Hi Geoff ... from January 2007, page 35 of Golf Digest - Leadbetter's Lessons:

Stand tall on long putts

To lag it close from across the green, pretend you're tossing a ball

The key to rolling a long putt close to the hole, or even knocking in a few of them, is to make a long, flowing stroke. And the best way to do that is to stand taller.

The average golfer's approach putts of 30 feet or longer are often inconsistent, which increases the chances of three-putting.

Long putts are based on feel. If I were going to throw a ball to a target, I would stand fairly erect as my right arm swings. I wouldn't be bent over. Same with long putts.

I'm actually moving my body to encourage feel. Standing taller frees everything up. It allows your arms and shoulders to make a nice, flowing motion.

Tall posture on really long putts also encourages you to move your knees and hips slightly to assist in making the stroke. It's similar to a chip-shot motion. Your knees and hps can actually assist in making the stroke.

The worst thing you can do for a long putt is hunch over the ball and make a short, jabby stroke. Instead, straighten your upper body to allow a freer swinging of your arms.
...............

(I couldn't find the article on GD.com archives .. sorry)

How does this contrast with your putting methodology?

In the article, there is shown Leadbetter (a)standing erect and throwing a golf ball underhanded sideways with his right hand, (b)standing quite erect with his upper arms seemingly hanging straight down from the shoulders while holding a putter, and, (c)significantly bent over with his upper arms pressed against his inclined torso while holding a putter with the comment: NO .. Your regular posture for shorter putts might inhibit the free-flowing motion you need for good lag putting.

This last comment by Leadbetter suggests that you should assume different postures for long and short putting. Do you agree with this concept which seems to advocate swingy, free-flowing strokes for long putts, and short, jabby strokes for short putts?

Interestingly, Leadbetter standing erect for long putting shows his head back and off the ball, while in the crouched over short putting position, the eyes seem to be over the ball but his upper arms are inclined with the torso. Odd ....

Hi Geoff .. any thoughts on this topic ??

Dear Sammy,

Leadbetter takes pretty much an ad hoc, piecemeal approach to putting, without deep analysis of fundamentals. He's using a bit of a "straw man" posture for hunching over short putts as a way to make his argument for a taller posture on long putts stronger -- bogus. No one I know advises hunching over the ball on short putts, except perhaps Paul Trevillion or Hubert Green.

Leadbetter on "feel" is not very good -- just the usual about tossing a ball. Of course, there is nothing in Leadbetter by way of analysis about how tossing a ball the correct distance might work.

Touch definitely comes down to timing, not feel, and no one wants a posture at any time (short putts, long putts, etc.) that cramps the timing.

I think Leadbetter doesn't really use a no-hands shoulder stroke on long putts, but gets a bit armsy-handsy. He could do better focusing more on the timing.

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist

Geoff Mangum's
http://puttingzone.com
http://www.puttingzoneclinics.com
http://puttingzone.blogspot.com/
http://www.network54.com/Forum/52812
http://youtube.com/user/geoffmangum
http://picasaweb.google.com/puttingzone

Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction -- you're either in the PuttingZone, or not.

Over 2 million visits -- 100,000 monthly from 50+ countries -- and growing strong.