The shaft swings back and through straight but because the shaft goes into the head at an angle the head must swing inside/inside
Sorry, but if the shaft does in fact move in a straight line, as you posted, then the head will also. It's attached to the shaft, it has to move the same way. I don't know were you got this stuff, I assume it's from the maker of this training aid, but it's impossible for the head to move in an arc, while the shaft moves in a straight line.
And a lot of tour pros make a straight back and forth stroke with the putter, and so do I. "For the putterhead to go back straight and the face remain square the arms would have to disconnect from the body, the shoulders rock and the head to move left on the backswing ,to the right on the followthrough" Again, this is nonsense. I make a straight stroke and my head doesn't more one way or the other during the stroke. If you believe what you posted, why don't you try to make a straight stroke and see if your head move all around. Try this, set up in a room with hardwood floors or vinyl tile, and use the lines on the floor as a guide. Line up with the putter head square to one of the lines, and take the head back along the straight line. Practice it for a few minutes, and I think you will see that it can be done quite easily and your head doesn't move. I've been doing this drill as a practice routine for 3 years now, and it works fine.
There is not doubt that there are two schools of thinking on whether the putting stroke should be an arc, or a straight line. I happen you belive it should be a straight line, assuming this works best for the golfer. Some golfers do better with an arc. I use the straight line method, and I don't mind telling you why. If you make an arc stroke, the club face will open on the backstroke and then close again as you bring the club back to the ball, and be closed during the follow through. This is exactly what you were told and what you posted. The problem with this method, is that there is only one point in the whole stroke, that the putter face is aimed straight along the target line. That's a fact that can't be argued. Even the guys that use the arc stroke will tell you this. My point here is this. If the putter is only aimed correctly at one point along say a 3 foot stroke, It's aimed wrong all the other points on that stroke. What do you think your chances are of making contact with the ball at exactly the right time and place in your stroke? NOT REAL GOOD. On the other hand, if you make a straight back and forth stroke. you can have the putter face aimed directly at the target line the whole time. And that means you should be able to hit the ball along your intended target line just about every time. i DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I LIKE THAT IDEA A LOT BETTER THAN HAVEING THE PUTTER AIMED OFF LINE MOST OF THE TIME.
The part about the arms having to disconnect from the body, that's not true either. Again, I make a straight stroke, and I happen to brace my arms against my body during the whole stroke. What I do is line up the putter face along my target line, I then line up me toes so that a line across my toes in parellel to the target line, and then I just make a stroke along the line of my toes. I don't see the problem here. I'm not saying that my method is best for everyone or even to you. but it does work. And I have challenged one so called golf expert, a golf instructor also, to explain to me why the arc stroke is better, that's the stroke he teaches. And he refused to reply to my challenge. I don't know what that proves, but I wasn't impressed by him or his method when you couldn't defend the method. The straight stroke works for me and a few of my friends that I have taught to use it. I practice putting and hit balls as far as 160 feet on the practice green. And believe me, I can get the ball as close as anyone from long distance. So far my longest putt made was 140 feet, measured with a laser just for fun. When my instructor is around, we normally putt 9 holes for money, and after 2 years of this, we're all even, and he used to play on the PGA tour when he was younger, and has won the senior title in Wyoming twice in the past 4 years. So he's not too bad with the putter.
What does all this mean. Just that you need to try both methods and see what works best for you. And you need to do a test with a few different models of putter, as I understand that some golfer fine the face balanced design works better for them with one of the two methods, and worse for them with the other method. So what type of putter you have could make a difference. I've use both types of putter and don't see much difference for me, but that's just me. Not you.  | 
12-12-2005, 07:47 AM
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