Putting using line on ball - how long did it take you to be comfortable?

[getitdaily]

For those of you who moved to using a line on the ball when putting, how long did it take you to get comfortable? How big of a change was it for you?

 

When I use the line, it's pointed at the hole. But I get over the ball and the putter looks like it's 3 inches left of the hole. I'm beginning to think my putting issues may be mostly alignment related. My path and face to path numbers are really consistent. 

 

Anyone go to the line and find that it changed your stroke for the better?

 

@Obee, I recall you going to using the line as part of your putting improvement thread....

 

EDIT - mid-june...it took me right at 2 months to get used to the line on the ball. It takes time and it will likely mean some changes to your stroke. But it can work for you. I was against it for a long time. Now it's part of my putting, despite the line still looking left on putts that break left. I practice it so I trust that the line is pointed right and a good stroke will make the putt.

Edited June 21, 2023 by getitdaily

[golfinbrad]

I use a line on shorter straight putts.  Longer putts or ones with a break I prefer to visualize it and be more natural over it.  That said, it might not be a putter issue.  It could be your eye position.  When you put the line dead center of the cup, you know the line is straight.  If you get over it and feel left, your eyes might be too far over the ball or outside the ball.  It could also be ball too far forward or setting up open.  Are you by chance using a putting mirror?  If not, have a buddy check your alignment and eye position first.  If those are pretty good, then it could be the putter.  Good luck.

[bluedot]

A lot of people simply can’t use the line for exactly the reasons you describe.  A putting instructor who works with Tour pros told me he thinks 60% of golfers just can’t get used to the line.  I’m one of them, too, and believe me, I tried.

 

I suspect it perhaps has to do with eye dominance, both which eye and how dominant.  

[PracticeSwinger]

 

Same as with line on ball, subconsious taking over when hitting it 'vomit zone', trust

[ShortGolfer]

I've been practicing this all winter with an alignment mirror.  I've always been a good putter but figured I'd make more putts by making my setup more consistent.

I'm left eye dominant and play right handed.  I now have my left eye directly over the ball.

Before my misses were consistently to the left.  Now they miss either way.

[me05501]

Your eyes work differently standing tall behind the ball than they do when you're over the ball and turn your head to look at the cup. So if you set up the line from behind the ball you have to learn to trust that it is correct even when it looks funny at address.  

 

OTOH that's the precise reason that it's worth the effort to push through your discomfort and learn to trust the line. If you don't have the line you're just surrendering to the differences in visual perception. 

[me05501]

FWIW there are a lot of different versions of the line and it's worth experimenting. 

 

Some like a longer line, some like shorter. Some like to set the line perpendicular to the target line so it matches the putter face. 

 

I recently read about a pro who sets the line facing the hole so that only one end of it wraps up toward the top of the ball.

 

Play around. You might find something that works.  

[BigBlue7]

Never for me.  I tried it a lot about 10 years ago, but then I realized I was focusing far too much on the ball alignment and no focusing on the speed off the putt.  My putting improved drastically once I started putting the "blank" part of the ball facing up

[Obee]

For those of you who can't get used to the line (I was one of you!), you need to watch this video (that someone else posted above). Combine the video below with the line, and you WILL become a phenomenal short (inside ~8 feet?) putter.

You cannot use the line effectively if the line doesn't look properly aligned to you. You MUST figure that out. The good news? You CAN do it. I am EXTREMELY right-eye dominant. My head has to be WAY behind and slightly inside the ball for the line to look straight. That's crazy. It NEVER looked straight prior to me figuring this out.

Watch this video. Combine it with the line. Watch magic happen.

Can you tell I'm PASSIONATE about this??? 😉
 

 

[Sean124]

56 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

When I use the line, it's pointed at the hole. But I get over the ball and the putter looks like it's 3 inches left of the hole.

The reason I switched to the line is because my alignment didn’t look right over the ball anyway. So when I used the line, my brain was immediately like “I trust the line is correct because I know my eyes are lying.”

 

I’ve seen the videos about adjusting your setup so your eyes see things better, but I never saw the point. I just get comfortable over the ball and trust the line. 
 

Maybe I’m weird after reading Obee’s post, but it works for me. 

[Sean124]

12 minutes ago, BigBlue7 said:

but then I realized I was focusing far too much on the ball alignment and no focusing on the speed off the putt.  

The funny thing is I’m the exact opposite. Once I get over the ball, my mind says “the alignment work is already done, so all you have to worry about is the speed.”

[Obee]

6 minutes ago, Sean124 said:

The reason I switched to the line is because my alignment didn’t look right over the ball anyway. So when I used the line, my brain was immediately like “I trust the line is correct because I know my eyes are lying.”

 

I’ve seen the videos about adjusting your setup so your eyes see things better, but I never saw the point. I just get comfortable over the ball and trust the line. 
 

Maybe I’m weird after reading Obee’s post, but it works for me. 

Of course you're weird, dude. You're an obsessed +index amateur golfer. That's part and parcel to the whole competitive amateur golfer thing!!! 😉

[Phabs]

I've always just used the text on the side of the ball - never liked nor trusted the line.  Just one more thing to obsess about and waste my time trying to perfect having a perfect end over end roll.  If the ball goes in the hole that's all that matters , could be doing a 360 going in there roll wise and i wouldn't care.   I have used the srixon dual color balls on my putting mat at home and I can get them rolling perfect for the most part - just nothing I want to take to the course. 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Phabs

[Obee]

9 minutes ago, Sean124 said:

The reason I switched to the line is because my alignment didn’t look right over the ball anyway. So when I used the line, my brain was immediately like “I trust the line is correct because I know my eyes are lying.”

 

I’ve seen the videos about adjusting your setup so your eyes see things better, but I never saw the point. I just get comfortable over the ball and trust the line. 
 

Maybe I’m weird after reading Obee’s post, but it works for me. 

I would just say that you might be even better if you did a little head/eye adjustment in addition to using the line. 

But ... you could also get worse.

Probably worth a bit of experimenting because you can always go back...

[dcmidnight]

3 minutes ago, Sean124 said:

The funny thing is I’m the exact opposite. Once I get over the ball, my mind says “the alignment work is already done, so all you have to worry about is the speed.”

 

I started doing the same and have never putted better. I take one quick aimpoint read, line the ball up and go.

 

I stared using the "think box/play box" concept that Annika uses as well, once I set that line on the ball and get ready to stand in, thats it, trust the line and just get the right speed on it.

[bladehunter]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

For those of you who moved to using a line on the ball when putting, how long did it take you to get comfortable? How big of a change was it for you?

 

When I use the line, it's pointed at the hole. But I get over the ball and the putter looks like it's 3 inches left of the hole. I'm beginning to think my putting issues may be mostly alignment related. My path and face to path numbers are really consistent. 

 

Anyone go to the line and find that it changed your stroke for the better?

 

@Obee, I recall you going to using the line as part of your putting improvement thread....

Lol. I’ll let you know if it ever happens.  
 

 

im of the belief that those of us who see the whole path of putt from ball to the hole  can’t use the line , because it turns a curved visual into a straight line.  
 

it always ruins my speed.  I’ll hit putts harder trying to make sure it rolls true. Basically becoming line bound. I think tiger was able to do both.  See the path and use the line at setup without becoming start  line bound. 
 

edit.  Your much better off finding a putter that you line up better. For a lot of us it’s one with no line.  I use the face to line up.  

Edited April 21, 2023 by bladehunter

[Obee]

1 minute ago, Phabs said:

I've always just used the text on the side of the ball - never liked nor trusted the line.  Just one more thing to obsess about and waste my time trying to perfect having a perfect end over end roll.  If the ball goes in the hole that's all that matters , could be dong a 360 going in there roll wise and i wouldn't care.   I have used the srixon dual color balls on my putting mat at home and i can get them rolling perfect for the most part - just nothing i want to take to the course. 

Yeah, totally get it. For some people, aiming a putter is very simple. For me, it is not. For my entire golfing life (prior to going down the rabbit hole of "THE LINE," my putter face was extremely closed to my intended line and I hit every putt with an "up-out-SHUT. Down-across-OPEN stroke." 

I was a very good "lag" and "feel" putter on breaking putts and very fast downhillers, but I was a HORRIBLE (relative to the rest of my game) 2.5 to 5-foot putter.

The line (and all of the other changes I made because I committed to the line) changed that for me for the better. 🙂

[Phabs]

2 minutes ago, Obee said:

Yeah, totally get it. For some people, aiming a putter is very simple. For me, it is not. For my entire golfing life (prior to going down the rabbit hole of "THE LINE," my putter face was extremely closed to my intended line and I hit every putt with an "up-out-SHUT. Down-across-OPEN stroke." 

I was a very good "lag" and "feel" putter on breaking putts and very fast downhillers, but I was a HORRIBLE (relative to the rest of my game) 2.5 to 5-foot putter.

The line (and all of the other changes I made because I committed to the line) changed that for me for the better. 🙂

Different strokes for different folks for sure.  

[Abh159]

I use a line, but only from inside of about 10-12 feet.

 

For me it's about 2 things.... 1) You have to trust the line. You can't get over it and start thinking it's wrong. 2) My thought process when using the line is to make a stroke that allows the line to roll end-over-end. If the line gets all "wobbly" then I know I made a bad stroke. If it rolls true and my read was right it goes in 99% of the time. 

[getitdaily]

56 minutes ago, Varry_Hardon said:

 

Same as with line on ball, subconsious taking over when hitting it 'vomit zone', trust

So...that was a good video!

[Obee]

Just now, getitdaily said:

So...that was a good video!

Glad you liked it. In my opinion, it is the single best putting "thing" ever.

The only people to whom it does not apply are to those who already see straight as straight when they putt. And those people aren't usually scouring the Interwebs looking for putting tips anyway, so .... 😂

[getitdaily]

4 minutes ago, Obee said:

Glad you liked it. In my opinion, it is the single best putting "thing" ever.

The only people to whom it does not apply are to those who already see straight as straight when they putt. And those people aren't usually scouring the Interwebs looking for putting tips anyway, so .... 😂

I've always toyed with an inside the line eye position but always came back to "eyes over the ball" because that's what we're told...forever.

 

But I just fumbled with it and my putter looks more down the intended line when I'm about 4 inches inside the ball. 

 

Gonna keep working on this. Can't keep shooting 74 after hitting 14 greens and hitting it fairly close a lot. 

[Obee]

3 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

I've always toyed with an inside the line eye position but always came back to "eyes over the ball" because that's what we're told...forever.

 

But I just fumbled with it and my putter looks more down the intended line when I'm about 4 inches inside the ball. 

 

Gonna keep working on this. Can't keep shooting 74 after hitting 14 greens and hitting it fairly close a lot. 

Yeah, that's what got me. I just wasn't shooting the scores I knew I should have been based on my ball striking. And I started losing $$$ to people I always used to beat. That was the real impetus! 🙂

In one year, I went from averaging ~31 putts per round to 28ish per round. I dropped 2.5 strokes per round with my putting improvements.

[Elkhair]

I think having a line on your putter is a big reason for bad putting. Either user a dot on the leading edge, or use no alignment aid on your putter.

 

Really it doesnt matter if you face is square at address. It just has to get to square at contact. Your brain is smart enough to fix any misalignments at address. Make the swing more natural and stop thinking. 

[me05501]

I agree with those who find that the line works better on short putts than long ones. 

 

I don't have any trouble imagining the combo of speed and line that gets a long putt close to the hole. Then again it's rare that I'm aiming to *make* a 15'+ putt. Generally speaking I'm trying to lag those to tap in range. 

 

I use the line on short putts not because I can't read the line...it's more because for some weird mental reason I just DON'T.

 

Without the line I step back and get a general idea whether the putt is straight or whether there's a side of the cup I should favor. Then I get over the ball and completely lose my focus. My process falls apart and my mind goes into that weird zone where I'm projecting how upset I'll be if it doesn't go in and all that mess. Without the line I'm maybe 6/10 on short putts. 

 

Using the line on short putts gets my routine off on the right foot and allows me to follow a more positive process. I still miss them occasionally but I make the majority of them. 8-9/10 success rate. 

[getitdaily]

18 minutes ago, Obee said:

Yeah, that's what got me. I just wasn't shooting the scores I knew I should have been based on my ball striking. And I started losing $$$ to people I always used to beat. That was the real impetus! 🙂

In one year, I went from averaging ~31 putts per round to 28ish per round. I dropped 2.5 strokes per round with my putting improvements.

Man, I feel ya. Something's gotta give. I'm actually avoiding a competition this weekend at a course I like because I don't feel I can compete because of my putter. I feel like will zalatoris...gain 3 shots a round on ballstriking, 11-12 fairways, 12-14 greens every round...and lose by 2 because a couple of guys can roll it. I strike the ball like a +3 and putt like a 3/4. 

[getitdaily]

14 minutes ago, Elkhair said:

I think having a line on your putter is a big reason for bad putting. Either user a dot on the leading edge, or use no alignment aid on your putter.

 

Really it doesnt matter if you face is square at address. It just has to get to square at contact. Your brain is smart enough to fix any misalignments at address. Make the swing more natural and stop thinking. 

100% NOPE!

 

I align right. I pull across the ball. I miss both ways because my brain tries to adjust to poor alignment. 

[Obee]

17 minutes ago, Elkhair said:

I think having a line on your putter is a big reason for bad putting. Either user a dot on the leading edge, or use no alignment aid on your putter.

 

Really it doesnt matter if you face is square at address. It just has to get to square at contact. Your brain is smart enough to fix any misalignments at address. Make the swing more natural and stop thinking. 

 

I see. So you are one of those people ....

You do realize that those of us who struggle(d) with putting have tried all that, right? And you do realize that those of us commenting in support of the line have found that we putt significantly better using the line, right?

[Big L]

30 minutes ago, Elkhair said:

I think having a line on your putter is a big reason for bad putting. Either user a dot on the leading edge, or use no alignment aid on your putter.

 

Really it doesnt matter if you face is square at address. It just has to get to square at contact. Your brain is smart enough to fix any misalignments at address. Make the swing more natural and stop thinking. 

 

100% agree.  I have always used the line on the ball but would start having fits if the sightline on the putter didn't match.  Having a putter with no visual aids really frees me and all I have to focus on is speed.

[Cliffy2020]

Watch at your own risk, but here’s the LPGA equivalent to Zalatoris.