This Could Change Golf PUTTING for EVER 

I have been putting “heads up” since 1999 on EVERY putt, short, long &/or off the fringe. I started to practice from 2’ initially & then moved to 3’ & have NEVER gone back to the traditional way. I saw a senior golfer in 1999 doing this & asked him “why ?” He gave me a very simple logical explanation that made sense & I started my “heads up putting” since then. I’m 63 now, single digit & in 2019 played at 1.8 index. My process: • I place my circled marked ball aimed at the target (hole) • I stand 3’ behind the ball facing the target while taking 3 slow practice swings as I draw a target line from the ball to the hole • Take my stance & place the putter 3” behind the ball • i then run my eyes from “the ball to the hole”, then back “from the hole to the ball” AND finally, one more time “from the ball to the hole” along the target line I originally saw while taking my 3 practice swings. I’ve spent many, many, many hours putting & in fact, have had 500 putts sessions on 3 occasions. It works for me & IF you practice seriously, you’ll never go back to the traditional way. “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect”. Good luck !!

Yep. Started doing this after listening to the pod cast…. So far, I think it works, the hardest thing is to keep looking at the target, but I am definitely seeing an improvement.

I started doing this a few years back when I was struggling with the yips. I used it initially to practice with and it stuck. The only time I don’t use it is with mega long putts and putts from off the green where I need to make sure I get a good strike. Love the post. Thanks Mark.

Hope this sounds like what I'm meaning to say. I feel that you see golf more as a challenge and something to explore, than just a sport or game and I thank you for that Mark.

I have been doing this for over 30 years, about 8 to 10 feet is where I switch from looking at the target to looking at the hole. My friends have always told me that I am the most automatic putter from inside 5 feet they have ever seen

I’ve been using this for about 4 years but I line up the putter and then focus completely on the hole itself, I find Ihis works best for long putts, Great video!

I listened to the Podcast a few weeks ago and thought “that’s freakin crazy”. Fast forward to today….. I have been struggling with my distance control. I’m an 8.5 index and know putting is what’s holding me back from going lower (use Shotscope also). Today in absolute frustration I started looking for new putters online. It had to be the putter right? Well, long story short (too late) I went to the putting green and worked on grip, line, stroke, aaarrrrggghhhhhhhhh nothing worked. Then the clouds parted and Mark Crossfields voice rained down from the heavens “Try heads up putting you dork”. Wow. I mean holy ^&%$#$% wow. My distance control was crazy. My line wasn’t quite as good, but the distance was so spot on that every putt that missed was within gimme distance. I am going to try this for a while. I was truly amazed. Thank you Mark and Sasha. You saved me from buying a garage full of putters.

I’ve dabbled in this with much success but thought it was the “wrong way” that would prevent me from getting better at putting so I stopped. Absolutely going to try this again.

It makes alot of sense, like playing bowls you don't look at the ball in hand it's all pace control. Ive tried this a few times practising but bottle it when playing. I'd need to practice this for a good few weeks before putting it in play so it felt natural. Great video as always and I love the pod. Scott's a legend.

recently started doing this an it has drastically improved my putting. over the last month I've gained 3.8 strokes per round on average according to my arrcos data

Started listening to the old podcasts and heard the one with Sasho. I have been using this for a month now and the results are incredible! My confidence is through the roof. Your comparison to basketball made it so obvious too.

When I first saw Speith doing this a few years ago I tried it. I was very surprised of how it transformed my putting. Got to commit to it. Get lazy and it will make you look silly. Like all styles of putting. Good info Mark 👍

Been trying it out this season also ( starting on 5 feet and in) and it works pretty darn good. Outside of that range, I still use the line on the ball and hope the line is right.

Tried it and distance control immediately improved! Best putting tip I’ve seen!

been putting this way for about 3 years now ... love it. can't remember the last time I three putt ... distance control is so much better that even when you are significantly off line or make a bad read, you are still putting yourself in a position to make the next one easily. The one tip I would give to people thinking of giving this a go is to NOT use a blade style putter. They are far more sensitive to off center strikes and can (will) mess you up and frustrate you ... a high MOI putter (resists twisting on off center hits) such as the Taylormade spider or similar will completely negate any ill effects of off center strikes.

Been fooling with this and definitely advocating as the ultimate way to imorove ones putting. What I am certain you'll find is that your leaves will be half or better of your previous. Your make rate on 15'+ plus will also skyrocket . One additional byproduct will be unconscious improvements to your grip and setup to better accommodate the stroke and setup your body needs to accomplish the goal. Thanks for doing this !

Your podcast is excellent. Its smart and funny and engaging. Lou and Scott have great insight and really interesting ideas. Must listen for any golfer not just golf nerds. Your previews of Majors and Ryder Cup and breakdowns of tournaments have been very entertaining and your choice of discussions are thoughtful and relevant.

I started trying this after listening to the podcast. Seems to work well and is good for me if I start to think to much rather than on target 🎯 it helps me re focus.

Literally just started this - makes such a difference and rarely did i leave a putt short. Feels very alien but you definitely get a more of a feel. I like it.

I absolutely loved the podcast with Sasho. Extremely informative. I had used the technique of looking about 2 - 3 feet in front of the ball with the intention of seeing the ball roll through that specific point on the green. I liked it but realized that on long putts, I felt I mishit the ball too often so I’m now back to simply looking at the ball. I was very impressed with the data Sahso had though on this technique.

I started putting heads up around 6 months ago and have definitely seen an improvement. On anything 6' and under I pick a spot between the ball and the hole; over 6' I will pick an approximate line but look more at the hole rather than an interim spot. I think I've discovered more of a feel for the correct distance on those longer putts.

I’d love to see you do this again but with some data from your strikes, also this video instantly made sense to me, I’m a very average golfer who plays maybe 3-5 times a year☹️, every part of my game is decent for such minimal rounds, apart from putting, my pace control was rubbish until I started doing this on my practice strokes & it instantly changed.. 100% trying heads up putting next time out.👍🏼🙌🏼

I started doing this a few yrs ago when I realized I'm right eye Dom. So my head is tilted toward the target. With a bit of practice it really bc easier to putt.

Makes perfect sense, have been doing this for years, it's all related to eye hand co-ordination and your brain and eyes doing the aiming and your hand/arms follow, when you think about other sports, darts, you focus on the target, archery, you focus on the target, shooting, you aim at the target. Now we know we can't do this with driver or irons or around the green because we need to focus on the ball, that's our target and we trust the alignment of the body set up and club to get the ball to where we want it to end up, putting is a little different as we are close enough to the ball to not have to stare at it as the target. I also find heads up putting works very well for judging distance as the eyes are telling the arms how hard to hit it rather than your memory of where you want the ball to end up before you look down.

I use a variation of this. Work out your spot. Look at the hole and do practice swings to feel the pace and hold that image and feel in your mind. Visualisation. Then look at the ball and execute. I believe the strike is important. Your GC quad on any balls you hit will back that up. Works for me. Putting is very individual though.

I recently started heads up putting after hearing about it on a podcast and tried it out. I can't go back now. It is easily more accurate on lag putts due to the increased distance control and short putts are all but automatic. I've made more mid range putts with heads up than any other method.

Yep. I have tried this. I found that it ‘retrained’ my brain/biomechanics. I did it for about an hour then went back to normal putting and maintained the feel. Very effective for short putts. Took out the yxxx completely. I recall Ian baker-finch used to focus on a spot about 3 inches or more in front of the ball.

I’ve been putting like this for a few years it was a game changer for me, I had the yips cured them immediately, also I often looked up early now I just pick a small spot in the back of the cup and concentrate on that for short putts, longer putts I just focus on the flag, where it enters the hole, I took to it immediately. Give it a go you might be surprised

Great podcast. Had a to re-listen. Got the stack also made some good gains. Thanks Mark. Best golf info out there with a bit of humour.

I'm a heads up putter (love it) cant remember the last time I three putted. I do find the pin in helps me focus more on short shots.

Im playing around with heads up putting as iv always putted better when i dont line up the ball and i spend about 10 seconds reading the green. Just wanted to comment that this video is GREAT as far as your feedback and how thorough your approach is. Great vid!

Been a + handicap skill set minus putting for a couple years. Always had awful putting yips. I've averaged 5 or 6 three puts a round. I've tried everything else grip and stance wise, no help. Tried this about a month ago, am finally a plus handicap on paper.

I’ve been using this method for a few months and the results have been very good so far. I feel the stroke much more intuitively, and I keep the face more square through the stroke by finishing my lead hand at the target. The comparison to throwing a ball is an excellent analogy - you always look at target when doing that, and never think about the arm motion other then releasing the ball to the target. This method tends to break down a bit on longer putts - but under 25’ - 30’ it makes perfect sense.

Love the video! Looking at the object you’re trying to hit to gauge pace control is spot on, IMO.

Completely makes sense. I played a lot of sports growing up, and no matter what it was, you always looked at the target. Shooting throwing kicking doesn’t matter! Looks like I am giving this a go Mark! Keep it up!!!

Tried it after watching this video. I've been struggling for a while holing from 10ft and in. I must say.... This is awesome! Makes so much sense. Feels really good. Can't wait to get out on the course and try it.

My coach gave me a drill two years ago; stance 90 degree open, looking at the hole, one handed. After initially duffing a few, it went pretty well. So well that I implemented that to me normal stance and two handed putting stroke. Now I pick a spot 1-2 ft in front of the ball to line the putter up, then focus moves to a spot on my starting line but hole high. Works really well for me :)

Heads up has saved my putting! After watching this video I gave it a try…and viola! I had the yips bad…switched to putting righty (I’m a lefty golfer) and that worked but was obviously a bit awkward…switched back to lefty heads up and I’m a good putter again! 😭

I used to putt like this to fix my horrible distance control and it worked. Then went back to the "normal" way of putting, but this makes me wanna try the head up style again. Great vid Mark, please share more on it in the future.

Had a buddy of mine putt like this years back as he was a new golfer. This absolutely transformed his putting and pace control. Great vid and podcast mark

Been doing this for several months now since hearing about it on Hack It Out Podcast. Putting has never been better. Reduced 3 putts and have sunk more long ones. 👍 (Tend to pick my heads up focus point level with the hole unless fast downhiller. But whatever works)

I ended up doing this by accident for a few years. My two points of caution to mention - 1 is miss strikes on longish putt with a milled putter had a massive drop off in distance and 2 when I got into the habit of looking forward it through spine/neck out of alignment and I started blocking putts. This alignment issue bleed into my chipping and my low point when behind the ball. My tip if you want to do on short putts is nose at the ball by eye (left) on spot looking out of your peripheral vision. Best of luck

This works a treat when I'm putting so I tried it with my driver too! I'm texting this from my local A&E department.

Started looking at the hole when putting when I switched to a mallet from blade and was having issues with lag putting . After 2-3 rounds I was converted , benefited on distance control and feel confident 3-6ft all the time .

I recently played with someone who putted this way and he was one of the best putters I have ever played with. We were playing as a 4 some and the 3 of us were in awe of the putting exhibition that was put on. He was an 80s shooter but wow his putting was unreal.

Been dabbling with this. I am having far more success picking spots on the ground and aiming through those rather than relying on my ability to line the ball up using a line drawn on the ball

I've tried this the last twice I've played since watching the video. Certainly I'm no worse than I was, and I feel with more confidence in it could really work. Amazing how little you miss hit. 👍👍

I have put like this years, I feel your central nervous system plays a huge role in target acquisition. Similar when you roll a ball on the ground (for example, lawn bowls) your eyes are fixed on the target and the CNS does all the calculations etc

I recently bought a Cobra 3D printed “high MOI” putter and it has given me the confidence to putt heads up given the more likely mis-strikes. I look at the hoop while shooting a basketball so it makes perfect sense to look at the hole while putting given that pace is the most important part of putting!! More pace drills for home during the winter please Mark!!

This got my attention, listened then listened again and watched carefully. Now I am going to try it out. Cool idea. Hope this helps my putting.

Tried this a while ago, found it helped with shorter putts but longer putts were worse. I read an article (cant remember where) that it was theorised to be similar to the 'quiet eye' method which forces an external focus rather than internal. I use QE and have found it has helped my putting especially longer putts where I have struggled in the past..

Interesting hypothesis. Surely green reading is the key to holing any putt whether or not a player feels more comfortable with their head down or up. Couple this with a sound, repeating stroke and a good nerve and you have the ingredients for a good putter.

I’ve been putting heads-up for 2 plus years. Most of my game stinks and I’ve got incredible chip-yips, but my lag and long putting is exceptional. I recommend a high moi putter with good mass. My weighted Scotty Futura 6m is such a putter. The long face helps with contact.

I do it a lot when practicing my putting, but not so often anymore when I'm playing because if I pull the putter too far inside or outside on the back stroke I don't notice it and can't stop and start over. Other than that though, I didn't find it especially difficult to do. I just decided that I needed to be more aware of the start of my stroke than I could be when looking at the target instead of the ball.

I practice heads up a lot just to dial in my pace and actually thinking about it hole lots. Will take it to the course I think.

Will be trying this when I play Little Aston tomorrow. My putting was great up until a month or so ago and has been a real let down of late so hopefully this gives it a leg up 🤞🏼

Ive dabbled with this in the past and found it more efficient over longer putts. I didn't hole more first putts, but the disctance control was better

Tried it this weekend after hearing the podcast. Had 27 putts, my lowest total this year. Found my misses all had good speed were as close as traditional. I’m committing to it for the next 12 months to see if it can help me improve in that area.

Great video Mark. I started doing this 8 months ago....improved my strokes gained by 5.7. The only difference is for putts inside 8ft , I line up with the estimated break but instead of focussing on a spot on the intended line I focus on the hole. Outside of 8ft I do the same as you demonstrated.

I listened to the podcast with Sacha last week & wondered how long before you did a full ‘Heads up’ vid (rather than odd bits you did in the garden last year). Love the RU-vid content & the Hack It Out podcast - nearly wet myself laffin at this weeks divot rants 👌

Tried it last Saturday, worked pretty good. Interestingly when I went back to looking at the ball I putted great. I think heads up is good for practice and or all the time.

ive been looking at the target whilst putting for 15 years now it helps me judge distance trusting my stroke to take care of strike only changing to looking at the ball on very long putts

I started doing this decades ago to "cure" my putting yips. It also gives me better distance control.

I have practiced it on the putting green but not taken it to the course yet. I think I will give it a go after a little more practice.

Ya tried it the other day unreal. I can see the putts go in at a good pace. I think it’s a hand eye coordination principal. If anything was missing it was online but short and as you said once you hit the putt you know if it’s in or not. I relate it to throwing a ball you look a the target and throw you don’t look at your hand and throw. Savage video 👍🏼

Tried it in the past but the thought of a steep learning curve scared me. I like the approach because it freed up my stroke but fear is real. Willing to try it again.

Well after a few rounds of heads up putting I shot my personal best score. It was due to making 6 to 12 footers, so I’m a believer. Thank you Mark for posting the video. Love the channel.

i hit short putts like this and it's the best part of my game. Having the flag in makes a HUGE difference to me targeting the hole, it's a much smaller visual target when it's just an empty cup.

Have been trying it on and off for years, had no idea it was an actual thing. It actually caused me to try and work out a technique that would reduce miss-hits (or feel like it did) regardless of whether I looked at the ball or not. Pretty good fun to change it around as well, makes it feel exiting to try each time.

I started to use this method but use a spot around 3 feet from the ball for the line just to get set up then look at the hole for the distance/pace. I find it so much more consistent than trying to keep a picture in your head of where the hole is.

I have used heads up putting for years. Ever since it was written up in Golf Digest or Golf magazine, cannot remember which. Definitely eliminates the Yips in putting. LOL My distance control has always been really good with it.

Yes I’ve used it and it improved my putting. Mark, I think the way you’re describing it with an intermediate point may be not for everyone. Looking at the end target rather than an intermediate point I feel gives much better distance control

This method of putting makes total sense and will definitely be trying it out on my weekly 9-hole practice round.

Sunday morning I’m listening to this podcast on my way to my club for a comp. The greens have been undergoing their autumn treatment but as it was a non qualifying comp I thought I’d give this, or at least a bit of it a go. I couldn’t bring myself to fully look, but I did putt as soon as I turned my head back after the last look at my target and I was really surprised at the distance control! Definitely something to try over the autumn/winter!

I was listening to Sasho on thy Sweet spot and tried this the other day and was sinking so many more, or just lagging it so much better. Hard to commit during comp but I will commit to committing to it

Been doing it since your podcast last week. Not enough data to prove heads up" but will be trying next 4 rounds in Marbs....Early indications I thought it was beneficial over longer putts but I struggled over shorter distances. I use the Bobby Locke putting method and the Stroke Gained data using that motion shows a 5 shots improvement over the last month. 👍🏼

When I do practice swings with the putter I look at the hole to feel the pace, I will give it a shot and see how it goes.

I did heads up for years. It really works wonders on long putts when judging distance. I found the contact problems did affect me and switched back to a point just in front of the ball. Sometimes i switch back if its working that day.

I have a wobbly take away when putting which always worried me that I wasn't going to putt on the correct line so I use this method particularly on shorter putts consequently I can't see my take away and feel more confident.

Thanks for making this video! 👊 I've been trying this method for a month or so and have to say I'm definitely holing more putts. Maybe 2-3 putts less per round, which is substantial. One significant change has been my distance control on longer putts. 😁

Mark, I think heads up putting is more about improving distance control first, and line control secondarily . To me, hitting a spot is setting up the putter face alignment, as is done even with the old method

I do a similar thing with the line on the ball I pick my spot and point the line to that, then it's just pace from there.... Hopefully if this make sence👍

I have a book called Instinct Putting (published 2008) which promoted this method. After duffing a few, I gave up on it. But maybe I did not give it a fair shake, so I have pulled it off my bookshelf again-there is always hope.

I pick a spot as well and use the line on my golfball to aim the ball at the spot. My ping putter also has a line up line, which I line up with the line on the ball. This way I aim at the target spot and can focus fully at the speed and contact moment

I started doing this in the Spring on long putts. My distance control is spot on now.

I am absolutely trying this. I did try it briefly a while back but what you’re saying makes sense to me

I started to use a very heavy putter, the beauty is any off center hits are less off intended club path. Using a heavy putter and heads up putting allows me to focus on line and maintain visual parallax and remove the mental distortion. Went from strokes gained of 20 handicap putting to putting at 5.6 handicap per Arccos (I’m a 15.6 handicap). One are of my game that has taken to the next level

I am starting to practice heads up putting also.

Long term Tennis player that took up golf ten years ago. I immediately wanted to look at the hole when putting. Found that lag putts were much closer to the hole and short putts dropped more when doing it. So went totally to heads up. Also bought an Evnroll putter as soon as they came out as the face miss its roll much better than other makes of putters.

I tried it when JS was a putting machine, biggest obstacle is being different and others reactions adds to the pressure of putting which generally outweighs the gains! I love it and need to man up and stick with it 💪

I watched this last night .went to work today then to the range. Hit a bucket then went on my way to the putting green. Was almost donw practicing then remembered i wanted to give this a quick try.. i picked a spot like 75% of the way to the hole . Looked back 2/3times then stayed lookin out . Im a pretty good long putter to begin with but holy shit. Everything was at the hole and the ones i didnt make were on top of each other. Gonna put some work in on this !!🤘

This is really interesting and worth a try if only for the fun of trying

Tried it very quickly whilst watching this video just in my front room! Ridiculous, hardly missed my target and pace I didn’t even think about. Just got to take it onto the grass now 😂

I started doing this recently, head up putting and it's saving my putting.

Interesting this one. I tried 10 putts from various distances using this method on the practice green before a round a few weeks ago and it worked really well for me. I hit the ground first on 1 shot but the rest felt really good, helped a lot with pace control which is what I've been struggling with. I'm definitely going to spend more time on this.

Absolutely going to give it a try, can’t put any worse then I do now.

Thank you for doing this video. I've only played a handful of times every year and this was my first year (with a membership) in which I golfed a lot. To me it feels more natural to look at the hole/line while putting, but then I have been trying the more traditional way of heads down with varying degrees of success. Going to go back to heads up putting and start trusting my gut.

I do this but a little bit different to how you are doing it I pick a spot a few inches after my ball towards target and on target line I look at the spot chosen and i can see the ball/putter head within my peripheral My putting has become the best part of my game within a few wks of doing this

Have tried it a bit since the pod, once my new putting stroke is bedded in I'm going to give this a proper go.

I've been doing this since last season. I find that my natural stroke has a noticeable arc, when I looked down at the ball I always seemed to try to be more straight back and thru. The result was very inconsistent distance control and aim. Taking a look at my stats for the last 2 years, it has saved 5 putts a round on average