Jack Nicklaus Putting Stroke(The Exception To The Rule)
This article examines why the Jack Nicklaus putting stroke is successful. He was successful despite the fact that his putting ball position violated Golf TIps A2Z's basic golf putting tips by not placing the ball near the middle of his stance. As suggested in this site's golf putting tips basics article, the majority of golfer's will experience the most success with a putting ball position near the middle of their putting stance. However, it is only fair to let you know about how Jack Nicklaus managed to successfully violated this rule. By considering the Jack Nicklaus putting stroke you can gain some insight on how to develop your own unorthodox putting style.
The Jack Nicklaus Putting Ball PositionJack Nicklaus placed the golf ball up in his stance between his front heel and instep, instead of near the middle of his stance.Jack adopted this ball position because it was the ball position he used for mostly all of his golf shots. He believed in making the setup for all of his shots as uniform as possible. In order to play his putts off of his front instep, he had to develop a unique putting stance and stroke that allowed him to strike his putts square in the front of his stance. After all, with the typical golf putting stance and stroke, the putter face would be closed by the time the stroke reached his front heel. Below are the secrets to how he did this .....................
Secret #1: Jack Used A Slightly Open StanceBy slightly opening his stance Jack Nicklaus effectively moved his ball position back in his stance. An open stance has this effect on the ball position for all shots. However, Jack's stance was still relatively square. Accordingly, other adjustments were needed for him to make the forward ball position work effectively.
Secret #2: Straight Back And Through StrokeOut of all the putting stroke pathlines, Jack picked the putting pathline that would assure that the putter was square throughout the entire putting stroke. The straight back and through putting stroke kepts the putter square and the club on the target line throughout the entire stroke. By choosing this putting pathline style Jack made the importance of placing the ball in the middle of his stance less significant. The putter face position naturally squares up in the middle of your stance for the 1) inside to inside; 2) outside to outside; 3) inside to outside; and 4) outside to inside putting pathlines. Jack would not have been as successful had he chosen one of these putting pathlines.
Secret #3: Jack Guided With His Lead HandProfessional golfers vary on whether they use their back hands or lead hands to guide the putter. The Jack Nicklaus putting stroke uses the lead hand to guide the putter through the ball. This choice was critical for Jack given that his ball position was forward in his stance. After all, the lead hand is more successful at keeping the putter face square past the middle of your stance.
Secret #4: Unique Elbow PositioningTo deliver the putter square to the ball at a forward position in his stance, Jack would tuck is back elbow against his body and point out his forward elbow down the target line.Both of these adjustments move the naturally squaring position for the putter face forward. They also make easier following through a ball positioned forward in your stance.
Concluding ThoughtsThe Jack Nicklaus putting stroke is proof that the closer you get to the hole, the more you can vary from golf's fundamentals and still be successful. However, as you can see, an unorthodox style often requires many adjustments to your stroke.My putting tip is to first try the putting tips in the basic golf putting tips article and only to pursue an unorthodox style if the golf basic putting tips fail to bring you success.
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