Dear David,
Let me comment on your routine. Sorry, but I have not yet had experience with the Bobbt Grace M3.
Your points are italicized:
1. I initially look at the green as I approach the hole and then actually stand behind the ball to read the overall break and pick out a spot that I want to roll the ball over.
The phrase "pick out the spot that I want the ball to roll over" implies a spot not too far from the ball. That's fine, but there are two or three other spots not to neglect. There is a spot at the apex of the break to be aware of, and some people roll the ball over this spot, but it is not really a spot to aim the putter at except in cases of very mild break on long putts. A spot to aim the putter at for line and for distance should be "hole high" -- somewhere along the high side of a line thru the hole that is perpendicular to a straight line from the ball to the hole. Aim the putter at this spot and roll the ball "To it, not thru it." The line from ball to this spot beside the hole will deliver the ball so that the ball curls off this line before reaching the apex of the putt and has the ball's direction parallel to the baseline (line straight from ball to cup) right at the apex. So the aim line at this spot is higher than a line from ball to apex. I would recommend two spots -- one about 6-12 inches in front of the ball and another hole high.
2. I then squat behind the ball and line up the ball’s logo to the spot I had picked.
The head and eyes are not in a great position to get the ball logo aligned accurately. The dominant eye is too high and not really on a line thru ball to hole. This makes the head have to look down at ball and up at target several times in a row to guestimate the alignment. Squatting behind the ball doing this is not all that accurate on putts over about 10 feet (as this increases the looking up and down and the cup appears smaller at that distance), so always check the logo alignment from well back from the ball before trusting it.
3. I then move back and stand behind the putt to see if my logo is pointing to the specific spot that I picked for the roll of the putt. There are a number of times that it is difficult to align the logo. It seems that it is aligned when I am squatted behind the ball, but then when I stand back, most times it seems to point a bit one way or the other, so I need to adjust the logo.
When checking the logo from behind the ball, use the edge of your putter shaft to connect the center of the ball and the target spot hole high. Try to get the shaft edge "flush" with the logo line on the ball first, and then see whether higher up the shaft is on the target spot of not. If the logo line and shaft edge are flush, but the shaft edge is not also on the target, the logo line is not aligned accurately.
Standing beside the ball checking the logo alignment is not straightforward. You can't check it accurately without first squaring up your head and skull-line to the logo line. The skull-line is that set of points in the skull from top of ear, temple, outside corner of eye, inside corner of eye, and bridge of nose, on to the opposite side. This line is parallel to the surface when standing erect, and when you bend the head to address the ball in putting, this line needs to match the line of the putter face or the logo line on the ball or the line of the intended putt (all the same, really). Once this line matches the logo line, and the gaze is directed straight out of the face, a rotation of the head-neck to the target that keeps the pivotal axis of the head rotating in place (button on cap stays in same place as head turn progresses), will show you accurately where the logo line is aimed. You just turn the head and wait to see what arrives in the aim spot of your dominant eye. The aim spot is where the gaze transects your field of vision when aiming straight out of the face, and is about 1 inch in from the bridge of the nose.
Frequently, if the logo line is positioned vertically to the ground, rather than tilted towards the golfer a little, the position of the eye looking down at the ball affects the perception of where the logo line seems to aim. If the logo line is vertical and the eyeball is vertically above the center of the ball as well, the line will appear to be a straight line. But if the logo line is vertical while the eyeball is slightly inside the ball, the logo line will appear a little curved like a rainbow or a piece of string draped over a ball. This makes the logo line seem to aim inside some. The cure for this is either to check on;ly with the eyeball directly above the logo line with the logo line vertical, or to assess how much your eyeball is inside with the gaze's line of sight being tilted out to the ball a little and then tilt the logo line towards you until the line of sight goes perpendicularly into the logo line, The logo line will then look like a straight segment of a line, not curved like a little rainbow.
4. From behind the ball, I then use my dominant eye (left) and look at the spot that I want to putt over and walk to the ball.
You should be sure to look all the way to the spot beside the hole. Looking only a short way is deceptive. Also, use the edge of your putter shaft to connect the ball and the spot beside the target so you can become intimately familiar with only this slice of space, the grass blades on the line, and the way the ball sits in relation to this line, so that you can walk into the back of the ball accurately and aim the putter face on this same line.
5. I set my putter face behind the ball to the target spot.
Okey dokey. But set the putter and aim it using the left hand, and stand a little open as you do this, since you are left eye dominant putting right handed. Make the little alignment line on the putter head match the logo line exactly, and don't be casual about this. Make sure the putter is flatly soled when properly aimed.
6. I align my body to an imaginary line that runs through the ball. This is where I seem to have trouble. For some reason I do not think that I am actually square to the line. Actually when I have made the putt, it seems that my instincts were correct and my body was either aligned outside or inside the target and the putt goes in that direction.
Set the skull-line to the putter face aimed as above, and "bring the body to the flatly soled putter" without disturbing the aim. The squaring of the body starts with the skull-line matching the putter face aim line and works downward thru neck to square shoulders, then downward thru torso to square hips, then downward thru knees and ankles to square feet. The squaring process starts in the air and works down to "happy feet" with no kinks in the body. Note that even though you aim the putter while standing a little open due to your left eye dominance, I still recommend you square up properly for purposes of making the stroke. Fundamentally, once the putter face is accurately aimed, you want to forget about targeting and concentrate on a straight stroke from a square setup to the aimed putter face.
7. I then make sure my head is over the ball and follow the line to the hole and slowly follow the line back.
The real deal is to get the eyes pointed straight and level out of the face, not angled down the nose or cheeks any. The eyeballs CAN be directly over the ball, but they can also be slightly inside, so long as the gaze is straight out. The 3 ingredients for accurately checking the putter face alignment from beside the ball are: 1) gaze straight out of face, 2) skull-line matching putter face aim, and 3) head turn in which the axis rotates but does not wander. This checking is just pure geometry of targeting, and also happens to work for touch as well. The touch system is fed info from the angle and pace of the neck turn, with the angle being the distance to the target and the pace being as if watching a perfect putt travel to the target, slow down, and drop into the cup. If the aim check delivers the aim spot of the dominant eye right to the target as hoped but not anticipated (just wait to see where the eye sight ends up), and the touch info gets generated accurately, you are good to pull the trigger and putt straight.
8. I take a dead eye gaze at the ball with my dominant eye.
Same as 7.
9. Then I push the putter back with my left shoulder. I try to naturally let the brain judge distance and try to remember one potato/two potato. In the beginning of the round I seem to do fine but as the round progresses, I seem to unconsciously start to jab at the putts, until I tell myself to trust my swing.
The down- and thru-stroke is where the tempo matters most. Once the top of the backstroke is reached, the gut muscles hold the putter head poised in the air with tension. If you simply relax and let go, the putter will fall under gravity and the shoulders will collapse back down to level returning the putter square to its starting position. As the putter falls, you simply keep up with the pace of the putter fall so that the shoulder frame stays with the putter head, and then the whole motion just continues up past level and carries the putter head up past the bottom. The hands are moved by the shoulder along a straight line (same as toe line) and the hands never come inside or go outside this line, but stay a constant distance back from the line of the putt. In the fall of the hands, it feels like the rear forearm is "following" the front forearm. The thumbs do not roll any in the stroke, as the hands are dead. The hands just hang low and there is no lifting of the putter head with hands, wrists, or elbows -- all hangs all the time.
If you forget this tempo and feeling, just stand off to the side of a green and put the putter to the top of a backstroke and let it fall. You should feel a cycle of tension-relaxation-tension in the gut as the stroke goes to the top of the backstroke, then falls to level, then continues up to the top of the thru-stroke. The muscles feel the same tension on either side of the putter fall.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
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