Michelle Wie's Tabletop Putting Stance - WTF is she doing?

[Jakester23]

I'm not sure why people are saying Michelle looks "uncomfortable" unless they have never stretched in their life.  I don't anybody that's under 70 that can't achieve a 90 degree hamstring stretch - it's not even close to touching your toes.

I suspect it's not painful at all but fairly comfortable (unless people just mean "painful to watch", then who cares?)

Jack's putting and Wie's are the same and different:

Both looked like they have their eyes just about straight over (but not past) the ball.  That's the same.

Both are close to the ball.  That's the same.

I can't speak to the take away and follow through.

Wie has straight legs (likely her base is a lot more stable than Jack with his flexed knees.).

Wie's spine is straighter (likely her rotation is a lot more predictable and square than Jack).

Wie's spine is more clearly parallel to the ground than Jack (likely much better control and repeatibility)

seems like Wie took a page from Jack and came up with a better version, IMHO - everything about it is a better base and cleaner lines

sacrilege, I know

Cleaner line is not what I would call it but "I like that homes I like that"(training day reference).

[rehmwa]

I don't know that you need very limber hamstrings. If you can sit on the floor without leaning backward, that's the 90° required, no? :)

I've always had bad flexibility in the hammies.

yoga has shown me how hard it is to do that stretch AND keep that spine straight - it's a really good stretch.  easier with a curvy back for sure....

[vangator]

Must be good. She makes every putt. :-) I wasn't watching her stroke....

[joekelly]

Have heard a TV commentator say 'that on average, shorter people are better putters'.  So, if you can't BE short, get short.  In other words, get closer to the ball when putting.

[chasm]

Have heard a TV commentator say 'that on average, shorter people are better putters'.  So, if you can't BE short, get short.  In other words, get closer to the ball when putting.

Hmm. I'd like to see the stats on that, I wonder if they really exist? But even if it's true, I'm not sure about your conclusion. Being tall may be a disadvantage, but it doesn't necessarily follow that crouching over the ball would help. There might be all sorts of unintended consequences in terms of resticted motion or whatever that offset any supposed advantage of being closer to the ball. Woods was a pretty good putter. He's not short. Faldo was useful, too. He's 6'3". I'd say that height matters a lot less than attention to the fundamentals, and practice.

[joekelly]

Let's get a million tall pros, like Colsaerts and DJohnson, and a million shorties, like Hogan and Woosie and have a 'putt about' over a week.  Should be ample data points.

You might ask Erik for the relevant statistic, as that's his forte.  And he's durn good too.

[No Mulligans]

Yes. They even called 'Diegeling' - overly crouched over.

Wie's putting doesn't look like that.

She anchors her arms to her side and keeps them there.  She jokes that her arm's in this position are like "T-Rex".

There is no wrist or arm motion in her swing, it's all a rotation of her upper torso.