How does 'plumb-bob' work?

[jobin]

Some guys, including TV pros, use this method to line up putts.  Top pro Jim Furyk was keen to 'bob' on every putt.

But what does a straight line from your eye to the hole tell you?  I mean, imagine a very slopey downhill putt and you fix your putter shaft between the ball and the cup then take a look.  You'll never see a curve that way.

Who uses this method and, if you would, plz explain to me its merits.  And if my usage ideas are incorrect. plz help me do it right.

[DShepley]

It doesn't!  Play faster!

[Divot License]

The correct method of Plumb-bobbing is to make sure that the extended line from the hole to the ball is directly below the eye you are sighting with when standing with your legs apart as if to form an isosceles triangle from your two feet to your sighting eye. The putter is then supported at the butt end and allowed to swing freely, then viewed from the position where it is seen to be in a vertical plane. The hand supporting the putter is then moved so the ball is hidden by the lower end of the shaft. The hole will appear to be left or right of the upper portion of the shaft depending on the slope of the green. If right, then the ball will break to the right. The amount of break is indicated by how far away the hole appears to be from the shaft.

[Socrates]

I use it occasionally when I'm unsure of the break.  It will only tell you the break from the point of view where you are standing.  Unless you plumb bob it from a lot of points along the path, the break may change.  Aim point is no different in that regard.  It also only tells you the break on the point you are standing on.  Where aim point really differs is that it became acceptable for guys to stand all over the line at multiple points of the path.  Then try to figure it out assuming they know the stimp reading of the green.  Back in the day if you were to plum bob at a whole bunch of points down your putting line, you would have been punched in the head.

 

Where people go really wrong with it, is that they have no idea how to hold their putter so that it hangs perfectly plumb. If you have a non-face balanced putter, it only hangs plumb one way.  If you hold it any other way, you will get a false reading.  Find an edge that is perfectly plumb.  A door jamb or similar and then line up your putter shaft with that edge.  Rotate the putter until it lines up.  That is the way you need to hold the putter when plumb bobbing.

[KMeloney]

I think it's useful for determining some break when it's hard to see any at all otherwise; and it's helpful in getting a feel for just how much break there is in a putt that you already know is breaking one direction.

 

It's not an exact science, but it can give some more information.

[Newgs]

I usually just judge golfers that plumb bob rather harshly. 🤣

[DShepley]

5 minutes ago, Newgs said:

I usually just judge golfers that plumb bob rather harshly. 🤣

This!!  Just get on with it already....."While we're young!"

 

[dlygrisse]

Voodoo green reading works better.  Just ask Monte. 😉

[Socrates]

1 hour ago, LASSIEGOHOME said:

How to Use Plumb-Bobbing in Golf

Plumb-bobbing is all about determining where vertical is so that you can see how much break a putt will have. Plumb-bobbing shows the general slope of the green from your ball to the hole. (And plumb-bobbing is one reason — along with old-fashioned polyester pants and electric carts — that nongolfers laugh at golfers.)

 

1To determine your dominant eye, make a circle with the thumb and index finger of your right hand a couple of inches in front of your face.

You need to know which eye is your dominant eye because you close the other eye when plumb-bobbing.

Look through the circle at a distant object.

2Close your right eye.

If the object is still in the circle, your left eye is dominant. If, of course, you can still see the object in the circle with your left eye closed, your right eye is dominant.

3Stand as close to the ball as possible and, keeping your dominant eye open, hold your putter in front of your face and perpendicular to the ground so that the shaft appears to run through the ball.

Now look to see where the hole is in relation to the shaft. If the hole appears to the right of the club, the ball will break from the shaft to the hole — from left to right. If the hole is on the left, the opposite will be true.

The whole dominant eye thing is bs.  Just close one eye.  Doesn't matter which one and put that eye behind the shaft.

[Socrates]

48 minutes ago, DShepley said:

This!!  Just get on with it already....."While we're young!"

 

Plumb bobbing takes about 5 seconds.  Aim point on the other hand takes forever for most guys.  If you want to "get on with it," talk to the ones who take 5 practice swings every shot (and they've taken 6 shots already).

[Krt22]

3 hours ago, DShepley said:

It doesn't!  Play faster!

Bingo. 

[Socrates]

6 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

Bingo. 

The question is: do I want to shoot 75 or do I want to satisfy others and shoot 80+ and play 15 minutes faster over 3 /12 hrs?  If you don't have the time to play golf and play it right - go bowling.

[Divot License]

1 hour ago, dlygrisse said:

Voodoo green reading works better.  Just ask Monte. 😉

I used Voodoo in a couple of rounds with friends (different each time) and get some very odd looks, especially when a couple of putts happen to drop. 

[dlygrisse]

I messed around with plumb bobbing many years ago, I read several articles etc. on how to do it.  It conclusively did not work for me, in fact I think it created more confusion.  There are just so many better ways to read greens it's seems silly anyone would still use this.  as always YMMV.   

[nitram]

In the time it takes you to mark your ball and fix your pitch mark I can plumb. bob my putt and be ready to go. If you have playing partners who take more than 5 seconds to PB a putt they either don't know what they're doing or they're yanking your chain. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by nitram

[nitram]

 

2 hours ago, dlygrisse said:

Voodoo green reading works better.  Just ask Monte. 😉

 

21 minutes ago, Jedaigeki said:

I used Voodoo in a couple of rounds with friends (different each time) and get some very odd looks, especially when a couple of putts happen to drop. 

 

Voodoo has worked for me in the past, especially when trying to find "Indio"...

 

Regardless of methodology it's all about finding the high-point.

[Duffer222]

1 hour ago, Socrates said:

The question is: do I want to shoot 75 or do I want to satisfy others and shoot 80+ and play 15 minutes faster over 3 /12 hrs?  If you don't have the time to play golf and play it right - go bowling.

Who are YOU to decide how to play the game “right”?  The majority of those that play golf know how to read a green without plum bobbing.  Those that do plum bob take a helluva lot longer than 5 seconds.

The biggest complaint about golf is IT’S TOO SLOW! Your method ain’t helping!  Putt the ball and keep moving!

[Krt22]

12 minutes ago, Socrates said:

The question is: do I want to shoot 75 or do I want to satisfy others and shoot 80+ and play 15 minutes faster over 3 /12 hrs?  If you don't have the time to play golf and play it right - go bowling.

Lol, plumb bobbing isn't saving you 5+ strokes a round, especially as a single digit, if it was that effective every single tour pro would do it and it would be taught by putting coaches Even if you have the exact read on every putt, if it's over 10ft your make percentage is sub 50% anyway. At the end of the day you still need to execute, if your speed or start line are slightly off, the break becomes much less relevant.  As for not having time for golf,  I play 4 times a week (and rarely over 3.5hrs unless its slow on a weekend), don't ever plumb-bob and truly misread putts are few and far between. Sounds to me like its become part of your routine and at this point more of a mental crutch

[KMeloney]

When you've gotten your vision and [lack of] depth perception out of only one eye your whole life, then occasional plumb-bobbing (and lining up the line on the ball) is an actual crutch for some, not some BS mental one. If you've got good vision and don't ever need to plumb-bob (to say nothing of the idea that you likely don't understand it and/or suck at it), then good for you. Be glad. But start your own thread about how you think it's completely meritless, 'cause you're not adding anything but nonsense to this one.

 

[Socrates]

2 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

Lol, plumb bobbing isn't saving you 5+ strokes a round, especially as a single digit, if it was that effective every single tour pro would do it and it would be taught by putting coaches Even if you have the exact read on every putt, if it's over 10ft your make percentage is sub 50% anyway. At the end of the day you still need to execute, if your speed or start line are slightly off, the break becomes much less relevant.  As for not having time for golf,  I play 4 times a week (and rarely over 3.5hrs unless its slow on a weekend), don't ever plumb-bob and truly misread putts are few and far between. Sounds to me like its become part of your routine and at this point more of a mental crutch

Actually, I rarely plumb bob.  You just inferred that's what I was doing.  I will use it if I get conflicting reads.  Since I rarely play the same course more than a couple of times a year, getting a good read is critical.  Not rushing my putts and getting a good read is one reason I'm a single digit.  If I wanted to be higher, I would just look at it and putt and if I blow it, oh well.

[Krt22]

Just now, Socrates said:

Actually, I rarely plumb bob.  You just inferred that's what I was doing.  I will use it if I get conflicting reads.  Since I rarely play the same course more than a couple of times a year, getting a good read is critical.  Not rushing my putts and getting a good read is one reason I'm a single digit.  If I wanted to be higher, I would just look at it and putt and if I blow it, oh well.

OK let's move the goal posts over here then.

[Socrates]

20 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

OK let's move the goal posts over here then.

Good.  I'll just stay where I was and you move them how you want.

[milesgiles]

I’ve never understood it in 30 years. I just do it to intimidate opponents 

[glk]

 

[bluedot]

Good video, and I think the key takeaways are not only the keys to plumb bobbing, but also to other methods like Aim Point, at least as practiced by many golfers.

 

1. Most people don't really understand what they are doing, and are likely doing it incorrectly, at least to some degree.

2. The value, which Thomas calls "a pacifier" may be in helping a golfer "park his brain" and commit to a line by going thru the process instead of focusing on what the putt means; "If I make it, I'll be even for the round." or "If I miss it, I'll lose the hole." or whatever.

 

This is a radical statement but I'm going to make it anyway.  I'm an old guy who has played a LOT of golf, including a lot of competitive golf.  I can't remember ever seeing a really good putter who plumb bobbed consistently throughout the round.  Every now and then, maybe, but not much.  The guys who I've seen plumb bob every hole have been, at best, average putters, and often just flat bad. 

 

But I think the biggest knock on plumb bobbing isn't how to do it correctly, or whether or not it works, or pace of play.  It's that it causes an over-focus on the line, and an under-focus on the speed of the putt.  And I think every putting instructor under the sun would tell you that there is NO correct line until you get the speed right, whereas if you DO get the pace of the putt right, you'll typically be left with a short putt even if you read the putt wrong.  Anything that interferes with focusing on the speed of the putt is likely to be a bad thing.

[RSinSG]

There is only one plumb bobber in our group and he literally is the worst putter I know. I love it when he plumbs from 3 different views. 

[cardoustie]

Please, plumb bobbing takes literally 3 seconds if you know what you are doing

 

I am extremely left eye dominant and this works like a charm

 

From teaching others ... most people have a revelation when they realize how to determine their dominant eye and then to use that eye only

 

Would you rather have the aim point dude taking 30-45 shuffling seconds or the 10 year member stalking a putt from 4 sides that he has had 100+ times before?

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by cardoustie

[Ri_Redneck]

The key point in the video is knowing where the COG of the putter head is. I've seen many try to PB when they have no clue that their shaft is not hanging straight up and down. A face balanced putter (like the one in the video) will hang vertical when the face is towards you or away from you. Any other putter that has toe-hang, has to be tested to see where the COG lines up with the shaft. first, hang a string from the top of a door frame in your house with an "eye" bolt tied to it so that it hangs perfectly vertical. Then, Hold your putter in front of you and slowly rotate it until the centerline of the shaft lines up perfectly with the string. Now, cut a tiny "V" in the collar of your grip so that you can always align it properly when you want to PB.

 

Incidentally, I use the process very rarely and typically only on greens that appear flat. I do it then to see if the designer is trying to fool the players by building a visibly flat green that has a very subtle slope.

 

BT

[Barfolomew]

Bobbin works

 

Do it while waiting to putt, which is par for the course 😉

[Soloman1]

It's not against the rules to be figuring out your putt while others are putting and marking and blah, blah, blah.

"Oh look, it's my shot. Should I start to think about it now?"

 

Every once in a while, I might take a quick look if I think the hole is tilted and I didn't see it otherwise, or to align to an intermediate aim spot closer to the ball using an imperfection or color on the green.