Why Do Golfers Straddle The Putting Line
Putting is probably the most important element in golf, as this is where scores are made. It’s estimated that half or more strokes will be made on the putting green, so reading greens is a critical skill for any golfer – but why do golfers straddle the putting line?
Golfers straddle the putting line to determine the green slope relative to their putt’s line. This is part of a green reading technique called AimPoint. Using their feet to feel the slope of the green, golfers can get a better idea of the break and line of their putts.
With more than 200 pros using this technique and around 75000 amateurs, straddling the putting line has become commonplace in pro and amateur events alike, and considering players like Brooks Koepka, Lydia Ko, Adam Scott, and Justin Rose use it – let’s get on the greens to understand more about this technique.
Golfers Straddle The Line To Avoid Stepping On The Putting Line
Before we examine the AimPoint technique, there is another reason that golfers would straddle the putting line: to avoid stepping on the line, which is illegal under the rules of golf.
Stepping on the putting line can influence the ball’s line to the hole and flatten the ball’s path as you compress the grass.
This is a well-known rule in golf, and most golfers will look at and read the putt from behind the ball and the opposite side, looking from the flag to the ball to try and determine the line and break.
From both behind the ball and from the opposite side, golfers will look at the layout of the green and seek to establish the hills, ridges, and slopes that need to be considered before making the putt. They may even walk up to the hole, but they may not step on their putting line when doing so.
The AimPoint Method Requires Golfers To Straddle The Putting Line
The basis of this method is that you can sense and feel the slope of the green using your feet along the line parallel to the putting line.
To do this, you would stand with your feet spread shoulder width, with the center of your body over the putting line, to provide a symmetrical view of the putt and feel the green on each side of the putting line.
Of course, if there is an obvious slope, you would be able to see that as you stand behind the putt, but to get a feel for the degree of slope and any other undulations, straddling the putting line to the hole and back is a great way to get a more detailed ‘foot map’ of the green.
Why Do You Need To Straddle The Putting Line
While your eyes play a major role in assessing lines and breaks, they can be deceived, and if you have sworn blind that the putt will break from right to left only to have it break the other way or not at all, this can leave you somewhat bewildered.
This happens because the eyes don’t always see or read the green correctly, so when you see golfers squatting down or even lying down to get an ‘eye level’ view of the green, they are trying to get a read using their eyes at ground level to determine the break and slope on the putt – but they are still using their eyes.
Walking the putting line with your feet straddled on each side is a great method to get a proper sense of slope and break; the slope is everything in putting!
How To Use The AimPoint System When Putting
Step one in this process is to stand between the ball and the hole and then get an idea of the slope by how much higher one foot is than the other. Determine the slope level using a scale of between zero and six degrees.
Using this will allow you to identify the slope severity fairly easily, and you will already have an idea of the break involved based on the number you choose.
Step two is to create the aim point, which you do by holding out your arm at eye level and lining up the hole with your forefinger , with the other fingers holding up representing the degree of the slope you estimate from step 1.
So if you feel the slope is three degrees from right to left, you will hold up three fingers, with the forefinger on the middle of the hole and the third finger lined up on the right side to give you the line.
Once you know the line, you can proceed to step three, which is to make the putt on the line at the speed you feel is needed. This will take some practice and discipline, but with time you will start to see the results.
The last point to consider here is trust. If you use this method, you need to trust the line you feel, even though it may be in contrast to what you see!
Why Does Straddling The Putting Line Work To Read The Slope
The human body is finely tuned to assess variations in slope due to weight distribution. Your sense of balance and the organs in the inner ear are exceptionally accurate when recognizing pitch, as this is a survival tool!
Not having this ability would make humans vulnerable to falling off inclined surfaces or falling over when walking over uneven ground, so using the innate sense of balance is a great way to evaluate the slope on a green using your feet and balance systems.
You can use the home and office putting sets to practice your putting and learn how to straddle the putting line. We have a host of articles on the site that can help if you decide to go in this direction.
Conclusion
Straddling the putting line and tuning in to your natural sense of balance and weight distribution has proved to be highly effective in judging the slope and break on the greens. Remember, too, that you may not step on your line or a playing partner’s line on the green.
Using your body’s sense of balance and then using your fingers to show the line based on the slope you feel in your feet will get you closer on lag putts and dropping a few more (provided you get the line and the speed right of course) – and who doesn’t want that?
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