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Every putt looks right to left - help!


Pete
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When reading putts, every putt looks right to left to me and its freaking me out. I can watch a ball roll and break left to right but to me it looks like it's rolling up the slope. I played a round with a friend at an away course and he was laughing at some of my putts as they started right and finished further right! Does anyone out there suffer a similar problem or heard of this before? Any solutions?
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No clue, but is your balance/equilibrium alright, in general, i.e. outside golf?  How about your vision: correct (or corrected) in both eyes?

Years ago, after an incident scuba diving when my left inner ear had been damaged, every time I was taking a curve to the right on the freeway, I was feeling weird, and had no trouble taking left curves. Over time, this fixed itself, but it was very unpleasant and disconcerting... I wasn't golfing then, but I am sure it would have had an influence of some sort.

Philippe

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When reading putts, every putt looks right to left to me and its freaking me out.

I can watch a ball roll and break left to right but to me it looks like it's rolling up the slope. I played a round with a friend at an away course and he was laughing at some of my putts as they started right and finished further right!

Does anyone out there suffer a similar problem or heard of this before?

Any solutions?

Do you wear glasses?  Sunglasses?   Changed them lately?  I know that I've tried just about every brand of sunglasses out there, some of them expensive ones designed for golfers, and I can't read a green properly with any of them.  I also had trouble when I first got new glasses a couple of months ago.  It took a week or so and a couple of rounds before my vision felt natural to me again.  Now I can wear them or not and read greens as well as I ever have (inconsistent from round to round but usually okay).

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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Every putt looks like it's going to break more than it does to me on 90% of greens and it's a miss right by about 4 to 5 feet. And yes, I have an equilibrium problem.

The way I've countered the problem is to sacrifice a goat before I hit my approach shot and pray that I'm closer to the hole than everyone else so I get to see how the green breaks. Unfortunately a lot of goats have died in vain, but fortunately goat meat makes good tacos and stew.

The smart play for me is putting every green as straight unless it's pretty obvious or unless I've played the course a number of times where I know the greens. Of course how often do I do the smart thing? I consider every putt over 10 feet as a lag putt.

The odd thing is that if the green breaks left to right I can read it. If it breaks right to left there is no way in hell I'll get it correct - I might as well putt it straight and hope I don't leave it too far from the hole.

I average 36 putts per round.

Julia

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"Goat Sacrifices" ? So that's what I am doing wrong. I have been sacrificing MMs. I never see enough break either. Sometimes I don't see any break. When I see a break, I add to what I think I see.  When I think there is a break, but can't see it, I putt the ball a little faster.

When I see a break, and the ball breaks the other way, I just chalk it up to an optical illusion, and move on......with my MMs. There are some things in golf that have no answer.

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When reading putts, every putt looks right to left to me and its freaking me out.

Any solutions?

That's a bit strange. I might go see a doctor for that?

If you want a non-visual solution to reading greens. Go take an Aimpoint class. You'll never need to read greens with your eyes again ;)

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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That's a bit strange. I might go see a doctor for that?  If you want a non-visual solution to reading greens. Go take an Aimpoint class. You'll never need to read greens with your eyes again ;)

That sounds like the solution I need. I didn't realise aimpoint was not a visual thing. Thanks. I'll take a look at it. And yes, it is very strange. It is basically an optical illusion every time.

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Do you wear glasses?  Sunglasses?   Changed them lately?  I know that I've tried just about every brand of sunglasses out there, some of them expensive ones designed for golfers, and I can't read a green properly with any of them.  I also had trouble when I first got new glasses a couple of months ago.  It took a week or so and a couple of rounds before my vision felt natural to me again.  Now I can wear them or not and read greens as well as I ever have (inconsistent from round to round but usually okay).

I never wear sunglasses when golfing. I don't wear glasses either but perhaps I better get my eyes tested.

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[quote name="saevel25" url="/t/84150/every-putt-looks-right-to-left-help#post_1192229"] That's a bit strange. I might go see a doctor for that?  If you want a non-visual solution to reading greens. Go take an Aimpoint class. You'll never need to read greens with your eyes again ;)

That sounds like the solution I need. I didn't realise aimpoint was not a visual thing. Thanks. I'll take a look at it. And yes, it is very strange. It is basically an optical illusion every time.[/quote] I also highly recommend AimPoint. Green designers will put in optical illusions. It is easier to do with the shape of the green and contours off the green. When you are off the green, say 50 yards away, the slope is obvious. But on the green your eyes tell you differently. AimPoint eliminates that.

Scott

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No clue, but is your balance/equilibrium alright, in general, i.e. outside golf?  How about your vision: correct (or corrected) in both eyes?

Years ago, after an incident scuba diving when my left inner ear had been damaged, every time I was taking a curve to the right on the freeway, I was feeling weird, and had no trouble taking left curves. Over time, this fixed itself, but it was very unpleasant and disconcerting... I wasn't golfing then, but I am sure it would have had an influence of some sort.

i have a similar balance issue....but with a different cause...and my condition is permanent.  I lost the hearing and balance mechanisms in my left ear 3-4 years ago due to a viral or auto-immune illness (doctors don't really know) and my balance has never been the same.  When I get a comprehensive physical, my doctor does a series of tests that check balance.  I'm rock-solid on many and he gets to one test in particular, and with a very slight push, I begin to wobble and lose my balance.  It's kind of freaky really.

I'm convinced that it does have an impact on my golf swing but I'm not sure about reading greens.

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I literally busted out laughing reading your post headline!  You must be right-handed.  Because every putt I see breaks the OTHER way ... and I'm left-handed!

Thanks for the laugh today!

dave

The ultimate "old man" setup:

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i have a similar balance issue....but with a different cause...and my condition is permanent.  I lost the hearing and balance mechanisms in my left ear 3-4 years ago due to a viral or auto-immune illness (doctors don't really know) and my balance has never been the same.  When I get a comprehensive physical, my doctor does a series of tests that check balance.  I'm rock-solid on many and he gets to one test in particular, and with a very slight push, I begin to wobble and lose my balance.  It's kind of freaky really.

I'm convinced that it does have an impact on my golf swing but I'm not sure about reading greens.

Trust me, it does. I have the similar situation in my right ear. It affects how I perceive vertical. Some days it's worse than others. I have to go by sight and feel. If I start reading them too far to the right, I know not to trust that read as much and perhaps make a mental adjustment. It's just another thing to remember to do, but I tend to forget to remember.

Now, I know it sometimes impacts my swing and my shot alignment, so it makes me take a little extra time to make sure my alignment is correct.

Julia

:callaway:  :cobra:    :seemore:  :bushnell:  :clicgear:  :adidas:  :footjoy:

Spoiler

Driver: Callaway Big Bertha w/ Fubuki Z50 R 44.5"
FW: Cobra BiO CELL 14.5 degree; 
Hybrids: Cobra BiO CELL 22.5 degree Project X R-flex
Irons: Cobra BiO CELL 5 - GW Project X R-Flex
Wedges: Cobra BiO CELL SW, Fly-Z LW, 64* Callaway PM Grind.
Putter: 48" Odyssey Dart

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Yeah, I'm right handed Dave

I literally busted out laughing reading your post headline!  You must be right-handed.  Because every putt I see breaks the OTHER way ... and I'm left-handed!

Thanks for the laugh today!

dave

Yeah I'm right handed Dave. I'm glad it made you laugh. You've got to see the funny side of this stupid game :)

Through 15 holes yesterday, I hit 12 greens in regulation and had 34 putts! I think the problem might be getting worse :(

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I've taught myself to learn to feel breaks in greens with my feet by using the Breakmeter app on my iPhone that someone here suggested. I was very skeptical of whether it would be useful or work at all, but it's been surprisingly effective. In any event, I've been at it for about two months now and I don't even need to check my reads with the app anymore. You can really get the hang of it within a practice session or two. Really worth giving a shot. It's not as good as aimpoint, I'm sure, but it's helped a ton and will at least get you on the right track going forward.

Dom's Sticks:

Callaway X-24 10.5° Driver, Callaway Big Bertha 15° wood, Callaway XR 19° hybrid, Callaway X-24 24° hybrid, Callaway X-24 5i-9i, PING Glide PW 47°/12°, Cleveland REG 588 52°/08°, Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind 56°/13°, 60°/10°, Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter w/SuperStroke Slim 3.0 grip, Callaway Chev Stand Bag, Titleist Pro-V1x ball

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I've taught myself to learn to feel breaks in greens with my feet by using the Breakmeter app on my iPhone that someone here suggested. I was very skeptical of whether it would be useful or work at all, but it's been surprisingly effective. In any event, I've been at it for about two months now and I don't even need to check my reads with the app anymore. You can really get the hang of it within a practice session or two. Really worth giving a shot. It's not as good as aimpoint, I'm sure, but it's helped a ton and will at least get you on the right track going forward.

Obviously getting the full Aimpoint training is the ultimate, but even just learning to feel which way a putt actually breaks will make a pretty big impact on the majority of people's game. No more watching a ball break away in the opposite direction you though it would go on. Priceless. Seriously, your eyes suck at seeing break because most course go out of their way to **** with your eyes, but he can't fool your inner gyro.

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Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

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Obviously getting the full Aimpoint training is the ultimate, but even just learning to feel which way a putt actually breaks will make a pretty big impact on the majority of people's game. No more watching a ball break away in the opposite direction you though it would go on. Priceless. Seriously, your eyes suck at seeing break because most course go out of their way to **** with your eyes, but he can't fool your inner gyro.

That's the biggest thing. Getting which direction the putt breaks right is a massive difference. Instead of maybe making the putt if you get it right, you're aiming to the wrong side and now you have a comebacker you might miss. It's brought my putting average down about 3-4 putts per round, which is a ton.

Dom's Sticks:

Callaway X-24 10.5° Driver, Callaway Big Bertha 15° wood, Callaway XR 19° hybrid, Callaway X-24 24° hybrid, Callaway X-24 5i-9i, PING Glide PW 47°/12°, Cleveland REG 588 52°/08°, Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind 56°/13°, 60°/10°, Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter w/SuperStroke Slim 3.0 grip, Callaway Chev Stand Bag, Titleist Pro-V1x ball

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Note: This thread is 3103 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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