Defining perfect putting pace

Golf Digest, June, 2002 by Johnny Miller, Guy Yocom

The same golfer who advises a partner to "Play this putt three inches outside right" almost never adds, "and play it 15 inches past the hole." It's a serious oversight, as speed has everything to do with how much a putt will break. The question is, what constitutes perfect speed?

Dave Pelz, an expert on the scientific aspects of putting, says the perfect pace is one in which the ball would travel 17 inches past the hole if the hole didn't exist. I believe the average player would benefit from Pelz' advice, as the 17-inch strategy ensures that the ball will drop if it catches a meaty part of the hole and will prevent the player from coming up short.

But the true genius putters--Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Bobby Locke among them--played their putts to roll only four inches past the hole. That way, the ball will fall even if it catches a tiny piece of the cup. It requires tremendous touch to pull that off.