Basic Steps to Perfect Golf. -- Extra Information for Putting. =Lesson 8//rotate the wrists **To return to the previous page, click on the arrow in the top left hand corner** Rotate the wrists-pa01 (Changed - 18/03/2007) The Shoulder/Arms-unit must be strictly maintained throughout the putting movement and the arms must be held so that the elbows remain as close together as is physically possible, but importantly the right elbow must be firmly held firmly against the side of the body to give stability to the putting stroke. Whilst carrying out the putting stroke, the "Shoulders/Arms-unit" is simply rotated back and forth.   The difference between the upper body posture whilst performing the putting stroke, to that of the upper body posture during the full swing, is that during the putting stroke your legs are straighter, the upper body is bent over the ball further than normal and the back is arched in a forward manner so that the eyes are positioned directly over the line of the put. With the ball being positioned adjacent to the heel of your left foot, the position of the head is such that if you dropped a plumb line from your left eye, the centre of the plumb weight would be directly over the centre of the ball. The arms are held in a 45` angle with the elbows just brushing the waist line as it rotates back and forth, but with the right elbow firmly held against the side of the body.   So on to the putting stroke:- During the putting stroke the arms are totally passive to the movements of the shoulders, with the left arm kept perfectly straight -- therefore it is important to hold the Shoulder/Arms-unit firmly together as a one piece unit so that the arms follow every movement of the shoulders, whilst keeping the putter face square to the target line.   I grip the putter with an overlap grip, with the left hand at the top . I wrap the thumb of the right hand around the grip, this stops the putter from turning off-line as I carry out the putting stroke. At the address position I begin by making the "Shoulders/Arms-unit" into "one piece unit" and I reinforce the unit by holding the right elbow firmly against the side of my body, a condition that is maintained throughout the putting stroke. Using only the large muscles of the back, I begin to rotate the "Shoulders/Arms-unit" As I take the putter away from the address position, I simultaneously begin to slightly rotate the wrists in an anti clockwise motion, so that as the club is taken back, the clubface remains square to the "Target Line" throughout the back swing movement. The longer the back swing, the more I must eventually rotate the wrists in order to keep the club face square to the "Target Line" It does not matter how fast or slowly that you take the putter back, as long as you keep the clubface square with the "Target Line".   Using the large muscles of the back, I begin the forward putting stroke and immediately I begin reverse the rotation of the wrists -- again ensuring that the clubface remains square with the target line at all times, so that by the time I reach the impact position the clubface is still square to the "Target Line". Once the ball has been struck, I continue the clockwise rotation of the wrists all the way in to the follow through position, again this ensures that the clubface remains "Square to the Target Line". Again, the longer the follow through movement continues, the more you have to rotate the wrists in the clockwise fashion to hold the clubface square to the "Target Line".   To practice this method of putting, rotate the "Shoulders/Arm-unit" back and forth with a pendulum action, using only the large muscles of the back as the prime source of power until the precise moment the putter makes contact with the ball and watch the club head very carefully in order to keep the clubhead square to the target line.-- Simply watch the clubhead moving through the contact area. You must keep you head in the "Fixed Frontal" condition and position directly over the ball.   After a short while of practising this method, you will soon find it easy to maintain the putter face square to the "Target Line" for the duration of the complete putting stroke, whilst at the same time moving the putter on a perfectly straight swing path. Once you have learnt this method of putting you will never go back to the old way of putting, but the important aspect of the putting stroke is that you must totally focus on the ball, whilst the putting stroke is performed. **To return to the previous page, click on the arrow in the top left hand corner**