Golf Australia – August 2019

W

atchthebestgolfers in the

worldandyouwill

quicklyseethat some

favourastraighter stroke,

inwhichtheputter tracks

upanddowntheball-targetline, while

othersprefermoreofanarcing motion.

Bothcanbeeective,anditisone of

thoseareasofputtingthatcomes down to

personalchoice.However,itisimportant

torealisetheshapeofthestroke is

stronglyinfluencedbyhowyou address

theball.Aslongasyourset-upmatches

yourpreferredshape,youcanputt well.

UNDERSTANDING

YOUR STROKE SHAPE

BYGARETHJOHNSTON

U

STRAIGHT

STROKE:

More bent over

ARCINGSTROKE:

Standtaller,handshigher

EYELINE:INSIDE

THEBALL

Arcputterssettheirheadsa

little‘inside’theball;dropa

ballfromyournoseandit’d

landbetweentheballand

yourtoes.Themoreinside

youreyeline,themore

thearcinthestroke.

EYELINE:

OVERTHEBALL

Thesquare-to-square

puttersetshiseyesmoreover

theball.Theupperbackis

oftenroundedtoallowhimto

looksquarelydownatit,a

positionthatencouragesa

moreverticalrockingof

theshoulders.

POSTURE:

SHARPERANGLES

Theseheadandupperspine

positionsareaffordedbya

sharpertiltfromthehips,

balancedoutbymorekneeflex.

Thisgivesthesquareputtera

morebentoverlook,theeyes

closertotheball.Thisiswhy

a shorterflatsticktypically

worksbest.

HAND

POSITION:

UNDERCHEST

Whilebothshapeswork

witha straightlinebetween

shaftandforearms,the

squareputter’shandsfall

undertheshirtbuttons,

whilethearcputter’s

areunderthenose

orchin.

POSTURE:

TALLER

Inharmonywiththe

eyelineposition,thearc

putter’spostureistypically

taller,withlessforwardtilt

fromthehipsandlessknee

flex.Thistallerpositionhelps

setthegolfer‘inside’the

ball,promotinga more

in-to-inaction.

HAND

POSITION: HIGH

The arc putter will tend to

feel their wrists arch

upwards as they stand to the

ball. Higher hands encourage

face rotation, which works

in harmony with an

arcing stroke.

CHECK YOUR ARC

You can check your path using the fl agstick. Lie it

on the ground then trace your stroke over the top.

Work on seeing the toe over the pin at the end of

the backswing and follow-through.

SQUARE PATH

Again, check the path of your stroke against the

fl agstick. The centre of the putter should remain over

the pin back and through, though a subtle opening

and closing of the face is fi ne.

66 AUGUST 2019 | golf australia

A Z OF PUTTING