[bts]

First an anecdote, then an inquiry:

When I was a teen I was priviledged to recieve a putting lesson from the great Bobby Locke, whom my father was acquainted with. What followed was not conventional of course and I soon discarded his advise for the so called putting fundamentals. Mr. Locke hammered the importance of a flat and vertical left wrist, and told me to preserve the slight bend in my right wrist. "Master, this is the key!" he said. He advised me to address the ball slighty on the toe of the putter, and to draw my right foot back a few inches. This he said would ensure that I never cut across the ball.

Since I committed to the task of understanding TGM I have revisited every golf lesson I remember ever recieving for the purpose of translating it into TGM terms i.e. the truth in teaching. This is how I have interpreted the putting lesson from the best ever:

He putted with a FLW & BRW
He addressed the ball on the toe, and withdrew his right foot with the intent of striking the ball towards the inside aft quadrant of the ball

I do not recall with perfect clarity, but I seem to remember that at address his putter face was square to the arc of his stroke but slightly open to the target line. Of course sustaining the lag would allow him to send the ball on the target path with a very distinctive click at impact (I still remember that sound!)

My question is this:

If I choose to putt as I have to swing i.e. on an inclined plane, must I strike the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a slightly open clubface? Does the ball remain on the clubface of the putter in the same manner as it does during a regular swing? So the putter face needs to be square only at the moment of seperation?

Mr. Kelley is emphatic about a driver through putter adherence to the principle of golf - sustaining the line of compression. Set me straight!

Okie Out

"If I choose to putt as I have to swing i.e. on an inclined plane, must I strike the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a slightly open clubface? Does the ball remain on the clubface of the putter in the same manner as it does during a regular swing? So the putter face needs to be square only at the moment of seperation?"

In principle, yes. It, however, depends on the amount or interval of "compression" the impact causes, which can be varified with the size of the ballmark on the clubface after impact. For horizontal hinge, the more or the longer the "compression", the more openness the clubface at impact. For vertical hinge, the clubface is supposed to be square all the time.

I wouldn't open the clubface at impact for my putt, due to the power of impact. Or should I say, like other shots, I don't worry about the clubface at impact for my putt.