Dear Damon,
The statement you quote is a bit confused:
"Understand that low point is three dimensional. [TRUE] The club is moving down and out and forward- [TRUE BUT IN DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS DEPENDING UPON TILT ANGLE] Once there the club will move up and in and forward. [TRUE] When the ball is placed at or just in front (short) of low point [MEANING LEFT OF STROKE'S LOW POINT FOR A RIGHT HANDED GOLFER] it will not lead to a push because #3 (right forefinger attached to grip) traces a straight base line. [NOT TRUE -- FINGER IS MOVING IN ABOUT THE SAME ARCING PATTERN AS THE PUTTER HEAD AND PUTTER HEAD IS MOVING ON A TILTED PLANE DOWN AND OUT AND FORWARD THEN UP AND BACK AND FORWARD -- A LEFT OF BOTTOM BALL WILL RESULT IN A PULL, A RIGHT OF BOTTOM BALL WILL RESULT IN A PUSH] If your mind sees the arc of approach and separation [WHAT THE HECK IS THIS "APPROACH AND SEPARATION"?] and begins to believe this is what #3 IS DOING [WELL, THAT IS WHAT #3 IS DOING, ALBEIT IN AN ABBREVIATED VERSION BECAUSE HIGHER UP THE SHAFT] then you are in trouble. Don't confuse the two."
Is there merit to this?
As far as optimal putting strokes go, for me, this ranks behind a vertical shoulder stroke. But with the above conditions (I would prefer the ball at low point), would this stroke be good for a large proportion of those golfers who cannot get comfortable with the setup required for a vertical shoulder stroke.
NOT REALLY. BUT IF THE ANGLE OF TILT IS NOT TOO SEVERE, THE PLAYER CAN SORT OF GET A STRAIGHT STROKE WITH A LITTLE TRANSITION OUT OF THE SYMMETRY OF THE ARCING AS THE FORWARD STROKE HEADS INTO IMPACT -- A TRANSITION INTO A STRAIGHT-THRU-IMPACT STROKE.
Symmetry ain't all it's cracked up to be.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone
http://puttingzone.com>
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