Ask the Top 100: Plumb-bobbing is for golf boobs
Dear T.J.,
Can you explain what plumb-bobbing is? I know it's an aid to help read the break in your putt, but I don't know how to go about it.
Lee S. Johannesburg, Mich.
Lee,
Here’s a rule of thumb that will save you much time and trouble: Plumb-bobbing doesn’t work. You might as well read your putts with some crystals and a shaman. The plumb-bob method is like a campaign promise -- it sounds great but the more you question how it’s going to get done, the more it evaporates.
Plumb-bobbers or, as I call them, plum-boobs, differ in their methods, but the basic idea is to determine the direction of the break by dropping a plumb line from the ball to the hole then using your dominant eye to see on which side of the hanging shaft the hole appears. Some claim they can even divine the exact amount of the break on the putt. Don't believe them. The entire process is full of error at every level.
So why do a few of the best putters in the world like Ben Crenshaw and Hale Erwin use the method? Well, Crenshaw could dangle dental floss in a 30-mph wind and still putt well. My guess is that it’s a part of his pre-putt routine that helps him confirm what he's already seen; in other words, plumb-bobbing provides a “Go!” signal based on what Crenshaw has already seen on his first read. Notice that good putters who plumb-bob always read the putt normally before they plumb. The rest of the read is for peace of mind.
Here’s what the authors of study on plum-bobbing, Sasho Mackenzie and Eric Sprigings of the College of Kinesiology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Canada, had to say.(The study is published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2005 , pages 81 - 87.)
This study evaluated the validity of the plumb-bob method as used to determine the break of a putt. Two separate experiments were conducted to examine the consequence of violating inherent assumptions in the method. … The plumb-bob method was found to be an invalid system for determining the break of a putt.
After extensive measurements using advanced geometry and the arcane science of "danglemetrics," I have no clue which way this putt breaks.
Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher TJ Tomasi, Ph.D., a Class A PGA professional, teaches at the Nantucket Golf Club in Massachusetts. You can learn more about TJ at www.tjtomasi.com
Posted by: Jim | Jan 7, 2009 4:08:40 PM
Hey Lee - as a fellow Michigander there is little reason to plumb your putts in our flat lands. But when you play in the mountains (Boyne?) you are subject to optical illusions - sometimes a putt looks downhill and it ends up being uphill. Or it looks like it breaks right and it ends up breaking left. Plumb-bobbing can help you avoid optical illusions if you know what you are doing.
These optical illusions are also the reason golfers will say "The putt breaks toward the water" or "The putt breaks away from the mountain".
I think Mr. Tomasi needs a trip out west.
Posted by: MossMistress | Jan 8, 2009 11:17:08 PM
Plumb bobbing does indeed work. It has helped me tremendously especially on hilly or mountainous terrain where optical illusions abound. Personally, I can't see the "exact" amount of break, but can see greater than/less than. I'm no PhD, would be happy to teach Mr. Tomasi how to plumb-bob. I won't even make him write a dissertation afterwards.
Posted by: Wayde | Jan 9, 2009 4:04:24 AM
There's no way plumb-bobbing works. You can't allow the putter to hang vertically enough by holding it in your fingers, and you are still subject to optical illusions. The best way to figure out break is to roll the ball on the green in practice rounds, this is what the pros do and that is why they are so good at "green reading". Truth is, they've mapped out the greens prior to their rounds simply by rolling the ball across them and seeing what happens.
Second to that (assuming you can't just see the break of course), the best way is to stand near your putting line and close your eyes. This eliminates optical illusions and allows your ears to work. The fluid in your ears is incredibly precise at letting you feel the lie of the land....like a level.
Posted by: wfc | Jan 9, 2009 1:29:38 PM
There is a simple reason plumb-bobbing works for some people. If the individual images in your two eyes don't line up quite right with each other and you close your non-dominant eye you can read the break better. (A man with one watch always knows what time it is, but a man with two is never sure.) I was a true believer in plumb-bobbing for years, but now days I just close my left eye when trying to read the break.
Posted by: foursteps | Jan 9, 2009 1:39:06 PM
I use the plumb bob method for a totally different reason. I read the break with my eyes to determine how far out of the hole I want to start the ball. I then plumb bob to that spot and follow the line of my putter shaft down to a spot 1 or 2 inches in front of my ball. Then I line my entire body up to that spot. Once I have lined my body up I put alignment totally out of my mind and only concentrate on distance. It works great for me.
Posted by: Don Kawaja | Jan 9, 2009 1:41:00 PM
Contrary to what my son (2-3HCP)maintains, the olde plumbob gives a great first read - especially for the older player (20+ Hcp,vision fading a bit). Naturally, it should be supplemented with an examination of topography leading to and around the hole.
Posted by: Larry | Jan 9, 2009 1:43:38 PM
Plum Boobs?? Funny comment from a supposed PGA Teacher who can't spell Hale Irwin's name correctly. I thought the name of the game was to get the ball into the hole in with as little strokes as possible. And if the plumb-bob method is a part of the players routine and gives him that additional confidence over the putt - then why not? Personally I agree with the frame of reference comment.
Posted by: jimbo | Jan 9, 2009 1:50:24 PM
The way plumb bobbing works is not by seeing how your shaft lines up with the green. You need to have a horizontal marker on your shaft (e.g. the bottom of the grip or some tape you've placed on the shaft) to truly see level. To do this, you need to use a level, hold up the shaft - the same way everytime- and turn it until you've lined the bottom of the grip up with the flat surface of the level. If you're never exactly matching you can put a piece of tape just below the grip , where the bottom of the tape IS level with the bottom of the 'true' level. This method absolutely works, and will give you the actual angle of the hole to the horizon. You'll need to read distances from the hole also on longer putts.
You're welcome.
Posted by: Robert G. Greening | Jan 9, 2009 2:00:20 PM
Plumb-bobbing has never worked for me. I prefer to read the break of the pin placement as I walk up the fairway to the green on the same line as my putt.
Posted by: bogeymanii | Jan 9, 2009 2:53:57 PM
How dumb can you be!?? Plumb bobbing is simply a vertical line produced by gravity that is superimposed over a view of the putting line. This gives the player an immediate read of the slope of the ground,or putting surface, and allows the determination of the direction the putt will flow. Grain and other conditions will dictate the extent of the break. It's SIMPLE PHYSICS, Dummas! Has worked for over 40 years in my experience.
Posted by: Jim Mallett | Jan 9, 2009 2:54:09 PM
So Mr. Tomasi doesn't believe plumb bobbing works.
He cites a study by two kinesiologists that it doesn't work. The "guru of the Short Game", Dave Pelz is an engineer, and he doesn't believe it works either. I would assume these three technically educated individuals would feel right at home with the aerospace engineers who "proved" bumblebees can't fly.
It is an additional aid I use in determining line, and it works for me in that regard.
Posted by: Chuck | Jan 9, 2009 3:01:43 PM
It always kills me to see people plumb bobbing with a heel shafted putter or a putter with any offset.
You are starting with an imballanced instrument...it is not hanging straight down.
The only putter that would be balance would be a type similar to a Spalding Bullseye center shafted model. Even then the user would have to use it with the toe or heel pointed directly towards the user.
Posted by: J. COBB | Jan 9, 2009 3:06:33 PM
You are so wrong about plumb bobbing. I suppose you don't believe that putts break toward water, either. Try putting on the greens at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. You can stand on a green and see absolutely no break and then the putt breaks three feet. If you used the plumb bob you would see that the putt breaks the three feet. I would suggest that you take your no golfing opinion and your Journal of Sport Sciences to the dump. As Lee Trevino once said "Why would I take advice from someone who can't beat me on the course?"
Posted by: James O'Neill | Jan 9, 2009 3:15:03 PM
I found Mr. Tomasi's comments about plum bobbing a putt very humorous. It works for me.I've used for 55 years. I suggest placing Mr. Tomasi in the bottom 100 teachers. (just kidding?)
Posted by: G. Kellett | Jan 9, 2009 7:11:03 PM
Once plumb bobbing was explained to me my putting improved. Although not 100% accurate this method can actually help. Stand behind the ball a few yards in line with the hole, plumb the shaft and with both eyes open line up the ball and the hole with the shaft. Hold that position and close your weaker eye. The direction the hole moves is the direction of the break. The greater the distance it moves the bigger the break.
Posted by: Larry | Jan 9, 2009 7:17:34 PM
Johnny Miller once called it "the dreaded plumb bob". Everytime I plumb bob, my golf buddies would repeat that phrase to me. I even managed to get Johnny to give me an autograph with the phrase in his hand writing. I hung it in my office with pride. I still say it works for me after 50 years of doing it.
Posted by: LWennick | Jan 9, 2009 9:47:16 PM
Actually, Johnny Miller said on the air recently that plumb bobbing works incredibly well if it is done properly.
Posted by: Robert | Jan 10, 2009 3:13:39 PM
wow, what a statement, my handicap is 8.7, only because I average about 24 puts per round. I once one putted the front nine, then had 7 one puts on the back side, yes all in the same day. you can blind fold me, stand me behind any put any where, any time, give me 10 seconds to plumb bob, I'll read the break 95% of the time if not more.
The Plumb bob has only to do with the break. It has nothing to do with any thing else.
Posted by: Marvin Freson | Jan 10, 2009 9:10:11 PM
I'm really surprised by Tomasi's comments about plumb bobbing. It has worked very well for me for several years. I was always guessing at the amount of break before. Now I feel very confident in my line and concentrate more on distance. I believe Tomasi needs to do some research on this with golfers that use plumb bobbing.
Posted by: Adorable Faustino | Jan 11, 2009 3:52:21 AM
How Would You Like To Calibrate Your Putter? I do plumb bobbing for so many years with any putter but I have their calibration firstly, by using my dominant eye and the index finger and the thumb of the hand near my dominant eye. I placed the fingers just below the butt of the grip with the putter head suspended downward. I use the straight vertical side of a building from a far distance. Then I rotate the putter head until I could get the side of the straight shaft to coincide with the straight vertical side of the said building (you could use your door jamb at home but from a distance of course). That position of the putter head with respect to your body orientation must be remembered, so when you use it over the green to read the slope it will give you a straight and accurate line for a much better reference.
Posted by: Dan Dickenson | Jan 11, 2009 5:37:48 AM
I agree with Hey Lee 100%. I find plump-bobbing is very effective when there are extreme elevation changes involved. One can also determine the amount of large breaks. You need to play with it and learn.
Posted by: Glen Irwin | Jan 11, 2009 7:46:15 AM
If Doctor Tomasi isn't smart enough to spell Irwin, he certainly isn't smart enough to learn how to plumb bob. I doubt that he has the ability to recognize when anything is plumb and certainly not his putter. It happens to be a great tool and a wonderful aid in reading putts which I have utilized to my advantage for about 55 years. If he refuses to recognize how useful plumb bobbing is, then it is his loss.
Posted by: bigO | Jan 11, 2009 1:10:29 PM
When I plumbbob, everything looks like it braks right to left. Why?
Posted by: larry | Jan 12, 2009 1:32:40 PM
bigO - Might be that you're using the wrong eye (must be the dominant one) or possibly the putter is not hanging vertically due to it not being face balanced. The note about lining it up using a door jam at home is outstanding. Stand back from the door jam approx 8 - 10' and hold the putter by the thumb and forefinger lining the shaft up with the doorjam. Rotate the putter until you get the shaft and the doorjam lined up. That will be how the putter is held to get the proper line. Might send that tip to Tomasi so he'll know how to teach it properly.
Posted by: Keith Russell | Jan 16, 2009 1:02:55 PM
I have been plumb bobbing for 42 years. I have relied on it for general break direction, but speed of the green, grain, and whether putting down hill or up hill is a factor. When putting with an offset putter head,one must learn how much to turn the head to get a vertical line.