Go to your post on Nicklaus. "He actually SEEMS to break down alignments tho." Beware of lean in putting. The shaft will be vertical at low point. This gives the sensation of a "HIT" to the better player.
The higher handicap player feels all kinds of things I must say. So the shaft may feel more lean forward to get to vertical at low point for them. This would give them a sensation of "STROKE."
Sounds all good, VJ. The problem is - as always - interpretation, absorbation and application.
Ever considered taking in videos of putt strokes and looking at them. If that service was offered I'd use it in a heartbeat.
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When James Durham recorded 94 at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1767, he set a course record that lasted 86 years. Golf: A curious sport whose object is to put a very small ball in a very small hole with implements ill desiged for the purpose - Sir Winston Churchill
In full golf stroke I have no problem (in fact I like) to see loets of shaft lean, even if it means a little "arch" in the left wrist. So your understanding of having the shaft lean forward a bit to take loft off works on 90 percent of the shots you hit.
In putting, the loft/roll relationship cannont be overlooked. If you have zero loft on your putter, then you had better have a malet type head that is very deep in length and not deep in face. This head type will move the center of gravity far enough back to give some "effective loft."
Standard loft is roughly four degrees. This number was created by R&D departments of manufactureres. They find that four degrees of loft rolls the ball "better" than other lofts. Now again this is not uniform because of the design characteristics of the putter head but it is a good "standard" to go by because most all putters I see come in here are 2 ball, answer types, and traditional blades.
So, by leaning the shaft forward you are taking off loft. Just the other day I gave a lesson to a teaching pro and he needed 8 DEGREES of loft on his putter to continue and putt the way he was. Now that is a lot of loft to look at down there. So he changed his "hit" instead.