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Using a line to setup putts

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jim54

jim54

must be the shafts
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Do you always use the alignment aid on the ball to set your putts to the hole? I have been missing a lot of shorter putts, most burning edges and rarely short. I have tried using the line up the ball alignment to the hole with varied success but rarely want to take the time to do it.

Do you feel it helps?

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I haven't used a line on my putts in a couple years. I find a spot in front of my ball I want it to roll over on my line and aim my face to that spot
 
I'm the opposite, I rotate the ball to where I can't see anything on it. I know using the line helps a lot of people but, I end up second guessing my alignment when I get over the ball. I just pick a spot a few inches in front of the ball and use that as my target.
 
I stopped doing it because I realized I was focusing too much on the line on the ball and not enough on the line of the putt. If I didn't have the line on the match set to match the line of the putt, it wasn't going in.
 
I still use a line on my ball. I feel it helps me 2 ways, it helps my aim/alignment and by watching the ball roll I can tell if I made good contact with the ball.
 
I put a darker, more visible line on the ball and use that. It has become a habit, really. I like to think it helps me stay committed to the line I chose, as I had a tendency to change my mind when I got over the ball.
 
I have seen very few people use the line affectively. It always seems to be off line or their stroke knocked it off line.

I like to use it when I practice to make sure I'm rolling it end over end. But. It during the course of play.
 
I tried using a line for a few years, but switched to wanting to see almost nothing on the ball, at address, and that has worked better for me.
 
I like to visualize the line of the putt so I find a white spot on the ball with no markings. Been doing this for a couple years now
 
I don't use a line, maybe I should, as I think it just another point where something can be wrong. I pick a short intermediate target as my reference.
 
All I like to see is a clean white ball, no lines, no logos, and no marks...used a line before but I feel that I concentrated too much on the line and lost my distance control
 
I recently went back to using the line and my putting has improved dramatically.
Once I address the ball and get my putter lined up with the alignment aid, I stop thinking about the line and start focusing on distance control.
 
You will find mixed opinions on using a line even at the professional level. The biggest issue most people have is the perception that the line isn't correct when the get in address position. It becomes hard to trust the line and convince you subconscious to actually commit to what seems wrong. The are some tests you can do to check how you see the line at address and help you to change your setup to see the line better.

I personally have better results without the line based
 
Like to see white only, easier. Have to get up and down too much to align just right. Getting up and down not as easy as it used to be.
 
I use a line to go along with alignment aid on my TFi.
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If your eyes are in the right spot over the ball the line can really work wonders on short putts.
That said I've gravitated away from it just because I feel like it was causing me to miss putts too sometimes. It's so hard to get that line at just the right angle when you want to line up a 10 footer with 3" of break.
 
YES!!! I was dead against it for years and years, only using my sight and feel on putts to decide on the line while I was standing over the ball. Then early last year I started using the line for putts inside 15 feet. Made a tone more than before.

So for putts inside 15 feet or putts slightly longer that I think are pretty straight, I'll use the line. Other than that, I go back to sight and feel over the putt.
 
I use the line on the ball for where I want to start the ball. If I think there's a cup of break, I put the line a cup out from the hole and start the ball on that line.
 
good question jim. i go back and forth on this, and i still have mixed feelings.

my philosophy is usually that most putts outside about 10' don't get the line. the possibility of making putts of that length is very low for me, so i'm just focusing on speed. that gets me less focused on line and more focused on speed. inside 10' i have a better chance to make, so i will use the line.

if i fall one way or the other, it's to never use the line. how many times do you miss a makeable putt, pull the ball back and stroke it dead center into the hole? if you're capable of doing that, then why ever use the line? i find that my misses are not as often due to misalignment as it is not getting the ball started on my intended line, and the line on the ball won't help that.
 
Echo the sentiment of straighter putts I'll use the line that's already on the golf ball, I used to mark the line fuller with a Sharpie but on those putts that break I would zone in so much on the line that my alignment would be off instead of just making a confident stroke.

Now I just hit the ball as normal.
 
I don't, usually focus on my line and starting point.
 
Yes I do, always. An old instructor of mine told me however that to do it right, you need to step a good ways behind the ball (I step back about ten feet) and check to see if it's lined up properly. If you stand too close to the ball you can line it up, but actually be off by a significant amount.
 
I use the alignment line on the ball for initial alignment. Once I'm set up over the putt I focus on the target line, not the line on the ball.
 
I use the alignment line when I putt. I think it helps me.
 
I use it, but not sure how good it actually works for me. I seem to have a better stroke when I find the line on the green and put towards something that I have marked in my mind.
 
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