Putting – Charge Or Die Your Putts?

When it comes to putting speed there are two general philosophies golfers subscribe to. And they are:

1. Charge the putt, or
2. Die the putt

Now charging the putt means that a golfer takes an aggressive attitude to the putt. They would rather be four feet past the hole than a couple of inches short.

Conversely, a golfer that would rather die a putt would rather be a fraction short than be continually faced with 4-5 feet putts coming back.

But there is no right or wrongs with this.

Dave Pelz has his theory that the best speed each putt should be hit is 17 inches past the hole. But that is only a general rule and you have to decide on which speed philosophy you are going to choose.

Now to help you do this I think you should look at your personal playing characteristics. For example, do you like attacking the golf course? Do you like hitting risky shots? Do you like to play aggressive shots?

If you do then you’re probably more suited to being a charge putter. Examples of charge putters that you would know are:

• Greg Norman
• Tom Watson
• Arnold Palmer

If on the other hand you choose less aggressive ways to play holes. You pick safer options on shots like hitting fairway woods and irons off the tees, playing for the middle of the greens, laying up on par 5’s etc. then you’re probably more suited to the die style of putting.

Examples of golfers that are die putters are:

• Jack Nicklaus
• Ben Crenshaw
• Tom Kite

Now here are some pro’s and con’s to the styles of putting…

Die Putting – Pro’s

• If the ball is moving slower as it hits the hole it has more chance of going in the hole.
• If your ball misses the hole it will most likely be closer to the hole leaving you with an easier next putt.

Die Putting – Con’s

• If you’re putting on slow and bumpy greens it will be harder for the ball to stay on line and it will not stay on the line you wanted it to.
• It can be frustrating if you often leave putts short of the hole.

Charge Putting – Pro’s

• Your putts will have a chance of going in as you will rarely be short of the hole.
• If your ball misses the hole you will have a chance to see the break of your next putt.
• On short putts you can take the break out of the putt because you’re hitting the ball harder.

Charge Putting – Con’s

• You have to have steady nerves because you’re going to be faced with a lot of 4-5 footers coming back.
• You will probably have more 3 putts than a die putter.

So let’s sum this up.

If when you’re putting you worry about having 3-4 footers coming back then charge putting is probably not for you. But if you hate leaving putts short of the hole then die putting is probably not going to suit you.

So those are two considerations ,but you’ve also got to look at your personality. If you are naturally assertive, confident and sometimes aggressive on the golf course then you’re more likely to do better with charge putting.

But if you’re a more conservative person and would rather strategize your way around a course than attack it, then die putting would probably be better for you.

The bottom line however is that you should pick one style and stick to it for 5 games and chart your putting progress. Then you should change to the other style for the next 5 games and then compare your results. Because there is no right or wrong. Simply choose a style and stick to it.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t change depending on the greens or situations. For example, if you decide you’re going to be a die putter and you’re playing match play and you’re in a situation where you must hole a putt then you must putt more aggressively to make sure the ball get’s to the hole.

Then if on the other hand you decide you’re going to be a charge putter and you’re faced with a long slopping putt on a very fast green you would be stupid to try and charge that putt. You’ve got to die that type of putt to get it close.

So by all means, experiment on the practice putting green with both types of putting speed styles and then out on the golf course to find what works best for you. But remember to be flexible and putt according to the conditions.