The Perfect Putt - scientifically proven

[jimbo843]

http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1106/1106.1698.pdf

Good luck if you have a PhD in Geometry.

And from what my poor addled brain can work out, it only applies if the green is 100% flat.

[allin]

Sounds like a mathematical description that boils down in words to read the put from multiple angles to determine the correct line.

[MiniBlueDragon]

I'll see your maths paper and raise you an AimPoint.

[zeg]

It assumes that the green is planar---i.e., not curved---but not that it is level.  For many putts that seems like a reasonable description, certainly to the extent that you can model a putt without including surface imperfections and other effects.

As I understand it, the idea is that you read a putt by first lining up your actual putt, then finding the point where your target line crosses the line straight up the slope from the hole.  You then repeat this for another position within 15° and, if you found the right line, you should find the same point above the hole.

This is an interesting finding.  Hard to say whether it really suggests an improved method for reading the putts, given that there's such a strong subconscious component to it.

[jshots]

It sounds to me like it would help quite a lot in determining where to aim your putt.

[B-Con]

This seems like it's geared more at shorter putts. FTA: [quote]This paper explores the geometry of putting in the limiting case of a planar putting surface, which is often a reasonable approximation within 10-15 feet of the hole.[/quote] Even if you can't treat it like a plane from 10+ feet, those shorter 5 footers can probably almost always be read that way. I like this point, even though it's a conclusion from a different paper: [quote][...] all putts equidistant from the hole share a common target point. This target point is directly uphill from the hole. As the length of the putt, grade and/or speed of the green increases, the target point moves further up the fall line.[/quote] Knowing that all equidistant (relatively short) putts have the same "target point" seems intuitive, but something I'd never thought about before. That sure gives a good strategy for reading a tricky break on a 4 footer: line up 3ish putts and work them over to get a common target point.