Understanding the Pro Side in Putting

Video Transcript

"Okay, the concept of the "pro side", so if I hit this putt, and now this one's somewhat level; it's a little bit uphill, but not much, and it's going to go from right to left. So if I get the putt, if my putt comes this way onto this side of the hole, we call that the "amateur side", and the reason for that is if you hit that putt, once it breaks to the left of the hole, it has no chance ever to go in. But if you aim to what's called the "pro side", which on this particular putt would be right to the right of the hole, that's called the "pro side". That means that once the ball's tracking over there, it could break toward the hole, and you might be able to get it in the hole. So there's a bunch of cliches in putting, one of them is "never up, never in", so in this case, if you don't get it in the "pro side", you never have a chance. So that's the difference between like an amateur golfer and a pro golfer, the pros are going to get almost all their putts, whether they make them or not, are going to go onto the right side of the hole, and the amateurs are going to go to the left side. So going to the "pro side" is a way of making sure that you'll make more putts, and if you don't, you're right next to the hole so you can make the second attempt. So that one's on the "pro side", and then this one is on the "amateur side", and this one is really amateurish. So, that's the idea, is you want to get the ball to the "pro side" of the hole so no matter where your putt is, you want to determine where that is, and that should be your real target, not just the hole."