Putting is all about seeing the right line. Putts are rarely missed because of a poor stroke. The real challenge is aiming properly. You can have the steadiest and most controlled putting game on the course, like a perfect pendulum, and still miss the hole if you aren’t aiming to the right spot.
Luckily there is an easy (and legal) way to fix this problem. You have probably seen guys who mark their golf ball with a line. They do this so that they can line up the mark on the golf ball with the line they are choosing to putt to (accounting for break etc).
This is really important and often underestimated. It is really hard to know if your putter and ball are perfectly lined up with the target line you have chosen to putt on, especially since you are standing over five feet above and to the side of the ball. A simple line on your golf ball allows you to first line the ball up with the roll line you have read on the green. Then aline your putter with the marker line on your golf ball. This is a great way to take all the guess work out of lining up your putts.
When you do this you don’t even have to think about the imaginary roll line on the green, you can look at the easy to see line on the ball.
Of course they make all kinds of ball marking devices and fancy markers. These are pretty cool and fun to play with, but to be honest they are a waste of money. All you need is the plastic ring that holds the cap onto a Gatorade bottle. Buying a bottle of Gatorade will be much cheaper than any ball marking tool, plus you get to drink the Gatorade (sounds like a good deal to me). I actually keep a hand full of these things rings in my golf bag to give guys I meet on the course…they all love this little trick.
To mark the ball I like to use a sharpie marker. Keep a couple different colors (in case your buddy decides to use the same one) or pick a really funky color that nobody else would use that way you always know which ball is yours. They even make mini-sharpies that come on a key ring that I like to keep clipped to the towel ring on my bag (convenience is king…no more digging through tees to find the marker.
You can usually find those mini-sharpies by the register at places like office depot if they don’t sell them at your golf course.
For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut- OHP Golf
Very interesting, thank you for sharing!
Hi again,A quick update I think I freiugd some things out in my swing. I before I was telling you about how I lean my upper body way to the right and I lose the lag right at the bottom of my swing (also the lower body slides too far forward). Well I think I have finally found the solution.It has to do with the 3-D impact: I have always noticed when I try to hit down on the golf shot I pull it to the left. This is do to the fact that when I hit down I shift plane lines and come over the top (I am not sure why). The solution is for me to hit down and out simultaneously. I always seem to emphasize one over the other. Before when I was hitting with my torso leaning to the right it was because I was hitting out but I was retracing my backswing arc ie I wasn’t hitting down. For some reason I find it difficult to do it both. Now that I am focusing on hitting out and down as much as possible the results are far more consistent and the shots far more powerful. I was never fully able to reconcile how much out and how much down I had to really hit. I finally understand now thought Anyway thanks for the helpCraig
John, several monhts ago, your instructions on holding the lag as long as I can helped me tremendously. Before that, I was constantly hitting the ground about two inches behind the ball. As soon as I read about holding the lag, I realized immediately (I am an engineer) that my radius was lengthening out compared to my set up, causing the club head to reach the ground too soon. The second tip that made great sense to me was about the bottom of the swing being located in front of the front shoulder, which then causes the divots to be taken up into that area as the club bottoms. Your tip on beating the ground if you are a hitter made it ok for me to do so, contrary to what my more experienced friends tried to tell me, and it led me to a way to make good contact I identify a single blade of grass right behind the ball, and I try to beat that blade into the ground really works for me. I can it a 3 wood now since I no longer try to swing it but use it to beat that blade of grass. Now, this tip on swinging outwardly and letting the bend in the club direct the ball along the target line put the frosting on the cake for me. It cured my fades (somewhat but not completely) with my driver and fairway woods, and it has given me confidence that the ball won’t fade so badly. It is such a mental relief, not having to worry about fades. Thank you for your instructional tips.Charlie Y