Line-A-Putt lines 'em up

By RON KASPRISKE, The News-Press

FORT MYERS - Every once in a while, a product is introduced to the golf market that is so simple that you have to wonder why someone didn't think of it sooner.

It's that very notion that makes local golfer Jerry Urban smile. It actually took him more than 40 years of bad putting to invent something that would help his game.

But if his finished product sells as well as it performs, he said it will have been worth the wait.

The part-time Fort Myers resident has come up with a device called Line-A-Putt. In the spirit of other simple golf inventions such as the wooden tee and the divot tool, Urban took a ball, placed it in a plastic cup so the top half of it was still showing, and then drew a line around the center with a marker.

The line, which is nearly perfectly straight, can be used to align a golf ball in whichever direction it needs to be putted. That visual aid can be the difference, Urban said, between a bad day of putting and a good one.

Local golf instructor Steve Anderson, who gives more than 2,000 lessons a year, said that the majority of amateur players he works with have trouble aligning their putts. The tendency is to look at the hole rather than where the slope of the green will funnel the ball.

But a line drawn over the middle of the ball is a friendly reminder of where to putt it.

"You just pick a spot where you want your putt to go, and then line it up," Urban said. "It's as simple as that."

If you're wondering why you need Urban's Line-A-Putt, since it would seem logical that you could just draw the line yourself with a marker, he challenges you to try and draw a straight line around a dimple-faced golf ball.

"You can't draw it straight," he said. "That's why you need the cup. It holds a regulation ball perfectly in place so you can trace the line around it."

The product retails for $7.95 (plus $3 for shipping) and comes with a marker. It can be found at his Web site (www.line-aputt.com) or by calling (888) 591-0975.

Urban, 64, a former airline pilot, came up with the invention in December after years of trying to draw the lines by hand. Although he is still waiting for the official patent for his product, he already has begun selling it via the Internet, as well as in golf shops around Fort Myers, such as Lumpy's Pro Golf Discount and The Golf Shop.

Several people who have tried the product said they are impressed with its simplicity and effectiveness.

"It's such a basic, simple thing," said local golfer Bob Orton. "But you know what" It works."

Added Dale Sindt, golf professional at Eagle Ridge Golf Course, "I think the big thing for amateurs is it also shows them the rotation of the ball. Not just in the right direction, but rolling period. It helps with mechanics.

"People come in the shop, look at it, and laugh. Then they try it and are amazed."

The product has received national acclaim as well. It was featured in the May/June issue of PGA Tour Partners Magazine and has been endorsed by former Senior PGA Tour player Bob Brue. That's high praise, considering that Brue holds the nine- and 18-hole records on the senior tour for fewest putts in a round (seven for nine holes and 17 for 18 holes at the 1994 Kroger Senior Classic).

"Line-A-Putt makes a nice, easy-to-see line on the ball that should help you become a better putter," Brue said.

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