The Science of Putting: Part 2

Straight putt. Or is it? Or

Any time the grooves on your clubface are not square to the target at impact (when the toe points upwards) the ball will tend to fly to the left. Similarly if the heel's off the ground, the ball heads right. And both errors are magnified as the loft increases.

Consequently, if a golfer with his hands low (clubhead toe pointing skywards) uses a pitching wedge with 48 degrees of loft, it would tend to show a serious deviation to the left multiplied as the lie angle increases.

Therefore if we hit a club with zero degrees of loft, we would not see any directional deviation, regardless of how much lie angle is present.

In putting, most golfers believe the clubface is perfectly vertical to the ground at address. Wrong! Most putters have a loft of three, four or even five degrees to help its forward roll when making an upward strike and preventing the ball being jammed into the ground at impact.

Most putters have a 4-degree loft built in to them, so a golfer who addresses the ball with the toe one-quarter of an inch in the air (6.5 mm) has it ten degrees from the horizontal. Imagine, then on a shaven, straight, flat putt of six feet, if a golfer sets the putter face square to the target and with a smooth and perfect technique and strikes the ball square on the sweet spot with the correct speed, it should roll into the cup (4.25 inches wide) every time.

Toe up will send it left

But it's not the golfer's fault. The error lies with the putter - and contrary to the old proverb, bad golfers can at last blame their equipment.

Why?

Each degree we open (rotate) the face of the club with a loft angle of four degrees we change the direction by approximately 4mm per metre that the ball travels. Therefore a ball on our six-footer (2 metres approx) moves 80mm (3 ins) to the left.

The Scientific formula is: 4mm x 2metres = 8mm x 10 (deg) = 80mm (3 ins)

Flat lie leads to straight putts

So now the secret is out. You'll always miss a straight, flat putt on the left using a putter with loft and with the toe (even slightly) in the air!

So take the loft off your putter (moving your hands forward slightly), stand closer to the ball to flatten the clubhead's lie and you'll hole more straight putts.

Alternatively you can accept (with the way you hold the putter) there are no straight putts - and aim to the right every time!

*Englishman John Elmer from Natal, South Africa, has invented the self-customising Elmer M1 putter, which can be used by right and left-handers, has interchangeable faces and can be set up for fast or slow greens.