Connect with us

News

My search for putting success

Published

on

By Brant Brice

GolfWRX Contributor

What do we do when our putter fails us? How do we feel when that once beautiful piece of shiny exotic metal lets us down? Or that putter you’ve had for years and years that has always been the one club you swear you’ll never replace in your bag becomes replaceable, and no longer easily guides your ball into the hole? So starts the agonizing search for the new “it” girl in your golf bag to cure your newly found yips.

We have all found ourselves on the indoor putting green in a local golf superstore wading through 400 putters heavily promoted by 10 different mega brands? You get basically three choices: those that are identical in some way to Karsten’s original Ping Anser style putter, those that look identical to the 8802 iconic putter or the ones that look like a spaceship on a stick? Fourth option … Have you been glancing over at those hot new belly putters that will make you look cool like Keegan Bradley or Webb Simpson, or the senior tour broomstick long handle putters that make you look like Bernhard Langer? Did you actually pick one up and strike a ball with one secretly praying none of the sales guys would see you? Worse yet, a member from your club witnesses you taking a rip with a 43″ spaceship made out of outer space alloy. Don’t fret, I’m here to help … hopefully!

Like most of you I have gone through many, many putters. My collection sits at about eight right now. I play a mallet style from TaylorMade. I also have two putters that I am in love with that I purchased only as collectors pieces — a Ping A1 with the sound slot and an Acushnet Bullseye a la Corey Pavin. I also own a few Anser style putters including a broken Scotty Cameron, a Rife 8802 copy, and now a 41” replica of Fred Couples’ belly blade putter. And oh, a 27″ blade I cut down to see if Robert Garrigus was on to something (turns out he wasn’t, and my back still hurts from that experiment). I think I am a pretty good putter. I can read greens well, I have an amazing number of putts that I make from 20 to 40 feet, I lag very well, I tend to consistently start my putts on line, but my ego shattering misses are from inside 4 feet. That last part has become so insidious that naturally I started the search for the putter that could make me putt like Freddie C.

I was incredibly uncomfortable in the local shops testing the belly and broomstick models, especially the broomstick conceding in some way that I was a lousy putter and needed a crutch. I also felt dumb since I basically own one of each style already including a heavy putter. So why was I here? Every week on the TV we hear how the long putters will fix the yips, and how they have resurrected careers like Langer, Senior, Scott and Couples. The R&A and the USGA haven’t outlawed them (yet) and they have had some newly found success on the tours. So I built a belly putter that is 41″. I tested every belly putter in the usual stores and found 41″ to be well suited to my build. I took it to a course I don’t play and spent days testing the new weapon against my arsenal of dust collectors. What did I find? I found out quickly I needed to add weight since having the ability to manhandle the thing was a bad idea. I added a lot of lead weights, and the putter is now nearly 400 grams total. Results: I loved it from 40′-4′. I made a ton of long distance putts, and I start the ball on line very well. With it, I am a great lag putter, but I wasn’t very good from 4 feet and in and was still pushing the ball to the right. Turns out after four weeks practicing and tinkering, I was the same putter as I was with all of my other putters. I spoke to a PGA professional and within five minutes he had me rolling in 4 footers like they were 6″ putts. My ball position was too far back which encouraged me to push the ball and to take an ever wider open stance to counteract the push.

So do the longer putters help amateurs? I emphatically say no. Adam Scott, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, etc. are still far better putters with a standard blade than you or I are with our best putter. To them and to you, your best putter is going to be the one that feels the best in your hands and allows you to make a smooth tension-free stroke that inspires confidence. If you are going to venture into the belly market, understand that a belly putter swing comes from the shoulders not the hands. They do promote a much more relaxed swing, so if you find one that just feels better than what you have, you will in fact putt better.

Go see a professional and have your favorite putter fit to your swing, posture and grip. Then instead of dropping $300 on a new flatstick, pay the pro to give you a lesson after he or she sees your flaws. Finally, and here is the absolute secret to GREAT putting … PRACTICE. Stop machine gunning 100 balls with your driver once a week and wonder why your putting doesn’t improve and spend some quality time on the putting green practicing distance control, starting putts online and reading greens. Practice with one ball, not three. Put together a practice routine that adds pressure and covers distance, line and touch. You will save a ton of money and will actually lower your handicap.

P.S. If the fine folks at Cameron are reading, I could be persuaded to put that Taylormade putter back in my collection if a 34″ or 41″ Kombi shows up at my doorstep! Turns out my broken Studio Select 2.5 Cameron was a fake … but that’s another story!

Click here for more discussion in the “Putter Forum”

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

on

I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

on

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

Continue Reading

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

on

Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending