You're Correct!

If you think about a "pendulum" motion, most likely the first thing that would spring to mind is a grandfather clock with it’s pendulum swinging back and forth.

It swings at the same tempo every time and the distance of the swing is the same in both directions with very few moving parts, so this movement not only repeats constantly but is also extremely precise.

Because putting requires an enormous amount of precision, being off by a degree or two from 10 feet can cause you to completely miss the hole. The need to be this precise means that you need to eliminate as many moving parts as possible to avoid your stroke breaking down and becoming very inconsistent, this is why the most consistent, repeatable and reliable way to putt is to use a pendulum stroke. It is the only putting stroke that is easy to repeat time and time again no matter if you’re a complete beginner or a more accomplished player.

The key to creating a pendulum stroke is to make sure your set up position is the same every time you address a putt. If it’s not then your precision will be affected, thus reducing the amount of successful putts you hit. To create your routine to ensure your set up is correct every time you need to:

Make sure that your arms are hanging freely from the shoulders so that they are extended and relaxed. Take hold of your putter so that you have created a triangle between your arms and shoulders.
With a stance that is shoulder width apart, your putter head should be in the middle of your stance, just as the pendulum on the grandfather clock hangs straight down from the 6 o’clock position on the clock face. Now your body and putter are in position, the ball will be slightly forward of the centre of your stance and in the perfect place for your putter to strike the ball on a slightly upward arc and along the line that you have created with your set up.
Now you are ready to let your shoulders and arms dominate your movement back and through. The arc of your stroke will be natural, but more importantly will be the same every time due to the only moving parts being your arms and shoulders.

If you want to control the speed of your putts you must control the tempo of your stroke. A stroke that moves slowly in the back stroke and then speeds up towards impact and into the through stroke or visa versa will not be able to consistently control the speed of your putts.

A pendulum putting stroke will move the putter back and through on a very slight in to square to in arc. The only way you can keep the face of your putter square to the target throughout the stroke would be if you manipulate it with some slight forearm rotation in both directions of your stroke.

As consistent as the pendulum stroke is, the distance your ball travels is controlled more by the length of your stroke. If you have a putt that is three feet in length then your stroke should be very small especially in the back stroke. Alternately, from 40 feet the stroke should travel further in both directions.