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

[Wolfhammer]

On 4/24/2023 at 3:33 AM, Jimjam651 said:

From a slightly different perspective, I could never get comfortable with how long it felt like it took me to actually line the ball up as i don't it easy to do for whatever reason.  I always got super self conscious about slow play and have found it far less stressful to pick a spot a few inches ahead of the ball

 

This is what prevents me from using a line as well. I feel like whenever I let go of the ball, it settles and the line no longer looks right.

[nitram]

On 4/22/2023 at 3:50 PM, bladehunter said:

True story. I did this.  Lined the curved line ( smile ) up to the contact point on the ball at address , and proceeded to have the best putting day I’ve had in 18 months.  Shot 70 with an OB drive on 14 , in a light rain and took enough skins to buy my kids upcoming basketball shoes ….. you might should think about trademark rights on the smile lined golf ball ! 😂

 

 

 

now all jokes aside. It was rainy and grey outside.  And I’ve always said I can “ see” so much better when it’s grey.  And today I could just see every read so clearly.  I’d give alot to be able to see that well every single round.  

If (and I'm semi-serious about this) seeing gray improved my putting to that extent you can bet the house I'd be sporting some ski goggles on bright and sunny days.

 

Another older YT video with Malaska and Brendon talking about the same thing.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by nitram
added video

[GungHoGolf]

On 4/24/2023 at 3:33 AM, Jimjam651 said:

From a slightly different perspective, I could never get comfortable with how long it felt like it took me to actually line the ball up as i don't it easy to do for whatever reason.  I always got super self conscious about slow play and have found it far less stressful to pick a spot a few inches ahead of the ball

 

I have felt the same pressure of “omg this is taking me too long and my fast-playing buddies are rolling their eyes,” and these things helped me speed up and still use the line for putts I believe I can make:

 

1. As @Obee has said in another thread, and to me in person when he came to Austin and played a round with me last year, it’s legal and faster to mark your ball with just your putter head instead of placing a coin again for last-second tweaks. You don’t see pros do it for some reason, but it’s fine by the USGA rules of golf. 

 

2. Since you’re familiar with picking an intermediate spot on the green 1-2’ in front of your ball, do that but then use only that spot for lining up the line on your ball. It’s much easier to get it right the first try with a spot much closer than the hole. 

 

3. Last resort when playing with really impatient buddies: line it up, but use it as it is even if it’s off-line a bit by just offsetting the alignment of the putter a bit. It’s still a good reference and it’s not that hard to adjust the face alignment to account for it not being perfect. 

[Obee]

58 minutes ago, GungHoGolf said:

 

I have felt the same pressure of “omg this is taking me too long and my fast-playing buddies are rolling their eyes,” and these things helped me speed up and still use the line for putts I believe I can make:

 

1. As @Obee has said in another thread, and to me in person when he came to Austin and played a round with me last year, it’s legal and faster to mark your ball with just your putter head instead of placing a coin again for last-second tweaks. You don’t see pros do it for some reason, but it’s fine by the USGA rules of golf. 

 

2. Since you’re familiar with picking an intermediate spot on the green 1-2’ in front of your ball, do that but then use only that spot for lining up the line on your ball. It’s much easier to get it right the first try with a spot much closer than the hole. 

 

3. Last resort when playing with really impatient buddies: line it up, but use it as it is even if it’s off-line a bit by just offsetting the alignment of the putter a bit. It’s still a good reference and it’s not that hard to adjust the face alignment to account for it not being perfect. 

LOVE IT!!!

[b.mattay]

Two things that I haven't seen mentioned here:

 

1.) As a reassurance the line is pointing where you think it's pointing, I use my putter shaft to "extend the line" while I'm crouched down. Instead of a 1-2 inch line, you now have a 3 foot line. 

 

2.) I agree with the premise of adjusting head position to "see the line" ala @Obee IF YOU LOOK DOWN YOUR LINE AT ADDRESS. I couldn't tell you what I see at address because I don't ever look at the hole after I walk into a putt. I do all my visualization behind the ball and then do the following in approximately 5-6 seconds:

-Walk in

-Set putter face to line with right hand

-Left foot-right foot shuffle to get stance

-Left hand on

-Bounce putter head 2-3 times 

-Putt

 

To me it's analogous to how I shot free throws (which I excelled at). Process for that was visualize while OFF the line, get the ball, set a stance (right-left), one dribble, pull it. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by b.mattay

[getitdaily]

On 4/26/2023 at 11:59 PM, Obee said:

LOVE IT!!!

Obee - on breaking putts, do you pick a line, set yhe ball line to it, and then adjust your speed based on how you see everything over the ball? 

 

I just spent more time this morning practicing and using the line will 100% improve my putting. All doubt about aim is gone. Now it's just speed. 

 

@bladehunter - dude, that video where Orr talks about tracking the shaft plane....HUGE HUGE HUGE. That thought and visual has almost completely eliminated my out to in path.

 

With my path getting cleaned up, all of a sudden the line in the ball no longer looks left. What I'm finding is that once the ball is placed with the line where I want it I don't track the aim of the head/face. I just line up the line on the putter to the ball and then look at the hole for a gauge of speed. Then stroke it using the "track the shaft plane" visual.

 

Was hitting 10 footers that broke about 1.5 balls right. Was about 50% without the line. 80% using the line.

[bladehunter]

25 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

Obee - on breaking putts, do you pick a line, set yhe ball line to it, and then adjust your speed based on how you see everything over the ball? 

 

I just spent more time this morning practicing and using the line will 100% improve my putting. All doubt about aim is gone. Now it's just speed. 

 

@bladehunter - dude, that video where Orr talks about tracking the shaft plane....HUGE HUGE HUGE. That thought and visual has almost completely eliminated my out to in path.

 

With my path getting cleaned up, all of a sudden the line in the ball no longer looks left. What I'm finding is that once the ball is placed with the line where I want it I don't track the aim of the head/face. I just line up the line on the putter to the ball and then look at the hole for a gauge of speed. Then stroke it using the "track the shaft plane" visual.

 

Was hitting 10 footers that broke about 1.5 balls right. Was about 50% without the line. 80% using the line.

Yep. He’s THE putting guy. Don’t care what anyone says.  He covers the bases from visual side all the way to 3d examination for the technical geek.  And knows it inside and out.  I’m So glad to be able to share some help!  

[getitdaily]

4 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Yep. He’s THE putting guy. Don’t care what anyone says.  He covers the bases from visual side all the way to 3d examination for the technical geek.  And knows it inside and out.  I’m So glad to be able to share some help!  

Man, 2 mornings of practice this week since "track the shaft plane". Then the positive feedback of using the line on the ball. I left the practice green this morning like 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by getitdaily

[getitdaily]

On 4/26/2023 at 11:59 PM, Obee said:

LOVE IT!!!

Got a casual round in this afternoon. Tried line on the ball entire front 9...

 

Let's just say...WOOF! 19 putts. Pulled everything. Nowhere near ready for Primetime yet. 

 

The good...I read greens really well. But my speed was off and I pulled everything when using the line.

Edited May 1, 2023 by getitdaily

[bluedot]

13 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Got a casual round in this afternoon. Tried line on the ball entire front 9...

 

Let's just say...WOOF! 38 putts. Pulled everything. Nowhere near ready for Primetime yet. 

 

The good...I read greens really well. But my speed wad off and I pulled everything when using the line.

I’m surprised nobody has told you yet just to keep practicing, that you’ll get used to the line, that ANYBODY can.

[getitdaily]

21 minutes ago, bluedot said:

I’m surprised nobody has told you yet just to keep practicing, that you’ll get used to the line, that ANYBODY can.

It's all good. I figured what happened on the front would happen. In practice, using the line is good. But going from the same 10 footer on a practice green to a 1 time putt on course is very different. 

 

I may eventually get to where I can use the line. Just need to keep practicing it. But I won't use it in competitive play for a while. 

[Obee]

56 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

It's all good. I figured what happened on the front would happen. In practice, using the line is good. But going from the same 10 footer on a practice green to a 1 time putt on course is very different. 

 

I may eventually get to where I can use the line. Just need to keep practicing it. But I won't use it in competitive play for a while. 

 

On course, how are you confirming that the line is properly lined up? I have a fast and fool-proof way to do it that I see very few people use.

[getitdaily]

34 minutes ago, Obee said:

 

On course, how are you confirming that the line is properly lined up? I have a fast and fool-proof way to do it that I see very few people use.

I use the putter shaft. Kneel behind ball, line it up, putter shaft validation, adjust, confirm, go.

 

But would like to know your method....

[Obee]

27 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

I use the putter shaft. Kneel behind ball, line it up, putter shaft validation, adjust, confirm, go.

 

But would like to know your method....

Mine does not require kneeling and it's faster and even more accurate, I have determined (for me, anyway).

• Stand directly behind ball where line is aiming (3 - 5 feet?)
• Hold putter by putter grip and extend the putter shaft out in front of you
• Look through BOTH EYES and you will be able to see both the outline of the shaft in front of you AND THE BALL on the ground at the same time
• You will notice that there will be some reflection lines on the shaft if you have a steel shaft. If not, they are a bit tougher to see on a black shaft, but you can usually find something. If not, just place the ball in the center of the shaft
• Line up one of the reflection "lines" with the line on the ball and overlay the line of the shaft with the line on the ball.
• The line on the shaft points straight up the shaft. If you shaft isn't aiming where you think you lined up your ball, fix it.
• To fix it, do NOT get your flippin' coin out of your pocket. Just mark your ball with the head of your putter and adjust. It's much faster that way. (Or leave your coin down, but even if you do that, sometimes you may want to adjust it again, even after you put the coin in your pocket).
• Like an earlier poster said: If your line isn't perfect, you can slightly adjust with your putter when over the ball. It's still a good reference point, regardless. This take a while to get used to, but when you're "in the zone" putting, it doesn't matter. If you're anxious and fearful, it will. 😂

I will include a video of how I do this. It is very fast.

[getitdaily]

12 minutes ago, Obee said:

Mine does not require kneeling and it's faster and even more accurate, I have determined (for me, anyway).

• Stand directly behind ball where line is aiming (3 - 5 feet?)
• Hold putter by putter grip and extend the putter shaft out in front of you
• Look through BOTH EYES and you will be able to see both the outline of the shaft in front of you AND THE BALL on the ground at the same time
• You will notice that there will be some reflection lines on the shaft if you have a steel shaft. If not, they are a bit tougher to see on a black shaft, but you can usually find something. If not, just place the ball in the center of the shaft
• Line up one of the reflection "lines" with the line on the ball and overlay the line of the shaft with the line on the ball.
• The line on the shaft points straight up the shaft. If you shaft isn't aiming where you think you lined up your ball, fix it.
• To fix it, do NOT get your flippin' coin out of your pocket. Just mark your ball with the head of your putter and adjust. It's much faster that way. (Or leave your coin down, but even if you do that, sometimes you may want to adjust it again, even after you put the coin in your pocket).
• Like an earlier poster said: If your line isn't perfect, you can slightly adjust with your putter when over the ball. It's still a good reference point, regardless. This take a while to get used to, but when you're "in the zone" putting, it doesn't matter. If you're anxious and fearful, it will. 😂

I will include a video of how I do this. It is very fast.

I'll give it a try. 

 

Will probably look like Jerry lewis in that movie where he had the bottle cap glasses and could barely see...

[Cliffy2020]

What I found very interesting during the US Open was how Wyndham Clark never looked at the hole on the shorter putts once he addressed the ball.  He and his caddy do a very Daniel Berger-esque pre-putt routine to get the ball lined up on the intended line.  They both back out, WC then addresses the ball without ever looking at the hole again. It’s pretty wild.  Thoughts?  

[getitdaily]

This thread is my reminder to laugh at anyone who gave me.grief because I said the line on the ball had been working for 2 weeks.

 

@iacaslooking at you. I started this thread in April. It took until the end of May for the line on the ball to start working. 2 weeks was how long it had been working since I adjusted through practice.

 

2 weeks was plenty of time to know that it was working during rounds.

[getitdaily]

12 minutes ago, Cliffy2020 said:

What I found very interesting during the US Open was how Wyndham Clark never looked at the hole on the shorter putts once he addressed the ball.  He and his caddy do a very Daniel Berger-esque pre-putt routine to get the ball lined up on the intended line.  They both back out, WC then addresses the ball without ever looking at the hole again. It’s pretty wild.  Thoughts?  

Thanks for the thread bump. Reminded me of my line on the ball journey. It's a staple for me now. Inside 10 feet...almost all putts. I'm going to toy with it for longer putts. My speed is better with the line. I can take alignment out of the equation and solely focus on speed.

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

This thread is my reminder to laugh at anyone who gave me.grief because I said the line on the ball had been working for 2 weeks.

 

@iacaslooking at you. I started this thread in April. It took until the end of May for the line on the ball to start working. 2 weeks was how long it had been working since I adjusted through practice.

 

A reminder to laugh at people? That's mature.

 

I stand by what I've said on this.

[getitdaily]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

 

A reminder to laugh at people? That's mature.

 

I stand by what I've said on this.

Yep. Just wanted to give you a hard time. 

[DaveLeeNC]

Back to the question posted - I started a month or so ago using the line. My first try on the course  (after a good bit of home practice) was a disaster but in a couple of rounds since then the results have been better (by maybe a couple putts/round) than what I was accustomed to. Other things that I have learned ...

 

1) Using the line will make you VERY aware of what your putting stroke is doing. I would view it as a good practice supplement even if you have no intention of putting this way.  Pure putts with NO wobble feel better (and are better) than other strokes. 

 

2) From address I see the line several inches left of where things really are aligned (for a 10'ish foot putt). I am getting used to not being aligned the way I see the line from my address position. That would be pretty tough if I were playing for high stakes, but I expect to learn to get completely comfortable in this regard. 

 

3) It is not easy (for me) to generate a pure roll on the ball (line does not wobble) - even on shorter putts. 

 

dave

[getitdaily]

11 minutes ago, DaveLeeNC said:

Back to the question posted - I started a month or so ago using the line. My first try on the course  (after a good bit of home practice) was a disaster but in a couple of rounds since then the results have been better (by maybe a couple putts/round) than what I was accustomed to. Other things that I have learned ...

 

1) Using the line will make you VERY aware of what your putting stroke is doing. I would view it as a good practice supplement even if you have no intention of putting this way.  Pure putts with NO wobble feel better (and are better) than other strokes. 

 

2) From address I see the line several inches left of where things really are aligned (for a 10'ish foot putt). I am getting used to not being aligned the way I see the line from my address position. That would be pretty tough if I were playing for high stakes, but I expect to learn to get completely comfortable in this regard. 

 

3) It is not easy (for me) to generate a pure roll on the ball (line does not wobble) - even on shorter putts. 

 

dave

Dave - good post

 

For #1 - 100% agree. The line is a great feedback tool for your stroke. 

 

#2 - keep practicing. I still see the line as being left for putts that break left. You have to build trust that thr line is pointed in the right spot and then trust your stroke rather than your eyes.

 

#3 - this is where feedback promotes better practice. You will eventually figure out what causes you to not roll the ball end over end.

[iacas]

3 hours ago, DaveLeeNC said:

2) From address I see the line several inches left of where things really are aligned (for a 10'ish foot putt). I am getting used to not being aligned the way I see the line from my address position. That would be pretty tough if I were playing for high stakes, but I expect to learn to get completely comfortable in this regard.

 

You shouldn't try to adapt to that; you should experiment with eye position. "Straight" should look "straight" or you're setting yourself up for internal conflict or something.

[getitdaily]

11 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

You shouldn't try to adapt to that; you should experiment with eye position. "Straight" should look "straight" or you're setting yourself up for internal conflict or something.

 

3 hours ago, DaveLeeNC said:

Back to the question posted - I started a month or so ago using the line. My first try on the course  (after a good bit of home practice) was a disaster but in a couple of rounds since then the results have been better (by maybe a couple putts/round) than what I was accustomed to. Other things that I have learned ...

 

1) Using the line will make you VERY aware of what your putting stroke is doing. I would view it as a good practice supplement even if you have no intention of putting this way.  Pure putts with NO wobble feel better (and are better) than other strokes. 

 

2) From address I see the line several inches left of where things really are aligned (for a 10'ish foot putt). I am getting used to not being aligned the way I see the line from my address position. That would be pretty tough if I were playing for high stakes, but I expect to learn to get completely comfortable in this regard. 

 

3) It is not easy (for me) to generate a pure roll on the ball (line does not wobble) - even on shorter putts. 

 

dave

You can learn to trust the line or adjust your eyes...

 

It's------------

 

Vs 

 

 

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

Never for me, don't need it....AND, I've played with guys who futz with their alignment line for what seems like days when lining up putts, and we're not playing for $$$

[ThinkingPlus]

2 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

 

You can learn to trust the line or adjust your eyes...

 

It's------------

 

Vs 

 

 

It's very similar to trusting a swing thought that feels wrong, but produces good face and path. Be rational. Objectivity > subjectivity. 

[DaveLeeNC]

27 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

You shouldn't try to adapt to that; you should experiment with eye position. "Straight" should look "straight" or you're setting yourself up for internal conflict or something.

Mike Milaska talks about that at some length in some video. It made a lot of sense but I have not found that position. But I am still evolving.... 

 

dave

[iacas]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

You can learn to trust the line or adjust your eyes...

 

If the line "looks left" then you can learn to set up so that it doesn't look left. Goodness, man.

 

@DaveLeeNC, look for Bruce Rearick's yardstick putting test. Basically, it's something like this:

• Put a ball on a yardstick that points right at the middle of a hole about 6-9' away.
• Without a putter, take a "putting" kind of setup and move your eyes around to try to make the yardstick look straight at the hole, right of the hole (this is often toughest for righties), and left of the hole (often getting too far over/outside the ball does this). Find where your eyes need to be to make the yardstick look straight into the hole (it always is, but it won't always seem like it is).
• Repeat the drill with a putter.

It's a lot easier to "trust" the line when it feels like it's pointing where it's actually pointing.

[DaveLeeNC]

@iacas, thanks for the suggestion. This a bit more definitive than just eyeing a curved line on a curved golf ball. I will give it a try.

 

dave

[iacas]

2 hours ago, DaveLeeNC said:

@iacas, thanks for the suggestion. This a bit more definitive than just eyeing a curved line on a curved golf ball. I will give it a try.

 

FWIW I generally find that people see it as "straight" when their eyes are inside the ball slightly. Left or right eye dominance will dictate ball position somewhat. Most can see the ball look left pretty easily when their eyes get out over or outside of the ball. Some have a hard time making it look too far right (though obviously you don't want your eyes a foot inside the ball, either, because then you're not even really looking at the top of the ball much).

 

Eye height seems mostly to be about balance. Some players are better off taller, some squat more. Weight should generally be over your ankles (unlike full swing, which I prefer over the balls of the feet, or the front of the arches).