Linear vs. Non-linear
 

Are any of you familiar with this. It has to do with whether one is a spot putter... sees lines, or simply looks at the hole and sees which side of the hole the ball enters on. I believe it is more of an OPTICS thing.

Re: Linear vs. Non-linear
 

When I started to play golf I tended to see the road that went into the hole. From there it was a matter of getting the right speed in order to follow the curve. Sometimes I have the same visions these days, but I often settle for aiming 1/2, 1, 3/2 holes left/right of the hole. Am probably a better putter now than then but it was more fun to actually see the road to the hole. IMO it's easier to visualise the road when the grass has an uneven color.

eye dominance
 

I heard from Dr. Craig Farnsworth you will tend to miss to the side of your dominant eye and 80% of people are right eye dominant. The best putters are left eye dominant for whatever that's worth... Tiger, Phil, Els, Faldo...

Putting is much more simple than people make it out to be, REALLY.

You need 4 things to be a good putter, not great, but good.

1) Need a good stroke
2) Learn how to really read a break and not just "aim for the apex" like many people do incorrectly.
3) Learn how vary the speed of the putt.
4) Learn how to BLEND the reading of a break versus the speed of the putt. Meaning if you're playing less speed you have to compensate for more break and vice versa.

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Also that whole eye dominance thing i think is a bunch of crap. I tend to putt even better with my eyes CLOSED. The main reason why people leave putts on the low side of the hole is because they played too much break with not enough speed.

Why do "most" good putters miss on the high side of the cup? Because they have already figured out the right amount of break and just hit the putt too fast.

:D
Jim 0068 I don't feel the whole eye dominance concept is completely wrong. Is it the most important item? No. Plane angle, hinge, and impact alignments are more important. However, the visuals of life mean a lot. THey are our largest sources of information.

Tony Sills, winner of the 1993 Houston Open, has really helped me study this facet of putting and life. The eyes are muscles and can be strengthened by using them.

Here is a way to practice, find your dominant eye, the when practicing on the green close it and use your weaker eye. This will strengthen the weak eye and help your eye balance over a PERIOD OF TIME.

:o

LINEAR PLAYER USE LOGO'S, SEE STRAIGHT LINES, AND LIKE PUTTERS WITH LINES ON THEM.

NON-LINEAR PLAYERS DON'T USE LOGO'S, SEE CURVED LINES, FIND THE FRONT OF THE HOLE, AND USE PUTTERS WITHOUT LINES.

THESE ARE THE BASIC GUIDLINES. IF YOU NEED MORE I WILL HELP YOU OUT.

Interesting. Personally, I like a putter with lines, but putt much better when I 'see' curves/tracks. I am nearly entirely 'left eyed', as my right is near useless - makes distance control difficult at times.

Listening...
 

The amount of PGA TOUR money that has been made with this advice -- delivered by the same advisor (our own V.J.) and using his premier training aids http://www.theputtingarc.com -- over the past year or so is staggering.

Can you say Fred Funk, the 2005 PLAYERS Championship and eight of the top sixteen finishers, boys and girls?

I knew you could!

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Good information vj!!!!!

What are some good ways to determine whether a player is more suited to LINEAR or NON-LINEAR putting?

I think there are probably many frustrated putters out there... trying to be LINEAR... when they would be better off NON-LINEAR. This could also be reversed, but I think it is probably more often this way, because of the popularity of the LINEAR putting teachers.

Linear/NonLinear
 

vj

Can you mix the putting styles? I would feel more confident using linear for short (and straight) putts and nonlinear for longer and lag putts. But then, I am a terrible putter.

PChandler