Putting Stroke

Should a putting stroke be an "arc", or a "straight line"?

Both are correct.

go to http://www.odysseygolf.com and check out their videos and tips... they also have a good putter setup program which matches you to the right putter.

as for your question... "what lowpost42 said"

Amongst the pros and recreational players alike, there are proponents of each.

I believe that each person has a natural predesposition for one over the other, to perform at their best.

Also, the style of putter is important, as heel shafted putters (most Ping, Cameron style) are generally suited for arc technique, whereas center shafted and/ or face balanced putters (Odyssey two ball) are generally suited for pendulum (straight line) technique.

I just took a quick detour and was lucky to quickly find the discussion of this subject on a previous thread. There were other discussions as well.

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/sh...tan-utley.html

I get best results with a straight back and through putting action on medium to short putts, I find it a more reliable & repeatable method. On longer putts it is difficult to use the same rocking action so a little rotation of the body assists with the longer stroke required.

Hi Brian,

I see from this source anyways, that the idiom "different strokes for different folks", surprisingly, did not originate from golf association.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_bo...ages/1051.html

However, there could not be a more appropriate saying, in reference to the variety and nuances of putting strokes and techniques used by golfers. Whatever works, works.

You can reference Bobby Locke for one, who may have been one of the greatest putters in history. That's what his peers said. There are film clips of him holing out very long putts, on the old shaggy greens. He jabbed down on the ball with a wristy short pop stroke, with a closed narrow stance, hitting every putt with a hook. I would think there should be videos on you tube, if only for interest, as I don't think anyone would promote his stroke. Of course, the greens were so different in the past, and they had to use a jabbey pop stroke to roll the ball over the slow shaggy grass.

There are many others with their own particular techniques, such as Billy Casper (all wrist pop), Nicklaus (hunched over pop piston action), etc. The modern great putters include Faxon, Tiger, etc.

Ted

Ted,

I was simply saying what works best for me. I improved my putting a great deal after reading and studying the Dave Pelz book 'The putting bible' He suggests through his intensive study that a pendulum back and forward straight down the line stroke has the best chance of creating a sound repeatable putting action due to it's simplicity and I get the best results this way, I find the open/closed gate action needs very precise timing and gives me less reliability. .

Like all things golf there are many different ways to use a golf club and the putter is top of the list in this respect. Horses for courses Not golf courses though

__________________
Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Brian,

I tried to send a private message and apparently your message box is full.

Thanks,

Ted

Sorry, seem to have received a lot lately, cleaned it up so should be OK now.

Hi
you should read Dave Pelz putting bible, i think it one book ever golfer should read along with Hogan's 5 fundamentals. there is so much information in Pelz book, he likes the Straight putting system over the ark type and if you like the straight type of putting shot then buy his book and i believe you find more information than in any other golf book. his book on the short game is also one of the best books out there.
cheers
Bill

Thanks fellas!

One of the great things about Pelz's books ofcourse is that you never need to pay full retail for them.

Loads of used and second hand copies going cheap if you search t'nterweb.

What ever technique works for you, go for it.

Putting is about feel and confidence - such a personal thing.

I had 2 free lessons from a pro on the easy- waygolf putting aid and it 's worked for me , two months later I have't left a putt short .The first few putts were a bit dodgy with the mean men of the sunday swindle I was going two and half feet to three feet past but the feeling on sinking the return putt was well worth it -Never up Never down.The pro also stopped the long puttin action I had.They have a website easyway-golf ( I think) as I only met them when I worked for matchplay.uk.com @ the Golf show

It is important to practice a straight putt, because then you need only focus on the stroke and not on the break. Obviously, if you miss a straight putt you will know that you made a bad stroke; if you miss a breaking putt, you might have made a good stroke but just had the wrong speed. So it's important to pick a straight putt for this drill