How Hard Should You Hit Your Putts?
CORRECT SPEED ON THE GREENS
How hard should you hit your putts? Hard enough to get to the hole, but not too hard to leave a long come-backer, right? Well, it is that simple, but I’d like to explain it in more detail. Like I’ve stated earlier, I recommend using a lot of your natural hand-eye coordination for long putts to help with your speed. Another way to sink more putts is learning the correct speed to help you read the greens better.
The proper speed to hit a putt, if it didn’t go in, is 17 inches past the hole. Some may say a foot by, or a foot and a half, but I’m going with the number Dave Pelz came up with. Dave Pelz, if you haven’t heard of him, teaches many golf schools around the country and Phil Mickelson. He’s very intelligent and has done many tests on putting. After collecting data and running tests, Pelz determined that hitting a putt with enough pace to go 17 inches past the hole is the proper speed. Having gone to one of his golf schools and having read some of his articles, I agree with his assessment.
Here’s why 17 inches past the hole is the perfect speed: At this speed, your ball is optimizing its chance to both stay on line and lip-in to the hole.
- If your ball is traveling too fast, there is little chance it will go in unless is goes in the center of the cup. Hitting your putts the proper speed makes the hole act larger since they can lip-in rather than lip-out.
- If your ball is traveling too slow, it has a greater chance of bouncing off-line. For example, let’s say Sharon Woods G.C. averages 250 rounds of golf each day in the summer. Each golfer averages about 100 foot print per green. That’s 25,000 foot prints per green per day. Needless to say, that’s a ton of foot prints. Greens get bumpier as the day goes on so it’s imperative to hit your putts hard enough to hold their line.
- The lumpy donut effect: There are foot prints all over the green, but around the cup it’s much worse. Every golfer will put a few stamps around each cup on each green. This actually pushes the green down a bit around the cup effectively raising the cup. When the cup is raised, it tends to reject putts in every direction, hence the lumpy donut. Your putts need enough speed to go in instead of being knocked off-line.
After reading all that, it’s a wonder we make any putts. Just kidding, I hope you don’t feel that way. There’s plenty of room in the cup for your golf ball. Now that you know how to give yourself the best chance of making more putts you should now have the attitude that ‘Nothing is going to stop my ball from going in the hole’. Just remember, you need enough speed for your putt to stay on-line, but not so hard that it doesn’t go in when it hits the cup.
Thanks for reading and putt well!
About
KYLE VOSKA, PGA PROFESSIONAL
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from St. Michael’s, St. Xavier, and Miami University. After graduating from Miami with a Finance degree, I moved to Florida to pursue my professional golf dreams. After a few successful years and a couple of difficult years, I stopped playing full-time. After a year of caddying on the LPGA Tour for Young Jo, Kim Williams, and Angela Stanford, I moved back home to Cincinnati. Currently, I live near Sharonville with my lovely wife, Lindsay, our kids, Maclin and Ellie, and our dog, Nora.
Teaching golf for over a year in Florida and having taken and watched many lessons from PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional Carl Rabito, becoming a golf instructor was something I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I was able to find a home at Sharon Woods Golf Course in Cincinnati, my old home from the 90′s, to further this new career path. As I enter my 6th season as a golf professional, I’m excited how my role is taking shape. I assist in managing and supervising a staff of nearly 40 while teaching golf lessons to over a 100 students. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the opportunity to mentor some future golf professionals like myself.
Email: kvoska@hotmail.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- PGA Member – June, 2009
- 2008 PGA National Assistants Champion
- 43 Professional Tournament Victories
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Section Player-of-the-Year
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Southwest Chapter Player-of-the-Year
- 2009 Cincinnati Chapter Match Play Champion
- 2009 Southern Ohio PGA Assistant’s Champion
- 2001 and 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Open Champion
- 2000 PGA Buick Open Contestant
- 1998 Miami Athlete-of-the-Year
- 2-Time NCAA Division I All-American
- Mid-American Conference Sportsman and Player-of-the Year (1998)
- 2-Time Cincinnati Met Amateur Champion (1997, 1998)
- Cincinnati Met Amateur Medalist and Runner-Up (1996)
- NCAA low scoring average on Par 3′s (2.91) in 1998
- Low competitive round – 62 (3 times): Four Bridges CC (’01), Oasis CC (’09), and Juniper Hills GC (’02)
- Low non-competitive round – 61: Browns Run CC – White tees
- Won a 54-hole Developmental Players Tour event by 9 shots shooting 19 under par with no bogies (64,64,69)
- 4 career Holes-in-One and 3 career double eagles
MY PGA MENTORS:
Tom Bach – Head Professional at Sharon Woods Golf Course
George Long – Kenwood CC PGA Professional/Head Pro at The Mill Course (17 Years)
Carl Rabito – PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional (Top 100 Instructor)
Mike Bender – 2009 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Craig Shankland – 2001 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Jim Suttie, Ph.D - 2000 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Bill Madonna – Bill Madonna Golf Academy (Top 100)
Andrew Park – The David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Chris Toulson – Jim McLean Golf School at Doral
As you can see, I’ve been very fortunate to have learned from some of the best PGA Professionals in the country. I feel privileged to pass on the wealth of knowledge I’ve gained from spending time with these great gentlemen.
