking to hole every putt inside 25 ft. Previously the mindset was "please don't 3j from this close".

shot 72 on Friday with four 3-putts. Drove two of the par 4's. Irons were a joy. Ball leaps into the air. Stops within a couple feet.

Rd1 Saturday shot an 80. Five doubles. one o.b., and two in hazards. Putt well, but not good enough. Only missed one inside 6 ft., but didn't make any long putts either.

Two of the players in our four were from out of town, Rivershore.

I kept track of all players in the group through-out both rounds. At the end of round 1, after I'd put in my scorecard, I overheard one of the Rivershore guys saying his buddy shot a 73. I went over to their cart and said, "That's not what I have you at. Don't sign your card yet, I'd hate to see you get DQ'd ". I went over the card with them and pointed out three holes he'd scored incorrectly, turning a 73 into a 76. No argument from either of them.

I didn't bother going over the other guy's card. He was 13 over after 6 holes. I checked the boards this morning and his 99 had turned into a 92. Whatever. He shot 105 today. His buddy shot a legit 73 today and might earn a prize.

Another 80 from me today. Started well, but got on the bogey train mid-way and couldn't get off. Failed repeatedly to get it upndown. I feel like I am improving steadily. The scores should come down soon.

Next match is Tuesday afternoon.

New to this and will definitely be trying it after I get exams over next week. Great to see your progress and its clear the scores will start getting lower her soon. I'm a 21 Handicap, 13 Years old and going for below 12 this season.

For anyone on, what clubs are you sporting, looking for a cheap upgrade from my old, ugly, groove less, rusty things.

Keep it up!

get fit for clubs, ideally by someone who knows your swing (club pro).

I think the biggest change to my game since starting the routine has been my approach to each shot. I now know what works; what a good grip feels like, what a good posture feels like, what correct alignment feels like, and what a good swing feels like. Also, the routine has helped with focus. My mind isn't racing when I address the ball. I am thinking about target. Standing over your shot relaxed and confident is a great place to be.

I expect to get my cap into single digits by next week.

dagolfdoc -

I was searching for practice routine suggestions, I stumbled upon this post. This is a wonderful addition to my current routines and I will be working this into my practice schedule in the coming weeks. I also happen to live in Atlanta!

ztc

Well since I can't swing a club right now I am going to try the putting part of this today and see how it goes.

3 feet

Attempt 1: Missed the 6th
Attempt 2: Missed the 22nd
Attempt 3: Missed the 1st
Attempt 4: Accomplished

25 feet

Attempt 1: Missed 3rd
Attempt 2: Accomplished

30 feet

Attempt 1: Accomplished

40 feet

Attempt 1: Missed 4th
Attempt 2: Missed 3rd
Attempt 3: Missed 5th

Ran out of time and had to bail after that. One problem I had today is that our greens are being areated so the South course and practice green were both closed. I went out to practice on #18 north but a group came up after 5 putts completed. Went over to the chipping and pitching green and used that, which is actually quite good, just a touch slower.

Tried this the other day, knew I would struggle and so I did. Think I was at it about an hour and never completed phase 1. First had trouble getting 10+ putts to fall, eventually missed once on 23th and then once bottled the 25th one . Have never practised putting and during this tried all sorts off stuff with stance, ball pos and balance, gotta try it again and hopefully improve. Did not get a "heureka" moment, just got a little better with reps. Frustrating to be so easy to miss from 3 feet lol.

Had 8 balls in a circle, the ones with little downhill and break were for sure not gimmies. Made maybe 85% total, with a good stroke it should be like 95% I guess? Not sure I wanna find out the percentages from 8-10 feet hah.

commit three months to this program. you won't recognize yourself at the end of it.

Yep I believe you. Maybe find some middle ground and get decent. Or if I start swinging better then maybe could have the motivation to really work this so could score. Also winter is coming I hear, so that could work.

Spent an hour on Thursday putting.

3 Footers - good to go.
20 Foot lag - good to go.
30 Foot lag - 2nd attempt.
45 Feet - Around 80%. Due to time I just putted 25 balls, even if they missed to work on the speed.

I did do a pull back putting session. Lag putt from (20, 30 and 45) feet. Every miss, move back a putter length (3 feet). Keep going until you sink it. Did 6 balls from each distance. Add up strokes. Was able to 2 putt all 18 balls. Great confidence boost.

Played Saturday - did 5 lag from 20, 30 and 45 again. 20 Feet was solid, 4 out of 5 for 30 and 3 out of 5 for 45 feet.

A month ago I shot 111 on this course. Saturday I carded a 92 with 3 three putts. My chipping is horrendous. That's something I need to work on. I did drill a 23 footer on the second hole for bogey and that set the confidence tone for the rest of the day. The three putts were from 55, 75 and 81 feet by the way. Anything inside 7 feet was gold. Made most inside 10 feet. This routine continues to amaze me when I put the effort in.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with that. I do the same for the 45 feet and more lag putts. Seems to work better for me than the smooth stroke. What ever gets the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes for you is the right method.