Print this page  |  Close Window

By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

BETHESDA, Md. -- Some players change putters more than they change their socks. Other players would rather shoot their dog than change their putter, and the guys who don't change tend to be the best putters on TOUR.

Vijay Singh's belly putter has been a fixture on TOUR for years. (WireImage)

Some guys even name their putters. Bobby Jones putted with Calamity Jane. Crenshaw putted with Little Ben. Many other players call their putter far less affectionate names that can't be repeated here.

Nationwide Tour legend holds that one frustrated player, after a particularly bad putting week, tied his putter to the back bumper of his car and drug it all the way to the next tournament.

Occasionally you will see a guy finish his round putting with something other than a putter. When I had a particularly stubborn flat stick I would punish it sternly, then finish the round putting with the bottom of my sand wedge (and you wonder why I talk about golf rather than play golf for a living now).

After the opening round at the AT&T National, Tiger Woods expressed his displeasure with his own wand. His opening round 73 included a total of 34 putts. Tiger "doctored" his putter on Thursday night. In a post-round interview with Mark Carnevale on the PGA TOUR Network on XM Radio, Tiger said that he added some lead tape to the sole of the putter.

The tweaking obviously paid off as Tiger rolled in birdie putts on his last three holes on Friday and matched the low round through day two. His 4-under-par 66 included 11 one-putt greens and a total of 25 putts on the day.

Adding weight to a putter, even a matter of ounces, can dramatically affect the feel of a putter. Tiger three-putted four times in the opening round. He avoided three-putting all day on Friday.

One of the leaders, K.J. Choi, is using a standard putter with an unconventional grip this week. The diameter of the grip is nearly as big around as a can of soda. The concept behind the massive grip is to avoid breaking down with the left hand through impact with the putter.

When most average players work on their putting, and I know that rarely happens, they work on moving the head of the putter. It is far more effective to concentrate on swinging the grip of the putter. It is possible for the head to move without the grip moving. If this happens a player's wrists are breaking down. The massive putter grip that K.J. is using this week helps him to avoid that.

Before going to the long putter that saved his career, Bernhard Langer actually slid his left hand down the grip of the putter and then clasped his putter grip and his left forearm with his right hand. If Bernhard's left hand had broken down using that grip he would have needed to seek medical attention.

In recent years, we have seen Vijay Singh win putting with a conventional length putter and a body putter. With Vijay's physical condition, it would be unfair to call his putter a belly putter. He is currently putting left-hand low with the body putter.

Every player on TOUR has a different style of putting. No player on TOUR -- or at the local municipal -- thinks that they make enough putts. We are all searching for that little extra edge that will give them confidence.

When a player on TOUR changes putters, he is searching for something specific. A player will say that he has, "lost the line" with a specific putter. What he means is that he has lost confidence in whether or not the putter is aligned with the chosen line.

Some of the new modern putters like the two ball putter from Odyssey or the one that looks like a UFO from Scotty Cameron are designed to address this. Other putters, like the See More that Zach Johnson won the Masters with are designed to keep the hand moving with a head of the putter.

Some players use putters that look like garden tools. By contrast Corey Pavin is still using an old Bulls Eye putter with a sweet spot the size of a pea. If you ever run into a guy on the putting green at your club still putting with an old Bulls Eye don't challenge him to a putting match.

More than any other club in the bag players have a love-hate relationship with their putter. Sometimes the wand is magic. Other times the putter is a stake in the heart. One thing is certain, no putter is irreplaceable.