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By Root 233 0

great deal of time pacing, squatting, plumbing, and eyeballing the contours of the green while lining up a putt. Although this might seem a bit much to the uninitiated, it’s necessary to identify the likely path that the ball will take to the hole—the roll line—and to establish the target line, the direction which the ball will initially follow on its way to the hole. The direction of the first few feet of the target line determines the target spot to which the golfer aims. The target spot may be located at or near the hole, or at a point closer to the ball. This spot will vary from putt to putt depending on the distance the ball is from the cup, the contour of the green, and the golfer’s swing effort.

The most important visual information you must have to determine the roll line of a putt is the remembered images of how golf balls have rolled under similar conditions. Obviously, the best way to gain experience in guessing how a golf ball will roll on a green is to watch hundreds of golf balls roll on greens of varied contour until you have an eye for such phenomena.

This can be done in several ways. One is to watch skilled golfers putt, using the Get-It Process (see this page). The important steps in this process are those related to feeling, in your own muscles, the amount of effort the skilled golfer appears to use when he strikes the ball.

A second way is to putt hundreds of golf balls on all sorts of differently contoured greens and watch their roll lines, noticing the speed of the roll and feeling the effort you use as you strike the ball. It’s absolutely essential that you associate your swing effort with the roll line, because fast-moving balls will follow a line different from slow-moving balls. Fast-moving balls are less affected by the green’s contour and bumps than slow-moving balls.

The “Third” Eye

Bill Burgess, the head pro at Areola, uses an imaginary “third eye,” located on the left side of his head, to keep the distance, roll line, and swing effort in mind all at once as he sets up to putt. When he is set up, he peers at the ball and beams an image of the roll line leading to the hole with his “third eye.” In his mind this image is projected onto an imaginary screen located several feet to his left on a line connecting him and the hole. This third-eye image also keeps his head down and steady when he’s over the ball.

The metaskills technique of “Greenprinting” is useful for “reading” putts. It’s similar to creating a mental blueprint. It can be practiced during a practice round of golf. Here are the steps.

GREENPRINTING

Estimate the speed and direction of the putt by comparing an imagined roll line with remembered lines of past putts under similar conditions.

Hallucinate the entire roll line on the green’s surface. As you imagine that line, notice various points on the green (spike marks, ball marks, weeds, different grass colors, et cetera) over which the imagined roll line passes.

Hallucinate a ball rolling along the entire imaginary roll line from its resting point into the cup, passing over the identified checkpoints. If you have any uncomfortable feelings or fuzzy images, create a new roll line, repeating steps 2 and 3.

Turn your head away, or close your eyes, and imagine the ball rolling along the roll line superimposed on the visual checkpoints. Again, if you have any physical-discomfort feelings or fuzzy images, create a new roll line, repeating steps 2, 3, and 4.

Set up over the ball and project a “third-eye” image of the roll line.

When you feel just right, putt, keeping the entire roll line in your mind’s third eye. After the ball has rolled about two or three feet, turn your head gently and watch the ball roll, noting whether it actually followed the planned roll line.

Evaluate the accuracy of your imagined roll line. If it was accurate, anchor the remembered image of the ball rolling, using the Uptime Anchoring Process.

Crucial Kinesthetic Information

In addition to visual information there’s also important kinesthetic information that skillful golfers think about