Why Did I Do That? - Part 3

It’s been a minute since I’ve dropped a Star Wars quote, so let’s check that box now:

“It’s not my fault.” - Han Solo and Lando Calrissian

When you 3-putt, there’s no doubt that you’re upset. However, there may be some times where it’s not your fault. Remember the ball striking 3-putts from the first part of this series? Those aren’t your fault, it’s just golf. Technically it’s math and probability, but we’ll stick with just blaming the game to feel better about ourselves.

So what are some other times the dreaded 3-putt isn’t your fault? Let’s talk about the conditions.

It’s Not My Fault: Conditions

If you’ve joined The Putting Plan, you already learned that slope and stimp are our Key Concepts for green reading. These are course conditions that might lead you to 3-putting. Let’s take a look at how each of those can impact your chances of making the putt.

Stimp

Generally speaking, faster greens are more challenging. While it’s great to not need a big stroke for longer putts and faster surfaces often equate to smoother, you may have some blindspots.

Did you know that a faster green demands more precision? As the surface gets faster, putts are going to break more. This means you’ll need to be more precise or skillful at matching speed and line. Good thing The Putting Plan exists to help you with that.

If you have a day that has a couple more 3 putts, just consider that the nice course with the faster greens that you never played just might have presented a higher challenge point than you were accustomed to playing. Take a look at the difference in break of the same slope on different green speeds in this reel below:

Slope

Not all 6 footers are created equally. Why? How much the ground is tilted definitely changes the difficulty of the putt. The further away you need to aim from the hole, the more precisely you need match speed and line. Take a look at the difference between this 1% sloped putt and this 3% sloped putt and how different the curvatures are.*

*This is not a good argument for trying to leave chips and approaches in a certain spot around the hole. The data comfortably shows that closer is always better. Maybe more on that in a future post.

This One is Your Fault: Strategy

Your strategy has a lot to do with the end result. Are you going to try the age old strategy of “take the break out” by aiming inside the cup and adding some speed? Are you going to try to “give it a run” from 15 feet because you haven’t made a birdie yet?

Both situations demand a faster capture speed which in turn means longer come back putts. Regardless of the slope and stimp, if you’re making a bad decision, that one IS your fault. Be prepared to accept the consequences of your decision making.

If you're tired of having to blame the conditions like slope and stimp or having bad strategies that can ruin your day on the greens, take a look at The Putting Plan. There's a free trial that will absolutely change your outlook on how to manage your speed on faster greens.