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“The shaft must start its journey on the plane of its address angle of inclination.”
Homer Kelley

The month of January of 2006, readers could find a picture of preferred putting trainers in a major golf publication.  They are Scotty Cameron's Cube, The Putting Arc, and one of Dave Pelz's trainers that make certain you start your ball on-line.  This may singnal the end of the straight back and through stroke for once and for all.  The early 90's are a distant past, when every PGA Professional in the country was making 16,000 strokes (sure glad I didn't) one the Pelz Track.  Slowly we all learned that unless our spines were horizontal to the ground this stroke just didn't work.

The Putting Arc was one of the flagship promoters of the arc type stroke and for that the company is very proud.  Before us, Joey Sindelar had a type of arc stroke trainer, but the Putting Arc gained the popularity on tour just as Stan Utley was rising.  With Utley, Scotty Cameron, and The Putting Arc the thought now of the best putter's in the world is to use a natural arc type stroke. 

For all the straight back and throughers out there, remember that you CAN do it.  If you are using a shoulder only stroke all you must do bend so that your Thorasic Region in the spine is parallel to the ground.  If you don't like that set-up then you MUST manipulate it.  There is no other way......I am sorry.

For all you arc strokers out there, remember you CAN mess it up.  If you don't pay attention to your set-up, stroke path, and face angles you can get into the same kind of mess.  On this subject is where I would like to stay for a few moments. 

The projection of an ANGLED plane on the ground will create an arc.  There is no doubt about it.  Just cut a circle out of a cardboard box, get in the sun, and tilt it.  You will see an arc.  So the question arises, "What plane angle am I actually using?"  HUMMMMMMMMMMMMM...............Just as Homer wrote, your clubshaft will begin its journey from it angle of inclination, but that doesn't mean that you are using the clubshaft plane during the stroke. 

This is where it can get "hairy" as we say down in the south.  If you are using a shoulder only stroke, then motion  is being created in the Thorasic Region of your spine.  This means the plane angle is not the clubshaft, but the plane from the sweet spot through the shoulders.  So this plane angle is steeper than that of the clubshaft. 

Remember this and you will get it...........The steeper the plane angle (more toward vertical) the less the circle on the ground.  The flatter the plane angle (more toward horizontal) the more circle "like" it becomes on the ground.  So, a putting stroke which is swinging violently inside-to-inside is just as incorrect as that of the straight back and through stroke.  So, if you are using a shoulder only stroke (like all the best players in the world) then you are using a plane angle steeper than that of the clubshaft.  This will promoter an arc stroke which goes inside the target line basically 1 inch/foot on the backswing and the same on the follow through.  Using the clubshaft plane, the clubhead will work more than 1 inch/foot inside the target line on the backstroke. 

Sounding complicated?  I would agree.  In fact for years I felt that putting was luck, blessings, and touch.  I can remember as a youngster just practicing 3 footers and long putts.  Mechanics?  No way.  Didn't have a clue about them and really glad now that I didn't get into all that straight back and through foolishness.  This same practice habit carried over into college and mini-tours.  Just make the putt.  It is all mental and I have a stack of golf psych books to prove my "mental" approach to putting. 

As complicated as the mechanics sound, and as simple as my approach before understanding the arc type stroke, anyone can see what I was missing was the proper mechanics.  "No amount of ignorance can keep a player from making the trip from the tee to the cup." said Homer Kelley.  And that is true for many of us at different times during the past. 

So, with all the mp3 players, cellphones that take pictures, and cars that crank without a key.....the 21st Century will also be the clarification era of straight back vs the arc type stroke.  There still may be some "ironing out" on the different planes of motion the puttershaft can move in.  Maybe by the 22nd Century that will be taken care of.