Geoff,

Is there any merit to this putting method. Its described under the "basic philosophy" link at http://www.kuykendallgolf.com/docview.cfm?tid=12

I have found this method to be particularly useful for 3 foot putts, as there is no backswing to worry about.

Thanks!

I assume the "technique" you refer to is the description of setting the putter head about 8 inches behind the ball, with the shaft leaning so that the hands are nearly above the ball, and then making a forward stroke from that position. This technique is recommended for 3 foot putts.





My opinion is that Kuykendall does a poor job of describing this technique in terms of motion. He seems to suggest that the golfer moves the right / dominant-side elbow and "the shoulder reacts" to the elbow motion. I don't think he knows what he is talking about. The pictures that he uses to illustrate this action supposedly accompanies the test about "the right arm straightening out." There are only two ways for the arm to straighten out: a flexed elbow angle straightens out, or the arm moves as a whole unit with respect to the shoulder. Neither of these actions are shown. The elbow angle stays the same and the arm-shoulder relation stays the same in the photos. That can only mean that the action shown is one in which the golfer is making a "shoulder rock" as usually understood.

If Kuykendall is attempting to describe an elbow "piston action" modelled after the stroke of Jack Nicklaus, he has not succeeded. In Nicklaus' action, the upper arm changes its relationship to the shoulder, partly as a result of Nicklaus' open stance and shoulder alignment. That doesn't appear to be the case in what Kuykendall depicts.

That aside, let's address a "technique" sort of like that -- setting the putter head behind the ball with a shaft lean and then making a shoulder stroke that sweeps the putter face down the line thru the ball. Yes, the technique is pretty interesting, with the caveat that you can't really make a shoulder stroke IF the putter head starts out resting on the ground. With that starting position, a shoulder stroke would send the putter head "lower" into the surface at the beginning. So the golfer must either start the putter head behind the ball somewhat up in the air, leaving room for the downward arcing to stay just above the surface at the bottom of the stroke, OR treat the initial resting position of the putter head behind the ball about 8 inches as the "bottom" of the shoulder stroke's arc and start the lead shoulder rocking up immediately so the putter face is rising and gaining dynamic loft for 8 inches before contacting the ball, OR make some sort of stroke action that moves the putter head level to the ground. The latter is, frankly, an awkward action that does not seem to me to have the accuracy and stability that Kuykendall purports it to have. The middle action is more or less okay, just odd and not too different from a usual shoulder stroke (the lead shoulder has to sort of "hop up" at the very beginning to get the putter head to clear the surface coming forward).

The technique he depicts is supposed to be a "dominant hand" action as opposed to a pendulum action. If it is, the photos don't show it as such. If Kuykendall is really using the dominant hand INSTEAD OF and INDEPENDENT OF the shoulder rock, then my opinion is that this technique is junk. If the dominant-hand action is made IN COORDINATION WITH a shoulder rock and the hand and arm does not move independently of the shoulders, then there is NO FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE and in reality this action would properly be termed a shoulder stroke.

Fundamentally, however, Kuykendall's "opinion" (which he oddly terms a "theory") that a "pendulum motion" is not as good as a dominant-hand motion [that's a pretty non-specific opinion, by the way] doesn't seemed backed up by anything approaching a reason -- at least not in the text he makes available without payment. I doubt that he has an accurate understanding of body action of limbs and joints, since I don't see any discussion that accurately describes how muscles move parts by changing joints. If you are not paying attention to the joints, you cannot describe what is moving where.

To me, then, the "technique" is not a good one in comparison to a shoulder stroke with the usual backstroke.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
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Regardless of how the putter forward stroke is initiated, there must be a 'breakaway' torque applied to the arms, hands and putter to begin the stroke for that resting position since there is no backstroke. Kuykendal suggests the applied torque is from the rear hand and arm, while you Geoff are suggesting it is from the rocking shoulders.

The starting position of the putter head can be a) resting lightly on the ground, or, b) hovering slightly above the ground. The first position would require a rectilinear stroke with the hands moving as much as the putter head, while the second position would be a curvilinear stroke in a pendular fashion.

What is interesting is that golfers can adapt to either mode of putting and still make the necessary compensations to strike the ball .. all without knowing what they are actually doing.

Dear sammy,

You are importing jargon into the discussion: "rectilinear stroke" and "curvilinear stroke". This departs from paying attention to what actually is happening in the body as a brain-skeletal-muscular system. When you write: "Kuykendal suggests the applied torque is from the rear hand and arm, while you Geoff are suggesting it is from the rocking shoulders", you are glossing over the whole issue, which is HOW does the starting torgue in the Kuykendall technique get applied -- what body part or ensemble of parts is being moved in what manner?

I you read my post again, you should be able to discern that I critique Kuykendall for the mismatch between what he shows in the pictures and what he very anemically attempts to describe with words. I don't believe he is making a motion that moves the hands in (your jargon) a "rectilinear stroke". It is not at all uncommon for people to be unable to describe accurately what they do with their body (witness all of golf instruction), and the tendency is to lapse into vague jargon with which the person attempting to describe the body action merely describes what he hoped was happening, thus getting the basic facts wrong (witness Stan Utley's book -- he doesn't personally putt the way he describes in the book, and has been tested and filmed and told this and didn't and couldn't really disagree).

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.

Visit the new PuttingZone Blog for podcasts of putting tips:
Site PuttingZone Blog
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