Oh putting woe is me

 A couple of realisations from today that I hope will set me up for a more fun golfing season. They are:

1. I can't putt - but more specifically I can't make short putts reliably. I missed a bunch of 3 and 4 footers today, turning a decent round into a very ordinary round - and annoying me no end. I'll come back to that.

2. My basic swing is fundamentally sound. I really don't need to do much to it - even if I could. Sure, it's not very pretty, it's on the short, flat side and it is at times a touch 'agricultural'. But I hit fairways and a few greens and it gives me the opportunity to score decently and enjoy the game.

3. The old saying 'work on your short game' might be old, but it's true. Shots wasted around (and on) the green robs the average player of five or more shots per round. Chipping and putting are so important for us short to medium length hitters.

But putting is my main bugbear at the moment. I hate, absolutely hate, three-putting. Today I had four or five difficult lag putts from say 20 to 30 feet, all of which I managed to put within about three feet. I then proceeded to miss all of those second putts - some that didn't even come close to hitting the hole.

What to do? For one thing, I will not be buying a new putter. I've got a cupboard full of the traitors. Secondly, I will not be changing my putting grip. I've tried them all - some so weird they should probably have got me locked up. But the strange thing is I don't think I have the yips. I've seen the yips in action courtesy of some relatives of mine - and it is not pretty.

Many years ago, I was given a putting tip that centred around staying very stable, tucking the elbows and staying down. I'm sure it was good advice. I don't quite know why I have ignored it. But I have and I think I need to revisit the basic principles of stability and repeatability. Everyone misses the odd short putt, let's face it there can be subtle breaks or unseen indentations, not to mention those tricky downhill ones. I just can't abide missing ALL of the suckers.

My mission, should I decide to accept it, is therefore to do some extra work on my short game, especially my putting, otherwise the woes will go on ... and on.