Something that is not often thought about in putting is how your ball is rolling. If your ball is bouncing down the green, it will effect both distance and direction. A good roll is an essential fundamental of putting and it is not that difficult-

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Something that is not often thought about in putting is how your ball is rolling.  If your ball is bouncing down the green, it will effect both distance and direction of the putt, making it almost impossible to make the putt.  A good roll is an essential fundamental of putting, and the good news – it is not that difficult when you know how.

So how do we get the ball rolling?

First, let’s look at general mechanics of impact.

In PICTURE 1, you can see that where the force is applied will affect the spin on the ball. We want top spin for the best roll.

Also, the loft of the putter will affect the spin on the golf ball.

In PICTURE 2, the rise angle is zero, with 4 degrees of loft, producing backspin.  If loft is higher than the rise angle, backspin will be produced

In PICTURE 3, the rise angle is 4 degrees upwards, with a putter loft of 1 degree, producing topspin.  If the rise angle is higher than the loft, topspin will be produced.

90% of the Loft will determine the launch of the ball, but to keep it simple, think that the ball will launch 100% in line with the loft, and the combination of loft and rise angle will determine the spin and roll conditions.

Here are 3 examples of different rise angles, and different lofts.

From this, you can see that to create the optimum roll (the last example), we need a positive angle of attack, approx. 4 degrees, combined with a loft, approx. 1 degree, which is less that the rise angle.

So, how do we create these conditions in our putting strokes?

Setup to create the correct rise angle.

For the putter to be rising as it makes contact with the ball, the ball must be positioned ahead of the low point of the arch.  Your sternum normally reflects the low point of the arch, so when setting up, position the ball just to the left side of your sternum.

Setup to create the correct loft

From my experience, most putters have 3-4 degrees of loft built into the putter.  As we have said, for the optimum roll, we want to have approx. 1 degree at impact, so this highlights the importance of ‘Hand Start Position’.   To give you the best chance of returning to impact with 1 degree of loft, your hands should be positioned slightly ahead, so the loft of the putter is reduced a little at setup.

Stroke to maintain these conditions

Now we want to create a stroke to maintain these conditions to impact. This is done by creating the movement from your core, or stomach, using as little force from your hands and arms as possible.  This does not mean grip tight.  Keep your hands soft, and allow the putter head to swing freely.  If you do this, you will return the putter to impact with the putter rising up, the loft the same as in setup, and the purest roll you have ever seen!