How and Why: Get Your Putts to Roll Head Over Heels (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
How and Why: Get Your Putts to Roll Head Over Heels (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

Now we’re often told how much side spin or curving spin can ruin a perfect tee shot, but did you know that it can also have an impact on the way you putt the ball. Anytime you hit the ball and your stroke and the club face aren’t pointing or travelling in exactly the same direction, you will put an element of spin on the ball. Now an easy way of checking that when your putting is take a ball that’s got a name on it and line that name up exactly where you want the ball to roll. You could also with what they call a line-me-up device, it’s a little plastic clip that goes over the ball and you can draw a line around. You could use that just to extenuate that – extenuate that line a little bit.

When you lay that down pointing exactly where you want the ball to go then line up and hit that putt, you should see that line rotating over and over again in a dead straight line until it starts to curve and take the break. That means you’ve hit the putt purely with the club face and the path of the swing pointing in the same direction and the ball will roll end over end. If your path of swinging club face aren’t lined up, you’ll see the line wobble as it weaves its way across. And anytime you’re hitting the ball across like that, you could be imparting an element of cutting or drawing spin on the ball, which it means it’s not going to roll perfectly straight towards your target. It could also, if it got quite extreme, it could damage your distance, control and your feel. So it’s quite important when you’re making putts the club face is pointing where you want the ball to start and ideally the path would be down that same line as well. That way when I hit the putt nicely, with the face and the path pointing in the same direction, the ball rolls nicely, end over end. I can see that ball roll across the room and its rolling end over end the whole way. So if you want to practice that, get a makers name lined up or even get one of these little plastic line-me-up clips draw around the ball. And because that is legal to use on the golf course, you can line up your tee shots doing that, you can line up you putts doing that. Point the line exactly where you want the ball to start when you’re on the green. Be aware I’m not saying where you want the ball to finish because obviously the breaks. So we’re not aiming that line of the hole; we’re aiming that ball where we want the ball to start. We then make the stroke, and just watch that you’re not putting any cutting or drawing or pull sidespin on the ball, but its rolling end over end across the green towards your intended target. 2014-01-20

Now we’re often told how much side spin or curving spin can ruin a perfect tee shot, but did you know that it can also have an impact on the way you putt the ball. Anytime you hit the ball and your stroke and the club face aren’t pointing or travelling in exactly the same direction, you will put an element of spin on the ball. Now an easy way of checking that when your putting is take a ball that’s got a name on it and line that name up exactly where you want the ball to roll. You could also with what they call a line-me-up device, it’s a little plastic clip that goes over the ball and you can draw a line around. You could use that just to extenuate that – extenuate that line a little bit.

When you lay that down pointing exactly where you want the ball to go then line up and hit that putt, you should see that line rotating over and over again in a dead straight line until it starts to curve and take the break. That means you’ve hit the putt purely with the club face and the path of the swing pointing in the same direction and the ball will roll end over end.

If your path of swinging club face aren’t lined up, you’ll see the line wobble as it weaves its way across. And anytime you’re hitting the ball across like that, you could be imparting an element of cutting or drawing spin on the ball, which it means it’s not going to roll perfectly straight towards your target. It could also, if it got quite extreme, it could damage your distance, control and your feel.

So it’s quite important when you’re making putts the club face is pointing where you want the ball to start and ideally the path would be down that same line as well. That way when I hit the putt nicely, with the face and the path pointing in the same direction, the ball rolls nicely, end over end. I can see that ball roll across the room and its rolling end over end the whole way.

So if you want to practice that, get a makers name lined up or even get one of these little plastic line-me-up clips draw around the ball. And because that is legal to use on the golf course, you can line up your tee shots doing that, you can line up you putts doing that. Point the line exactly where you want the ball to start when you’re on the green. Be aware I’m not saying where you want the ball to finish because obviously the breaks. So we’re not aiming that line of the hole; we’re aiming that ball where we want the ball to start.

We then make the stroke, and just watch that you’re not putting any cutting or drawing or pull sidespin on the ball, but its rolling end over end across the green towards your intended target.