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Zero path, zero face
The arc template rebuilt around the D plane.
Zero path, zero face
The goal
One clear goal in putting is to start the ball on the intended line, with a centred strike, a slightly positive attack angle, and a dynamic loft less than the attack angle to create top spin. A simple idea in principle. In practice there are a few layers of complexity to perfecting it.
The face angle has 87% dominance and is the main contributor to start direction. The path is only 13%, but it is also relevant.
Face-to-path ratio for the putter: TrackMan University.
The D plane
The terms defined
| Term | TrackMan definition |
|---|---|
| Swing plane | “The vertical angle between the plane created by the club head’s geometric center movement and the horizon.” |
| Swing direction | “The angle between the base of the plane created by the club head’s geometric center movement and the target line.” |
| Attack angle | “The up or down movement of the club head’s geometric center at the time of impact.” |
| Club path | “The in-to-out or out-to-in movement of the club head’s geometric center at the time of impact.” |
| Dynamic loft | “The vertical angle of the club face at the center-point of contact between the club and ball.” |
| Spin loft | “The angle between the direction of the club head’s movement and the club face’s orientation.” |
Attack angle & path
Path and swing direction
There are only two instances where club path and swing direction are the same.
1. When the attack angle is zero, so the ball is struck at the bottom of the arc. A zero attack angle is not considered optimal in putting.
2. If the swing plane is vertical, at 90°. In golf the putter cannot be: 80° is the steepest lie conforming with the R&A rules.
It is common knowledge in professional golf that the attack angle affects the path, and that with a driver on a 45° swing plane every 1° of positive attack angle puts the path 1° left of the swing direction. In putting it seems to be disregarded, because the face angle is 87% dominant.
How much 1° of attack angle changes the path
By swing plane
45°swing plane
1.00°
Driver
60°swing plane
0.58°
70°swing plane
0.36°
Putter
75°swing plane
0.27°
80°swing plane
0.18°
Steepest conforming lie
90°swing plane
0.00°
Vertical — not permitted
Below, the centre of gravity of a putter head travelling on a 70° plane. Switch the plane and it can be seen for itself: at 90° the attack angle has no effect on the path at all, and at 45° the ratio is one to one.
Attack angle and path · 70° swing plane
Rising
Attack angle
+2.8°
Swing direction
0.0°
Path
1.02° L
Per 1° of AoA
0.36°
AoA
Tilt
Choose swing plane
60 cm stroke either side · 5 m arc radius. Path angle drawn ×7 so the swing is visible; figures are the true ones.
Definitions: TrackMan Parameters.
The correction
Path
−Swing direction
=AoA ÷ tan(plane)
The evidence
Tour average attack angle
SAM PuttLab measured 99 of the world’s best players and found the attack angle averages 2.8° positive. The preferred parameter is 2° to 4° positive.
So the best players are not striking the ball at the bottom of the arc, at the low point. They strike it on the way up, by design — and on a 70° plane that puts the path 1° left of the swing direction.
The tour average · 70° swing plane
Rising
Attack angle
+2.8°
Swing plane
70°
Swing direction
0.0°
Path
1.02° L
5 m arc radius. Path angle drawn ×7 so a degree is visible; the figures are the true ones.
The symmetrical template
Zero face, minus one path
A symmetrical template · 15°/m arc, square to the target line
This is the very popular arc template. In every template I have seen the arc is symmetrical to the target line, the face lines sit at ninety degrees to it, and the face is square at impact.
In my opinion, that produces a set of numbers that are sub-optimal. The face arrives square to the target. The 2.8°+ angle of attack pulls the path a degree left.
Zero face. Minus one path. A degree of face to path, and a touch of toe strike.
Which is, interestingly, near enough the tour average — from SAM PuttLab data collected from 99 tour players. Across those players the average was the path 0.80° left, the face 1.10° open to that path, a rise angle of 2.8° up, and an impact spot 1.56 mm toward the toe.
And the study is explicit about the conditions: a straight, level four-metre putt, with the target line laser-calibrated and each player required to confirm they considered the putt straight before any data was taken.
So these are players intending a straight putt, on a putt they have agreed is straight, aiming at a line they have verified. The stroke feels straight to them. The path still arrives 0.80° left, and the paper attributes it directly to the 70° tilted swing plane — “this ellipse is a consequence of naturally swinging the putter in a tilted swing plane”.
The player feels straight. The plane and the angle of attack put the path left of that feel.
Here is the disconnect. TrackMan and SAM PuttLab have measured path accurately for years. So a player can be practising on a symmetrical template that does not match what the machine is telling them, and never arrive at good numbers. That disconnect is the one that keeps me awake at night.
Data: Marquardt, C., The SAM PuttLab: Concept and PGA Tour data, Annual Review of Golf Coaching, 2007. 99 PGA Tour players.
Line error & capture loss
Path influence on start line
Many coaches almost disregard the path, and with reason: the face has close to seven times the influence on start line. A degree of face is 1.82 inches offline at ten feet; a degree of path is 0.27 inches offline at the same distance.
Path influence on start line is small. But it is not zero. The chart below works out what that degree of path actually does — how far offline the ball starts, and as a consequence how much it reduces the hole’s capture size.
33%
of the hole’s capture, lost as the result of a one degree path error
on a twenty foot putt, rolling a foot past.
1° path left → 0.13° of launch direction
How far offline
5ft
0.14in
0.35 cm offline
10ft
0.27in
0.69 cm offline
20ft
0.54in
1.38 cm offline
30ft
0.82in
2.07 cm offline
Die at hole — capture lost
6%
13%
26%
38%
1 ft past — capture lost
8%
17%
33%
50%
2 ft past — capture lost
10%
20%
41%
61%
Capture lost on a 20 ft putt
Face 0° square to target
Path 1° left
Face 87% · path 13% of start line
Launch direction 0.13° left of target
Side 0.54 in left of centre at 20 ft
Effective holeas a %
100%
Widthin inches
4.25in
Capture lostto speed
0%
Capture lostto 1° path
26%
Effective holeas a %
77%
Widthin inches
3.27in
Capture lostto speed
23%
Capture lostto 1° path
33%
Effective holeas a %
63%
Widthin inches
2.68in
Capture lostto speed
37%
Capture lostto 1° path
41%
Lost to speed
Capture
Lost to 1° of path error
TrackMan · 100% at 0.01 mph, 74% at 1.68 mph, 37% at 3.15 mph · applied to the 4.25 in hole
Small but not insignificant. A degree of path error is a fraction of what a degree of face error does, but it grows with distance, and with firm speed.
Understanding how the angle of attack moves the path can help us find zero, zero.
Swing direction 1° right + attack angle 2.8° up =
path zero, face zero
On a 70° swing plane
The rebuild
How to create zero, zero
To achieve zero, zero with a 2.8°+ angle of attack on a 70° swing plane requires moving the swing direction 1° right. This is how the template should look to create zero, zero.
The face is now square to the target at impact, and it is held one degree closed to the arc throughout. The rotation stays symmetrical either side of impact.
I think the feel will be a mini draw for many players. In a Golf Pass video, Martin Hall describes a conversation he had with Tiger Woods.
Tiger likes the feeling of drawing his putts
Did one of the best players of all time work out the geometry of zero, zero? A draw feel is a face closed to the swing direction — which is exactly how the LSR zero zero template is made.
Zero path. Zero face.
Book a session →
Common questions
Questions answered
Is one degree of path worth chasing?
On its own, a one degree path error will not make you miss a short putt. It is only 0.27 inches offline at ten feet, against 1.82 inches for a degree of face error. The reason to chase zero, zero is to be precise and to give accurate information — and from mid range it is taking 26% of the hole’s capture size at twenty feet and 39% at thirty.
What if my attack angle is not 2.8°?
Then the number changes with it. The correction is the attack angle multiplied by 0.36 on a 70° plane, so 2.0° up needs about 0.7° of swing direction and 4.0° up needs about 1.4°. The tour average is 2.8°, which is why the template is cut for it. The long term answer is a custom template, cut to each player’s own attack angle and swing plane.
Will the face feel closed?
No. It is still square to the target at address and at impact — it is the swing direction that is shifted one degree. It may feel like a tiny draw, the feel Tiger Woods describes on his putts.
Do I need a different putter or lie angle?
No. The lie angle sets the plane, and the plane is the smaller variable here. Nothing on this page asks for new equipment — it asks for a template cut to the stroke you already make.
How do I find my own attack angle?
It has to be measured, not guessed. A SAM PuttLab session gives the attack angle, the path, the face and the impact spot from the same ten putts, which is everything this page needs before a board gets cut.
Next
Measure it first
The template is cut to a number. Get the number before the board.
Zero path. Zero face. By design.
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