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