I've started to develop my putting game this winter, but I find myself most comfortable in a foot forward stance throwing from my left shoulder with slight anhyzer..It seems to work from me first 3 tournaments this year, but looking at all the pros, I've only found Ron Russell who putts with a similar anhyzer putt.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of the anhyzer putt vs. the nearly universal hyzer putt, and at this point in my game, should I consider learning "proper" technique, or follow the "if it aint broke, dont fix it" philosophy?

There's gotta be a reason nearly all pros putt with hyzer..I'd think because it's more predictable?

A Lob hyzer putt is going to stay closer to the basket if you miss.

"Nearly all pros putt with hyzer?" "the nearly universal hyzer putt?"

From my observations, most pros putt flat, and dead straight at the center of the polehole, and with no hyzer angle on their putter. Longer than 35-40 feet, maybe they start aiming a little outside of the basket and hyzering in.

However, 2005 Pro Worlds champ Nate Doss putts anhyzer.

It's tough to argue with a style that won him a championship in 2005, and Ron Russel a championship in 1999, but many other world champs putt flat, and most of the top pros nowadays putt flat.

Yeah, I you should definetly learn to putt flat. Maybe a couple touring pros have successfully learned the anyhyzer putt but they are the exception. There are too many extra variables when throwing the anhyzer putt.

Seems to me like I heard somewhere that World Champ Nate Doss also putts with a slight anhyzer. I think there's something about it on the Discraft site.

I putt primarily with a slight anhyzer-flat (for straight clear shots), but I also putt hyzer-flat (174-175g AviarX main putter, or I will use a max weight Star Aviar when I want less fade, or it's windy). I think it's good to know how to do both (and I'm editing this message because I agree that flat is best when you can throw it), because then you can keep from showing the bottom of the disc to the wind if necessary, and one or the other will work better if you need to get around obstacles. I practice loft, push, and jump putts, with foot forward and straddle stance, because depending on the course/terrain, you never know when you're going to need a different stance. Note: If you practice in perfect conditions all the time, and the same kind of putt all the time, You will only improve that style of putt ... which isn't a bad thing, but it limits your ability on a course.
I have two baskets set up 30 ft from each other, and in strategic locations in my yard. The locations allow me to shoot at baskets from 0-50 (flat, slightly uphill and downhill), or more if I feel like it. Generally, I practice at 30 ft or less. I also have the baskets in positions that allow me to make shots around obstacles (trees and structure), and I feel this has improved my putting skill dramatically. When I go to ANY course, I'm ready to putt from any position, condition or terrain.

Does this make me a great putter? Not yet ... but I'm determined to improve.

In many of years of playing and seeing many styles, I've learned the difference in anhyzer and hyzer putting.

Anhyzer putters typically make longer putts, but miss shorter putts.

Hyzer putters typically make the shorter putts, but miss more often from longer range.

This is why Ron Russell was such an effective putter - he putted anhyzer from longer range and hyzer from shorter range.

I usually putt flat with the nose up slightly but sometimes there's a slight anyhyzer movement on my putt.

I think hyzer putts bounce out and go through the chains at a much higher frequency than flat putts and they certainly roll away more often.

I putt with slight hyzer when I'm close and slight anhyzer when I'm far away. I used to putt with a little anyhzer all the time but if I started to lose my confidence a little, I would start missing 10 footers. Its much easier to drill it right in if you put a little hyzer on it. Anny keeps it in the air for long runs.

I'm basically a flat putter. The most noticable difference between hyzer and anhyzer for my putts is when there is a cross wind. I always try to keep the edge toward the wind down and never let the wind see the bottom of the disc.

But anyone taking putting advice from me is already in trouble. :cool:

"Nearly all pros putt with hyzer?" "the nearly universal hyzer putt?"

From my observations, most pros putt flat, and dead straight at the center of the polehole, and with no hyzer angle on their putter. Longer than 35-40 feet, maybe they start aiming a little outside of the basket and hyzering in.

However, 2005 Pro Worlds champ Nate Doss putts anhyzer.

It's tough to argue with a style that won him a championship in 2005, and Ron Russel a championship in 1999, but many other world champs putt flat, and most of the top pros nowadays putt flat.



I have noticed though , some anhyzer putts stay in better than some hyzer putts.

From what Ken Climo said on his website, the difference is in the comeback. If you miss high with an anyhyzer putt it could flex out and hyzer. This would leave you a much longer putt than if the disc is already hyzering. Also, Ken and Barry both putt with some form of hyzer. Between them they have 13 or so world championships, compared to the 2 mentioned previously (Doss and Russel). SO I feel more inclined to putt with a slight hyzer.

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From what Ken Climo said on his website, the difference is in the comeback. If you miss high with an anyhyzer putt it could flex out and hyzer. This would leave you a much longer putt than if the disc is already hyzering. Also, Ken and Barry both putt with some form of hyzer. Between them they have 13 or so world championships, compared to the 2 mentioned previously (Doss and Russel). SO I feel more inclined to putt with a slight hyzer.



Also depends on the terrain , slope of the green and wind conditions. :D

Well, if that's the case ... just learn to do one thing. Good luck on the course.

i'm not sure this question can really be adequately answered unless you break it down a little bit...

putting basically involves 2 parts, each of which can be split into more parts. each of these parts can be evaluated on its own which will lead to the highest percentage outcome (for most players).

breakdown:
1) the putting stroke
a) generating the power of the putt
b) the release
c) the follow through
2) the putt line
a) trajectory
b) speed
c) nose angle
d) hyzer/anhyzer angle
e) fade behavior

1: basically, a bad putting stroke will be inconsistent regardless of its release angle simply because the putting stroke is bad. no matter how much practice is involved, a "better" putting stroke will yield better results given equal (or in many cases less) amounts of practice.

1a) putting power is generated by 1 or more of the following: weight shift, snap, finger spring, palm push, elbow extension, pull velocity.

a few of these maintain a 100% linear motion, while a few of them do not. if you look at the percentages, the higher long run make % will likely be with the linear motions. grip also comes into play a bit on this as certain fingers will contribute to more/less spin on the disc as well as some ejection force.

1b) the release is the all-crucial part of the putt and is often part of the "trick" of putting. from what i have noticed, nearly every great putter i have seen releases the disc in pretty much the same way, regardless of their actual putting style. certain things to consider with the release are grip (the middle and ring fingers are the ones that hang on during most pull misses), where/when the release occurs, etc.

what i have found is that releasing closer to the body generally allows for a more consistent release as it is a conscious action and not based upon anything incidental (such as waiting for the arm to extend all the way).

1c) the follow through ends up being quite important in this case. a high follow-through upwards (if mis-timed) can skew the nose angle a bit downwards by lifting the back edge of the disc. a follow through with a wrist roll under will exaggerate the hyzer tendencies of a putt, etc. following through on the putt line generally has the least bad things that can happen if your timing is slightly off.

2: the putt line becomes more complex than simply an anhyzer vs. hyzer vs. flat since you will find very wide variance in the flight paths of each style of putt. a putt that is released with a hyzer angle but flies on a perfectly straight line and hits the chains on the same angle as it was released on (with no fade) is quite different than a lofting hyzer putt that hangs wide right of the basket and then fades in. each line has strengths and weaknesses.

2a) trajectory is quite important in a few ways. you can basically take a straight line drive or an up and down arc motion (of varying degrees). this becomes a tough debate. line drive putts have one less variable to worry about (apex height becomes less important) but they also have longer misses and decreased surface area to make a putt. i did an approximate calculation a while back of the surface area you can hit and have a putt stick... on a straight line drive it was ~270 sq. inches. on a 45 degree downward trajectory it was ~760 sq. inches (but this is a much harder putt to execute consistently). personally i favor a slight up and down with the putter reaching the basket on ~10 degree downward trajectory as this gives decent surface area while reducing blow by range.

2b) speed is a biggie on the line. faster putts will generally hold a tighter line but also have longer blow by range. there really isn't a general rule that can be made for carry range for fast vs. slow for putts inside 40'... as depending upon the wind characteristics both putts may have longer carry range on a given line/power level.

2c) nose angle becomes very important when wind becomes a factor. nose down putts will get smacked down by headwinds while nose up putts will be lifted. flat is nearly unaffected (to an extent), but harder to execute consistently. in most conditions, nose up putts and nose down putts will both have short blow by range, whereas flat will leave the longest comeback on a miss.

2d) hyzer/anhyzer angles each have strengths and weaknesses. anhyzer putts have the greatest range, but are generally the least consistent as they require extra compensation for the turn and flex and can get knocked around in the wind. hyzer putts have the second greatest range and are the most consistent in flight behavior but depending upon the trajectory (straight line vs. right to left fade) may or may not require additional compensation. flat will generally hold the tightest, straightest line and require the least compensation but have the least carry for a given line/power.

2e) fade behavior is mainly a factor on longer putts but also comes into play on hyzer and anhyzer putting. this can be one of the more difficult tendencies to master in all wind conditions.

so, summing it up with what i have found over time...
in heavy wind:
best - flat
next best - hyzer
worst - anhyzer

uphill
best - anhyzer
next best - hyzer
worst - flat

downhill
best - flat
next best - hyzer
worst - anhyzer

long range putts
best - anhyzer
next best - hyzer
worst - flat

short range putts
best - flat
next best - hyzer
worst - anhyzer

my advice is to focus mainly on your stroke. if your stroke is very solid, the line/angle/etc. shouldn't matter nearly as much and with enough practice you should be able to adjust those at will and choose the angle/line you wish to putt with at any given time.

as for your choice in the long run... the "sport" view would be to take the one that yields the best idealized percentages and work on that one. if your main concern is short run success, then the not broken don't fix it choice is probably a better decision.

from what i have seen of pro players, it's about 45% hyzer putt, 45% flat putt, 10% anhyzer putt.

That was a great breakdown of putting variables. How does spin fit in?

If a putt has enough anhyzer angle and/or it is a short putt, there will be no hyzer tail off at the end and the flight. The anhyzer putt is more likely to land flat, while a hyzer putt is more likely to land on edge and possibly roll away. In my experience, an anhyzer putt that misses from any distance results in a shorter comeback.

Of course, you should have your head examined if you take putting advice from me. These are simply my observations.

as for anhyzer putting... on putts outside of 15' or so, they do plane out and pan, which i consider to be a factor of the fade characteristics since the disc changes flight direction/trajectory and must be compensated for.

as for spin, i've never found it to be much of a factor but this is highly dependent upon the plastic the putter is in. the tackier/softer the plastic, the more spin will affect the disc behavior after it comes into contact with chains.

as for spin in general with putters... i've found many players with poor strokes because they make a conscious effort to add/subtract spin from their putts. spin is mainly determined by the stroke. players that putt with a lot of snap and wrist movement will inherently have more spin than players that putt with an arm motion + finger spring. often this is a factor simply of where people hold the putter. if the disc is a clock and 12 o'clock is the edge closest to the basket and 6 o'clock is opposite, the closer the hand is to 12 at the start, the more spin will be generated (and the closer to 6, the less spin). both of these will also contribute to power and cleanliness of release. 12 will have the most power but the least clean release in general. 6 will have the least power but the cleanest release in general.

if the stroke is clean, the actual amount of spin will be of very little concern. if you drill putts dead center or an inch or two to the right of the pole, the putt should stick the majority of the time regardless of the amount of spin on the disc. some spin is necessary to have the putter hold the line and most natural amounts of spin generated from ordinary putting technique will not adversely affect the putt by having too much spin.

as for roll aways and comeback putts, long rolls are most common when putts miss low off the basket or hitting the top link/knuckle. any angle on the disc will make it easier to roll away on one of these kicks, with a hyzer being more prone to roll aways than anhyzer putts. anhyzer putts are also glidier and can often float a long ways away if you say, miss low and hit the nubs on the basket to the side of the chain assembly. firm putts are more apt to roll than soft putters (but imo, firm putters also hold a better line so it is a trade off).

my advice to most players is, if there is a substantial fear of roll away to just lay up as they most likely have already psyched themselves out of making the putt.

If you are that concerned with your putting, perhaps you might want to work on your up shots. Hard to miss a putt when it's under the basket. But what do I know, my player rating droped 19 points last week. OUCH! Mabey a little of my own advise would go a long ways!

If you are that concerned with your putting, perhaps you might want to work on your up shots. Hard to miss a putt when it's under the basket. But what do I know, my player rating droped 19 points last week. OUCH! Mabey a little of my own advise would go a long ways!



:DIn is always good. Even on the drive.