Stop chasing the myth of the perfectly square face. Too many players stand over a short putt and try to force the club to stay straight. This fight against physics is exactly why those putts end up pulled or pushed. It is a fundamental mistake that ruins your timing and costs you strokes every single round.
The physics of the natural arc
The putter does not move in a straight line. According to Golf Monthly, the shaft sits on an inclined plane at address. This setup means the putter swings on a natural arc. During the backstroke, the face naturally begins to open up. If a golfer tries to prevent this opening, they create a disaster. If the face is forced to stay square, it effectively becomes shut relative to the natural arc. This leads to a pulled putt that is impossible to recover from.
The danger of late acceleration
Fixing a bad path by adding speed is just as bad. Many players struggle with timing because they try to create speed too close to the ball. According to Golf Monthly, a short backstroke forces a golfer to accelerate late into the ball. This creates massive timing issues at impact. You might end up stalling the handle and flipping the head, or driving the handle too hard. Both moves lead to the same result: a missed opportunity and a bad score.
The truth about the upward attack
There is also a lot of bad advice regarding the angle of the strike. To generate topspin, numerous golfers think striking up on the ball is necessary. This is not actually the reason for a slight upward angle of attack. Instead, the focus should be on the natural movement of the club. James Jankowski, a putting expert who has worked with over 3000 golfers, notes that this misconception causes great pain for amateurs.
