This routine is the key to my putting practice and I urge you to get into the habit of spending just 10 or 20 minutes before tee-off to groove out a stroke in a similar way. The string on its own is a great training aid and costs next to nothing. If you want to go the whole hog, the board I use is called a Putting Plane System (check it out at www.eyelinegolf.com), and this further helps in a couple of fundamentally important ways.
First, the mirror that you see on the top of the board makes it easy to check that your eyes are directly over the top of the ball, which the majority of players on tour regard as one of the basics for good putting.
Second, the yellow runners either side, which can be adjusted according to the width of your putter (and indeed to the latitude you want to give yourself!) help to guarantee that your stroke is perfectly square during those vital six inches or so either side of the ball. They keep you perfectly on track through impact. . . . More >