Lining up putts on the practice green

[microcrayfish]

Do you do it? When I'm playing a round I always read my putts and use the alignment marker on the ball but I don't do this when I'm practicing. I think it's because I feel that by taking less time and hitting more putts I'm getting more benefit but I'm not so sure that's the case. Any thoughts on the matter?

[Jay-Bird]

I don't use the alignment line on the ball while practicing for a casual round. I do if I'm warming up before a tournament or 'important' match. I often play and practice at a course where the Kansas University golf team practices. I noticed that a lot of them line up everything , everytime, everyday. It would probably be beneficial to do it; to establish a routine of familiarity, making it more comfortable to execute on the cousre.

[cigarnut81]

I don't use the alignment line on the ball while practicing for a casual round. I do if I'm warming up before a tournament or 'important' match. I often play and practice at a course where the Kansas University golf team practices. I noticed that a lot of them line up

I second that. We would all get better if we practiced like we play.

[goblue107501]

I hardly ever do, especially if time is short. Most of the time I may only have a few minutes so I just try and eyeball it and see if I am close. For me, the practice green is more about getting the feel for how the greens are rolling and the speed. I feel that if I can get the speed down, I will be okay.

[iacas]

I hardly ever do, especially if time is short. Most of the time I may only have a few minutes so I just try and eyeball it and see if I am close. For me, the practice green is more about getting the feel for how the greens are rolling and the speed. I feel that if I can get the speed down, I will be okay.

Ditto. I putt in warm-up for speed, not to work on alignment or to practice.

[nutsnbolts]

I try to practice putts as if I was on the course. I dont' want to change anything up. Understandably, you only get better when you been doing it over and over again which tallies up your putt count but that's just coincidence so if you follow the same technique each and everytime, on the practice green, it should be no different on the course green.

[deronsizemore]

Yes, I line up everything when I practice. With green fees seemingly rising daily here, I can't afford to get out there and play more than about once a week, so the next best thing is to practice. When I'm practicing putting I generally only take one ball and practice with that one ball just as I would if I was playing a real round of golf.

Unless you're just out to get a quick feel for the greens before you tee off, quantity definitely isn't better in this case. Just like you probably won't improve by mindlessly hitting drivers at the range, you likely won't improve mindlessly hitting putts on the practice green.

[Henry]

If i'm on my own doing serious pratice then i will do the same as i would on the coruse but if im out my my little brother and we have putting competions then i just hit it

[meeks7]

I think that if you dont line it up everytime it is a waste to practice because you wont have that good of an idea where you are lined up and practicing bad habits is not something you want to do....just my 2 cents

[zeg]

I think it's best not to putt at a hole unless you mean it. If you're just putting to get a feel for distance, just aim at a coin or other marker. Otherwise you get used to putting without aiming.

I've read it advised not to warm up aiming for holes at all -- a coin is a smaller target, and since you're putting cold, you're likely to miss more of your first few. This trains you to "feel" a miss, and you're more likely to second guess yourself when you get out on the course.

[Dub]

ditto what Iacas said...on the practice green prior to a round, I'm mainly working on getting the feel for speed.

[golfdad]

for practical reasons, if you are short of time, to roll the ball on the practice green to get a sense of speed is better than doing nothing, but if you have more time, lining it up certainly won't hurt because hopefully it is what everyone on the course does unless it is a 6 inch tap in,,,

i share with my kids that whereas getting the speed right is often more important than getting the line right on the course, in order to get the speed right, you really need to read the green correctly. the countour and slope of the green, particularly around the cup, allows one to fine tune the speed required to roll the ball at a speed just over the cup, may be a 1 foot or 1 and half foot. so, reading the line and determining the correct speed goes hand in hand.

[Never3putt]

It depends on if you are trying to practice or you are warming up for the game. If you're practicing, then practice with the same procedure you would use on the course. It does little good to practice something different than what you try to execute on the course. Practice doesn't make perfect...it makes permanent...so practice well.

If you're just putting a few before the game starts, you're not really practicing as much as you're getting a feel for how the ball is rolling and warming up your muscles to prepare for the match. Hopefully, you're not trying to figure out how to improve something 5 minutes before you tee off.

[Chas]

<------- Oh no, I see that I just became a golfaholic. AAHHHHHHRRRRGH!!


To judge by my performance on the practice green at Torrey Pines on Saturday (I didn't actually play a round), I had better get more serious about this altogether. Including putting a line on the ball and using it. I think about 95% of my putts across the slope were below the hole - just awful. I simply could no t bring myself to aim high enough.
grrrrrrrrr.