Opinion & Analysis
Can a trashed putter save your stroke?
Nothing in the world could be easier than a 6-foot putt; you just nudge it forward and it falls into the hole, right?
As Adam Scott said after the Honda Classic, “You can’t hit it as hard, high and far as me, but you can play as well as me on the greens.” But for those who have played the game of golf for as long as I have, you have to factor in all the considerations that enter into your head as you stand over that putt.
Is this putt for an eagle, to win a match or stop me from losing a bet? Have I cleared my head or am I still thinking about breakfast, the football match last night, or the shanked wedge three holes ago? Am I focused and concentrating on the task in hand? Have I considered the grain, slope, wind, break and speed of the greens? What about the pitch and spike marks en route? Have I lined myself up correctly? Have I gone through my pre-shot routine? Am I using the big muscles, keeping my head still, accelerating through the ball, holding the follow though? That’s the easy stuff.
Then I have to entertain the demons: Don’t leave it short. Don’t blow it past. Drop it in the hole with dead weight. Smash it into the hole! Have the greens gotten slower as the day has progressed? Agghh, my shadow is in the way.
Occasionally, after missing a few putts, the thought comes into my head: “It can’t be me; it must be my putter!” Is the loft, lie, length, weight and grip all optimized for my tour-like stroke?
Many hundreds of putters have passed through my hands over the years. Each one showed a spark of brilliance and created hope that holing putts would be like shelling peas. I’ve had some of the top-performing models — Odysseys, Pings, Scotties and Byron Morgans — and in fact I still have more putters than I care to admit hoarded in my locker. I’ve tried blades, mallets and perimeter-weighted putters: face-balanced, toe-balanced, heel-shafted and center-shafted hosel offsets. I’ve tried various polymer inserts, groove inserts, and diamond-etched faces. I’ve gone down the road of trying out the short, mid, belly and long putters. I’ve also rolled heavy, mid-weight, changeable-weight and ultra-light putters, all in an attempt to become “boss of the moss.” In fact, my next book will probably be titled, “Everything you need to know about putters by a Three Jacker!” So it may surprise you to learn that my gamer over the past three years or so is something I found quite by chance.
I was dropping garbage off at the recycling center a few years ago when I spied a few clubs lying on the ground. My eye was immediately drawn to a beaten-up blade. The shaft was in poor condition, and the leather grip was all but hanging off it, but I took it home and gave it a quick scrub-up. Low and behold it turned out to be a Henry Cotton/Nicoll putter. Later that day, I took it up to the practice green and rolled it, and the feel was lovely. So I put a new grip on it and decided to take her out for a spin. Low and behold I had found my new “Billy Baroo.” And over the last three years, it has been a constant in my bag when most other things have been jettisoned.
I’ve tried doing some research on it and the key is the Nicoll marking. George Nicoll was a Scottish blacksmith who turned his hand to club making as the sport started growing in popularity at the end of the 19th Century. He designed many clubs, including some novel goose-necked blade putters. Amongst Nicoll’s many staff players was three-time winner of The Open Championship, Henry Cotton. The putter I have was hand-forged in Leven in Fife, Scotland, probably sometime in the 1950s. Hundreds if not thousands were made, so I have no delusions of having a rare or valuable flatstick. But it is kinda old and very cool.
It’s interesting comparing it to an Odyssey Black Series Tour Design Blade #8 (on the right) from a few years ago. It’s not a technical comparison, but you can see that putter design can be timeless. It has a tiny sweet spot, but when you are rolling that thing well it feels like butta! At best I’m a streakish putter, but to me the blade keeps it all very simple and honest. It makes me really concentrate on putting a good stroke on the ball.
Remember it’s not the putter, it’s the putter! That said, I am an idiot and I will keep buying putters and eventually putting them in my locker.
Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.
Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.
First, meet Min Woo Lee
Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.
Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter
The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.
Third, meet Martin Kaymer
Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.
Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler
Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.
Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger
Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!
On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.
I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.
To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.
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Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s
5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag
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Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Driver: TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 5 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees @14.25) Shaft: Mitsubishi...
Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X Prototype 3-wood: Krank Formula Fire (10 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD...
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Mat
May 4, 2016 at 9:13 pm
I have 3 Pings. A Redwood blade, a centre-shafted mid-mallet (gamer), and a full mallet. All are 36.25″. Maybe one day I’ll need to replace a face, but until that day, I’m not buying putters. I feel sad for those guys that say they have 30 of them. I can’t imagine the golf trips they could have purchased with that money…
George
Apr 29, 2016 at 12:24 pm
I have a putter model that Arnold Palmer used to win the 1979 Southern open, I am sure it is not the one he actually used to win but sure they made more than one
has dents on face like some kid might have been hitting rocks maybe I will take it out for a spin and try it
Gmoney
Apr 29, 2016 at 11:33 am
It’s not the putter, it’s the puttee! Nicely said.
RAT
Apr 29, 2016 at 10:08 am
I have switched to new W/S 8802 and it is great. AFTER MALLETS BLADES it all comes back to basics.
PDP1
Apr 29, 2016 at 8:05 am
I’ve had the same original Odyssey 2 ball putter in my bag since the year they first came out. I don’t even remember when that was. I’ve been fitted for Pings and others but this one just stays in the bag. I’ve gone through other sets of irons, hybrids, fairway woods, drivers, you name it, but it’s stayed.
Shallowface
Apr 28, 2016 at 6:34 pm
My Zebra putter, now in its 6th year without leaving the bag (average about 100 rounds per year), cost me one dollar at a thrift store, plus the cost of a new Crossline putter grip I installed myself.
All we are trying to is hit the center of the club with the face square. When you find a putter with which you can do that, you’ve done all you can when it comes to the equipment. The ball has no idea who designed your putter or how much you paid for it.
tlmck
Apr 28, 2016 at 5:06 pm
I still miss my old Spalding Cash-In blade. First putter I ever owned. I got it brand new in ’79, but it got stolen from my bag a few years later. I keep saying I’m going to replace it, but just never get around to it.
gdb99
Apr 28, 2016 at 5:01 pm
This article may have just saved me $159! I have been toying with the idea of putting my old Bullseye back in the bag for awhile. I guess I’m holding off on buying that new Odyssey putter for another week….
Winmac
Apr 28, 2016 at 10:34 pm
LOL. That’s what happens to me.
Gary Mackin
Apr 29, 2016 at 12:23 pm
I’ve tried 50 putters in 50 years, but haven’t found one better than my bullseye… my playing partners marvel at haw accurate I am with it!!!
That guy
Apr 28, 2016 at 3:33 pm
Switched to a bullseye last year and haven’t looked back. Some things just work.
Philip
Apr 28, 2016 at 3:50 pm
I’m currently using an old LaFemme – the feel is so good when you hit the ball properly that I find I try even more to make a good stroke so that I can enjoy the feel more often.
Weekend Duffer
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:28 am
Clowns spend $350 on a Scotty and still get torched by the old fogie using a $6 kmart putter.
TCJ
Apr 28, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Some old fogies have all the luck!
Winmac
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:28 pm
No class man. Winning with a Scotty or Spalding didn’t matter. Somebody just wanted more from the game. To enjoy time with buddies and to have / take little banters when you duff. So lay off those Scotty-ers. They wanted better sticks to enjoy the game. You can now go use that old fogie to also hold one of your table.