Approach or putt?

[Darklord]

Blake,

What criteria do you use to decide when to putt and when to approach?
e.g.60 to 70ft. with some wind.

[jgarcia9102]

im jared, but i dont think my opinion could hurt much.

it depends on if you mean "when to use putting form" or "when to use my putter."

i use my putter on most straight shots inside of 100'. for me it is also my most predictible disc on a windy day, so i use it more often then.

now what i think you meant is technique (since we are in the technique section after all). for me, when using my putting technique, anything outside of about 35' becomes inaccurate, so as i get farther away from the basket, my form changes a bit to make the extra distance. there is no distinct point in which i choose one or the other. i will just add a bit more arm movement/snap to my usual putt to cover the extra distance to the chains.

[Darklord]

Thanks for your reply jared,

I was refering specifically to the indecision for using either stance. How do convince yourself that you made the right choice. Assuming you are in the open and its windy and you're not laying up.

[Blake_T]

a lot of it is based upon gut instinct.

if i'm humming with my putts, i will run nearly everything inside 100' w/ a putt/jump putt unless the wind is just brutal.

if i'm off on my putting, i'll generally try to pin everything outside 50'.

as for the tweeners, it is a constant judgement call.

if there is a dropoff behind the basket, it is best usually to lay up.

also, i try and leave myself favorable situations. if there is a dropoff behind the basket, i will try to end up pin high and on the right side, which leaves me a straight on look with no fear if i'm pin high, and a hyzer putt that will fade and stay up if i'm a little bit short. similarly, if there is a headwind and no danger behind, i will try to slightly overthrow the approach so i can have a tailwind coming back.

course management is key. i havne't had an insane putting round in about 6 months (went 17 for 18 on first putts inside 70', with my only miss being a 65' uphill jump putt that cut through and bounced off the pole), so it's been a while since i've had seemingly reckless abandon with my putting game (usually i'm more like 13-15 out of 18 on first putts).

one thing i will do is to use a knife hyzer jump putt on some that are outside my range and just try and pin it.

[roadkill]

I'm assuming you're not talking about the decision to go for it or to lay up right?

If you're committed to running the basket it primarily comes down to the effective distance and your personal range with a putting stroke. By effective distance I mean taking in factors such as wind direction, wind strength and change in elevation.

My personal no wind putting range on flat ground is about 45 feet. Of course if it is downhill or wind-aided it may be 70-80 feet. If it's uphill or wind deterred it may be 30 feet.

Anything outside the putting range given the conditions would be executed with a backhand shot.

[presidio hills]

i used to have two distinct forms when it came to 'putting' and 'throwing'. for a while i was just jump putting all of my approaches within 100' or so because i liked how the disc just plopped down. if there was wind it became a lot harder, so in those situations i would use 'throwing' form. NOW i use more of a cross between the two forms... basically it's putting form with more hips involved (more body rotation). the arm acts like a putt, the body acts like a throw. it's more versatile than my jump putting form, and more consistent than my throwing form. that's just my style, though... but something to consider for the 'grey area' approaches.