I won the Forum Putting Contest staged by Mike O by sinking 73 consecutive 6 foot putts. Like Hogan, I had a secret. However, since V.J. Trolio doesn't look like he's going to get around to writing a book about my secret, I'm revealing it here. And the secret is . . . . . .
The Address Waggle.
Okay, this isn't really a secret since it appears that someone named Homer Kelley wrote about it several decades ago. But, this little gem has helped me more than anything else with holing putts.
You can read about it in 3-F-5; but, I have learned that taking my rehearsal strokes over the ball is the key to making a good stroke when it counts.
The problem I have with taking rehearsal strokes off to the side of the ball is that I usually don't feel the same and the optics almost never look the same as when I actually get over the ball. However, by getting in stance over the ball, all in-stroke feels and alignments can be rehearsed and monitored through the Address Waggle exactly on the line I've selected. I can easily monitor clubface alignment as it passes through impact and this translates to a confidence that I know where the ball is going.