What do you aim at while putting?

[DiscinFiend]

So I've been watching a lot of putting videos lately. I've noticed different pros have very different approaches as to what they focus on/aim at while they putt. The three most common strategies I've come across are aiming at a single chain link, aiming at the pole & aiming at the whole basket. I personally aim at a single chain link with the "aim small miss small" frame of mind. Here's my questions.

What do you personally aim at while you putt? Why?

Is a persons putting style a major factor on what they choose to aim at while putting?

If you pick "other" in the poll please explain what you aim at & your reasons for doing so.

 

[Pbmercil]

Lower 40% of the pole.

If I aim at a chain link i have a tendency to putt TO that link instead of THROUGH that link. Which leads to am side chainouts and front rim bangers. Aiming at the pole fixes this for me, mostly. Lower 40% because that is the ideal catching point on any basket regardless of manufacturer. It's very very very rare to chainout if you make solid contact with the bottom half of the pole.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

In the circle: chainlink that's just right of the pole (RH putt). Been burned to many times with dead center off the pole and back out.

Outside the circle: whole basket, just want the disc flat and crashing into chain height center area.

Way outside the circle: semi-stall shot that is aimed right, fading through the chains. Flat putting from 50-60' would require either a ton of height or more speed than would be safe for < a 25-30' comeback. I will regularly jump putt it flat at the basket, if the landing zone is velcro.

 

[PWaggoner]

I putt at a chain link slightly left and behind the pole. Usually in the middle.

Feldberg recommended aiming left for right eye dominance. So been working on that.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

I putt at a chain link slightly left and behind the pole. Usually in the middle.

Feldberg recommended aiming left for right eye dominance. So been working on that.

That's intersting because I'm LEFT eye dominant and aim right (but more for the avoidance of am side spit outs)...

 

[chevis]

i identify the heart of the chains and pierce it with the disc

 

[Hyzer Ale]

I don't know if it is the right way to do it, but putting is the strongest part of my game (I'm only a 910 rated player), but I aim at an imaginary spot, halfway between myself and the basket that if the disc passes through it, I know it is in.

 

[kenjiac]

I aim at a link on the back side of the basket slightly right of the pole. Higher and further out from the pole the more distance I am from the basket.

 

[Agricolae]

For in the circle, dead-ahead putts, I choose a chain link at mid-height on the right side of the pole; or, for more precision, the connection point between the two links. Sometimes I try to hit the gnat that is sitting on the connection point between two links. I putt best with the narrowest focus and when I maintain my focus point until the disc hits the chains; i.e., watch the aim point, not the flight of the putter.
Like HUB, I'll change my aim point on longer putts and hyser/anhyser putts around objects. Typically, my aim point on those will be the apex of the disc flight on smooth arcing putts or the point in space where I want the disc to stall fade.

 

[prohopkid]

I cant see very well if i am for one link. I focus so hard that my eyes go blurry. So now i am at the top of the red tape on the middle of the poll. That seems to help especially when your far away. I spin putt but today i was practicing straddle and did way better. So normal when i spin putt i always come up short. With straddle/spin putt i come from lower and release higher with more acceleration and requiring less snap from my wrist and it lofts its way into the basket. I think straddle is where its at for me now. If im outside 30 feet I am a foot up and to the right of the basket, I dont even look at the basket, i pretend im putting to something behind it to the right. Just like if Im at the range shooting 300+ yards i aim for the head to hit the chest.

 

[Major Tomahawk]

I don't know if it is the right way to do it, but putting is the strongest part of my game (I'm only a 910 rated player), but I aim at an imaginary spot, halfway between myself and the basket that if the disc passes through it, I know it is in.

I use this method quite often, but only when there are reference points, like tree limbs, near the target. I never putt like that when there in nothing but air between me and the basket.

Focusing on something smallish inside the chain assembly is the way I go for most of the rest of my putts. I take it a bit further than just looking at the link or the pole. Oftentimes I'll putt to the weld on the chain link. Other times I'll putt to the upper right corner of the sticker in the sweet spot on the pole (I'm right handed).

Sport Psychologist, Bob Rotella, explains that humans have a difficult time focusing and that we are better off getting that focus down to a minute (extremely small) object. The smaller the better. When I miss a lot of putts during a round, it's usually a focus problem. What the heck was I looking at?

 

[Stardoggy]

30' and in: single chain link, about 2/3 up the chains, one chain right of the pole.

Anything further out, I adjust my aim point up and right, incremental to distance. I'm kind of a spush putter (somewhere between JohnE McCray and McBeth), and my disc comes out flat. Play a little hyzer with my Wizard the further out I get.

 

[armiller]

I look at the whole thing. I tend to putt worse when looking at too small a target. I think it goes back to basketball. Some coaches say look at the back of the rim, but I always found I shot better when not focusing on too small of a target. Maybe it helps me get the range better?

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Center pole.
Spush/spin putter.
Definitely the best part of my game.

 

[prohopkid]

Yall, really making me want to spend the 160$ on the DD marksman basket......I've been trying not to for the last 2 weeks!

 

[m_Krakov]

Individual link for me.

In fact, when I'm practicing my putting at the house, I sometimes try and pick different links to help fine tune my aim.

 

[prohopkid]

Individual link for me.

In fact, when I'm practicing my putting at the house, I sometimes try and pick different links to help fine tune my aim.

Now that is dedication!

 

[thunder3boy]

Orange tape on the pole. Works 80% of the time every time.

 

[Tripper]

Single link 8" down from the bogey band on the right side of the pole.

 

[livextreme9]

I am a push putter, so my putter has a tendency to hyzer out at the end of my putts. For this reason I aim at a link or two on the right hand side of the chains. This helps my putter hit the strong side of the basket more often than not. When it is windy however, I tend to spin putt more and aim at the pole. That is only in high wind situations.