Three alignment lines on any golf ball: why three lines help you putt

What are the three lines on a Callaway ball?

The three lines on some Callaway balls are a printed alignment aid the company calls Triple Track: one centre line with a thinner line either side of it, running along the side of the ball. You'll find it on balls such as the Chrome Soft and the ERC, and the same three-line pattern appears on some Odyssey putters so the ball and the putter can be matched up at address.

Callaway's explanation for why it works is a phrase called Vernier Hyper Acuity. Put simply, your brain is unusually good at noticing when parallel lines are slightly out of true with each other — far better than it is at judging whether a single line points where you want. It's the same principle used in landing guidance on aircraft carriers, where a pilot lines up sets of lights rather than aiming at one point.

Why draw three lines on a golf ball instead of one?

A single line tells you roughly where the ball is pointing. Three lines tell you two more things at a glance: whether the ball is sitting square, and whether your putter face is square to it. If the outer lines look even on both sides of the centre, everything is lined up. If one side looks fatter than the other, something is twisted, and you'll see it before you've hit the putt rather than after.

That extra information is the whole point. The lines don't make the putter swing any straighter, but they take the guesswork out of set-up, which is where a lot of short putts are lost.

Do three alignment lines help putting?

Honest answer: it depends on how you see the ball. Many golfers report that a line — and three lines in particular — helps them start putts on the line they intended, and that the difference shows most from inside a few feet, where a fraction of a degree is the difference between the middle of the hole and the lip.

A minority find the opposite. Rory McIlroy is the well-known example: he has said that a line on the ball makes him feel he's aimed wrong, so he putts without one and trusts his eyes. Neither camp is right for everyone. The sensible test is to mark a sleeve, putt with the lines for a round or two, and see whether your short putts feel more certain. If they do, keep them. If you're arguing with the line, take it off.

Can you get three alignment lines on any golf ball?

Yes. Callaway's version is printed at the factory, but there is nothing special about the ink or the cover. A golf ball stencil with three parallel slots and a permanent marker will put three alignment lines on a Pro V1, a TP5, a lake ball — any ball you already play — in whatever colour you like.

We call our three-line design the Railway. It comes ready-made, or you can build it in the designer, where the gap between the lines and the length of each line are yours to set. Some golfers want a tight group that sits inside the putter's sight line; others want the outer lines wide enough to see clearly at address without glasses. The stencil holds the ball while you draw, so all three lines come out straight, parallel and identical from one ball to the next.

How to draw three alignment lines on a golf ball

1. Clean and dry the ball. Ink grips a clean cover and skates on a damp one.
2. Clip the stencil on. Sit the ball in the stencil so it's held firm; it shouldn't move when you tilt it.
3. Draw each slot in one pass. A fine-tip permanent marker, steady and unhurried. Don't go back over a line — it only spreads the ink.
4. Lift straight off. Give the ink a few seconds before the ball goes near a pocket or a towel.
5. Do the whole sleeve. The point is that every ball looks the same, so you never have to think about it on the course.

Drawing three parallel lines freehand is where most people give up — one line wanders and the whole thing looks wrong. If you'd rather not use a tool, our guide to drawing a straight line on a golf ball covers the by-hand method and its limits.

How to use the alignment lines on the green (and the tee)

On the green, read the putt first, then pick your start line — the direction the ball needs to leave the putter, not the hole itself on a breaking putt. Mark the ball, replace it with the lines pointing along that start line, and step back to check from behind. At address, set your putter's alignment line parallel to the centre line, then glance at the outer lines: if they look even either side, you're square. From there, stop looking at the lines and trust them.

Off the tee, the lines can do a second job. Some golfers point them down the fairway when they tee the ball up, using them as a small target to set the clubface to. It's a matter of taste, but it costs nothing once the lines are already on the ball.

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