The Case Against Putting With The Toe Up

I was watching the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans yesterday and Webb Simpson who uses a long putter missed s 3 foot putt. The announcers, Ian-baker Finch and "Sir" Nick Faldo ripped him for putting with the toe up. "Sir" Nick even mentioned how the manufacturers have warned the players of this practice. But for some reason they didn't mention why putting with the toe up is a death move.

Faldo mentioned something about gear effect and Finch said something about it effecting the release. Although I don't necessarily disagree with those comments, I would have loved to hear the real reason why putting with the toe up can cause problems. In the case of Webb Simpson, it would have been a text book opportunity to tell the average golfer what the issues with this technique are. In Faldos case, it's likely he doesn't know. Shocking that a 6 time major winner wouldn't know the answer. Maybe he does and he just choked on the air. Based on some of the stuff that escapes his mouth it would not surprise me. Don't forget, he's the one that announced to world that Tiger Woods purposely "fires" his rotator cuffs in his golf swing. I spit Red Bull all over my computer on that one. But I digress. At any rate, most putters have 2 to 6 degrees of loft. Most good putters de-loft the putter a little bit with a slight forward press. Mickleson, Crenshaw, Jack Nicklaus, and Dave Stockton. There have also been some good putters that did not. But the majority do. The common denominator amongst the great putters is their ability to get the ball rolling end over end as soon as possible. That way the ball tracks on it's intended line to it's aim point with a truer path and isn't as likely to be affected by irregularities in the green, such as bumps, ball marks, spike marks, and of course the lumpy donut. ;-) When the toe of the putter is in the air, the loft of the putter face catches the outside of the golf ball making it go left. Most average golfers pull their putts when the toe is up. Much like it does when you swing over the top in your full swing. So what happens is the skilled golfer will push the ball toward his target sub consciously. Well, that's quite a compensation to overcome on a consistent basis, especially under the pressure of competition on the PGA Tour. As you'll see in the video, Webb Simpson pushes his putt ever so slightly and it power lips out of the hole. This is the kind of stuff that will really help the average golfer and for what CBS is paying "Sir" Nick you would think the expectations would be a little higher. I'm sure that some of you are wondering why a Tour player has gotten to where he is with such a glaring flaw in his putting stroke. It's likely that he hasn't always done it. Over time, little things like alignment, and set-up just seem to get a little off. That's what a swing coach should be doing. Keeping an eye on fundamentals, not working on dynamic swing mechanics on the range during a tournament. These guys are so skilled they can overcome these seemingly minor issues until they can't.  Another thing that occurs is the posse or entourage that hangs around these players are very reluctant to say anything that might effect the psyche of these players. In the case of the toe up putter flaw, the player typically can't see it from where they are at address. So the only people that can are the caddy and other players. They are the last one's to mention anything that might help. The caddy is scared to death to mention anything about a players swing. His job is to show up, keep up, and shut up.

Try this the next time your on the practice green. Take a lofted club like a 9 iron and set-up to it like a putter. Make sure the club is soled properly and make a putting stroke. Don't try to blade the ball like you would if you HAD to putt with it. Try to make it hop into the air and go straight. Then  drop your hands low and make the toe come up about 15 to 20 degrees and then stroke another putt. Chances are you won't even have to make a stroke. You'll see right away which way the ball will go. The problem with the putter is that 2 to 6 degrees of loft is very subtle and it's hard to see. But when the blade is moving so slowly the angle of the putter face is nearly 100% responsible for the initial direction of the ball. The manufacturers designed their putters to be soled flush to the ground during the stroke. If you positively love the feel of having your hands low at address have your putter bent flatter and the face de-lofted a little.