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How many fellow plumb bobbers out there?

How many fellow plumb bobbers out there?

I would like to add that I do PB in a competitive round to intimidate my opponents ('holy smokes....he knows some 5hit).
But it's all for show. I then miss my putt (not even close). But, that first putt, while I'm reading it with my feet, with a quick grass throw, my magnetic wrist band and of course the pseude plumb bob...I have them 5hitting their collective pants.

I live for that moment.

Subsequently, when they have that 'he's all show, no go' moment, it does hurt, but not enough to offset what I just experienced.


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To be honest I haven't really ever noticed any PBers to be any slower than anybody else. I mean we all (or most) to some degree do stand behind the ball and have a good look anyway. Why is it any much slower to then dangle a club? In fact can be much faster than one who has to go and line up his ball mark with his putting line. I can easily think of a handful of very time consuming bad putting habits that would far out weigh that of a PBer when it comes to taking too much time.
 
I use the plumb-bob on almost every putt. My dad taught me 40 years ago. It's an easy way to figure out the slope and general direction of a putt. Now if I could only roll the putt on the correct line, that's another story.


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Closest I come to plum bobbing is I kneel down right behind the ball and make my putter shaft line up with the direction the want to start it then line it up with the line up on my ball with the putter shaft. Only way I have figured to actually trust the line on my ball. Some weird mental yip issue.
 
Hi, I am Crazygolfnut and I am a Plum-bobber. I am also a fairly quick player. I do not do it on every putt but maybe 40% of the time when I am playing a course with a lot of breaks. It works and if done properly it only takes a second or two.
 
crazygolfnut said:
Hi, I am Crazygolfnut and I am a Plum-bobber. I am also a fairly quick player. I do not do it on every putt but maybe 40% of the time when I am playing a course with a lot of breaks. It works and if done properly it only takes a second or two.
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what do you do on a double break? or if a very undulating green and from a significant distance I've also seen triple breaks. rare but seen them. Not being sarcastic here but just an honest question/s
 
rollin said:
what do you do on a double break? or if a very undulating green and from a significant distance I've also seen triple breaks. rare but seen them. Not being sarcastic here but just an honest question/s
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this is a good question, because however it works, it only works for the place where you are currently standing. If the slope changes amount or direction along the way, then you don't really get anything worthwhile from it. I've seen guys using the bob from 10 feet away when the ball is only 4 feet, and the slope where the ball lies is clearly different from where they're standing.
 
rollin said:
what do you do on a double break? or if a very undulating green and from a significant distance I've also seen triple breaks. rare but seen them. Not being sarcastic here but just an honest question/s
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Plumb bobbing doesn't replace conventional green reading, it's just an aid. For me, it helps me identify the amount of break I can expect. I literally take 3 seconds to read a PB and maybe 7 to read a green, all done while another player is lining up their putt.
 
mesaman777 said:
Plumb bobbing doesn't replace conventional green reading, it's just an aid. For me, it helps me identify the amount of break I can expect. I literally take 3 seconds to read a PB and maybe 7 to read a green, all done while another player is lining up their putt.
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never asked how long it took but only how one might use it on a multiple break putt.
 
Fourputt said:
this is a good question, because however it works, it only works for the place where you are currently standing. If the slope changes amount or direction along the way, then you don't really get anything worthwhile from it. I've seen guys using the bob from 10 feet away when the ball is only 4 feet, and the slope where the ball lies is clearly different from where they're standing.
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The data is interpreted differently by the individual the same way you may see a break differently than someone else reading the same putt conventionally.
 
rollin said:
never asked how long it took but only how one might use it on a multiple break putt.
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Sorry, I thought I answered your question in the first 2 sentences and thought I would give an example of how I incorporate both methods and the amount of time it takes. Please disregard the last sentence.
 
mesaman777 said:
The data is interpreted differently by the individual the same way you may see a break differently than someone else reading the same putt conventionally.
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So, you are saying that it doesn't really tell you anything more than my naked eye tells me? What you see is still subject to personal interpretation? That sort of confirms my impression as to the relative usefulness of it.
 
rollin said:
what do you do on a double break? or if a very undulating green and from a significant distance I've also seen triple breaks. rare but seen them. Not being sarcastic here but just an honest question/s
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That is a very good question. I don't come across too many greens that I play on with double breaks so I am not sure it works well on doubles. For me PB helps me find a "spot" on the line I am going to putt on. I look for a spot a couple of feet or inches out from my ball. For the life of me I can not aim a "half a cup out" on a 25 foot putt so I need something closer to aim for.

On a double, I can still use it on the first half of the putt (first break). What I mean is you are looking for the high spot (target) where the ball should start to break to the other direction. I use the shaft of the putter to help me find a spot on the green between me and that target spot to aim for so that the ball will roll over spot. I hope that makes sense.

Like all putts and all types of putting, its a matter of completing the calculation in your mind as to how hard to hit etc. Golf has a lot of "science" to it but there is a lot of "art" to it also.
 
Didnt mean to poke a bees nest. mods can lock the thread
 
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mesaman777 said:
Didnt mean to poke a bees nest. mods can lock the thread
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Staticline would probably have some good info on this as I know I remember seeing him post in the past about the technique. But I don't think he's been checking threads lately.
 
I dont plumb bob.
Frankly, when I ask playing partners who do, they cant explain how it works either.

I trust what my eyes and feet are telling me.
 
I watched a video on YT to learn more about it (I had tried it a couple times, but had no idea what to do with the info I was gathering).

Anyways, because of the weighting of the putter, or the lie (I really don't know) they don't just hang straight down vertically.

You have to hold your putter out in front on your eye, and check it against something you know for sure is pure straight.

I did it against a door frame.

My putter (the toe) is pointed at around 10 o'clock in order for it to be hanging straight.

Does everyone who PB's already know that info? That would stink trying to PB without that info.
 
Some pro's use it and some don't. Some no-pro's use it and of course some do not. If works for you go for it. If is does not, try something else. Different strokes for different folks.
 
rollin said:
why is the thread a bees nest? I don't think this thread has gone off in any negative direction at all. Seems fine to me.
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I don's see any problem with the discussion. Some are 100% for, some are 100% against and lots are somewhere in the middle. I enjoy hearing everyone's opinions.
 
UglySwing said:
I watched a video on YT to learn more about it (I had tried it a couple times, but had no idea what to do with the info I was gathering).

Anyways, because of the weighting of the putter, or the lie (I really don't know) they don't just hang straight down vertically.

You have to hold your putter out in front on your eye, and check it against something you know for sure is pure straight.

I did it against a door frame.

My putter (the toe) is pointed at around 10 o'clock in order for it to be hanging straight.

Does everyone who PB's already know that info? That would stink trying to PB without that info.
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This is a very good point and exactly how I gauge how my putter hangs, I check it against a doorjam. Once I know where the toe points when in a level state, I'm good to go. Thanks for mentioning this.
 
rollin said:
why is the thread a bees nest? I don't think this thread has gone off in any negative direction at all. Seems fine to me.
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I'm finding a great deal of negativity on this thread.

My original purpose of the thread was to reach out to other PB'ers, hear their stories.

What I got was a lot of inferences to their being no value to the technique and that it promotes slow play.

It wasn't meant to be a tutorial or a discussion on the merits of using it. Just wanted to see who used it.
 
I used to use it a lot - started in high school cause Crenshaw and other guys on tour did it way back when. As I got better at reading greens I just used it for putts on which I couldn't figure out the break. It allowed me to see the general direction of the break and judge the comparative degree of the pitch. For me, it only worked when I made a good A frame with my body and made sure arms were straight, etc. You can check this against a wall corner or doorway. It's kinda like working on your setup in a mirror.

One major factor of the plumb bob working is the type of putter you use. It works great with an 8802 style putter but with most of the Anser or modern increased MOI type of putters the shaft does not hang straight up and down with the toe pointing toward the hole. And, it obviously doesn't work in the wind.

I haven't used the plumb bob in about 18 years but that has to do more with changing putters, from an 8802 style to a Scotty which didn't work with it at all, and moving back to Colorado where it's pretty much windy all the time. Consequently, I had to learn better green reading (thank you Pelz Schools!).
 
mesaman777 said:
I'm finding a great deal of negativity on this thread.

My original purpose of the thread was to reach out to other PB'ers, hear their stories.

What I got was a lot of inferences to their being no value to the technique and that it promotes slow play.

It wasn't meant to be a tutorial or a discussion on the merits of using it. Just wanted to see who used it.
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You need to understand that most discussions will wander all over a given topic, not just stick where you might want it. If the method works for you and you can do it in an efficient manner, then great. I don't see the effectiveness of it, and I've seen some golfers slow the game way down when using it. Those are things that I personally have observed that do pertain to the topic.

My intention was not to be negative but to point out that there can be potential problems with the plumb bob system. Those who use it should be aware of this so that they can use it in a manner so as to avoid being part of the problem.
 
Fourputt said:
You need to understand that most discussions will wander all over a given topic, not just stick where you might want it. If the method works for you and you can do it in an efficient manner, then great. I don't see the effectiveness of it, and I've seen some golfers slow the game way down when using it. Those are things that I personally have observed that do pertain to the topic.

My intention was not to be negative but to point out that there can be potential problems with the plumb bob system. Those who use it should be aware of this so that they can use it in a manner so as to avoid being part of the problem.
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Besides, he asked a question...people are going to answer yes or no and explain why. Not sure what he expected to get in terms of responses...
 
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