Combating the parallax effect in putter alignment

[wagolfer7]

39 minutes ago, MtlJayMan said:

I've been on the same path - and my thoughts is that good aim is a prerequisite to a good stroke; in that I define it as a mechanical sound motion that sends the ball where I intend to... that seems easy enough, but said differently, you can practice and perfect a mechanically sound motion aiming nowhere... but your subconsious will take over if you can't commit to your stroke when you get over the ball and think it isn't right, screwing your otherwise fluid motion...

 

And I think it's where a lot of people go wrong - we can see it time and time again on relatively short range putts (4-8 feet); where the hole is within that parallax... while they don't have an issue with longer range putts (where they can commit and perform their fluid motion)

 

They go together in my opinion.  A good stroke means you hit it straight where you are intending to hit it.  Step 1 - aim where you want to hit it - Step 2 - hit it there.  You can't have one without the other.  

 

Step 1 is easy - if you are aiming at targets 6" away from your ball and using the line on the ball.

 

Step 2 is a little more complicated.  

 

That's why I love putting on the meter / yard stick or you can buy the Putt Stick Pro which I use.  It's instant feedback.  You should be aiming down the middle of the stick and a good stroke keeps it on there.  

 

One kicker I've learned over the years - try to hit it just hard enough to make it to the end of the stick.  Speed keeps things on line longer - hit just enough speed will show you more if you truly hit it 100% straight.  

[PracticeSwinger]

25 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

They go together in my opinion.  A good stroke means you hit it straight where you are intending to hit it.  Step 1 - aim where you want to hit it - Step 2 - hit it there.  You can't have one without the other.  

 

Step 1 is easy - if you are aiming at targets 6" away from your ball and using the line on the ball.

 

Step 2 is a little more complicated.  

 

That's why I love putting on the meter / yard stick or you can buy the Putt Stick Pro which I use.  It's instant feedback.  You should be aiming down the middle of the stick and a good stroke keeps it on there.  

 

One kicker I've learned over the years - try to hit it just hard enough to make it to the end of the stick.  Speed keeps things on line longer - hit just enough speed will show you more if you truly hit it 100% straight.  

I agree with all of this - it's certainly not a either-or scenario; you need both and the meter stick is a tremendous measuring stick (pun intended) to see if you can accomplish both and even moreso at slow spped like you mention (very interesting)... I wanted to go a little further in saying that the parrallax effect can screw guys that are able to accomplish this... when face with a 5-6 footer, one where the hole is within your vision - and, even after doing your routine and align it, when you step to it you can't commit (to putting it on the yard stick, where you intend to) because 'man, that can't be right, it's definitely not going at the right spot' and you subconsiously screw it up during the stroke

[wagolfer7]

2 minutes ago, MtlJayMan said:

I agree with all of this - it's certainly not a either-or scenario; you need both and the meter stick is a tremendous measuring stick (pun intended) to see if you can accomplish both and even moreso at slow spped like you mention (very interesting)... I wanted to go a little further in saying that the parrallax effect can screw guys that are able to accomplish this... when face with a 5-6 footer, one where the hole is within your vision - and, even after doing your routine and align it, when you step to it you can't commit (to putting it on the yard stick, where you intend to) because 'man, that can't be right, it's definitely not going at the right spot' and you subconsiously screw it up during the stroke

 

The 6" in front of the ball is what really helped me.  Won't be for everyone.  I only look at the hole area for reading the putt and distance.  My target is always 6" in front of me.  Much easier to feel comfortable aiming at something way closer.  That 6" aiming line is my checkpoint as well.  I know it's on - so if I step up and it looks off, then I know my head placement is off from my normal.  This is how I hit every golf shot though.      

[PracticeSwinger]

5 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

The 6" in front of the ball is what really helped me.  Won't be for everyone.  I only look at the hole area for reading the putt and distance.  My target is always 6" in front of me.  Much easier to feel comfortable aiming at something way closer.  That 6" aiming line is my checkpoint as well.  I know it's on - so if I step up and it looks off, then I know my head placement is off from my normal.  This is how I hit every golf shot though.      

Nice!... this is where I'm at in my winter practice... I'm looking at 8-10 inches in front of it (also to try and not 'hit it' by looking at the ball)... and when it's off; target spot vs quick glance at the hole - this is where I need to learn to move my head/body to 'calibrate' it (where the mirror can really help to see what my tendencies are in setting up to the ball) and not just try to 'force' a normal stroke to the target spot... Not sure I'm explaining it very well, but there is a subtle difference - it's not a good way to go at it by thinking 'fu*k it, I know my target spot is correct (even though I know it is!), let's hit it there anyway'

[Wardonation]

On 4/26/2020 at 9:42 AM, dennis4190 said:

Couldn't agree more, iteach. I went to the Bettinardi studio about 5-6 years ago and got fit. I was aiming about 4-5 inches to the left of the hole when I got there and after adjusting the length, lie, and loft, I was dead on when I left. Took all my Bettis (6) with me and they adjusted all of them for me.

What was the adjustment they made?

[dvq9654]

On 2/7/2022 at 10:34 AM, MtlJayMan said:

Nice!... this is where I'm at in my winter practice... I'm looking at 8-10 inches in front of it (also to try and not 'hit it' by looking at the ball)... and when it's off; target spot vs quick glance at the hole - this is where I need to learn to move my head/body to 'calibrate' it (where the mirror can really help to see what my tendencies are in setting up to the ball) and not just try to 'force' a normal stroke to the target spot... Not sure I'm explaining it very well, but there is a subtle difference - it's not a good way to go at it by thinking 'fu*k it, I know my target spot is correct (even though I know it is!), let's hit it there anyway'

 

This is a dumb question, but how you maintain the spot as you set up? I've been working on this concept, and I can easily pick a spot when behind the ball looking towards the hole. However, sometimes, when I set up to the ball, the change in perception, the sun, my shadow, you name it, make it challenging to keep that specific spot in mind. Am I picking too specific a spot? Any tips? This doesn't happen every time, but it does seem to happen a couple / few times a round. I guess I can always back off and do it again, but that's a little annoying 

[PracticeSwinger]

1 hour ago, dvq9654 said:

 

This is a dumb question, but how you maintain the spot as you set up? I've been working on this concept, and I can easily pick a spot when behind the ball looking towards the hole. However, sometimes, when I set up to the ball, the change in perception, the sun, my shadow, you name it, make it challenging to keep that specific spot in mind. Am I picking too specific a spot? Any tips? This doesn't happen every time, but it does seem to happen a couple / few times a round. I guess I can always back off and do it again, but that's a little annoying 

Definitely not dumb because I can easily relate... why it's easier with indoor winter practice... the only 'easy' way to do about it is I try and pick a couple of spots (left, right) that are relatively equidistant to the ball and have a field goal approach to it... seems like a dumb solution, but just the fact that you know a particular spot is left or right seems to make it easier to track and find the other - when you address the ball and when your eyes come back to 'the field goal' - it eliminimates the perception of a single spot not being aligned properly to the upcoming stroke... obvioulsy, not an exact science...

[LeftDaddy]

Interesting thread. I struggle with this both for putts and chips and for wedge shots. I always pick a spot, but then when I move into my stance the spot is the wrong aiming point and I know it (parallax of the short target vs long one). I tried the goal post thing recently…I can usually find something on full shots that works, but find it very hard with putting. Plus, I’m not convinced it eliminates the parallax. 
 

I’m still looking for something that works better for me…still haven’t found it. I do line up the lines on the ball for putts, and I try to trust it. But I’d also like to have it feel on target when I stand over the ball too. 
 

I tried the trick in the video posted by the OP, but I never found an eye position that made the target feel proper. I’m just all messed up I guess lol. 

[iteachgolf]

I’ll reiterate, get a putter fitting by a competent person.  Below is the result of a putter fitting.  Started aiming 3* left. Finished aiming 0.3* left.  Fixing the aim dramatically improved the actual stroke, with zero discussion of actual stroke mechanics.  
 

3D of before and after putting stroke

 

Path and face data from SAM

[Honeybadger]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:40 AM, dannykos said:

So I've been doing a fair amount of research into the topic of the parallax effect - which initially stemmed from this excellent video on the topic:

 

So - I spent some time searching various alignment aids / lasers / mats etc etc... as I often my putts don't end up where I think I'm aiming.

Then, owing to the current lockdown - I have a 12ft putting mat in my office - I began to experiment with closing my dominant (right) eye when over the ball and looking at the hole. Then once I've set the putter square to my target line, I look back at the ball and open my right eye again and make the putt.

To say its been a revelation would be an understatement. Other than poorly struck putts, everything just goes in!? Literally chomping at the bit to see if this is a real thing, and will translate out on the course.

Anyhow - just thought I'd share incase anyone else is struggling to marry up what they see, with where it goes.

Anyone find that this method (tee in the ground and re-positioning your head) works well for left eye dominant, right handed putters?

[Dokes]

I am a RH golfer and extremely left eye dominate. I consistently set up, pointing left, and cut across the ball, missing right.  

I am working on my setup using the Edel laser method without much success in achieving something consistent.  

On the practice green, however, I noticed that from 15-30 feet, my setup line, distance, and accuracy were pretty good.

What I noticed was that on the longer putts, prior to making the swing, I traced the line with my eyes from the hole back to the ball.

On shorter putts, I routinely did the opposite—from ball to hole.  

When I changed my shorter putt eye tracing to hole to ball, the line seemed to look off from my original setup but proved to be a more accurate starting line.  

I hope this continues onto the course.