Putting Question

*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