putting is indeed confusing at its best
concur with westy that if there is one thing to focus on for now, it is the putter face at impact. we have the arc, then we also now have the inside down the line arc,,,really confusing to me.
yet, one thing we can all work on is not to swing "all over the place", meaning, we would do inside out on one swing, then outside in on another and don't even know our stats or tendencies. as i said in the other thread about the samlab, it clearly helped diagnose my kid's tendencies. what to do about it of course is another story, but it is a good start. (by the way, just so i am clear about it, the lab does not help with break reading or distance control. to me those 2 items are very important)
in her case, we feel that she can benefit from having her elbows more tucked in toward the body, more connected to the body, so that the downswing preferably comes from the spine, not from the shoulder joints, and certainly not from the wrists. if at the impact the wrists sneak out and "help out" just a little (another beautiful human trait), it is not easy to tell. and certainly not an easy habit to break.
short of going to a formal putting lab, consider the following set up.
get a large piece of paper (even newspaper). draw a straight line across the length of it. attach some sort of a marker or pen to the bottom of the putter head so that as you swing the putter, the pen can leave a mark or line on the paper.
set up and address on the paper and line up the putter aiming over the line to putt down that line. perhaps close your eyes and try putt the way you usually putt. after couple strokes check on the paper your art piece, your natural arc
could be telling,,,
