Trying Out That Plumb Bob Thing on the Green
Alright, so I saw a few older guys doing this weird thing with their putter on the green the other day. Looked kinda strange, holding the putter up like that. Someone called it ‘plumb bobbing’. Sounded fancy, maybe like something builders use? Anyway, I figured, why not give it a shot myself during practice. Can’t hurt, right? My putting needs all the help it can get.
So, I got to the practice green. Found a putt with a bit of break, maybe ten feet or so. First thing, I walked up behind my ball, like I always do, trying to see the line.
Getting Started with the Plumb Bob Idea
Then came the awkward part. I stood over the spot right behind the ball, facing the hole.
- I grabbed my putter near the top of the grip, real light, just thumb and finger.
- Let it hang straight down. Felt kinda dumb just standing there holding it like that.
- Then I closed one eye. Tried my left first, then my right. Settled on closing my left eye, felt a bit more stable.
- I shuffled my feet a bit until the putter shaft hanging down looked like it was covering the golf ball.
Reading the Break… or Trying To
Okay, so the putter shaft was hanging there, covering the ball. Now what? I looked past the shaft towards the hole. This is where the ‘reading’ part comes in, I guess.
- On this putt, the hole looked like it was sitting just a little bit to the right of my putter shaft.
- The idea, as I understand it, is that if the hole is right of the shaft, the putt breaks right-to-left.
- If the hole looked like it was to the left of the shaft, it should break left-to-right.
- And if the shaft went right through the middle of the hole? Supposedly a straight putt. Yeah, we all know how often those really happen.
So for my first try, it looked like a right-to-left break. I stepped up to the ball, aimed where the plumb bob thing suggested, and gave it a roll. It actually broke right-to-left like I saw! Maybe there’s something to this.
More Practice and Getting the Hang of It
I spent a good chunk of time trying this on different putts. Uphill, downhill, more break, less break. It took a while to get comfortable just holding the putter still and trusting what I was seeing (or thought I was seeing).
What I Found Out
- It definitely makes you slow down and take a different look.
- Holding the putter perfectly still and vertical is key. If you tilt it, the whole thing is useless. Gotta let gravity do its thing.
- It seemed most useful for confirming what I already suspected about the break, rather than finding some secret break I couldn’t see otherwise.
- On really subtle breaks? Honestly, I wasn’t always sure if I was seeing the hole left or right of the shaft, or if it was just wishful thinking.
- It feels a bit… well, performance-art-y? Standing there, one eye closed, dangling the putter. Got a few funny looks.
So, will I use it all the time? Probably not. It’s kinda slow, and sometimes I just trust my gut feeling or the basic read from behind the ball. But, for those tricky breaking putts where I’m really unsure? Yeah, I might dangle the putter again. It’s another tool, another way to look at the green. Didn’t magically fix my putting overnight, still gotta make a good stroke, but it was interesting to try and figure out. Gave me something new to mess with on the practice green, anyway.
