Do You Use a Line for putting or not? Will you continue to do so? Most people in the My Golf Spy Study claimed focusing on the line caused distance control issues? Your thoughts?
Ok this is a great question ! Yes I do use a line on the ball but only on straight putts or ones that can be lined up with minimal or zero break . I line the ball up straight up to the hole on a straight putt - step back and re sight the ball from a distance and correct line accordingly!
John, I was taught to use a line and have found that for me it's very helpful in my putt alignment. It gives me a positive starting point. In addition it tells me that I made a good solid stroke when the line travels end over end to become a solid line. On a miss hit the line will wobble. Different strokes for different folks.
Randy, Completely agree...if it works for you keep doing it. Just pointing out the research here that it doesn't for most people. Putting is very personal.
Cheers for this. I was going to start to use a line as I was told it’s better….I don’t like a line but was going to give it a go anyway. I’ve good co-ordination and just liked to use my judgement. It’s been proved, so it won’t be happening now!
Here's how I use the line, and it definitely helps my game 100% no doubt. I only use the line on putts I'm convinced are straight,...ie: no break. The line helps with setup, alignment, and confidence which helps me get the ball to the hole since I tend to leave putts short. If there's a break I don't use the line. If it's a breaking putt using the line adds another variable that I don't need. I have to hope I read the putt correctly, then gotta hope I align the line correctly. If I'm off on either of those I miss the putt. At that point I'm better off just reading the putt, and hitting it without using the line. But like I said it definitely helps me a ton on straight putts.
I kinda use your method mixed with the line. 1- choose line based on speed. 2- match up line on ball with chosen line. 3- rehearse intended speed for putt. 4- line up putter aim line with ball line. 5. Stroke putt rehearsed speed. No looking! When I use the intermediate point I tend to leave my putts short I feel because my final focus is the spot short of my target. But, the facts are the facts
The study has some limitations and I certainly wouldn't say it proves anything one way or the other. Firstly, the participants not using their normal putter is a confounder - we can't say if it would help the line or no line camp, but it definitely means the participants aren't putting under their normal conditions. Secondly, we don't know if the participants usually used the line or not in their normal game - perhaps most of the participants don't use the line normally and so the line is throwing them off their normal routine. Perhaps, for people new to the line, practicing with the line for an hour or so helps people dial it in and at that point it becomes superior or non-inferior to having no line. Perhaps there were certain types of participants for whom the line did help, others it hindered, and others for who it was neutral for - maybe handicap, eye dominance, putting arc are variables that play a role in predicting of someone would benefit from using the line or not. Finally, perhaps 10 participants, 20 putts and 3 distances isn't enough data to show an effect when there are other variables at play. In general, most studies have flaws and a single study will very rarely constitute 'proof'. Unfortunately, as much as My Golf Spy is the best out there when it comes to golf equipment tests, in my opinion their studies tend to be rather flawed in comparison to what the research community would generally consider to be high quality research.
Another good thing to mention is, if you try using the line... once you actually stand over the putt, the line will NOT even look like its aimed properly because of where your eyes will end up!!
This is an old video, I guess I'm really late to the party, but I totally use alignment tools to help me. The study I think you're referencing incorporated a total of 10 golfers, which for a sample size is completely inadequate. The law of averages generally applies to a larger (much larger) sample size, 10 wouldn't be enough to get a good idea of whether the numbers were valid for the golfing community, not to mention some of the other variables that would come into this type of study that were ignored. I think alignment lines can be helpful if you're not relying on them for every putt, at least they have been for me on longer puts.The only thing it leaves me to focus on once I've chosen a line, is tempo.
Nope, this study is about internal validity... whether or not a line on a ball helped an individual player increase their chances of getting it in the hole. It wasnt meant to be extrapolated to a population ( external validity). And law of averages has nothing to do with it. You are thinking of the law of large numbers.
I used it for years but stopped last year and I don’t see a difference. I also used to use the line to line up drives! BTW, your audio is only out of one channel.
I use the alignment aid to mark where I want to strike the ball when putting. Not when to aim. I also use it in practice to make sure I am rolling the ball end over end
Lines on the ball .. I've found aligning the ball to my chosen start line then moving to address, the ball line never looks like it's correctly on line.. move back behind the ball and it's on line .. hmm clearly a vision/glasses distortion issue. Without the lines I have low confidence that the putter face is even perpendicular to the start line. With the lines I do and it makes a huge difference. The line on the ball gives you something solid to align your putter to.. I trust that. If our pace/start line/ stroke mechanics are wrong well that's on us.
I agree. Many people benefit from the line. The study I quoted found it didn’t help a large group overall. But I believe it did help specific individuals who due to vision struggle to see the line. Going to do a video on how to get the line etc soon.
I usually just use the ball model line to aim. I’m better with that than going at it blind. To me it helps. I’m a pretty bad putter and they do help me but to each their own.
I think the line helps vs without if you’re an average golfer. Sure there are pros that don’t use the line because they practice putting thousands and thousands of putts all the time. The biggest thing left out of this is where you mark your line if it’s not already on the golf ball. You want your line to start on a pair of dimples on the golf ball that are lined up with your line. If you don’t, you’re setting up for a potential bad putt.
So hold on - the rules of golf require us to mark our ball for identification? I like my ball clean as out of the packet thanks, no added marking on it. Very rare that you get a player in your 4 ball using the exact same ball too. 🤗
I will use this line only for practice, not on the field. Also i draw it on the line where there is no alveolus on the ball, it may help the roll, maybe a bit…
If it goes end over end and I miss, I know its a bad read / pace rather than a non square contact! Have you done a video about “putting trigger movements”?
Yes he did and the Triple Track Alignment system has helped tons of people. The study I referenced did document, that for most people using a line resulted in slightly fewer made putts. I say, if it helps then by all means do it.
"huge number of golfers" actually it was 10 - "1000s and 1000s putts" - it was 600 putts. The distance putts missed was because it affected their distance control - not alignment. That said I don't use one I agree with Golf Spy it just annoys everyone!!
Exactly...that was one of the findings in the Golf Spy research study...and the problem is speed is way more important than line once you get past 8 feet.
The reason the line doesn’t help is because it becomes a center focus in your mind. Then you use your imagination and think about the curvature or the speed. Also, when you stand behind the ball to look down the line and then you get up to get ready to putt, your perspective changes and you feel doubt about the line you choose. This causes manipulation that is not natural and relaxed, and therefore you miss!
I didn’t see the Golf Spy study, but I will look for it to see what the parameters were. But, just common sense would suggest that it is better to properly aim a projectile (bullet, arrow, or ball) at your intended target. I have seen conclusive evidence that shows me there is a big difference in your line of sight behind the ball and beside the ball. Again, using common sense, if you read the green correctly and use the alignment line on the ball to correspond with your green read, then you have eliminated the direction variable from the putt. How in the world can that be a bad thing? The Golf Spy study better have some concrete explanations because it doesn’t make sense. I certainly wouldn’t fire a gun without aligning the sights with the target.
They’re conclusion was based on the fact that everyone putted more poorly while using the line. If I can recall correctly, they did say that a lot of it was because people so focused on the line that they left their putts short.
@@jabman549 the reason or explanation is uncertain because the test done by my Golf spy which I quoted did not conclude anything other than they thought people were so focused on the line that they didn’t control their distance. Additionally, I have uploaded a video where I talk about the fact that now I personally use the line on the ball and how I use it to aim. But your observation is correct.
There are tons of different and effective ways to grip the putter and I've done videos on tons of them. And the Kotahi grip I have on my putter works incredibly well with the way I attach my hands to the club. Thanks for the interaction, but I don't quite understand your question.
I love using a line but research shows amateurs have a huge tendency to leave putts short when they use a line. Pros practice putting 2 hours a day and don’t have that problem
@@HisRoyalSelf in some ways. Newer research after this video shows that the line helps on short pots, but after 10 feet. The line has almost 0 value for anyone. The issue in the study I reference in this video was that people were so focused on the line that they struggled with speed. Point is it takes both line and speed to make putts
Do You Use a Line for putting or not? Will you continue to do so? Most people in the My Golf Spy Study claimed focusing on the line caused distance control issues? Your thoughts?
Ok this is a great question ! Yes I do use a line on the ball but only on straight putts or ones that can be lined up with minimal or zero break .
I line the ball up straight up to the hole on a straight putt - step back and re sight the ball from a distance and correct line accordingly!
John, I was taught to use a line and have found that for me it's very helpful in my putt alignment. It gives me a positive starting point. In addition it tells me that I made a good solid stroke when the line travels end over end to become a solid line. On a miss hit the line will wobble. Different strokes for different folks.
Randy, Completely agree...if it works for you keep doing it. Just pointing out the research here that it doesn't for most people. Putting is very personal.
Thanks Mr. One Purr for sharing the data and providing the reference material...keeping it real.
Cheers for this. I was going to start to use a line as I was told it’s better….I don’t like a line but was going to give it a go anyway. I’ve good co-ordination and just liked to use my judgement. It’s been proved, so it won’t be happening now!
Thank you very much. I started using the line a year ago and saw truly no difference in my putts per round.
Here's how I use the line, and it definitely helps my game 100% no doubt. I only use the line on putts I'm convinced are straight,...ie: no break. The line helps with setup, alignment, and confidence which helps me get the ball to the hole since I tend to leave putts short. If there's a break I don't use the line. If it's a breaking putt using the line adds another variable that I don't need. I have to hope I read the putt correctly, then gotta hope I align the line correctly. If I'm off on either of those I miss the putt. At that point I'm better off just reading the putt, and hitting it without using the line. But like I said it definitely helps me a ton on straight putts.
I kinda use your method mixed with the line. 1- choose line based on speed. 2- match up line on ball with chosen line. 3- rehearse intended speed for putt. 4- line up putter aim line with ball line. 5. Stroke putt rehearsed speed. No looking!
When I use the intermediate point I tend to leave my putts short I feel because my final focus is the spot short of my target. But, the facts are the facts
Yes... my misses are usually short and I have learned to compensate for that.
The study has some limitations and I certainly wouldn't say it proves anything one way or the other. Firstly, the participants not using their normal putter is a confounder - we can't say if it would help the line or no line camp, but it definitely means the participants aren't putting under their normal conditions. Secondly, we don't know if the participants usually used the line or not in their normal game - perhaps most of the participants don't use the line normally and so the line is throwing them off their normal routine. Perhaps, for people new to the line, practicing with the line for an hour or so helps people dial it in and at that point it becomes superior or non-inferior to having no line. Perhaps there were certain types of participants for whom the line did help, others it hindered, and others for who it was neutral for - maybe handicap, eye dominance, putting arc are variables that play a role in predicting of someone would benefit from using the line or not. Finally, perhaps 10 participants, 20 putts and 3 distances isn't enough data to show an effect when there are other variables at play. In general, most studies have flaws and a single study will very rarely constitute 'proof'. Unfortunately, as much as My Golf Spy is the best out there when it comes to golf equipment tests, in my opinion their studies tend to be rather flawed in comparison to what the research community would generally consider to be high quality research.
Good comments...thank you.
Another good thing to mention is, if you try using the line... once you actually stand over the putt, the line will NOT even look like its aimed properly because of where your eyes will end up!!
Very good point...
This is an old video, I guess I'm really late to the party, but I totally use alignment tools to help me. The study I think you're referencing incorporated a total of 10 golfers, which for a sample size is completely inadequate. The law of averages generally applies to a larger (much larger) sample size, 10 wouldn't be enough to get a good idea of whether the numbers were valid for the golfing community, not to mention some of the other variables that would come into this type of study that were ignored. I think alignment lines can be helpful if you're not relying on them for every putt, at least they have been for me on longer puts.The only thing it leaves me to focus on once I've chosen a line, is tempo.
Nope, this study is about internal validity... whether or not a line on a ball helped an individual player increase their chances of getting it in the hole. It wasnt meant to be extrapolated to a population ( external validity). And law of averages has nothing to do with it. You are thinking of the law of large numbers.
I used it for years but stopped last year and I don’t see a difference. I also used to use the line to line up drives! BTW, your audio is only out of one channel.
I use the alignment aid to mark where I want to strike the ball when putting. Not when to aim.
I also use it in practice to make sure I am rolling the ball end over end
Good use of the line. I do the same thing when practicing.
Lines on the ball .. I've found aligning the ball to my chosen start line then moving to address, the ball line never looks like it's correctly on line.. move back behind the ball and it's on line .. hmm clearly a vision/glasses distortion issue. Without the lines I have low confidence that the putter face is even perpendicular to the start line. With the lines I do and it makes a huge difference. The line on the ball gives you something solid to align your putter to.. I trust that. If our pace/start line/ stroke mechanics are wrong well that's on us.
I agree. Many people benefit from the line. The study I quoted found it didn’t help a large group overall. But I believe it did help specific individuals who due to vision struggle to see the line. Going to do a video on how to get the line etc soon.
I usually just use the ball model line to aim. I’m better with that than going at it blind. To me it helps. I’m a pretty bad putter and they do help me but to each their own.
I think the line helps vs without if you’re an average golfer. Sure there are pros that don’t use the line because they practice putting thousands and thousands of putts all the time. The biggest thing left out of this is where you mark your line if it’s not already on the golf ball. You want your line to start on a pair of dimples on the golf ball that are lined up with your line. If you don’t, you’re setting up for a potential bad putt.
So hold on - the rules of golf require us to mark our ball for identification? I like my ball clean as out of the packet thanks, no added marking on it. Very rare that you get a player in your 4 ball using the exact same ball too. 🤗
I will use this line only for practice, not on the field. Also i draw it on the line where there is no alveolus on the ball, it may help the roll, maybe a bit…
The line is really useful in practice as it shows ball is going end over end.
If it goes end over end and I miss, I know its a bad read / pace rather than a non square contact! Have you done a video about “putting trigger movements”?
Triple Track has changed my game. Won several tournaments with this alignment method. And didn't Phil win the PGA championship with a triple track?
Yes he did and the Triple Track Alignment system has helped tons of people. The study I referenced did document, that for most people using a line resulted in slightly fewer made putts. I say, if it helps then by all means do it.
😄Wow look at all those golf balls behind you - wow you sure do practice what you preach 😂😂 !!⛳️
"huge number of golfers" actually it was 10 - "1000s and 1000s putts" - it was 600 putts. The distance putts missed was because it affected their distance control - not alignment. That said I don't use one I agree with Golf Spy it just annoys everyone!!
Interesting...I thought I read much higher numbers in their report
When I use a line I find myself too focused on the line instead of just trusting my own line and feel
Exactly...that was one of the findings in the Golf Spy research study...and the problem is speed is way more important than line once you get past 8 feet.
@@misteroneputt agreed speed control is more important
Even 2 out of thousands is statistically in significant.
The reason the line doesn’t help is because it becomes a center focus in your mind. Then you use your imagination and think about the curvature or the speed. Also, when you stand behind the ball to look down the line and then you get up to get ready to putt, your perspective changes and you feel doubt about the line you choose. This causes manipulation that is not natural and relaxed, and therefore you miss!
Exactly
I didn’t see the Golf Spy study, but I will look for it to see what the parameters were. But, just common sense would suggest that it is better to properly aim a projectile (bullet, arrow, or ball) at your intended target. I have seen conclusive evidence that shows me there is a big difference in your line of sight behind the ball and beside the ball. Again, using common sense, if you read the green correctly and use the alignment line on the ball to correspond with your green read, then you have eliminated the direction variable from the putt. How in the world can that be a bad thing? The Golf Spy study better have some concrete explanations because it doesn’t make sense. I certainly wouldn’t fire a gun without aligning the sights with the target.
They’re conclusion was based on the fact that everyone putted more poorly while using the line. If I can recall correctly, they did say that a lot of it was because people so focused on the line that they left their putts short.
No explanation why using a line doesn’t help and actually hurts you….(?)
@@jabman549 the reason or explanation is uncertain because the test done by my Golf spy which I quoted did not conclude anything other than they thought people were so focused on the line that they didn’t control their distance. Additionally, I have uploaded a video where I talk about the fact that now I personally use the line on the ball and how I use it to aim. But your observation is correct.
No Audio?
Seems to be working for me
Look at the state of your putter grip! How can anyone trust you?
There are tons of different and effective ways to grip the putter and I've done videos on tons of them. And the Kotahi grip I have on my putter works incredibly well with the way I attach my hands to the club. Thanks for the interaction, but I don't quite understand your question.
90 % of Pros use a line so i don't know maybe they should watch this video lol
I love using a line but research shows amateurs have a huge tendency to leave putts short when they use a line. Pros practice putting 2 hours a day and don’t have that problem
Ok well the best player who ever played 🐅 has a line on his ball 🤔 why has his team not shown him this scientific study you are talking about
I'm married to my line mark...but I think a quick Las Vegas divorce is coming up.
Try both ways
So basically this is a waste if time tool and practically a placebo effect. Cool.
@@HisRoyalSelf in some ways. Newer research after this video shows that the line helps on short pots, but after 10 feet. The line has almost 0 value for anyone. The issue in the study I reference in this video was that people were so focused on the line that they struggled with speed. Point is it takes both line and speed to make putts
@@misteroneputt fair enough. Good to know. Maybe I’ll incorporate it one day if get fed up with my short-short game enough lol.