Putting Question: Editors' Blog: Golf Digest Magazine

Putting Question

07.26.07 | 3:30 PM

Compared to the rest of golf, putting looks easy ... Putting is not that simple. It demands constant attention to practice. Paul Runyan

Reader Steve Long asks a question that I've never heard before. He wants to know if there has been any instruction by teachers or tour pros recommending...

bending over to the point where the spine between the shoulder is near to horizontal. If the spine...is tilted far enough then the spine will be on the same axis that the swing plane is on

Steve thinks that if you bend over far enough, creating that similarity to the swing plane, you will make the motion of putting more natural and subject to fewer "delicate adjustments."

I heard that Bobby Locke putted this way and Nicklaus bent over quite far.

Steve, you point to two great putters and we'd never recommend that you don't experiment with their methods. Locke, certainly created a mini-swing with his putts, the object of your suggestion. Nicklaus bent over, I think he's said, to be able to see down the line of the putt better. He was, apparently, strongly right-eye dominant.

The one instructor who I've heard recommend something akin to what you're saying is Paul Runyan, who always recommended that you "get close to your business," in putting and chipping. He would not, I don't think, recommend "standing tall" as some instructors do. What you say seems consistent with his advice.

Thanks for the letter. Perhaps our readers will have other comments about your tip.

--Bob Carney

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Comments

Archived Comments (1) Click to expand

Here's an update on the putting stroke I asked about. I've been using the stroke myself now for many months, and I can report that it works very well indeed. What happens is that the shoulder movement becomes vastly simplified and more accurate. Fewer muscles are involved in the motion. You can see this in action by assuming the common putting address position and noticing which way the shoulders move. Shoulder movement is partly toward and away from the golfer's head as well as around the spine. The taller one stands, the more the movement is toward and away from the golfer's head, and less around the spine. The problem with this common method is that both shoulders have to pass through exact positions at impact to produce a square clubface. You can experience this by standing in address position and moving either shoulder in any direction. The clubface opens or closes. By leaning over nearly horizontal, however, shoulder movement is only around the spine, not toward and away from the head, so that muscles for the latter movement do not even get used. The opening and closing of the face is practically eliminated. Not only is accuracy excellent, but concentration on the rest of the stroke can be increased because you no longer have to concentrate on shoulder movement. For those who want to try the stroke, I put instructions on my website, longgolf.com, under the link titled "Long's putting stroke."

Posted by stevelong July 15, 2008 10:36 AM

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