Putter Path
Vertical or Inclined?

Putter Path - what are the options and does it matter?

Even though the pendulum stroke is widely advocated nowadays, experts disagree on the most advantageous putter path for consistent putting. The disagreement is over whether the curve of path should be on a vertical or an inclined plane.

In the past there was no disagreement. The greens on tour were much slower and professionals used their wrists to putt rather than their shoulders.

This vertical hinging of the wrists created a natural putter path that was straight back and through. Of necessity it was more of a pop action than a free-flowing pendulum stroke.

However, the two different approaches of a vertical or an inclined (tilted) putting stroke do share some common ground:

On-Plane Putter Path

• The objective of any putting stroke should be to keep it simple with as few moving parts as possible.



• The path of the putter should remain on plane throughout the stroke.

  The putter shaft (pictured) has been fitted with a clamp with two forks.

  When you swing the putter on an inclined board, the two forks should stay in contact with the surface. This is an on-plane putter path.

  Off-Plane Putter Path

  In the second picture one of the forks has lifted clear of the surface during the backstroke. This means that the putter path has come off plane, and is no longer on plane.

  This has been caused by the rotation of the hands or arms. The shape of the putting triangle of shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands has changed as the putter was taken back.

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Vertical Plane

A vertical stroke is associated with the straight back and through putter path on a vertical plane.

Vertical Putting Guide

In other words the putterface remains at right angles to the aimline and the path of the putter throughout the stroke. Dave Pelz refers to it as a pure-in-line stroke.

It is achieved by moving your shoulders up and down in the same plane rather than rotating them around your spine as you would do in a full swing.

The main advantages are:

• The putterface remains square to the aimline through impact and beyond.



• The putterface does not open or close in the stroke and therefore eliminates directional errors from an inconsistent ball position.

The main disadvantages are:

• It is possible, but more difficult, to make a straight back and through stroke without manipulating the putter with your hands.



• As the putter shaft is not perpendicular to the ground, it is more natural to use an inclined arc that matches the lie angle of the putter.

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Inclined (Tilted) Plane

An inclined (tilted) stroke is associated with an inside-to-inside stroke on an inclined plane.

Putting Arc

In other words the putter head arcs back -slightly upwards and inwards at the same time - while the putterface stays square to the path of the putter instead of the aimline.

In an inclined (tilted) stroke the putterface will appear to open slightly on the back stroke and close slightly on the forward stroke. This is caused entirely by turning your shoulders on an inclined plane.

This is the dominant putting stroke on tour and is favoured by professionals using a blade or heel-toe weighted putter. However, it also has its short-comings despite the notion that a more natural stroke translates into greater consistency.

The main advantages are:

• It is more natural way to move your shoulders on a slightly inclined plane than on a vertical plane. A putt is in effect a mini-swing.



• The slightly hinged position of your wrists is similar to when you are hitting a full shot. The vertical stroke encourages an arched wrist position that is less comfortable.

The main disadvantages are:

• The angle of the putterface is only correct at a single point in the putter path. More than 80% of any face angle error will be transmitted to the ball at impact.



• The ball position is important in relation to where your putting stroke bottoms out with a square putterface.

  Too far back in your stance and your putterface will still be pointing to the right at impact. Too far forward and your putterface will be closing and pointing to the left at impact.

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Third Way

The third way is a combination of the first part of the inclined (tilted) stroke and the second part of the vertical stroke.

The focus is maintaining a square putterface through impact for a few inches before the putterface moves inside. You are briefly prolonging the squareness of your putterface past the bottom of your stroke.

As Harold Swash puts it "The blade of the putter must be square to the path of the strike through the hitting area."

The follow through is achieved by riding the left shoulder up slightly rather than letting it rotate backwards during the critical part of the stroke at and through impact. This movement is easy to achieve and reduces a common problem of pulling your putts left.

On this stroke the paths of the backswing and follow-through are not symmetrical - they are not a mirror image of each other.

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Stroke Plane Guides

There are several stroke plane guides available. They share a common objective - to help you experience the feel of a pendulum-putting stroke with the path of your putter perfectly on plane.

The action of your shoulders moves your putter backwards and forwards with no independent hand or arm movement.

The length and height of the actual guide will determine the length of putt you can practise.

With most guides the method is to ride the heel of your putter along the front surface. Some also allow you to ride the toe of your putter on the underside of the guide. Others promote the correct stroke by allowing you to glide the shaft of your putter on a rail.

With some of the better designs you can adjust the lie angle settings. You can choose either a more upright (closer to the vertical) plane, a flatter plane, or somewhere in between.

A flatter plane means that your putter will move more inside on the backswing and more inside again on the forward stroke.

Other designs come only with a preset lie angle, which is disadvantageous, as it assumes that 'one size fits all'. This means that you have to adapt to a lie angle and putter path that may not be best for you.

Trueplane

A guide, such as Trueplane, has face lines on its base that represent the mathematical calculation of a putting stroke that is on plane.

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Optimal Putter Path

The aim of putting is to get the ball into the hole no matter how. Choosing a putter path that suits you is a personal choice.

You should be guided by what you can achieve on a consistent basis when you are under the gun, so to speak.

I believe that a putter path that retains its squareness to the target through the impact area for the longest time is less prone to directional errors. I therefore favour the inside-square-square routing.

In the end it is the forward stroke up to impact that really matters in putting. Whatever you do on your backstroke is fine as long as it doesn’t make your forward stroke more difficult to execute.

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