I have always thought that in order to keep the putter on the correct path it must follow an inside to inside arc. Do you advocate a Ferris-wheel type stroke? I guess I have always viewed the putting stroke as a single lever version of the swing. I strive to keep things related to my golf game as simple as possible. Is anyone up to the task of breaking it down for me?
My friend Geoff will likely offer a diferent view, so I'll get in first!
The putting stroke can be organised to be NEARER straight back and through by altering the shoulder position and or standing close to the ball (or putt with long putter in Langer's fashion)
Personaly I prefer to just let it happen - the arc is not a problem if you have a sound stroke
Far more interesting is your comment as to a SINGLE lever - Sorry the conventiional putting stroke is a number of levers and rotations
Heres a question no ne bothers to ask - If we are told to putt pendulum style - WHERE IS THE PENDULUM?
I use a belly putter as the pendulum is nicely defined
Scott,
I'll add some more commentary. I believe you are correct in that a straight back and through stroke (no arc) does require a "ferris-wheel" type action. To swing the putter straight back and through, your shoulders must move in a verticle plane. If your shoulders do not rotate around your spine in an entirely verticle fashion (like a ferris-wheel with your spine as the axis around which the weel rotates) you must manipulate the club with your arms and hands to make the path straight back and through. This manipulation of the putter will add inconsistency to your stroke, and therefore, missed putts. This is something you don't want. In actuallity, I beleive for those that can put with truly dead hands and arms (where the shoulders control the putting stroke) they can employ either a straight back and through motion or an arc. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SPINE ANGLE THEY SET UP TO PUTT WITH. If the spine is titled, you will have an arc stroke and the putter will appear to open and close during the stroke (in reality the putter stays square to the stroke path, not the target ... think of a ferris-wheel that is tilted). On the other hand, if the spine is in more of a horizontal position when putting, you will have the same exact shoulder stroking action, but the path will appear to be a straight back and through stroke (think of your ferris-wheel that is perfectly verticle). In the verticle shoulder stroke, the putter face also stays square to the path of the stroke ... AS ALL DO WHEN THE STROKE IS MADE WITH THE SHOULDERS AND WITHOUT MANIPULATION BY THE ARMS AND HANDS. However, as a by product of putting with the shoulders in a verticle axis, the putter face will also be square to the target. If you want more information on the arc of a putt check out the Putting Arc website. There the arc is determined by the slant of the spine. When looking at that info, you can see that if the spine were more horizontal, the path would naturally be straight back and through. Hope this helps.