Your Putting Style: Utley or Pelz?

[iacas]

This article lines Scotty Cameron up with Stan Utley in promoting an inside-square-inside approach to putting as the "best" way to putt. I agree.

I've always felt the "straight back, straight through" approach required manipulation of the wrists to keep the putter face square to the target line. I don't like that.

Vote above and explain your reasoning below: which putting style do you prefer?

[Xt1ncT]

Straight back and straight through for me.

Have never even tried the other way - maybe I should and see if it makes a diffrence to my putting, which isn't as good as it could be.

[alexlax12]

The putting stroke is a mini version of the full swing, there is no straight in the golf swing.

[jamesduncan]

getting out of mechanics and going the rotella route has done wonders for me..so i guess since dr bob helped mayfair so much i voted mayfair.

ive switched to a mix of rotella, stockton "putt to win" and pennick (concentrate on a good smooth practice stoke then simpy repeat)

the biggest help has been on my lag putting. not thinking stoke mechanics and working on feel and speed has dramatically helped and eliminated a lot of bad 3 putts..knock on wood ofcourse.

[allin]

I said Utley. I have tried straight Peltz, but found it was way to mechanical for me. It worked well on the practice green but I think Utley's method is more natural and easier to execute on the course.

[georgep]

Interesting question ... Up until recently I always thought the Pelz method made the most sense, but it just doesn't quite work for me. In trying to take the putter straight back, I'd invariably push it outside, resulting in a very small loop in my putting stroke (the Furyk method?). Lately, I'm embracing the in-square-in routine, and that seems to be helping with the loop. Best of all, so far more putts are dropping.

[cdriver]

Just like the full swing only smaller, in to square to in. More feel than mechanics for me. If the speed sensor is working, all is well with the world.

[rvanider]

Pelz, just started it a few weeks back and it has had good results. Practicing the straight through has made my alignment better and squared up the face much more consistently as opposed to it getting loose with a more natural in-square-in path.

[Everardo]

Both! When I putt lefty it's square-square and when I put righty it's more inside-square-inside. Using a different grip with each style helps

[allin]

Since Utley seems to be ahead, I think TV people do a really poor job of explaining the Utley style. They make it sound as if you take the club inside and actally manipulate the club to open it. I agree with Eric, the Peltz method where you hold the club square to the target requires manipulantion.

[xian]

Pelz. The straight back-and-through method really necessitates a different setup and mechanics. Your hands need to be directly under your shoulders and your shoulders need to rotate perpendicular to the ground (not around your body). Once these are in place, no manipulation should be required to get the putter head to stay square throughout the stroke. The arms truly become a pendulum since they hang straight down (no need to straddle the putting line as Scotty suggests).

Most people seem to put their hands out away from their bodies. If one tries to keep the face square from such a position, it requires using the hands to rotate the club and is very inconsistent.

The other thing I don't understand is why Scotty says that the lie angle of the putter creates the arc. This only seems true to the extent that it causes the golfer to swing the putter around the body. Imagine putting with your driver (which has a drastically smaller lie angle). Putting your hands directly below your shoulders and rotating your shoulders perpendicular to the ground (not around your body) would result in the face being square throughout the stroke. Of course, your tendency would be to want to wrap the club around your body which would create the arcing open-square-closed stroke that Scotty is talking about.

I guess it comes down to personal preference and what feels best.

[iacas]

Pelz. The straight back-and-through method really necessitates a different setup and mechanics. Your hands need to be directly under your shoulders and your shoulders need to rotate perpendicular to the ground (not around your body). Once these are in place, no manipulation should be required to get the putter head to stay square throughout the stroke. The arms truly become a pendulum since they hang straight down (no need to straddle the putting line as Scotty suggests).

The part you seem to have missed is that the putter head itself doesn't hang below your shoulders, and thus must swing on an arc. It has little to do with where your arms are, but more to do with the putter face. That's what's actually coming to the inside or not.

Most people seem to put their hands out away from their bodies. If one tries to keep the face square from such a position, it requires using the hands to rotate the club and is very inconsistent.

The other thing I don't understand is why Scotty says that the lie angle of the putter creates the arc. This only seems true to the extent that it causes the golfer to swing the putter around the body. Imagine putting with your driver (which has a drastically smaller lie angle). Putting your hands directly below your shoulders and rotating your shoulders perpendicular to the ground (not around your body) would result in the face being square throughout the stroke.

No it doesn't... and that's where Scotty gets it. I just went in my hallway, took my putting stance with my arms hanging straight down, and rocked my shoulders back and forth - the driver goes inside/square/inside and opens up going back and closes (releases) going through.

Of course, your tendency would be to want to wrap the club around your body which would create the arcing open-square-closed stroke that Scotty is talking about.

Unless your spine is horizontal to the ground, a pair of shoulders rocking back and forth naturally have two arcs when it comes to putting, both of which have their own fixed radius.

One arc exists in the vertical plane. It's why the putter head goes away from the ground on the backswing and towards the ground on the downswing before moving away from the ground again on the follow through. The other arc exists from straight below your shoulders to the ball. If the ball was right below your shoulders, this arc wouldn't exist, but almost nobody putts with the ball directly below their shoulders. This much smaller arc is what causes the putter face to open and close. Again, unless the putter FACE itself - not your arms - is directly beneath the shoulders, it's that second arc that makes the Utley method the only one of the two that doesn't require physical manipulation to deliver the putter face back square to the ball at impact.

[xian]

The other arc exists from straight below your shoulders to the ball, which isn't right below your shoulders. This much smaller arc is what causes the putter face to open and close.

If this is true, then you are swinging the club around your body (say, on the plane formed by the ball and your shoulders). If you rotate your shoulder perpendicular to the ground, then this 'other arc' doesn't exist.

[iacas]

If this is true, then you are swinging the club around your body (say, on the plane formed by the ball and your shoulders). If you rotate your shoulder perpendicular to the ground, then this 'other arc' doesn't exist.

No, the plane is formed by your back - your spine.

Your shoulders have surprisingly little movement available to them - they're pretty much fixed in place. You can wave your arms all around, but a good putting stroke doesn't have much arm movement. You can also scrunch your shoulders forward or pinch your shoulder blades together, but you don't do either of those in a putting stroke either. Eliminating those two movements (only one of which is actually the shoulders), your shoulders can only rotate around your spine. They don't have any other available movements.

[xian]

To me, the spine angle and the swing plane are independent for putting. If you can shrug your shoulders, you should be able to rock your shoulders perpendicular to the ground: shrug right shoulder towards the sky and left shoulder towards the ground for the backswing, reverse for downswing. My guess would be that most people actually do some combination of "around the spine" and "perpendicular to the ground". Difference folks. Different strokes.

[iacas]

To me, the spine angle and the swing plane are independent for putting. If you can shrug your shoulders, you should be able to rock your shoulders perpendicular to the ground: shrug right shoulder towards the sky and left shoulder towards the ground for the backswing, reverse for downswing. My guess would be that most people actually do some combination of "around the spine" and "perpendicular to the ground". Difference folks. Different strokes.

Somehow, I don't think Dave Pelz would agree that his putting motion is "shrug up with one shoulder and shrug down with the other."

Eek. But anyway... perhaps your handicap index wouldn't be "ugh" - and perhaps you wouldn't shrug your shoulders so much AFTER you've putted out - if you switched putting styles.

[NCGolfer]

I'm an Utley type of guy. I, like most everyone, has tried Pelz at one time...and it actually helped. I concentrate on taking the putter back straight, but not to the point of Pelz.

I only draw it back inside slightly and come through slightly.

[warbirdlover]

Straight back and straight forward, wrists locked. If I can get a good read I'll make the putt. Tried the other inside out etc method and can't get the line.