Should Putts Die In the Hole, Or Ram Into the Back? (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Should Putts Die In the Hole, Or Ram Into the Back? (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

Here’s a really interesting little tip or discussion for you, when someone says to me, Pete have a look at these 6-foot putt what do you think the break is? I will often, the first question I will ask them will be, well how fast are you going to hit it and they kind of look at me like I am just going to hit it to the hole, yeah but how fast you hit that putt will vary how much break you need to allow.

If you watch Tiger Woods putting, he is a very sort of straight, firm, knock it 3-foot past, doesn’t play much break. So if he has got a little bit of left to right he might just be on the left edge of the hole nice and firm straight in. If it misses it might go 3 or 4 feet past, he is obviously confident, he is going to get the next putt. If you look at somebody like Harrington, Padraig Harrington, he is a very different putter, you might see the same putter that Tiger’s got and he might aim 2-inches wide of the hole and just die the ball into the hole. So it barely gets there with the last roll and if his putt misses, he would only go 6-inches past the hole, leaving himself a little tap in.

Now one of the things as you go to workout for yourself is what style of putter you are going to be, what type of putter you are going to be because the worst thing you could do is double-cross yourself, you wouldn’t want to hit Padraig Harrington’s 2-inches wide line and then hit the Tiger Wood’s 4-foot past, it would stay high and miss. Likewise you wouldn’t want to hit Tiger’s left edge with Harrington’s dolly it up and die it into the hole pace, that would miss too much break on the right edge.

So when you look at how much is the putt going to curve, you have to ask yourself, how hard you are going to hit it. Now I think there are two ways to play this, I think from longer range putt, it is better to die it into the hole because from a longer range putt my focus is more about taking two putts rather than racing it to the hole trying to make a one putt and actually making a three putt by missing the come back putt. So from a long range focus on just dying into the hole therefore allowing more break, but as you get closer and particularly inside a putters length which is round about 3-feet so if I have got the 3 footers I am a little more straight and firm on that, I don’t really give them too much opportunity to bubble and break, particularly if the greens are in a great quality and you hit it very gently it will take every little view on some bubble move.

So try and be a little bit firm a little bit straight and not lose in. So when you consider how much break do you need to allow, ask yourself how much pace you are going to hit it, are you going to die it in the front edge, or you going to run it past the hole and hopefully make the comeback putt. If you can work out the speed of the putts, you can work out the break of the putt as well.

 2012-07-12

Here’s a really interesting little tip or discussion for you, when someone says to me, Pete have a look at these 6-foot putt what do you think the break is? I will often, the first question I will ask them will be, well how fast are you going to hit it and they kind of look at me like I am just going to hit it to the hole, yeah but how fast you hit that putt will vary how much break you need to allow.

If you watch Tiger Woods putting, he is a very sort of straight, firm, knock it 3-foot past, doesn’t play much break. So if he has got a little bit of left to right he might just be on the left edge of the hole nice and firm straight in. If it misses it might go 3 or 4 feet past, he is obviously confident, he is going to get the next putt. If you look at somebody like Harrington, Padraig Harrington, he is a very different putter, you might see the same putter that Tiger’s got and he might aim 2-inches wide of the hole and just die the ball into the hole. So it barely gets there with the last roll and if his putt misses, he would only go 6-inches past the hole, leaving himself a little tap in.

Now one of the things as you go to workout for yourself is what style of putter you are going to be, what type of putter you are going to be because the worst thing you could do is double-cross yourself, you wouldn’t want to hit Padraig Harrington’s 2-inches wide line and then hit the Tiger Wood’s 4-foot past, it would stay high and miss. Likewise you wouldn’t want to hit Tiger’s left edge with Harrington’s dolly it up and die it into the hole pace, that would miss too much break on the right edge.

So when you look at how much is the putt going to curve, you have to ask yourself, how hard you are going to hit it. Now I think there are two ways to play this, I think from longer range putt, it is better to die it into the hole because from a longer range putt my focus is more about taking two putts rather than racing it to the hole trying to make a one putt and actually making a three putt by missing the come back putt. So from a long range focus on just dying into the hole therefore allowing more break, but as you get closer and particularly inside a putters length which is round about 3-feet so if I have got the 3 footers I am a little more straight and firm on that, I don’t really give them too much opportunity to bubble and break, particularly if the greens are in a great quality and you hit it very gently it will take every little view on some bubble move.

So try and be a little bit firm a little bit straight and not lose in. So when you consider how much break do you need to allow, ask yourself how much pace you are going to hit it, are you going to die it in the front edge, or you going to run it past the hole and hopefully make the comeback putt. If you can work out the speed of the putts, you can work out the break of the putt as well.