When you see players standing five or ten feet behind a ball dangling a putter by the grip in front of his or her face while facing the hole, they are plumb-bobbing to read the slope of the green.
It works when only one break is involved in the putt. It won’t tell you anything about grain or irregularities on the putting line or around the hole. It won’t tell you anything about the wind or the speed of the green. However, it is helpful in reinforcing your ideas about the slope of the green.
Here’s how it works: Find out which is your dominant eye: Make a circle with your index finger and thumb. Extend your arm out in front of you and look through the circle at someone. Have them tell you which eye of yours they see when they look through the circle back at you. The eye they see is your dominant eye. Use this eye to plumb with.
Stand about five to ten feet directly behind your ball an dangle your putter by the very end of the grip so that the edge of the shaft matches up with the edge of the golf ball. Using your dominant eye, let your eye travel up the shaft. When you get to the grip, notice which side of the hole the grip is positioned. What ever side of the hole you see the grip is usually the high side of the hole.
This is not an extremely reliable method of determining break; however, use this method to support your initial feeling about how the break will play.
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