Putter Buzz: Sergio Sizzles at Last

Sergio Garcia finds his putting mojo, Phil Mickelson gets a “new” flatstick, and Rife rolls to victory again. Here's the latest Putter Buzz on the PGA Tour and beyond:

1. Bravo to Sergio Garcia for sinking some crucial putts to help secure a victory at the Players Championship. After dating several putters and committing polygamy earlier this year with two putters in his bag, Garcia seems to have settled into a putting groove under the tutelage of short-game guru Stan Utley, who has urged Garcia not to get too caught up in mechanics. Some folks will say that Garcia’s putting performance over the past four days was less than stellar, but you can’t argue with the paycheck or the trophy. In the past, his putter has often failed him at crucial moments. Yesterday, it didn’t. He sank a seven-footer on the 18th hole that got him into the playoff. He also sank a 45-footer on the 14th hole that proved to be a momentum changer. PutterZone.com is a big believer in Stan Utley’s “feel-based” approach to putting. Click here to read PutterZone.com’s review of Utley’s book The Art of Putting.

2. TaylorMade’s Spider putter continued its ridiculous run of success in the hands of Paul Goydos yesterday. If not for an untimely shot in the drink, Goydos might be wearing the Players Championship crown today. The Spider has already been used in two PGA tournament victories this year, and Goydos was so close to making it three. Click here to read PutterZone.com's TaylorMade Spider review.

3. Much has been made in the media about Phil Mickelson’s “new” putter, which really isn’t new at all. His main stick is still an Odyssey White Hot XG #9 putter. He simply had it lengthened from 33.5 to 35 inches. What’s interesting is the reason Mickelson gave for wielding a longer putter. He says that he’s grown between a half and a full inch taller as the result of an intense stretching regimen. Of course, he didn’t grow overnight, and a change of 1.5 inches in putter length is no small transition, so PutterZone.com suspects there’s a bit more to the story.

4. Denis Watson won the Champions Tour’s FedEx Kinko’s Classic with a Rife 2 Bar Mallet (pictured here) in hand, sinking a birdie on the final hole to capture a one-stroke victory. Rife reports that five players wielding Rife putters finished in the top ten at the FedEx Kinko’s Classic, earning more than $710,365.00 and accounting for more than 33 percent of the total prize money.

5. Peter Lawrie won the European PGA Tour’s Spanish Open with a Yes! Marilyn model putter in hand. Yes! putters also enjoyed a 1-2-3 finish at the Japan LPGA Tour’s Crystal Geyser Ladies Open, with Miho Koga winning with the Marilyn model, Maiko Wakabayashi finishing second with a Callie model and Ritsuko Ryu finishing third with a Tracy II model.

6. Ignacio Garrido finished second to Lawrie at the Spanish Open after placing a Heavy Puttter B1-M model into play for the first time. Trailing by one shot on the final hole of regulation, he drained a 30-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. He also notched a course record nine-under-par 63 with just 25 putts during the second round of the tournament—reminiscent of Adrien Mork’s record score of 59 using a Heavy Putter on the European circuit a few years ago.

Putter Buzz: Boo Scares Up Another Win

Boo Weekley repeats with a familiar putter, Lorena Ochoa dominates with a new model and Tiger Woods puts some bark in the arc. Here's the latest Putter Buzz on the PGA Tour and beyond:

1. Boo Weekley wielded his trusty Never Compromise GM2 Exchange #7 putter (pictured here) while securing his repeat victory at the Verizon Heritage tournament, picking up a cool $990,000 in the process. Never Compromise is on a PGA Tour roll right now. Steve Flesch used the same #7 model putter at the Masters, finishing in fifth place and earning $275,000. Vijay Singh and David Toms were among others playing with Never Compromise putters at the Masters. Click here for PutterZone.com’s review of the Never Compromise GM2 Exchange #2 putter.

2. Lorena Ochoa’s remarkable run of four straight victories has been aided with a PING Redwood Series ZB putter, one of PING’s two new Redwood Series models. Her latest win at the Ginn Open tied the LPGA record for consecutive victories, and she has now qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame at the age of 27.

3. Rising star Andres Romero is making noise with a Rife Barbados model putter, tying for 8th place at the Masters. According to Rife: “This is the 3rd year in a row that Rife has had a top 10 finish at the Masters, with a T-5th place finish in 2007 and a T-3rd place finish in 2006.” Click here for PutterZone.com’s review of the new Rife Two Bar Hybrid putter.

4. Tiger Woods’ putter may have failed him at the Masters, but he’s still a genius with the flatstick. Charlotte Observer writer Ron Green, Jr. recently took a lesson from Hank Haney, Woods’ instructor. According to Green, Haney told him: “Woods…rotates the putter 11 degrees during his stroke, 4.5 degrees open going back, 6.5 degrees closed on the follow through.” Surely, the amount of rotation depends on the length of the stroke, but the point is clear—Woods not only putts with an arcing stroke, he does it with surgical precision.

The Putter Buzz for 3/31

Yes! Golf continues to get bagged by big names, the TaylorMade Spider spins a web of success, and the Heavy Putter is back in black...

Here's the latest Putter Buzz on the PGA Tour and beyond:

1. Yes! Golf, already a leader on the LPGA Tour, is gaining ground on the PGA Tour as well. At the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational, Colin Montgomerie used a Yes! Victoria II model putter, while Stephen Ames wielded a Valerie model (pictured here), the same putter with which he won the Skins Game in November. Meanwhile, Retief Goosen returned to his old Tracy model, the putter that helped him win the U.S. Open. Click here for PutterZone.com’s earlier interview with Yes! Golf’s CEO Francis Ricci.

2. The new TaylorMade Spider putter has already racked up some remarkable stats on the professional circuit: 12 PGA Tour events, 83 times in play, 32 different players have used it, 15 top-25 finishes, 10 top-10 finishes and two victories already in 2008. If there has ever been a new putter introduction that was as sweeping and successful right out of the gates on the PGA Tour, PutterZone.com can’t recall it. Click here for PutterZone.com’s review of the TaylorMade Spider.

3. The Putting Arc reports that “the professional win total for known Putting Arc users in 2008 now stands at 20,” inclusive of the international circuits. The Putting Arc is a training aid designed to instill the feel of the optimal arc-type stroke. According to the company, “The modern putting stroke of the successful touring pro is the inside-to-inside or arc-type stroke. This is the stroke used by 95 percent of successful touring pros.” Click here for PutterZone.com’s earlier interview with the Putting Arc’s V.J. Trolio.

4. Heavy Putter just released its C2-DF Tour model putter, the production version of its C2-DF Limited Edition putter, of which only 500 were made. The C2-DF Tour belongs to Heavy Putter’s new Deep Face (DF) series, and features the same Anser-style head as the regular C2-DF model. The Tour version, however, is forged and milled from 303 stainless steel, and features a durable PVD (for “physical vapor deposition”) finish for a rich black profile with gold lettering. This is a seriously sharp-looking Heavy Putter. Click here for PutterZone.com’s review of the Heavy Putter DF series.

5. Tom Conway, a golf equipment representative based in Indianapolis and a contributor to PutterZone.com’s Drill Bits series, reports good news from Ashdon Golf—a newer producer of putters designed by Ronnie Pritchett. The company’s Bermuda Triangle model divides the putter into three equal segments to connect at the center of the heel and toe, resulting in a generous sweet spot. “These putters really boil down to stability and balance, which will help you make more putts,” Tom says.

The Putter Buzz for 3/17

So what’s the latest buzz in putting on the PGA Tour and beyond? It’s all right here in PutterZone.com’s new Putter Buzz series:

1. Vijay Singh recently switched from a belly putter back to a traditional putter, a move that has helped him climb into the Top 10 money leaders on the PGA Tour for 2008. He hasn’t won yet this year, but he’s getting close, finishing third yesterday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and second at Pebble Beach last month. His current putter of choice? A Never Compromise Exchange Series #5 blade. Click here to read PutterZone.com’s review of the sibling Exchange Series #2 mallet.

2. Conversely, Mark Calcavecchia has switched to a belly putter—for now, at least. Calcavecchia is notorious for abusing clubs that don’t obey his will, including putters. Last year, he threw a putter five times before it broke, the head flying into a hedge near his hotel. Says Calcavecchia: “You hate to break a putter because then you have to go to a golf shop or something and buy one. It's always good to bring an extra putter.” Or maybe an extra psychologist.

3. F2 Golf recently released two new models under the Hamilton Series banner: the HM1 blade (pictured here) and HM4 mallet (both $99). In addition to changeable heel and toe weights, both putters feature F2’s proprietary MicroDome Face Inserts. According to F2, these dome-textured inserts have “more secure contact points touching the dimpled golf ball than a traditional flat face putter to send the ball rolling more accurately on its intended line at impact.” Stay tuned for the PutterZone.com review.

4. Bernard Langer has been on a serious roll lately with his Rife Two Bar Hybrid putter. On March 10, he won the PGA Champions Tour Toshiba Classic, beating Jay Haas on the seventh playoff hole. And yesterday, Langer finished just two shots off the winning score at the AT&T Champions Classic. Click here to read PutterZone.com’s review of Rife’s new Two Bar Hybrid putter.