The problem with putting

CHARLOTTE, NC—Back in the long ago, there was a tour golfer who so despised his putter, he held its head underwater, trying to drown it. When that didn't work, he tied it to the rear bumper of his car and dragged it down a highway until he figured it had learned its lesson.

The man was probably perfectly sane. Putting just does things to people.

If the PGA Tour didn't have strict and expensive rules about behavior, we might have seen a few putters thrown or stomped or broken across a knee at the Quail Hollow Championship this week. Maybe even dragged behind a car. Surely it must have crossed the mind of Phil Mickelson, who is generally all smiles and sunshine, when he four-putted the 17th hole while tied for the lead Friday.

Mickelson is one of the best golfers in the world. You'd think his putter would show him the respect he deserves—but nobody is immune. You can practice until your hands bleed and still miss a three-footer that you could kick in with the toe of your shoe. That's why someone called it the pursuit of infinity.

There's no perfect in putting. Al Geiberger was the first man to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour, but he pointed out that he missed a three-foot putt.

You can pick up a top-of-the-line putter and have a short-game guru check it with a laser device to see how it fits your stroke. Mickelson did that and found out his blade was open one degree at address and impact. He got that fixed. But he still four-putted.

If you don't believe it's the player and not the weapon, consider the putter with which Bobby Jones won 10 of his 13 major championships. It was called Calamity Jane and it was ugly as sin, short and light, rusted and with a crack in its hickory shaft. It's valued at more than $1 million. It's not for sale, of course. It's in the U.S. Golf Association museum. If you found it lying around somewhere, you might take it home and hang it on a wall for decoration—but putt with it? Nope.

There was a time when everybody putted pretty much the same way, with pretty much the same style putters. Not anymore.

Sergio Garcia, the third-ranked player in the world, has tried everything—standard, crosshanded, claw grip, long putter, belly putter, a putter with an extra-thick grip—and once carried two putters in his bag. He's an exquisitely gifted striker of the ball, but the putter has kept him from winning major championships and the search goes on.

Mark Calcavecchia, Jesper Parnevik and Niclas Fasth also have gone out with two putters in the bag.

It can all be maddening. Henrik Stenson once double-hit so many putts, he lost count of his score on the hole. He was credited with a 12 but declined to sign his scorecard because he wasn't sure what he shot.

A couple of years ago, Dick Coop, a sports psychologist from Chapel Hill, told of working with one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the Midwest, trying to cure the man's putting yips.

"I asked him what he thought about just before he took the putter back," said Coop. "He said, ‘You don't want to know.' I told him I needed to know if I was going to help him. He said, ‘Suicide.'"

Putting's tough, but that sounds a little extreme. Maybe he should try the long putter.

RON GREEN JR.
[email protected]

Provider:
The Charlotte Observer