Measuring ball roll when putting is important. There are several ways to find out whether or not your putts are rolling properly. Let’s take a look.
The goal is for perfect ball roll.
Obvious ball roll problems would be lofting the ball in the air causing back spin or the reverse which is driving the ball downward or with zero loft.
The affect is a significant energy anomaly applied to the golf ball.
The result will be loss of control over your ball speed and putt distance.
It’s not that much different than similar poor results from full swing shots.
Video
Place lines on ball sideways to help with spin direction
The easiest way for me to measure ball roll was to use slow motion video.
You want to use a golf ball with lines on it for this. Set it up so the lines are perpendicular to the target line.
I am fortunate that my phone / camera take slow motion video at 120 frames per second at high resolution. My opinion is that 60 fps is too blurry.
The process was pretty simple. I have a putting mat. I set up a 36 inch metal ruler on it’s edge so I could read the measurement. You want to be able to view or video a couple feet of roll.
Then, I set the phone / camera on the floor or on a tripod that will allow me to set it low to the floor.
I use a video voice trigger on my phone or an optional remote control for photos or video.
EVNROLL RollBoard
The plastic shroud is just off screen
You don’t see these much any more, but they work well. I got mine at Austad’s. EVNROLL has them on their website as well.
They are not cheap.
I read a lot of bad reviews, but there is nothing wrong with them. The issue is price.
The device comes in a great padded carrying case and has another plastic protector around it as well.
It’s surface mat is basically like pool table felt.
When the ball rolls over it, marks appear on it letting you know your ball roll was great or not so great.
Take your hand and sweep across the felt to erase the previous putt.
The directions indicate that you need to attempt a 20 foot putt for this to work properly.
That is how I tested this inside by hitting into the memory foam on my EXPUTT RG putting simulator.
Hit up just enough to get it out of the depression a ball sits in
Note: Some marks are from me touching it.
Hit up too much – acts like a chip shot
No loft on putter at impact – hits into the ground slightly
Quintic Ball Roll
This works very similar to creating a video of your putt. Only this system is high tech.
It’s also, very expensive. I would suggest finding a professional near you that has one of these. Go thru a putting evaluation.
CAPTO Gen 3
This is another the system I have. It measures energy balance.
What this does is give you measured data.
There are several was to lose energy on a putt.
That could be an off center strike, backspin, sidespin or all three.
CAPTO Gen 3 measures those things and gives you values for each.
I’m still working on this myself, but here is an example of a recent putt.
The energy loss was 6.1%. Mostly, because of a toe strike, but there was a little backspin and minimal sidespin.
Conclusion
The least expensive way to take a look at your ball roll, would be to video the roll with a device that does slow motion. Most phones these days do that.
The EVNROLL RollBoard works well, but it’s not cheap for what you get. It’s around $100.
The RollBoard is a quick and easy way to see what your ball is doing. It gives you instant feedback.
I use it along with the CAPTO Gen 3.
Like I said above, the Quintic Ball Roll system is the standard. However, not every pro or store has one.
Here is an example. I believe the two closest places that have it from where I live are Chicago and Minneapolis. One is two hours away and the other is 5 hours away.
Most pros or stores around here have SAM PuttLab. It works like CAPTO Gen 3.