World Class Putting™ – A QLG Master Class
Section II – Part 4 – The Two Variables: Line and Pace
1. Introduction – The Two Variables That Control Every Putt
2. The Line – Reading Break and Starting the Ball Correctly
3. The Pace – Developing Feel and Distance Control
4. The Putting Process – A Simple, Repeatable System
Introduction
Once the Three Universal Laws are in place, something very important happens.
Your setup becomes stable.
Your stroke becomes repeatable.
The mechanics stop changing from putt to putt.
In other words, the constants are now established.
• the putter face returns square
• the stroke moves toward the target
• the ball leaves the face with optimum roll
These elements do not change.
Which means that when you stand over a putt, only two variables remain.
Line
Pace
Everything in putting comes down to these two variables.
Your job is simple.
Find the correct line.
Deliver the correct pace.
The two variables must work together in harmony.
This is what world-class putting really is.
The Line
The first variable is line.
Reading the line is a logical process.
You study the green.
You assess the slope.
You determine how the ball will break.
And where it must start.
There is one important observation.
Most golfers do not allow enough break.
In putting, the low side of the hole is the downhill side — the direction gravity pulls the ball as it breaks.
For example, if a putt breaks from left to right, the right side of the hole is the low side.
This is where most missed putts finish.
Now think about your own putting.
How many of your putts miss on the high side?
Very few.
Most misses finish on the low side.
This tells us something important.
Most golfers are not allowing enough break.
The first part of this video shows Irene during the early days of her Master Class.
At this stage she is not allowing enough break in her reads.
Instead she tries to fight the natural slope of the green and force the ball directly toward the hole.
The result is predictable.
The pace is too strong.
The break is not enough.
The putt misses.
The second part of the video shows Irene several weeks later.
Now she allows more break.
She uses the slope instead of fighting it.
The pace becomes softer.
The putts look natural, almost artistic in quality.
The ball travels along a true arc toward the hole.
Both putts miss on the high side.
This is important.
Missing high is a sign of correct line and one of the hallmarks of a world-class putter.
It shows the break has been read correctly.
It also leaves a simple tap-in for the next putt.
Understanding and committing to the correct starting line is therefore a crucial part of world-class putting.