Putting; a direction and distance problem

This chapter highlights the putting research through the incorporation of more ecologically valid conditions and representative tasks. It also highlights some areas that coaches and players might consider relevant in their practice and skill acquisition. Putting is a simple problem to determine the correct start line and speed of the ball. When solved, this produces the appropriate launch vector that delivers the ball into the hole. While putting is a skill often examined in research, being easy to control experimentally and with less movement variation than in full swing, it is most commonly used as a vehicle to examine theoretical positions rather than to contribute to knowledge on performing and coaching golf. As such, those with interest in the area must discern the true reasons for the use of putting in any study when interpreting its findings. There are few studies in which a breaking putt or real grass is utilized rather than a flat putt on an artificial surface.