Aligning the ball on the green

Hey guys,

my pro recommended that I align the ball with the target on the green. However I have great difficulty doing that. I usually stand above the ball and think to myself I have to aim a tad more left or right, because I didn’t align it right. And that often confuses me more than if I don‘t align the ball. I have a line on my putter. Are there good putters who don‘t align the ball? Should I try to learn it?

Check out the Trident Align: https://tridentalign.com/

You can adjust the marker as your playing partners are putting or lining up. It really doesn't take much time, the only annoying thing is marking your ball up so much. You can try it in practice just to get a feel for it, then play with the "normal" lineup line on the ball later.

Once you align the ball to the putting line, and align the putter to the ball, do not second guess it and do not adjust. Standing over the ball and tilting your head to look at the hole, the line will look different. You have to trust it. I started making far more putts once I started trusting my alignment and just making a good stroke at it. Work on that.

Do you close one eye? I feel like I am unable to see the line

Yes, me. I tried the line-on-the-ball method and got substantially worse.

i agree with this. Focus on your line while reading the put and take a few seconds to make sure your line is perfect. Once over the ball trust the line and focus on speed and solid contact.

Another vote for once you align the ball and align your putter to the ball just trust it.

When I first switched to using the line it always looked like it was aimed left. It wasn't. It takes a while to get used to.

I don’t have a line on my putter so I just use the line on the ball. And I trust it. If I don’t (not often) I step away. Check and restart. (My target time is walking 18 in 2 hours on a 6800 yard course, I’m not slow and this adds maybe 15 seconds to a round of golf).

using the line doesn’t work for everyone. It messes with me if the line on the ball and the putter aren’t perfect so I can only use one. You just need to find something that works for you. Practice putting on a mat at home and make sure you hit it consistently enough to make 100 8 footers in a row. After that only worry about speed at the course. Get the speed right as some putts will go in. The rest will be tap ins and off to the next hole.

I am another who has never used the line on the ball. I like seeing nothing but white. I'm a little skeptical that a curved line that's only an inch and a half long can be aligned precisely enough to be truly valuable. If it helps you, great, use it. If it doesn't, if you can hit your intended line, don't use it.

Give me an all-white view of the ball as well.

I've tried the spot in front of the ball thing and doesn't work, but I'll look at some spots out farther and just kind of get a feel for those.

I just look at the hole and then figure out the line - I like Stockton's approach from behind the ball, line up to that, no practice stroke, and hit it.

Trust. The. Line.

In path we trust.

Much prefer lining up to a spot just in front of the ball on the line I determined to make the putt.

I use one of those little green tools that allows you to put lines on the ball. Not the Trident thing--just a line on the ball. I love it. Stand behind your putt so you get a down the line view, get the line on your ball on the intended line, step up and hit. I have a flange line on my putter, and if I line both lines up and go SBST, it will never be way off. It takes about twenty seconds, and I don't allow myself to fiddle with it or re-align or anything.

For me, it helps because, as someone mentioned above, the line looks differently once you're over the ball. This helps remind me what I saw when I was looking down the line. This completely changed my putter for the better, but it's all pretty darn subjective, so you'll just have to keep tinkering.