You're Correct!

Using a line on your ball to improve the accuracy of your aim is one of the most popular ways of getting your putts to start on line. There are two reasons behind this.

The first is the fact that it is easier to aim from behind than from side on. Secondly, it is easier to align along your aim line if you approach it from a 90 degree angle.

Your aim

One of the most important tasks to get right when taking your set up with your putter is to aim the face in the right place. The right place is the line that you have picked for your putt to start. It is much easier to line an object up from directly behind it as opposed to from a position adjacent to it. Drawing a line on your ball will make this a very straight forward task.

Move in from 90 degrees

Now that the line on your ball is pointing along the line you have picked out it becomes vital that you approach the ball to set up from the best position. If you make your practise putts from a position that is four to six inches inside your aim line you will be able to approach your putt from this angle. This will make sure that your putter face is at 90 degrees to the line on your ball and your body is parallel to your aim line.

These are areas that you must practice together if they are to have a positive effect on your putting, especially when you play in a completion. If you dont practice and create this routine then you will be more likely to second guess the position you have placed your ball in. This will cause you to tinker around with your putter face and lose the 90 degree face position.

The only way you could use a line on your ball to show you where on the putter face you made contact would be if you were to hit the part of the ball that had the line drawn on it, and also if the ink was still slightly wet. As soon as the ink dries then there would not be a mark left on the putter face.

The only way that you will roll the ball better is to have your putter swinging on a consistent path and your ball slightly forward of the low point (your sternum) at address. Ensure that at impact you strike the ball with the centre of the putter and ever so slightly on the up.

The problem with using a line to spot your target on distance putts is that it is quite easy to lose your spot when you bend down to place your ball back. You may think that you have got the line in the right place but when you take your address position, the line doesnt look like it is aiming in the right direction. This causes you to lose confidence in your alignment very quickly.