(Premier Login aceputt) Forum Owner Posted Feb 25, 2009 3:24 PM
Dear Lee,
Yes, you are absolutely right about the video clip. I wish they had done a little more filming and included what happens when the person aims without any help. I will say that the underlying idea of a putter that is SUPPOSED to send the ball wherever it aims is quite important and a good step forward, and that this happens best with a minimal technique for movement that is a) consistent and repeating, and b) designed to send the ball wherever the putter has been aimed. Only when the golfer tries to putt where the putter aims and gets some success with that will he a) settle down to a simple repeating technique and movement, and b) start to receive true feedback for the first time ever about the accuracy of his aiming. because the Symple stroke technique is so simple to learn for mid- to high-handicap golfers, this putter and technique will really help them learn the consistency of a stroke motion and a lot about accurate aiming. That covers well over 80-90% of ALL golfers.
Even though the clip does not give the info we would really want to see, I'm quite sure that the initial misses by Jack Youngblood were caused to a significant extent by poor stroke technique. Even if there was a shaft for aiming with his usual putter and conventional stroke, it is not likely he would have sunk more than 2-3 out of ten at most, based on what I saw (1 out of 10, with 5 misses left, 4 misses right, 8 misses way long, and 1 miss just short). That pattern at the farthest past the hole appeared to have a left-right scatter of about 1.5 feet or 18 inches at 5' past or 17' from the initial ball position. That is 9 inches left or right of a center line for the putt at a distance of 204 inches or so. The error in the line of the putts is therefore arctan(9/204) = 2.5 degrees left or 2.5 degrees right. I don't really think Youngblood's aim was swinging from side to side over a 5-degree range from 12 feet away from the hole. Most people mis-aim to one side or the other predominately. if you compare Youngblood's body action in the conventional stroke versus the Symple technique, you will see that he has a much calmer and more still body with the Symple technique. With the conventional putter, he was moving his lower body and head all over in a bad way, but with the Symple technique he was paying attention to the soling of the putter and then making the wrist hinge. He was watching his hands and was not concerned to watch the hole or peek after the putt. So his stroke was indeed better with the Symple putter, and it does not really appear his aim was the problem in the conventional style.
In my personal case, I allow many many putters (some old, some new, some banged up and some bruised) to compete for my liking. And the Symple Putter jumped right in and climbed on up. I'd love to see what I could do with this putter with a conventional lie angle. So, my judgment: "one of the few very nice putters marketed today." Easily top 10, along with Rife, Yes, TaylorMade Rossa, Edel, Positive Putter, Bob Koch's new Medicus Revolver Putter, and a few others.