I have been aware of the green reading technique known as "plumb bobbing" for many years. I have never personally "plumb bobbed" because, frankly, I never understood exactly how the process was supposed to work. The below link is a fairly detailed explanation of the "plumb bob" process.

This is not a recommendation to adopt this process. I just thought it was nice to know what the goofball who does "plumb bob" was trying to do.


http://www.drputt.com/deardrputt/plumbob.php

p.s. Okay, @merlin, you can now admit that you plum bobbed once when you were young and foolish, but only did it the one time and you did not like it.

I'm with you man, I still don't quite understand how it works. I've tried holding the shaft up like that and looking at the hole. I never saw squat.

yeah, I'd wondered how that worked. i started glazing over 1/2 way through reading that explanation. i'll stick with the basics.

Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?'' she asked the instructor.

"P-u-t-t" is correct, he replied.
"Put" means to place a thing where you want it.

a "Putt" is merely a vain attempt to do the same thing.

Yes, I plumb bob. But my methodology is somewhat different.

The object is to stand as near as perpendicular to the ground as possible to get an idea of how much the green breaks. However, since it is not possible to stand perfectly perpindicular, I instead use the methology to try to estimate which way the ball breaks. After correctly surmising this information, it is up to me to estimate how much it breaks. After doing that, I use the plumb bob to pick a spot directly in front of the ball to line up with while placing and addressing the ball.

However, the most important part of the article is the fact that reading other people's putts and chips is the single most valuable piece of information a person can get from a green. I get upset when my partners putt before I am on the green because they are essentially costing me an important advantage that I have earned from being closer to the pin. I can guarantee that my putting average is a lot higher when I am afforded that priceless information than it is when I have to putt first or when my partner's aren't considerate enough to allow me onto the green before they putt.

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merlin3driver wrote:

]Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?'' she asked the instructor. "P-u-t-t" is correct, he replied. "Put" means to place a thing where you want it. a "Putt" is merely a vain attempt to do the same thing.[

]

I like it. I knew you wouldn't let us down.

I played in a scramble today, seeing the same putt a couple of times before trying it yourself is a huge advantage. I made several very long putts, we shot a 59, only good enough for 3rd though.