The basic putting setup is something that a surprising number of golfers fail to do.
The basics are as follows
- The shaft of the putter should be perpendicular to the ground.
- The ball should be slightly outside your eyes.
- Keep your pelvis up and your back rounded, not stretched out.
This is Tiger Woods’ setup.
The shaft is perpendicular to the ground.
The reason why the shaft is perpendicular is because it is easiest to hit the ball square with the putter if you stroke it like a pendulum and hit the ball at its lowest point.
The launch angle of the ball is determined by the angle of the putter surface.
If you hit the ball square, the ball will roll straight at a 90-degree angle from the putter surface.
To hit the ball square, it makes the most physical sense to hit it at the bottom of the pendulum stroke.
This is Jon Rahm’s setup.
The ball is now at the top of your forehead.
This varies a bit from person to person, but it should be kept between the eye level and the top of the forehead.
Many amateur golfers are very close to this distance.
Many golfers set up with their backs straight, but I think it’s better to hunch your back like Rahm.
For a pendulum stroke, you want to keep your lower body as still as possible, and PGA Tour professionals rarely move their lower body, but if you keep your back straight, your lower body will inevitably move along with your upper body.
This video by Azuma Yano who is a Japanese pro golfer at about the 7:00 mark is good and easy to understand.
I think this video is very informative for US golfers.
To check the position of the ball, you can use a tool like this one.
You can check the position of your face.
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