Every club in the golf bag seems to have a specific role to play and you will regularly pull them out at the same time during a round.
The driver will come out on the tee, the fairway wood will come out when you have a long distance to play, the short iron will be used when playing an approach shot to the green and the putter will be used when on the green.
However, there is nothing stopping you from using the putter elsewhere on the golf course and it can come in particularly handy when your ball is on the fringe of the green.
The actual technique of playing the putt is one thing but the reasons as to why you would choose the putter over another club is something else. It’s important to judge the situation correctly when using a putter from off the green and abide by the rules.
Firstly, playing a putt from the edge of the green instead of a chip shot reduces the potential for the shot to go wrong. When putting from off the green there is no need to worry about how high the ball will travel or what impact the spin will have on the ball. Using the putter eliminates these factors which is great.
That doesn’t mean you should go for the putter every time the ball is on the edge of the green.
There may be obstacles in your putting line for example. Check the line you will be taking with your putt and analyse the route to the green for potential hazards which may disrupt the ball. We don’t mean hazards in the traditional sense, it could be anything such as a sprinkler head or patches of sand from a nearby bunker.
If you do see sand between your ball and the green, you cannot remove the sand. This will result in a penalty.
If you have sand or any other potential disruption in your putting line, such as a sprinkler head it is best to accept the putter is not the best option and play a chip shot.
You should also check the grain of the grass before putting from off the green. If the grass on the fringe is growing towards you, this may make the ball jump up in the air when travelling towards the green. If it bounces up it could lose its direction and speed, which could be costly.
However, if the grass is growing in the direction you wish to play the shot, you should feel confident of achieving a true roll before the ball reaches the green.
You are not restricted to using the putter form the fringe of the green. If your path from the ball to the green is firm and the grass tight, you can play with the putter from further out.
Just be aware of what is in your intended line between the ball and the green before making your putt and do not break the rules by removing sand from your path.
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