Putting Practice Indoors

[kprestel]

Im sorry if this is the wrong place to put this...

But anyway, I dont have a basket in my yard or anything like it.

I suck at putting is there anyway to practice putting inside? What do you do?

Thanks

[dgdave]

I aim for a spot on my couch from my dining room.

[kprestel]

not a bad idea at all. As you say that I was just thinking you can put a disc on it and hit that... Thats close enough to a basket right?

[dgdave]

Mine is. I know if I hit the cushion I miss basket low and if I hit the wall I miss basket high and my wife will kick my ass.

[Mark Ellis]

Some practice is better than no practice, so if the only way you can (or will) get practice is indoors then do it.

Indoor practice is not ideal because it is artificial. There is no wind, no rain, no cold, no heat, no bugs, no uneven footing and no hills or valleys, all of which we face outdoors.

I have a basket in my basement and the space to putt up to 40 feet (50 feet if I open the bathroom door and stand in the jacuzzi) but most of my putting practice happens at a course. I use it mainly in the winter before heading out to a course as a warm up. It is nice to warm up the putting eye without dealing with cold, wet discs. I still warm up at the course once I arrive but it takes less time to regain the rhythm.

This winter I played in a Wednesday night indoor putting league. A friend converted a pole barn and installed space heaters and 4 baskets. Each week we competed from either 25, 30 or 35 feet in a doubles format (horseshoes to 21 points, double elimination). While typically I don't spend much time practice putting beyond 30 feet this format forced me to practice (under the pressure of competition) from beyond my comfort zone. It helped. Coinciding with the League I had some pretty good tournament rounds in terms of putting, especially with longer putts.

Although the putting league was indoors, since putting proficiency is mostly above the shoulders, the competitive aspect was key. Every putt counts and every putt was beyond gimme range. In a tournament round every putt counts too but many of them end up being close to the basket and easy chances. For experienced players the mechanics of putting is not the challenge. It is about creating and maintaining confidence and the indoor League was good for this.

I agree that what you putt at is irrelevant. Any target will do. A fancy basket is no better than a cheap one or an X marked on the wall. Putting practice is teaching yourself to hit a spot. It is of minor value to try to figure out baskets. They reject good putts and catch weak ones without rhyme or reason. On the course just try to hit the post and hope it stays in.

[kprestel]

I wish I had that indoor leauge. What a great idea.

Anyways thanks for the help, I think for me it comes with confidence.

I was just asking because for ball golf I would putt inside and it made a huge difference I was just wondering if there was any parallels that you all used.

[nohr]

I putt at a skillshot in my apartment and it has really really helped my putting on the course. In over the past couple years when I stop putting indoors I usually end up sucking at putting. For me I have about 22 feet to work with. I marked off 10/15/20 feet with duct tape. I generally stick to 20 feet shots but working on 10 and 15 foot putts can really help boost your confidence. Being able to listen to music or tv while I am putting helps me stick with it longer. Try and come up with a goofy routine and do it for every putt. Developing this will make your putts on the course alot easier. It helps you get in the mindset that you can and do make these putts.

Mark is correct that you aren't in the elements. So it is important you are watching how/where the disc is finishing. Since I only have 20 some feet I want the disc to have some good speed and height on it. If the disc is falling into the basket before it hits the chains you should switch something up. That type of putt is not going to work that well when you have a little wind or are a little further from the basket. So watch your putts make sure they are going in pretty confident. Watch where your arm/hand is when you finish on good putts and bad putts.

When I do putt I use 6 putters. It is very important you practice how you putt and putt how you practice. A year ago I would always practice and putt with 3 putters. My routine was to shuffle them pick one and then go. I did the same motions in practice as I did on the course. This year I have switched up my grip and my routine to only have one putter in my hands. So far it is working out for me. Since I practice with 6 putters I try and convince myself that all 6 need to go in from 20 feet before I stop. This is probably the best thing that I do. It can really put some stress on you and increase the time that you are spending putting. Working on different stances is good also. Try some from your knees, try some from straddle, try some left foot forward, try some from the "patent pending" backward shot.

[7ontheline]

I putt at my portable practice basket indoors, don't tell my wife. We have a pool and a lot of concrete out back and a flower garden for a front yard and the neighbor told me to get lost so I'm tight on space. If you haven't watched Mark's putting confidence video, I highly recommed it. A couple big take aways that I got from that video is that its important to putt from a distance that you can make and that its hard to keep your focus for longer than 15 minutes at a time. In order to break up the monotony of practice I will vary my putting drills fairly often especially when my 'make' percentage first starts to drop.

I have 5 basically identical putters and I usually start from 5 paces. If I make all 5, I'll move to 6 paces. If I make all 5 at 6 paces then I'll move to 7 paces. Normally at 7 paces I might miss 1 and will remain at the same distance for only one miss. If I miss 2 or more then I'll drop down a pace for my next round of 5 and so on. When I start to miss and yo-yo back and forth I'll immediately change my drill.

Another drill is take the 5 putters and start at 5 paces. Make the first at 5 paces then putt the second at 6 paces. Make at 6 paces then the next putt is at 7. Miss at 7 paces then the next putt is at 6. Make at 6 then I pick up all 5 of my putters then the next putt is at 7, and so on. On good days I'll hover around the 9-10 paces mark but as soon as I start to drop a couple steps or feel my form might be a little off I'll start another drill.

Another drill is take two putters and repeat the make both at 5 paces then advance to 6 paces next round routine, make only one then stay the same distance, and miss both then drop back a pace. By this third drill I'm usually warmed up, well into 30+ minutes, and wil change drills after only a couple of both misses. If I'm not mentally worn out I'll also practice straddles at 5 paces, 6 paces, and so on with the same both make advances a step, miss one keep you the same and miss both gets you closer next time.

While I may vary the order of the above indoor drills, I almost alway finish with just my main putter for a 1 putter only drill. Start a 5, make go to 6, make go to 7, make go to 8, miss go to 7, etc.

Wow, where did the hour go? After doing this a fair amount this winter, on the course I'm money at 15'. 20' I feel like I should make every one and at 25' I really need focus. I didn't miss any putts from inside the circle this past Sunday and won my first bag tag round beating 77 folks; lost that #1 tag to a pro buddy of mine on Monday

[JR]

Can you putt at 25' indoors or not? If not that may show the result of not having trained that distance. If you have putted all through winter at 25' it is likely a form issue. It may something as simple as too tight arm muscles slowing down the arm forcing you to punch through a board so to speak which tightens the muscles even more. When you're gritting your teeth at 25' you'll lose the ability to move the arm the same each time. It is the result of the jerky motion of the tight arm.

What you can do to keep the arm loose is first to maintain the old form but before picking up the putter draw in air to fill the lungs fully and get perfectly upright then exhale almost fully while yawning and shaking the arm. The idea is to loosen up the muscles and nervous system to that level where they're at when you wake up. When you put the putter in the hand try not to add any more tension to the arm muscles than is needed to hold the putter. You may wanna explore other grips to see if the grip makes the arm muscles unnecessarily tight. Keeping the muscles loose may add accuracy at 25' and possibly even at a longer distance. If it does not help you need to change form creating more power elsewhere than the arm. That is if you already do the finger spring.

Leaning back farther bending the knees more possibly even spreading the knees to allow the arm and the disc to drop between the legs then raising the arm up higher than before at the release add distance. You should try raising the release point before doing any other form changes. If it ain't enough push the hips forward at the target. The reach back should have you almost sitting down on a chair regarding the height of the bum and the front leg heel only on the ground. When you have putted the weight shift should have left you balanced on the ball of the front foot with the rear leg in the air. The arm stroke should be symmetrically opposed by the rear leg extending backwards at the same rate as the arm. So the arm and the leg should be equally close to being straight when the disc releases.

[7ontheline]

Thanks JR. That's a lot to take in. I'll work on the loose arm, zen, and higher release point. I too often miss a hair low and at distance my Ions get more stable as they slow down. I feel I concentrate too much allowing for the fade and forget about the height. I spin putt and have been told I have a similar release to Nate Doss minus the disc curling up the arm beginning, IDK. I have been working on getting a solid well balanced stance and believe I do extend towards the basket kicking my left leg back in counter balance. When I'm on I can hit 4 of 5 at the circle but when I'm not I'll miss one during a round at 25' and occasionally every third round or so I'll miss one around 20'

I putted well this last Sunday and won my first local bag tag beating most of the best guys around here, beat 77 total, due in great part to a few long putts around the circle with a personal best bogey free 8 down in a 10-15mph wind and bigger gusts (third of the holes are in the woods). However, I lost that #1 tag Monday in a casual round to a pro buddy of mine. He's a teacher and took Monday off to "play for tags" after I texted him Sunday night that I'd won the big money. I think I was a little tired, my aim was off all around, AND I dunked a 15' into the tray and 20mph headwind.

[JR]

Please try out bending the knees more and pushing forward with the hips and reaching back lower for much more power. That means that you could take power off of the arm becoming more consistent while gaining distance. The way you described your putting you aren't that far behind the best in the world and for ams that is pretty competitive.

[7ontheline]

I won the last Adv master tourney I played last fall by five strokes and would have tied for 3rd in Pro Master. Some folks around here are saying I should move up but I've only been playing a year and a half. I might try pro, if I could putt consistently, since there's not of other ams that are pushing me right now. The Memphis courses are short compared to those around the country so its not an advantage here to throw 400'. The pro that beat me Monday has traveled a fair amount and says Memphis's talent pool is a level down that other hot beds for DG.

I do play better when its not just a casual round.

[mrlaroo]

Good stuff guys, I just got a kicked down skillshot and I have 35 feet to work with inside. My putting is swag but I think this is going to help out a lot. Thanks for the motivation and tips....

[mrlaroo]

So clearly practice helps as I am improving but I started throwing left hand and it has helped a lot with slowing the toss down and being able to feel all parts of the throw. Like most sports learning switch(opposite of what you normally do) helps you become more univerasal and I have to say it has helped with my putting.