Jim Furyk's Putter: Yes! Sophia

An old Yes! Sophia putter enjoyed a Cinderella story this week after Jim Furyk plucked it out of a putter bin for $39 and promptly used it to claim the $1.35 million winner’s prize at the Tour Championship and the $10 million bonus as the winner of the 2010 FedEx Cup playoffs.

Talk about a good return on investment.

The Yes! Sophia is a classic 8802-style heel-shafted blade that features Yes! Golf's signature C-Groove face technology, which is designed to impart quicker topspin.

Here's what Furyk said about the putter after his big day: "It was used. It was a used putter. It's got a nick on the back flange, it's got a little ding in the top line. I never loft and lied it which is rare for me because I've always got my putters on a loft-lie machine at home, and the way the grip is on it, it might be slightly off center but that's kind of how I like it anyway. I guess we were meant to be, who knows."

He added, "They had some that were bigger, more like a mallet head that were heel shafted, kind of like Faldo used to putt with in his heyday, but they had lines on them, and I wanted something without a line. I just wanted it as simple as it could be, heel shafted. It was the only one in the shop of about 300 putters. At the time I didn't think it was all the that pretty to be honest with you, but it's getting a lot better looking every day."

At the center of the story is a golf shop called Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop in Massachusetts, where Furyk found the putter earlier this month while playing at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

You never know who you'll meet scrounging around the old putter bins at your local golf shop, eh? We wonder if there's a Joe & Leigh's customer out there who heard the news and said, "Hey, wait, that's my putter!"

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TaylorMade Unveils Daytona Ghost Putter

TaylorMade has officially unveiled its long-expected Daytona Ghost 1 putter, the first but likely not last extension of its new Ghost putter line.

There aren't a lot of surprises here, as the Daytona is an established model in the TaylorMade family. That said, it's quite a sight to see a traditional Anser-style blade draped in the snowy white of the Ghost motif.

The Ghost line was launched earlier this year with the original Ghost mallet putter, which gained immediate fame in the hands of Justin Rose, who won two tournaments with it. In our review of the original Ghost putter, we gave it high marks in matters of alignment.

And alignment, of course, is where the Ghost line aims to earn its cabbage. TaylorMade has accumulated extensive putting data, and has found that a majority of even the best players are misaligned at a distance of 14 feet or more from the hole.

With help from the school of optometry at the University of Indiana, TaylorMade conceived a white finish that offers a striking visual contrast with the green of the grass, and thus a more vivid sense of the putter's face angle in relation to the target line.

Finding the "right" white was also essential, and TaylorMade ultimately decided on a matte shade that matched its Penta TP ball, to ensure that the white was visually soothing as opposed to glaring or distracting.

The TaylorMade Daytona Ghost putter retails for $130 and will begin shipping soon. It features TaylorMade's signature AGSI+ face insert and a single black sightline along the flange. The release of the Daytona Ghost putter indicates that the Ghost concept has been a success, and we won't be surprised to see additional Ghost models announced in 2011.

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seeitgolf App for iPad Review

Seeitgolf has taken its groundbreaking visualization training to the next level with its new interactive app for the iPhone and iPad.

You may recall that the original seeitgolf training video titled "Aaron Baddeley: Putting" earned rave reviews on PutterZone.com.

Now, with the new $10 app, you not only get the full original video, but also the opportunity to literally cut your own film to the music of your choice. That's right, you can mix and match different putts from the Baddeley video and play them to Bach, AC/DC or whatever else gets your game going.

The available video excerpts include putts of varying lengths and breaks, with multiple views of each putt, including from the rear of the putter, the front of the putter and top of the putter. Creating your own movie is extremely easy—you just drag and arrange the chosen excerpts into a window, click a button to add music and suddenly you have your own motion picture featuring some of the most beautiful footage of putting ever captured.

The seeitgolf app also features audio visualization with leading short game instructor Stan Utley, whereby you can listen to the sound of the ball coming off the sweet spot of his putter and landing in the cup.

According to founder Danny Orr, the seeitgolf app is "a multi-sensory experience that literally balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain for optimal performance." He says that the efficacy of the video was verified by leading performance researcher Dr. Debbie Crews: "Her research proved that by merely viewing it, golfers went from being neurologically imbalanced to balanced. This optimal performance state is more commonly known as 'the zone.'"

While we can't speak to the topic of brain chemistry, we will say that the seeitgolf video is truly inspirational, reinforcing positive imagery that can send you to the green brimming with confidence

We were ultimately blown away by the sheer beauty and innovation of the new seeitgolf app, particularly on the big screen of the iPad. We already loved the original Baddeley video, but being able to easily remix excerpts of the video to a personalized soundtrack is just wicked cool. Putting never looked—or sounded—so good.

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New Greenside Radio: Spiders, Inserts and More

The latest episode of The Greenside is now airing at The Hacker's Paradise, and is also available for download on iTunes (just search "THP Radio").

The Greenside is a collaboration between Sean of PutterZone.com and Josh of The Hacker's Paradise. True to its name, the show focuses on the short game, with an emphasis on putters and putting.

In this episode, we delve into the TaylorMade Spider Vicino putter, the role of offset in putter fitting, and the usage of insert putters vs. non-insert putters on the professional circuits.

As always, we invite your feedback and suggestions, and encourage you to spread the word to your golfing friends.

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Exclusive: Cleveland Classic Black Platinum Putters

Cleveland Golf clearly has a winner on its hands with the value-priced Cleveland Classic putters, as they are expanding the line once again this fall to include four models with a new Black Platinum finish.

When the original Cleveland Classic putters were released in late 2008, we called them "a screamer of a steal" and ultimately gave them "Best Buy" honors in our annual Power Picks.

Shortly thereafter, Jerry Kelly picked up a Cleveland Classic putter off the retail rack and promptly won the Zurich Classic for a prize of $1.1 million. 'Nuff said.

Earlier this year, Cleveland added the gorgeous BRZ bronze putters to the Classic line, and now they are set to release the new Cleveland Classic Black Platinum putters in a few weeks. The original Classic putters are also getting a bit of a makeover, with two new models under the designation of "Platinum." Following is a breakdown of the expanded Cleveland Classic line:

Cleveland Classic Platinum Putters ($79, to be released late September): The familiar 1, 2, 3 and 4 models are now joined by the 5.5 center-shafted mid mallet and the 6 scoop-flanged mid mallet. The Platinum putters replace the original silver-finish Cleveland Classic putters.

Cleveland Classic Black Platinum Putters ($79, to be released late September): The 1, 2, 4 and 6 models now come in a sleek black finish with an included oil-treated cloth for protective cleaning and polishing. The Black Platinum and Platinum putters have the phrase "Classic Collection" engraved in the sole.

Cleveland Classic BRZ Putters ($89, currently available): The 1, 2, 4.5 and 5 models come with an oil-treated cloth, and are the only putters in the Classic line to feature a copper-infused aluminum insert.

Each Cleveland Classic putter is composed of hand-polished 17-4 stainless steel. The faces are CNC milled for added precision.

In earlier reviews of the original Classic putters and Classic BRZ putters, we found them to offer remarkable bang for the buck in terms of feel, performance and looks. The new Cleveland Classic Black Platinum putters should fit right in. Stay tuned for PutterZone.com's Cleveland Classic Black Platinum putter review.

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Jimenez Rides PING Scottsdale Putter to Victory

The PGA Tour's "These Guys Are Good" motto easily translates to the European Tour, where Miguel Angel Jimenez keeps jamming new sponsor sticks into his bag without missing a beat.

According to PING Golf, Jimenez's victory at the Omega European Masters "marks the third time this summer the 46-year-old was the first player to win with a new PING product."

In other words, Jimenez is the first player to christen PING's latest offerings with a victory, starting with the S56 irons and Tour-S wedges earlier in the summer, and now the PING Scottsdale putter line at the Omega European Masters. Simply put, the stogie-smoking, trick-shooting 46-year-old Spaniard is a sponsor's dream.

“I have great trust in the PING team to provide me the best product in the world,” said Jimenez

At the Omega European Masters, Jimenez started his victory lap with course-record score of 61 in the second round using the new PING Scottsdale Pickemup putter. For more information about the new PING Scottsdale putters, read PutterZone.com's earlier report on their features and technology.

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Charley Hoffman's Putter: Cameron Red X

Charley Hoffman fended off the field with a brilliant final round score of 62 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday.

As one report put it, "Charley Hoffman was rolling in so many putts Monday, he lost track of how many birdies he made."

Charley Hoffman's putter is the Scotty Cameron Red X mallet. The original Red X putter first appeared on the PGA Tour back in 2004.

Different iterations were subsequently released, but the Cameron Red X family is no longer in production. Hoffman's putter appears to be the Red X3 model, which features a charcoal mist finish, single sight line and an aluminum sole plate for enhanced internal weighting. The putter is milled from 303 stainless steel and features a single-bend shaft.

According to stats tallied recently by reader Ben Janusch, this is the 12th win for a Cameron putter on the PGA Tour in 2010, which makes Cameron second only to Odyssey (by a margin of one) in PGA Tour victories so far this year. Looks like it will be a fight to the finish for the 2010 victory crown.

Considering that Tiger Woods plays a Cameron and Mickelson plays an Odyssey, it will be interesting to see if either one of them plays a role in the putter win count down the stretch.

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Putter Fitting Tips: Putter Offset

A putter shaft can be straight or curved as it approaches the putter head. A shaft can be mounted in the heel or center of the putter head, as well as in between. A shaft can also be mounted into a “hosel,” a joint that extends from the putter head.

Regardless, depending on how the shaft curves and/or how the hosel is constructed, a putter can have varying degrees of “offset.”

In a putter with no offset, the leading edge of the shaft is in direct line with the leading edge of the putter face when looking down at the putter. In a putter with offset, the leading edge of the shaft is slightly ahead of the putter face when looking down (see putter at left for example of offset, putter at right for example of no offset; graphic generously shared by Cleveland Golf).

The term “full shaft” offset means that the offset is equal to the width of the shaft, while ½-shaft offset signifies that the offset is roughly equal to half of the width of the shaft.

Offset putters are preferred by golfers who like to have their hands slightly ahead of the ball during the putting stroke. Some also believe that eye dominance plays a role in fitting offset to the golfer.

In the words of Rife Putters: "For a right-handed player who has a dominant left eye, the eye closest to the hole, we would typically fit them with a straight shafted putter because that puts their dominant eye over the ball. For a person who is right eye dominant, the eye furthest from the hole, we would give them an offset shaft. Putting the ball under the dominant eye helps the player line up the putt with more accuracy. Offset putters typically help golfers keep their hands in front of the ball at impact and promotes less break down in the wrists."

As with so many things in the world of putting, it ultimately comes down to personal preference and performance.

P.S. For the complete scoop on putter fitting, check out Putter Perfection by Sean Weir, editor of PutterZone.com.

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