Aiming Line on Ball

[BeerPerHole]

I am curious how much the pros use the aiming line on their ball for putts. Any idea on that? With my fellow weekend hackers it seems like I'm in the minority for doing it.

[Sean2]

I not only use alignment line for putts, but for tee shots as well.

[Londoner]

Me too. Why wouldnt you?

[Sean2]

Exactly, my thought too.

[DLev45]

I have no evidence to base this on other than watching on TV, but it appears to me like the majority of the pros do use an alignment line on the ball, whether it be Sharpie, logo, or pre-printed.

[Dave D]

Every pro / high ranking amateur event i've been to i would say a high percentage do use a line/marking to line up their putts

[Golfbeat]

Yes, line on ball makes sense. You are confident then about the direction and only have to worry about speed.

[scooterhd2]

Not only that, but you get instant feedback on the quality of your strike. You miss a 12 foot bit 2 inches on the high side, 6 inches past the hole, but the roll was perfect, you know you just misread the putt some. Alot of people miss and have no idea if they pushed it, or if they ball wasnt lofted properly and skid too much.

[Itsjustagame]

Never benefited much from a single line, but triple track definitely helps.

[andrue]

I'm also doing it at the moment off the fairway because all our golf courses are sodden and have 'pick and place' rules in effect. Frankly it's so bad that I do it even out of first cut. No-one's going to care at the moment.

[andrue]

[DaveGoodrich]

Personally, I've never used a line on my ball to line up putts. The ball is round, so it can't be "aimed." Your putter face is what needs to be aimed, not the ball.

To those of you who use a line: are you attempting to square up your putter to the line on the ball as you make your stroke? Even on a fairly short putt, you are extrapolating a lot from that 1/2" long line on the ball to the total length of your putt. So if you just try to hit it along the line on the ball, it won't be as accurate as hitting along the line you have visualized on the green.

Aiming with the line on the ball assumes your visualization of the correct line is better from behind the ball, than it is when over the ball. This seems bound to create doubt in your line. I suggest better overall results will happen when you find a putter that "looks right" at address, so you can trust your line when standing over the ball.

Another question for "use the line" folks: does the line seem wrong sometimes when you take your stance? What do you trust at that point?

[BeerPerHole]

Yes. The assumption is that the line is clearer/more accurate from standing behind the ball. That's why I always include standing behind the ball to get a read. I look from elsewhere, too. But, always that perspective. This is probably strange...but, I'll look from behind the ball and pick a representative target off the green, usually a tree or similar, to aim my putter at once I'm over the ball. That works pretty well.

[nsxguy]

Agree with ol' @DaveGoodrich
I could never get the line exactly where I wanted it to be. I'd set up down then go back behind a bit and check it and it looked wrong so I'd adjust it slightly and go back a bit again. Rinse and repeat, it never look exactly right.
And to stand over the putt when you don't think it's right ? Oy And if you line up your eyes INSIDE the ball does the line STILL look right ? Or do you just trust it and line up the line(?) on the putter with the line on the ball and just let it go ?
Secondly, the line rolling over end-over-end ? That only happens on a dead straight putt,,,,,,,,,, any curvature and that line ain't rolling straight. And how many dead straight putts do we see a round ?
And does anyone realize how HARD it is to hit the ball exactly end-over-end, even on a dead straight putt ??? How often DO YOU roll that line end-over-end on a dead straiught putt ? not very often I'd wager.
Sure wish I could do it HALF the time.
Now having said all that I DO think the triple track IS easier to line up than the single line,,,,,,,, but I don't use Cally balls anymore,,,,,,,,,,,,

[chinaski]

I do, but I don't waste time. It needs to take less than 10 seconds. Any more any you are holding everyone up.

[Sean2]

It actually gives me more confidence when using the line. When you stand over a ball, it may not look right when you glance at the hole from the bent over position, but when I use the line on the ball I know it is pointed on the line I want to take, so I can make the stroke with confidence.

[DLev45]

Personally, I've never used a line on my ball to line up putts. Then how would you know how well it works or doesn't work?
The ball is round, so it can't be "aimed." Your putter face is what needs to be aimed, not the ball.The ball is round, but the line is not. It's . . . a straight line. Straight lines can be aimed. You line up the alignment line on the putter with the line on the ball.
To those of you who use a line: are you attempting to square up your putter to the line on the ball as you make your stroke? Yes, you want the 2 to be perpendicular at impact.
Even on a fairly short putt, you are extrapolating a lot from that 1/2" long line on the ball to the total length of your putt. So if you just try to hit it along the line on the ball, it won't be as accurate as hitting along the line you have visualized on the green.I'm not sure what this even means, but the line on the ball is lined up to the line you have visualized. Doing one is doing the other. They are the same thing. And no one is using a 1/2" line. It's an inch at minimum.
Aiming with the line on the ball assumes your visualization of the correct line is better from behind the ball, than it is when over the ball. This seems bound to create doubt in your line. I suggest better overall results will happen when you find a putter that "looks right" at address, so you can trust your line when standing over the ball.Visualization of the correct line IS better from behind the ball than over the ball. That's why 95% of golfers read the putt from behind the ball, not standing over it.
Another question for "use the line" folks: does the line seem wrong sometimes when you take your stance? What do you trust at that point?Yes, it does seem wrong sometimes. All it took for me to trust the line and not my feet was missing a couple dozen putts inside 6" that I have made if I trusted my line instead of my stance, but I let my stance talk me out of it. Basically the same thing @Sean2 said.

[farmer]

I have parallax issues, so my natural inclination without the line is to be aimed way right. When I make my read, put my ball down, I had to learn to trust the line. As mentioned above, if the ball rolls true, I made a bad read but a good stroke.

[BeerPerHole]

Well....it's not as simple as it looks, huh?...

[Krt22]

That is another reason I use the line, very easy to judge the quality of the roll.

[Sons_of_Pitches]

^^^^ +1 for me as well on this.....

[jobin]

Lines don't help any more than 'plumb bobbing' the putter. Results from golf testing site, commonly known, shows no advantage.

Here's the Verdict:

"Basically, using the line, especially from distances of 10 feet or more, likely does little more than annoy your playing partners.

Our test revealed that marking the golf ball with a line (as 70% of our test participants reported doing) provides no statistical advantage whatsoever over putting with an unmarked ball."

What i think happens with many folks is that the line forces the attention of the golfer to that point, the line, thus keeping the eyes and head steady. A steady head helps with keeping the putter head square to the ball. More putts on line, thus made.

It's not the line; it's the steady head.

 

[paulj826]

I think in general the alignment mark on the ball is used for general direction on longer putts, but not an exact alignment aid. Mostly for longer distances I would say not like 3 footers. In my opinion I don't think many pros use it for anything other than to make sure they aren't completely off when it comes to aiming, meaning its not something needed to be a good putter.

[DLev45]

That test was trash.

10 golfers (no mention of HDCP) rolling 10 putts at distances of 5’, 10’, and 20’ with a line and then doing the same without. And all using the same putter, not their putter.

[AFcelica]

I literally dropped 5-6 shots per round the day I put a line on my ball. Went from averaging 37 putts to not having more than 32 putts since. Also went from 0.5 birdies per round to 2...Never going back. For some reason I cant focus on line and speed at the same time, with the line on the ball I can just focus on speed and it really freed me up.

[DShepley]

Luckily, most people I play with DON'T use the line to line up putts. When I have the misfortune of playing with someone who does, you get to wait while they adjust their line half a dozen times while missing the putt anyway. They would all putt better in my opinion if they spent less time and just reacted.

[oikos1]

Much prefer lining up to the arc/line I visualize on the green.

[Aviador Naval]

I have tried the line - doesn’t work for me.

 

I understand many draw comfort from it that allows focus on speed of putt.

 

It has opposite effect on me. I find myself obsessing too much about precision of alignment and then am challenged to make a free and confident stroke.

 

I always place the ball on the green (and a tee) so that I can see no writing or marks and prefer putters with no or minimal alignment aids.

 

I do have two balls with lines that I use in practice to help assess quality of strike but in those cases I’m not trying to make anything so the only alignment I have to sweat is placing line perpendicular to floor/ground and am likewise not concerned with speed. The lined balls are a part-task training tool.

[Aviador Naval]

[shotmark]

I never use sight lines on puts. The way I see it if you line the ball up wrong you've missed the put even before you've hit it.