Instruction

The ‘arc’ vs. ‘square-to-square’ putting method: Either or neither?

Published

13 years ago

Oct 28, 2013

There’s hundreds of different golfers try to putt, but putting really just boils down to two schools of thought. There are those who try to move the putter head “straight back and straight through” along the target line, and those who try to move the putter head on an arc.

Dave Pelz focuses his time and energy on the square-to-square (StS) method, while StanUtley espouses the arc stroke (AS). So which one of these heavyweight short game gurus is right ? Well, there are the positives and negatives to each method, and professional golfers have used both methods successfully.

There are two high-tech tools I use at my putting academy to examine these type of strokes on a biomechanical level: Advanced Motion Measurement’s 3D Motion Analysis System, and the SAM Puttlab by Science & Motion Sports. My putting research data has also been coordinated with the putting data derived from Lanny L. Johnson, M.D. and PGA Tour player Howard Twitty, who have tested more than 150 Tour professionals’ putting strokes during the previous several years. Together, the information we have merged contains the most accurate data to date on square-to-square and arc strokes.

It is my goal within this article to only point out the pros and cons of these strokes based on the data that was uncovered through our putting research. It is your job to decide what stroke works the best for you through experimentation on the putting green.

AMM’s 3D system measures the body’s motions during the putting stroke.

The Sam Putt Lab measures more than 28 different factors of your individual putting stroke.

The pros of each stroke

The square-to-square putting stroke: This stroke has also been called the “pure in-line putting stroke,” which leads one to believe that it is the easiest to use and the most consistent. And if you watch Loren Roberts or George Archer putt, you might believe this to be true.

The square-to-sqaure stroke focuses on making sure the setup is sound, with a golfer’s hands under his shoulders and a body and putter head that is square to the target line at address. From there, the stroke simply moves back and through along the lines established at address.

As that happens, the face of the putter will stay 90 degrees to the target line (or square to your line during the total stroke), thus making the StS stroke very simple for one to conceptualize. Golfers who use the StS stroke are seen on the putting green constantly working on their alignments at address, and putting along a chalk-line or between club shafts in order to audit their path and club face. Mentally, this style makes the 3-foot knee-knockers much easier to digest.

This stroke is virtually straight back and straight through with a square face throughout.

The arc putting stroke: The theory of an arc stroke is to allow golfers to naturally match the motions of their full swing with their putting stroke. Instructors who espouse the arc stroke believe that the inclined nature of the putter shaft, by design, necessitates the inside-square-inside movement of the putter head. As the stroke works into the backswing, the putter head tends to rotate open (as in the full swing), and at impact it returns to square. After impact, it moves back to the inside and begins to close.

The key to this motion is to keep the putter face 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the path of the arc itself. If that sounds difficult, consider this. In the uncompensated arc stroke, the shoulder motion returns the face to square as long as there is no rotation of the putter face in relation to the arc. That’s because the area of the upper back between the shoulder blades is an anatomical arc.

When the shoulder blades move back and forth on the back of the chest, a unique arc is created. This is a result of the geometry of the golfer’s posterior thorax (medical term for upper back of chest), and its movement necessitates little manipulation from the hands and forearms during the stroke. When this occurs, the rotation of the putter head matches the natural arc a golfer possess in the full swing. Thus the full swing and putting stroke are merged as one feeling. Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods exemplify this motion beautifully.

This example stroke has a slight arc with a square face. There are many influences of the shape of the arc, which are determined by setup and clubfitting

The controversy regarding these two putting strokes

StS theory states that the shaft angle at address does not affect the motion of the putter head, and goes on to say that if the hands hang directly under the shoulders, then the path will always tend to be StS.
AS theory states that the angle of the club shaft by design innately causes the putter head to move in a slight arc just as your full swing does.
StS theory states that the face should remain square to the target line naturally, with no physical manipulation of the hands. And if the path is StS, then this will happen naturally.
AS theory states that the club face cannot stay square to the target line during the entire putting stroke because the putter head works in an arc. Try to keep the path and club head square to the target line, as the StS players try to do, requires a physiological manipulation of your hands, wrists and forearms in order to do so.
StS theory states that with no putter-head rotation back and through, controlling the ball’s direction will become much easier as ball position is not as crucial.
AS theory states that strokes with face rotations that match up are 90 degree to the arc’s direction at all times and require no physical manipulations. They are a natural result of the inclined nature of the club shaft at address; thus, directional control will be much easier.
StS theory states that the putter should be face balanced and have around 2 degrees of loft to make the ball roll and not skid quite as quickly off the start. It must be noted that all balls “skid” off the start. The key is to eliminate as much unnecessary skid as possible.
AS theory wants a golfer to use some type of toe-hang putter with around 5 degrees of loft. Using an AS stroke is the best solution for someone who wants to get the ball on top of the grass much quicker.

What the data says

Angle of the shaft v. hand position: Testing with the 3D Motion Analysis System has shown that the angle of the shaft, coupled with the player’s physiology, does indeed cause the putter to work on a slight arc very naturally. However, this can be altered greatly by changing one’s set-up posture and putter lie angle, thus placing the hands more under the shoulders. In fact, the more the player bends over at the waist, the flatter the arc and the less putter-head rotation occurs.

The player who stands in a more upright posture will produce a more curved arc, and usually will have more putter-head rotation. The more upright the putter’s lie angle and the more the putter is in the lifeline of the top hand, the less curved its path will be. If the player’s back was 90 degrees to the ground, it would be very possible for his arc to be almost straight back and straight through with no manipulations necessary.

The amount of forward bending at address for most players is between 35 to 40 degrees with the lie of the putter being somewhere around 70 to 72 degrees at a 34-inch length.

The conclusion: Every natural, non-manipulated putting stroke has some degree of arc. The only way to eliminate this arc would be to set the body in a very bent-over posture and/or make a stroke manipulation during the transition period of the stroke. The key is to minimize the amount of arc that you have within your own putting stroke. To do so, you must assume an address position that places your eyes over the ball, your hands under your shoulders, as well as one that set you up with the proper amount of forward bending when you approach the ball with a properly fit putter.

Square to Square vs. Arc Stroke dynamics

In biomechanical testing, the StS stroke is much more difficult to perform than originally thought. It requires intentional rotation of the putter face to take it away closed on the back swing and open after impact to stay square on the follow through. It is, in fact, a reverse parabolic curve that looks like the inside of a saucer. However, some elite putters achieve a straight putter path on the forward swing by looping the putter head to the inside and then at the end of the backswing bringing it down over the top to accommodate a straight path to the ball.

Minimizing the magnitude of the arc would provide a better opportunity to deliver the putter head to square at impact. And the Sam Putt Lab has shown that a “straight-back-and-straight-though” putter-head path is possible, but it requires a manipulation of the putter as discussed above. Biomechanical studies have recently shown that no PGA Tour player recorded has a putter path that was exactly straight back and straight through. Thus, it is natural to have a slight arc to the putter-head path due to the inclined nature of the putter shaft by design. However, a very important negative of the arc stroke to consider is that this arc can be over exaggerated very easily with a poor putter fit, additional hand action and/or extreme shoulder rotation during the stroke. You must remember that this over rotation stems from overactive forearm rotation.

Biomechanical 3D Motion Analysis studies have shown that when you form a triangle with your arms and the putter grip, it is impossible to rotate the putter face with your glenohumeral joint (upper arm) or the scapula independently or together. If you allow any of these things to happen your arc stroke will implode!

With a path manipulation, the putter can stay StS. Note the over-the-top transition.

A poorly fit putter, coupled with poor posture and excessive forearm rotation action, can cause an over-exaggerated arc stroke with a ton of face rotation.

The conclusion: The less curvature a stroke has, the easier it is to control the putter. But in all players, there is naturally some type of arc to the stroke unless a manipulation is made during the transition. Use your set-up posture, putter fit and putter type help to determine the shape of your stroke innately.

No face rotation vs. natural face rotation

SAM shows that it is more effective to minimize the amount of putter-head rotation you have naturally and to keep your putter head perpendicular to the arc you are using. Simply stated, the more manipulations you possess within your stroke the more the inconsistencies you will have to overcome in the end. This is not to say that you cannot putt well with either stroke type, but you must make the proper compensations in order to make them work.

The rotation of the putter head is measured relative to the player’s arc. Zero rotation is when the putter face remains square to the arc at any given point throughout the swing. In other words, the rotation is measured at any given point on the arc and should remain perpendicular to the tangent of the arc. The elite PGA Tour putters have minimal rotation of the putter path. Most will open the putter face less than 6 degrees on the back stroke and close less than 6 degrees on the follow through. The very best putters have less than 1 degree of rotation in both directions. To reemphasize, this is independent of the nature of their arc.

StS putters come over the top during their transitions to put the putter head on a straight through line and tend to “hang on” through impact to reduce the natural actions of the putter head wanting to close through impact. This is the reason why a face-balanced putter tends to work best for these types of players, due to its aversion to closing through impact. AS putters must make sure that within their strokes their hands and forearm rotation do not take over (as we see in the example below), or over-rotation of the putter head will result making it harder to control the ball’s starting direction.

The face alignment at impact transmits 83 percent of error to the ball and is five times more important than your stroke’s path while putting.

StS shows “holding on” through the impact zone
4 inches to impact -0.1 degree of rotation
4 inches after impact -0.8 degrees of rotation

AS shows that added hand action through the impact zone can make it hard to control the ball’s starting direction
4 inches to impact 2.5 degrees of rotation
4 inches after impact 2.9 degrees of rotation

2 degrees of loft vs. 5 degrees of loft

The most important discovery within the last few years within the ranks of putting lies within the ability for us to track the ball’s skid and roll just after impact. Golfers can do everything just right with either stroke type, but if they have the wrong rise angle and/or dynamic putter loft at impact they will NEVER be a good putter. The final key is to have the ball leaving the face correctly and rolling very quickly after impact. And this fact is controlled by the rise angle of your putter head and the dynamic loft of your putter at impact.

Rise angle shows how much the putter is moving up or down through the ball in relation to the bottom of its vertical arc as viewed from the side of the ball.

Dynamic loft is measured by taking the factory loft of your putter plus/minus the shaft angle at impact. Example 1 (pictured below) shows a TaylorMade Rossa being used that is designed with 4 degrees of loft, and the player returns it to impact with + 0 degrees of added/reduced loft, thus the putter maintains its original 4 degrees of loft. And when it comes to the loft of your putter, several things must be taken into account: your spine angle (side to side), your center of gravity, the amount of hand action you have and the center of gravity of the putter you currently use.

In a perfect world, with greens running about 10 to 11 on the stimpmeter, the data suggests that your dynamic loft should be around 2-to-3 degrees and your rise angle should be about 3-to-4 degrees in order to give you the best roll possible. When the rise angle is slightly greater than the dynamic loft of the putter, the ball will begin to roll very quickly off the start as shown below.

Example 1

Tour professionals show a rise angle of 3-to-4 degrees and dynamic Lofts of two to three degrees.

Example 2

The average amateur adds loft at impact by flipping his hands through impact.

In Example 2 (above), the TMAG putter used had 4 degrees of static loft and the player added 3.1 degrees of loft at impact for a total dynamic loft of 7.1 degrees. When the rise angle (6.4) is lower than your dynamic loft at impact (7.1), the ball will jump into the air just after impact, bounce, skid and the begin to roll. This lowers your consistency. The key is to match your putter’s static loft to your stroke type for the greens you normally play.

The Conclusion

Whether you use a StS or an AS is of no consequence as it pertains to the ball’s skid and roll. The determining factor of your ball’s actions just after impact are 100 percent determined by your set-up fundamentals, which influence your impact alignments. Matching the putter’s static loft and center of gravity (by design) at address with your impact shaft angle during impact is the key to making the ball roll just after impact.

All these factors considered, the bottom line for direction remains to be able to answer this question in the affirmative, “Was the putter square to the target at impact?”

Instruction

How to play your best golf when the temperature drops

Published

3 months ago

Feb 3, 2026

Brendon Elliott

The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.

“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.

If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.

Understand What Cold Does to Your Game

Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.

Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.

Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.

Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing

Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.

Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.

Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.

Take More Club Than You Think You Need

This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.

The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.

Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.

Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens

Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.

Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.

Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.

Embrace the Mental Challenge

Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”

That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.

Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.

Warm Up Longer and Smarter

This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.

World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.

Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.

The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.

PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.

Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!

Instruction

3 lessons from Brooks Koepka that’ll actually lower your score

Published

3 months ago

Feb 2, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.

So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.

Stop Overthinking Every Shot

Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.

This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.

How to actually do this:

On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.

Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.

If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.

This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.

Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)

Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.

Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:

Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.

Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.

Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.

Save Your Best for When It Counts

Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.

How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.

Here’s what actually works:

Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.

Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.

Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.

The Bottom Line

Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.

You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.

Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.

Instruction

What we can learn from Blades Brown’s impressive American Express performance

Published

3 months ago

Jan 29, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.

Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.

Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee

Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.

Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.

Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.

The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.

Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens

This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.

How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.

Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.

Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.

When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.

Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient

Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.

He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.

Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.

Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.

Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.

PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.