Should I Aim My Large Breaking Putts To An Apex Point On The Golf Green (Video) - by Pete Styles
Should I Aim My Large Breaking Putts To An Apex Point On The Golf Green (Video) - by Pete Styles

I often talk to golfers about how to best line up when they’ve got big breaking putts. And you join me here with a big breaking putt, there’s a big slope on the right here off this hump and it curves the ball a long way into this red and white flag at the back. We often talk about how you should aim these putts, and most golfers tell me that what they do is they pick a spot on the top of the hill where they would class as the apex where the ball will curve around and then aim at it. So I am going to go and mark out an apex here let’s say that my apex is going to be about there.

Hopefully you can see that on the camera. So I am going to aim my putt up towards the apex and then from there it will curve in, but you might have already spotted a bit of a flaw in this concept that if I aim my ball to hit that ball and then hit along this line chances are it won’t reach. It will already go underneath the hole and therefore it will fall short and left of the putt – of the hole that I needed. The problem being is that by aiming for the apex then expecting the ball to get to the apex before it turns that undermines the fact that it’s going to turn all the way up this hill. So every inch of its roll here is moving more and more to the left hand side so it never actually reaches it always come below. And we see that as a general rule, as a general problem that people apex putt miss putt low and miss putt short because the putt never gets high that from far and from the line before it starts to curve across. So it’s well and good saying I want my ball to get to the apex, but to get to the apex I can’t aim at the apex I have got to aim to the right of it. I’ve got to be aiming above that line, so if I can aim up above that line I am not going to try and hit my ball against that ball it’s going to be up above it nice and hard. It kind of goes round the top of it then it would start to move its way back down towards the hole. Now actually this green is so bubbly so, so difficult to judge speed but this ball is finished a little bit short so I might decide that my apex was probably a little bit too high in the first instance. I’ll remove that apex and bring it down a little bit and then I’ll have a second go. So my apex is in better position now I feel, I could be nice and positive try and hit above the apex. Be nice and positive there still just breaks – so because I missed my apex a bit low it finishes a bit low and below the hole again. So it’s really important that when you’re aiming your putts you don’t actually aim for the apex, aim above the apex, get the ball to break in onto the apex and around, but make sure you understand that the first half of the putt does still break quite a long way. So don’t aim at the apex but aim above the apex. 2014-10-13

I often talk to golfers about how to best line up when they’ve got big breaking putts. And you join me here with a big breaking putt, there’s a big slope on the right here off this hump and it curves the ball a long way into this red and white flag at the back. We often talk about how you should aim these putts, and most golfers tell me that what they do is they pick a spot on the top of the hill where they would class as the apex where the ball will curve around and then aim at it. So I am going to go and mark out an apex here let’s say that my apex is going to be about there.

Hopefully you can see that on the camera. So I am going to aim my putt up towards the apex and then from there it will curve in, but you might have already spotted a bit of a flaw in this concept that if I aim my ball to hit that ball and then hit along this line chances are it won’t reach. It will already go underneath the hole and therefore it will fall short and left of the putt – of the hole that I needed.

The problem being is that by aiming for the apex then expecting the ball to get to the apex before it turns that undermines the fact that it’s going to turn all the way up this hill. So every inch of its roll here is moving more and more to the left hand side so it never actually reaches it always come below. And we see that as a general rule, as a general problem that people apex putt miss putt low and miss putt short because the putt never gets high that from far and from the line before it starts to curve across.

So it’s well and good saying I want my ball to get to the apex, but to get to the apex I can’t aim at the apex I have got to aim to the right of it. I’ve got to be aiming above that line, so if I can aim up above that line I am not going to try and hit my ball against that ball it’s going to be up above it nice and hard. It kind of goes round the top of it then it would start to move its way back down towards the hole. Now actually this green is so bubbly so, so difficult to judge speed but this ball is finished a little bit short so I might decide that my apex was probably a little bit too high in the first instance. I’ll remove that apex and bring it down a little bit and then I’ll have a second go.

So my apex is in better position now I feel, I could be nice and positive try and hit above the apex. Be nice and positive there still just breaks – so because I missed my apex a bit low it finishes a bit low and below the hole again. So it’s really important that when you’re aiming your putts you don’t actually aim for the apex, aim above the apex, get the ball to break in onto the apex and around, but make sure you understand that the first half of the putt does still break quite a long way. So don’t aim at the apex but aim above the apex.