Notes from the Texas winter wonderland

It's snowing again. We've had the first White Christmas in memory, now at least 3" on the ground. Thank goodness it's above freezing so it's not turning into ice yet. Forecast is for temperatures to stay around 32.

After my last post about Tom Watson's putting, Johnny Miller and Gary Koch were commenting on Steve Stricker's putting. They were talking about the putter going straight back and straight through.

All putting strokes have some arc to them. To test this simply grab you putter and set up with the toe of the putter head touching a wall or straight edge. Swing the putter back and forth. What do you notice?

To keep the putter going straight back and through, your arms will move away from your body on the backswing, move closer to your body going forward, and then move away from your body on the follow through. Can you imagine relying on this stroke in a high pressure situation?

Watch tour players and see if their arms swing away from their bodies when they putt. The motion most players use is more of a movement of the shoulders around the top of the spine. Keep a close eye on good players for this movement.

Stricker's movement appears more straight back and through because he holds the putter with the shaft more upright with the toe up in the air. The flatter the lie angle, the more the arc of the putter stroke.

I encourage you to try putting with different lie angles. As you experiment, trust your instincts.

Thanks,

Mike