Aiming Line on Ball

[andrue]

It takes me less than ten seconds to pick the ball up, wipe it, rotate it appropriately then put it back down. If the people you play with are taking longer than that they are doing something unusual. I've never known anyone adjust the ball multiple times. Aligning it can be done during the process of wiping it and only needs to be done once.

[Itsjustagame]

I expect that more putts are missed for incorrect speed rather than line with amateur golfers.

I gave up using a single line for that reason- it was distracting me from hitting with proper pace.

On the other hand triple track seems to work well enough that I am inclined to give it a try.

However, I do think there is some additional time involved.

It may just be me, but I can't put the ball down and align it properly when I am crouched over the ball. I invariably aim it right of the hole.

I typically have to stand up, back off a few feet where I can see the line and then adjust the ball.

 

 

[farmer]

^^^^ If you're over the ball trying to get lined up and you're aimed right .... you have a parallax issue. I was the same way. For years now, I make my read from behind, get the line on my starting point, and then trust the line, focusing on pace.

[HackDaddy360]

Agreed as I don’t use the alignment line and those are good questions.

Having a line always bugged me. Can’t do it.

[Pepperturbo]

If I want a line I use the thin text line on ProV's. I watch a lot of people using lines on balls and notice, they get "Line" locked and miss their intended target. Off the tee, I first pick a target off in the distance and something about 10' from me, and use both to hit at.

[Sean2]

I am not sure how else it would work if you didn't choose a spot in front of you first. I do the same thing.

 

[Krt22]

Same exact thing can be said if you simply line up to the wrong line

[nsxguy]

I'd say you're the exception.

When I watch Pros on TV most of them, if I'm lucky enough to see the entire routine, almost always put the ball down with the line in position, get behind the ball and adjust it at least one more time.

 

[A.Princey]

I never understood the whole, "I cannot trust it when I stand over the ball...". From behind the ball, and upon choosing your line based on the aim, what's not to trust??? What I don't trust is human eyes looking down from 5'+ at address, possibly inside or outside of the path, making a judgement call.

[BeerPerHole]

Yeah, for a put of any length if I just walk up and address the ball and aim my putter from that perspective I'm not very successful. Line or no, I will read the put from at least behind the ball. When I was a beginner the pro that taught me said that the further away and lower you get the better the read from behind the ball and that has held true ever since. If not using the line I'll usually have some target picked out to aim the putter line. I can't imagine just walking up from the side and whacking the ball. But, everybody's different.

[andrue]

I don't play with pros.

I have of course played with people who take half a minute or more to determine the line by various methods but once they have decided on their line if they are going to align the ball it's the last thing they do and they just put it down then move to address their ball. People who are going to faff around, uncertain of their line will do it whether they align the ball or not.

And I would say that anyone who aligns the ball from behind (as you should) then addresses the ball and then goes back and corrects the ball is doing it wrong.

[ballpilot]

Drawing a black Sharpie line on a ball used for putting colors the entire top of the ball black. Some folks like seeing a white ball.

[nsxguy]

As I said originally, you're an exception. Good for you.

[Obee]

I could see how you would think the line would distract you from having the correct speed ... initially. Stick with it and the line has the ability to transform your putting -- if putting is something you struggle with.

[DShepley]

You're lucky if you haven't played with anyone who lines their ball up, then stands behind it only to realize that it isn't lined up where they thought so they repeat the process 2 or 3 times before they miss anyway. It's the same kind of people who read 4 footers from both sides of the hole......just get on with it!

[DLev45]

Precisely what I was saying in post #17. I use the line on every putt, and there are still plenty of putts where I feel that the line is wrong once I stand over the ball. When I first started doing it, I would let the doubt win.

For example, lets say I had a 8 foot, down-hill left-to-right putt, I would set the line, then address the ball and my feet would tell me "no way the line is correct, you aren't playing near enough break." Out of consideration for my playing partners, rather than back off and readjust the line, I would simply ignore the line and aim more left and hit the putt... and miss on the high side.

All it takes to learn to trust the line is missing enough putts you would have made if you didn't let your feet/eyes talk you out of it standing over the ball. Experience has taught me that my read from behind the ball (i.e., how I set the line) is the better read than standing over it.

[andrue]

Perhaps I am but my take is that people who faff around preparing to putt will do so however they go about it. It's not the aligning of the ball that's the problem it's the person doing it. I don't generally encounter much of a problem in that respect (much as I don't generally encounter problems with slow play) but I've never seen any particular behaviour on the green that I'd blame for people being slow.

The main reason I see for people taking too long to hole-out takes place off the green. It's what I call 'bag mismanagement'. Some people just seem incapable of doing it efficiently. People who leave their bag on the side of the hole opposite where the exit is. People who apparently require the best part of a minute to locate and extract their putter. And on one occasion someone who checked out the hole by walking all round it and only then going back to their bag to get their putter (maybe they had multiple putters? Lol). I think on that occasion I only caught up with them on the last few holes so I managed to keep my tongue in check.

But most people seem able to make their putts within half a minute of it being their turn to play.

[Obee]

You are the exception there, for sure. MOST people, when they first use the line AND CONFIRM THAT IT IS, INDEED, PERFECTLY LINED UP TO THE CENTER OF THE HOLE ON A 3-FOOTER, literally cannot believe it. Most golfers' putting aim is ridiculously off kilter to reality -- especially when you ALSO CONFIRM THAT THE PUTTER IS ALIGNED THE EXACT SAME AS THE LINE THAT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO BE STRAIGHT.

It's actually crazy when you see people do this for real the first time. They just can't believe that straight is straight. That's due to multiple alignment and vision factors, but it's 100% true for well over half of all golfers, pro and amateur alike, from +6 index to 36 index.

I was like this when I started and it was so, so hard to trust the first two to three rounds I played with the line (once again, that I confirmed was straight with the shaft prior to stepping in). Trust only comes when you "retrain" your eye -- which can be done.

[Krt22]

My experience has been the same Obee. I use the line for putting practice with a putting mat as well to keep my eyes properly trained. How you stand over the ball plays a role as well, so you can use the line to adjust your eye position until the line looks straight. Prior to my putter fitting I essentially was all off with my setup/alignment and basically learned to compensate for it with by manipulating the stroke.

[DLev45]

This is the old Malaska/Be Better Golf video demonstration.

You use the line and roll the putt and you know you are rolling it straight. Then you use the line to line up the putt and you know it’s aimed at the hole. Then you address the putt and it doesn’t look like it’s aimed at the hole. You know the problem is your eyes, so you need to set your eyes to where the putt that you know to be straight actually looks straight.

[Krt22]

I did not see that (stopped following BBG, just can't stand Brenden), I got most of that from Obee's putting thread, but it has helped a great deal with my putting. One other note, if you cannot get the ball to consistently roll end over end, consider a putting fitting.

[DaveGoodrich]

I agree that if you line up the line from behind, and then feel it is wrong, and go back an readjust, you are doing it wrong. You are demonstrating that you don't trust your read from behind the ball, or from over the ball.

I think the way we perceive and conceptualize 3d spatial information varies widely. The parallax issues are real, but are the same for everyone (its physics, not psychology). Putter fitting and setup issues will have a big effect because these can minimize the actual amount of parallax error built into what your eyes see. But parallax and other perceptual "errors" (eye dominance, etc.) will still exist, which are minds/brains normally correct to provide an internal "model" of the world that we interact with. It may be that this mental "correction" process is where the differences between us lie. I also think it is likely that calibrating your "over the ball" perception to your "behind the ball" perception can probably be trained.

I would further argue that those who don't trust their read from over the ball are at a serious disadvantage. The line and speed are inseparable, and you have to "feel" the relationship between them. Everyone talks about "seeing the line" better from behind the ball, but is that the best place to judge the speed? For most putts, there are multiple combinations of line and speed that will cross the hole at a "makeable" speed. You you have to" feel" the speed that goes with a given line, or "feel" the line that goes with a given speed. But if you can't see the line from over the putt, how do you "feel" the speed you need to match.

I read my putt from behind, and from various angles, but my final "read" is made as I step into the putt. As I approach the ball from behind, I am tracing the path the ball will take, back and forth from the hole to the ball, and vise-versa. As I step into position, I see this path coming all the way back through the ball, line up my putter to that path, and then take my stance, "feeling" that my stroke will be square to that path at impact. Essentially, I read the putt from behind, but then refine that read as I step into the putt, ultimatelyd trusting my "feel" as I stroke the putt.

[Gata]

I bought one of those cheap stencils that allowed me to draw a pseudo-triple track on any ball just to see how I liked it. I have come to really like the look and it has increased my confidence in where I have the ball aimed. It seems that the outer two lines help me focus on the inner line and assures me that it is pointed to the exact spot I want it to be aimed at. In the past when using just the single line, I was not always fully confident the line was pointed where I wanted it to be and the that feeling only grew when addressing the ball. The ball would always look like it was aimed well left of the target. That sensation no longer exists for me with the three lines.

[aenemated]

Once I decide on a line, it takes me like two seconds to set the alignment marker on the ball to said line.

If people are taking minutes to do this; that's probably the least of their slow play problems.

[Krt22]

Indeed. I play with a guy who does the full PGA tour putting routine. Looks from both sides, plumb bobs, looks halfway between the ball and hole, finally decides on a line, takes 4 practice strokes, gets over the ball and freezes for 10 seconds, then finally hits the ball. Will still 3-jack with the best of them.

[J_carp]

^ what he said

[MattyO1984]

I always putt with a line on my ball now. It was something that I resisted for a long time but now I am always lined up for pretty much every putt from 10 feet and in. I specifically struggled with short putts, about 5 feet and in and I used to really question my line when I was over the putt. Using the line, getting myself lined and focussing on just hitting the putt straight at where I am aiming it has definitely had an improvement as effectively it encourages me to make a much more positive stroke. On longer puts, I don’t tend to place too much emphasise on it though.