Kevin, what would be a better grip for a flat downswing? More neutral with a flat wrist, or will just the flat wrist make a difference. I'm not that tall with a flatish arm plane and since trying to get my swing warmed up for this season I've been flairing things right, with the occasional quacker with my longer clubs. I cup in the backswing because it's how my wrists feel "loosest." Whenever I flatten my wrist it just seems like I have so much tension in my left arm with my flattish arm swing. If Couples has trouble keeping it on the course, what chance do I have?
I personally think that Couples is just one of those guys that is an athletic freak, kinda like Snead was. You could give those guys any grip and swing plane combination and they'll figure out how to make it work well enough for Tour quality golf. Except for the fact that I couldn't see Couples do much running, I could see him as a quarterback or an outfielder with a cannon arm. Some guys are just born with ability.