Putting, Initial Thoughts

My current thoughts, which should suggest areas of inquiry

I should start this out by stating that I don't believe there is any magic in putting.  Oh, Ben Crenshaw thought it all came down to feel.  He probably can't define that beyond "I'm going it hit it on this line with this speed."

So with no magic involved is it any different than hitting a nail with a hammer?  We have arms/hands that are offset from the ball, like the rest of the swing, and we have to choose a line and a speed.

Of course the speed and line are interconnected.  They are paired and you have to get them to match.  Unless, of course, the putt is straight, then your speed is not particularly critical -- assuming that you were going to get it to the hole to start with.

Thus we are only worried about breaking putts.  On my home course, there are not a lot of those!  When in doubt, play no break.

How about this?  Assume we have a left to right putt.  How about a line that will maximize the break of the ball across the hole.  So on left to right, the line to attempt is to putt the ball in at the right third of the cup.  That maximizes the amount of time that the ball "sees" the hole.  Also if the putt breaks less than you thought, you are more likely to hole it.  This breaks down if you have underestimated the break or your speed is such that the ball breaks more than it should.

Then we are down to picking a line and a speed and finally we have to deliver the ball on that line with the selected speed.

Assume we can do that, then we are at the mercy of things we don't know, e.g., the way the ball will roll over the ground, moisture, wind and minimal stuff like that.

Putter and ball interactions are interesting too.  Loft and grip size and trying to deliver the club to the ball consistently are of interest. 

Then we have how to be on line!  How to line up a putt -- is this harder to do than decide on the line?  Where are the errors?

So these are topics for discussion.  Does anyone out there have any thoughts?  (This will be more fun if we have a bit of interaction!)