The Putting Lab: September Edition
 Welcome back to The Putting Lab.
As we move into September, the competitive golf season is beginning to change gear. The major championships are behind us, the FedExCup has been decided, and here in the UK we’re heading towards some of the best putting conditions of the year.
This month, we’re going to look at one of the most important, and often misunderstood, areas of putting: green reading.
We’ll also take a look at what we can learn from the professionals at Wentworth, bust another common putting myth, introduce a new distance-control challenge and look at one of the simplest pieces of putting equipment you can use to improve your practice.
As always, the goal isn’t to give you more information for the sake of it.
It’s to give you information that makes you a better putter.
Let’s get into it. |
 Lab Report Why Your Eyes Can Lie To You
One of the most overlooked parts of putting is that before the putter ever moves, your brain has already made a decision about where the ball needs to start.
That decision is heavily influenced by your visual system.
And this is where putting gets interesting.
Two golfers can stand over exactly the same putt, look at exactly the same hole and yet perceive the starting line differently.
Your Eyes Aren’t Neutral When I work with players, one of the first things I want to understand is how they see the putt.
Eye dominance can play a part in this.
We all have a dominant eye (the eye that tends to provide the stronger reference point when judging a target). But it isn’t quite as simple as saying that a right-handed golfer should have their eyes in one particular position.
Research into putting has shown that ocular dominance can actually change depending on how you’re looking at the target. Your dominant eye in a normal upright position isn’t necessarily the same eye that dominates when you’re bent over in a putting posture.
That’s important because putting is an unusual visual task.
You’re looking at a target from a position where your head is relatively close to the ground, your eyes are above the ball and the target is several metres away.
Eye Line Matters This is why eye line over the ball is something I regularly test with players.
There is a common belief that your eyes must be directly over the ball.
I don’t necessarily agree.
The important question isn’t whether your eyes look textbook, it’s where your eyes need to be for you to perceive the starting line accurately and aim the putter consistently.
For some players, moving their eye line slightly inside or outside the ball can change how they perceive the target. For others, a small change in head position can make a putt that previously looked uncomfortable suddenly look much clearer.
This is something I can test rather than simply guess.
I’ll often use an alignment exercise and change the player’s head and eye position while keeping the putter and ball in the same place. If their perceived aim changes significantly, we’ve learned something about their visual system.
And that’s the key point: The best setup isn’t necessarily the one that looks the best. It’s the one that allows the player to see and aim most effectively.
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 Tour Watch The BMW PGA Championship: What Can We Learn From Wentworth?
The BMW PGA Championship returns to Wentworth this week, with the 2026 event taking place from 17–20 September on the West Course. The field includes Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and defending champion Alex Noren.
For anyone interested in putting, Wentworth is a fascinating place to watch the professionals.
The West Course has plenty of large, undulating greens, meaning players need to be extremely precise with both their approach shots and their putting.
But there’s something I want you to watch for this week: Watch their pre-putt routine.
You’ll notice that the best players don’t simply walk up to the ball and start putting.
They gather information.
They look at the putt from behind the ball.
They look at the hole.
They consider the slope.
They make a decision.
And then, once they’ve made that decision, they commit to it.
This is something I see amateurs struggle with all the time.
They stand over the ball… Change their mind… Look at the hole again… Change their line… And eventually make a stroke without ever really committing to anything.
When you watch the BMW PGA Championship, don’t just watch where the ball goes.
Watch what happens before the ball is struck.
The routine of the world’s best putters is often just as interesting as the stroke itself.
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 Myth Buster “You Should Always Aim at the Hole”
This might sound like an obvious one, but it’s something I see surprisingly often.
A golfer stands over a breaking putt and tries to aim the putter face directly at the hole. The problem?
The hole isn’t necessarily where you want the ball to start.
If the putt is breaking from right to left, for example, your intended start line might be several feet to the right of the hole.
Your job isn’t to aim at the hole.
Your job is to start the ball on the correct line and allow gravity to move it towards the hole.
This sounds simple, but there’s an important distinction here:
Your putter face should be aimed at your intended starting point, not necessarily at the hole.
And this is another reason why face control is so important.
If you’ve correctly read a putt and chosen a start line, but the putter face is pointing somewhere else at impact, the ball isn’t going to follow your intended line.
So next time you’re standing over a breaking putt, don’t think: “Where is the hole?”
Instead, think: “Where does the ball need to start?”
That’s a much better question.
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 Drill of The Month The Ladder Drill
This month’s drill is designed to improve your distance control without relying on the hole.
Find a relatively flat section of putting green and choose a starting point.
Your goal is to create a “ladder” of putts.
Hit your first putt approximately 10 feet. Your second putt should finish around 20 feet. Your third should finish around 30 feet.
Then repeat.
The important part is that you aren’t trying to hole the putts.
You’re trying to make each putt finish as close as possible to your intended distance.
The Challenge
Hit five putts from your starting point. Try to finish them at: 10ft → 20ft → 30ft → 20ft → 10ft
You now have to change the length of your stroke and the amount of energy you put into the putter with every putt.
Scoring
Give yourself 3 points if the ball finishes within 1 foot of your target. 2 points if it finishes within 2 feet. 1 point if it finishes within 3 feet. 0 points if it’s more than 3 feet away. Maximum score: 15 points.
Once you’ve mastered it, introduce slopes and try the same challenge uphill, downhill and across a slope. This is a great drill because it removes the distraction of trying to hole the putt.
You’re simply learning to control energy and distance.
And remember: Good speed control isn’t about having the perfect stroke. It’s about consistently controlling the amount of energy you put into the ball.
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 Equipment Bench The Putting Mirror: Is It Worth It?
You don’t need an expensive piece of technology to get useful feedback during putting practice.
One of my favourite training aids and one i recommend to every one is the putting mirror.
A good mirror can give you immediate feedback on some of the fundamentals of your setup:
The biggest benefit is that it gives you information you can’t get from simply looking down at the ball.
For example, many golfers believe their eyes are directly over the ball when they’re actually positioned significantly inside or outside it.
The mirror doesn’t necessarily tell you that your setup is “wrong”.
Instead, it shows you what your setup actually looks like.
And that’s an important distinction.
But here’s the catch… Don’t become obsessed with making your setup look perfect.
A putting mirror is a training tool, not a test that you need to pass.
Use it to understand your tendencies.
If you discover that your eyes are consistently well inside the ball, experiment with a small adjustment and then see whether it actually improves your ability to aim and start the ball on line.
Measure → Understand → Improve.
Don’t change something simply because it looks different.
Change it because the change produces a better result.
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 Questions from The Lab '“How much break should I actually play?”
This is one of the most common questions I get.
And unfortunately, there isn’t a single answer.
The amount of break you should play depends on a combination of:
Slope + Speed + Green Conditions + Putt Length
The faster the ball is travelling, the less time gravity has to influence it.
Conversely, a slower putt gives the slope more opportunity to move the ball.
That’s why I don’t like the idea of simply picking a line and trying to “hit it there.”
Instead, think about the relationship between your line and your speed.
A putt can have multiple successful combinations of speed and line.
The key is finding one that you can consistently execute.
One of the best things you can do on the practice green is experiment.
Take the same breaking putt and deliberately hit one putt firmly and another with much softer pace.
Watch how dramatically the amount of break changes.
You’ll quickly see that green reading and speed control are not separate skills—they’re connected.
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That’s all for September
I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s edition of The Putting Lab.
If there’s one thing I’d like you to take away this month, it’s this: Putting isn’t just about the stroke.
The best putters combine a good read, a committed routine, excellent speed control and a consistent delivery.
The stroke is only one part of the equation.
I’ll see you next month in The Putting Lab. |
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