If your read and stroke are perfect, the putt will not go in if you point in the wrong direction. Here’s how to take care of that variable once and for all and do it right.
Golf balls today have an alignment mark somewhere, in the shape of an arrow. Once you’ve made your reading, position the ball in front of your marker so the arrow points along your starting line. Now stand up and take a few steps back and look again to make sure the arrow is pointing where you want it to.
Now stand in front of the putt and take one more look at the line. You are looking at the arrow from a point of view at right angles to the one you just saw. Ask yourself, do you still think the arrow is pointing in the right direction, i.e. on the line you want to start the ball on?
“I guess so” is the wrong answer. By “believe” I mean are you sure, convinced, sure, that if the ball goes out on this line, it will go into the hole? There can be not an iota of doubt in your mind, only true confidence. If so, skip the next paragraph.
If this looks like the wrong starting line, take a step back and adjust the ball so the arrow points to a spot you think is best. Check the arrow from behind and from above the ball again. Only when you are satisfied from both points of view that the alignment mark points to the right line should you proceed to putt.
Bend over and pick up the ball marker. The critical moment has arrived. You have found the target that you think will send the ball into the hole. You have checked and verified it from two angles. Commit to hitting the putt along the line indicated by the arrow. Do not doubt yourself at the last moment. If you have lingering doubts, don’t hit the putt. Look and adjust one more time until you are sure.
Do this procedure on every putt of two feet or more. Each one of them. This procedure prevents you from taking two- and three-foot footers for granted, a sure way to invite error. In the forty feet, prevent accidental aiming from landing the ball four or five feet off the line.
I’m not advising you to fret over every putt. Once you get used to this process, you can go through everything quickly.
I advise you to build a trust factor in what you believe and act on that trust. That’s what good golfers do.
