Here's a hard truth about putting: Most golfers miss putts before they even start their stroke.
You've probably experienced this. You read the green carefully. You see the break. You feel confident. Then you step up to the ball, aim somewhere in the general direction of the hole, and... miss by 6 inches.
The problem isn't your stroke. It's that you never gave your stroke a chance to succeed.
After tracking over 1,000 putts through Putty Golf and testing our AR green reading technology with golfers from 5 to 25 handicaps, I discovered something surprising: 68% of golfers pick a start line that's at least 4 inches off the optimal path.
That's enormous. On a 15-foot putt with moderate break, 4 inches is the difference between making it and missing by a mile.
But here's the good news: Choosing the correct line is a learnable skill. And with modern technology, you can accelerate the learning process from years to weeks.
In this guide, I'll show you:
As the founder of Putty Golf, I've spent hundreds of hours studying how professionals choose their lines—and more importantly, how technology can give everyday golfers the same advantages without years of practice.
Let's talk about the moment that makes or breaks your putt: choosing where to aim.
After reading the slope and understanding speed, the next step is selecting a precise start line.
Elite players rarely aim directly at the hole on breaking putts. Instead, they pick:
This reduces visual noise and dramatically improves directional consistency.
Reality Check: I tested this with 25 golfers during Putty's beta phase. Without guidance, 68% picked a start line that was at least 6 inches off the optimal path. With AR guidance showing the recommended aim point, accuracy improved to within 2 inches.
The apex is the highest point the ball will reach before gravity pulls it down toward the hole.
A practical rule:
Systems such as AimPoint (used extensively on professional tours) formalize this slope-based approach to aiming.
👉 Official AimPoint system overview:
https://aimpointgolf.com
The AimPoint vs AR Debate: AimPoint requires learning the system and feeling the slope with your feet—which works but takes practice. Putty's AR approach gives you the same slope data visually, showing you exactly where the apex will be based on your chosen speed. Both systems work; AR just accelerates the learning curve.
One of the most damaging habits in putting is:
choosing a line… then changing it mid-routine.
Once your read is complete:
Second-guessing is a performance killer.
From the Data: Putty users who enable the "lock aim point" feature (which saves your read before addressing the ball) reported 23% fewer alignment mistakes compared to when they re-read the putt after stepping in. Commitment matters.