My last article around beginner golf instruction focused on reading the greens in order to putt properly. The aspect of visualization is very important in this task. Once we have read the green our focus needs to shift towards alignment. That is, how do we aim in a fashion that will roll the ball on the line we have selected with the correct speed to hole the putt? There is a risk of this article being too technical for beginner golf players but let’s keep going.
Every putt has a starting line. The starting line is the line or direction that a putt rolls on immediately after impact. For the purposes of this discussion we are going to extend this starting line out straight and extend the line so it is level with the hole. So if you have a 10 foot putt that breaks 1 foot from left to right. You would have a line that extends for 10 feet that ends 1 foot left of the hole. If you don’t understand re-read the last paragraph until you understand.
This line we were just talking about is called the true aiming line. This means that even though we want to hole the putt, we must aim at this point so the ball can go into hole. This true aiming line is our reference point. The first object we need to aim is the putter face. Lucky for most golfers their putters have an aiming or sight line. This line needs to aimed as closely as possible down the true aiming line. From there you need to build your grip and stance around this putter face aim. The face must not be disturbed during this process. With your body alignment it actually needs to be parallel left of the true aiming line. Just like train tracks, running parallel left the whole time. These two lines will never meet. You can practice this alignment by using an elastic line and two metal chicken skewers that you can buy for a couple dollars down at the supermarket. The elastic line gets suspended mid air by the skewers. All you need to so is place this elastic line on the practice green and place your putter underneath the elastic line so that the sight line on your putter matches the elastic line. If the lines match perfectly or alignment is correct. From here you can use a golf club or ruler to place some parallel lines along the elastic line. You need to ensure in this order of priority that these are aimed correctly.
1. Putter face
2. Eyes
3. Forearms
4. Shoulders
5. Hips
6. Knees
7. Feet
By using a line or system this helps ensure that your aim is correct and parallel left of your true aiming point. Remember that the hole is rarely our target.