Golf Tip: The Putting Arc Reviewed
By Sam Adams
There are primarily two schools of thought on putting. The most common seems to be the straight back and straight thru style keeping the putter square to the target at all times. The other is the arc style (inside-to-inside) keeping the putter square to path all the time.
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The straight back – straight thru style is the most difficult and requires manipulating the putter in an unnatural way. Unless you address your putts with your spine parallel to the putting surface while bending over in a 90 degree angle, the putter tends to travel in an inside-to-inside arc naturally.
The other interesting fact is the vast majority of successful tour players putt in a very slight arc. That is simply because if you just swing the putter naturally that’s what it tends to do.
“ The inside-to-inside or arc type stroke is the stroke used by 95 percent of successful touring pros, and taught by the top putting instructors in the country. However, 95 percent of amateurs still try to putt straight back and straight through.” Putting Arc Website
I was recently sent the portable model of the “Putting Arc” to review and I liked it very much because it is inexpensive as training aids go and it works. With that being said, it is something you are going to have to spend some time with, but it gives you and immediate sense of the direction the putter should be traveling in.
You learn best by practicing for short periods of time and then by doing. This gives the brain a chance refine what it needs to do. My suggestion is that you practice briefly without a ball. Just getting a sense of what it should feel like. Then practice a few more strokes with a ball and repeat.
When you start putting without the arc it is important that you do not try to force the putter to move in an arc. Just swing back and through naturally. I tend to agree with Dave Stockton that we can all putt if we just get out of our own way by trying to consciously control the path or stroke.
The one thing I did find is that it seemed to work slightly better with a blade type putter than a mallet type as far as keeping the face square. The mallet style has more of a rounded heel but still gives you the right sensation.
There are three different models that range in price from $35.95 to $69.95. The model I tested was the T-3 which only weighs 7 oz. and fits in your golf bag. Works great outdoors where you can use a couple of golf tees to anchor it. In the house you would have to put something heavy on it to hold it in place.
The portable or short version of the Putting Arc
When you consider it is almost indestructible and it will last a lot longer than a putting lesson where someone is going to tell you to take it straight back and straight thru.
The bottom line is that I like it and recommend it for improving your putting.