Plumb Bobbing and Green Reading

This is definitely something we will address live on GIH and thanks Brian for your comments about Dave Pelz's thoughts. Pelz has done extensive research on the short game and many top players believe in him, I for one became a much better putter after practicing his concepts and Jim Flick talks about the same stuff in his golf schools.

Regarding the plumb bob, the golf season is way too short in Saskatchewan for any opinion to be formed (kidding of course...I think). The first thing to know about PBing is how to do it correctly, and there is no study to prove that any given method of estimating a line (which is all that this is) is fool proof. This is a highly subjective topic and involves many factors, the most important of which may be a player's skill to consistently stroke a put. Remember this when putting...it is much more important to be decisive than to be correct. Meaning, if you have doubt in your chosen line (no matter your method), you will make a tentative stroke and it can not be blamed on your method of choosing a line. So be decisive, you will get it closer more consistently.

I am a good putter, I plumb bob on longer putts only (20 ft +) that have significant break (12" plus). The only reason I do it is to get an estimate of the break, it is not exact. I then overestimate what a PB may show (Pelz advises players to actually double the break they see, which is very good advice). Together these thoughts usually form a good estimate of the best line.

How to PB: You need to know your dominant eye. To do this, place your index finger pointing upward approx 12" in front of your face, eye level, in the middle of your eyes and look past it to the wall behind (you should see 2 images). Alternate closing each eye and when your finger does not move, this is your dominant eye and the one with which you should PB if you choose.

We will explain the rest next week on GIH as well as basic green-reading concepts and methods....very simple and a great topic.

We are building YOUR game from the hole and out...stay tuned.

Coach Dave