After winning the recent Accenture Match Play tournament, Jeff Ogilvy made some interesting comments that no doubt sent some golfers scurrying to their computers and catalogs in search of a new putter.
“Your central nervous system enjoys change,” Ogilvy told Golf Magazine. “The new putter theory is not BS, that’s a fact and it works for everyone. So sometimes if my putting feels a bit flat, I’ll change putters, but it’s not like I’m completely changing putters. I just want to look at something new, something fresh. People might think you are just trying to escape all the bad karma in your other putter, but your brain likes change and it gets you excited about putting again.”
Sounds invigorating and exotic, doesn’t it? Switch your putter, sink more putts, then repeat. Alas, it’s just not true.
Tiger Woods, for example, has been gaming the exact same putter for ages. Apparently, the “new putter theory” doesn’t work for everyone.
Also, as Ogilvy said, he doesn’t “completely change putters.” In fact, he went on to say that his switches are always from one Scotty Cameron Newport putter to another Scotty Cameron Newport putter in a different finish or a different metal, which is akin to deciding that you’d rather have your Porsche 911 Carrera in black instead of red.
Friends, that’s the kind of change that only a PGA Tour professional can afford.
There is some merit in what Ogilvy says, however. You definitely want to be excited about your putter. If you are excited about your putter, you will want to practice your putting, and you will look forward to pulling it out of your bag. For Ogilvy, this means regularly changing things up, a luxury that eludes the average golfer.
More important is the fact that Ogilvy has found a putter model that fits his eye and mechanics. For those of us with limited resources, that’s how to get most excited about your putter. If you find a putter that truly fits your game and gets results, the excitement will follow.