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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Two weekends ago when Harris English outlasted Kramer Hickok in a marathon playoff at the Travelers Championship, his trusty Ping Hohum putter came through on multiple occasions. If you took a close look at the putter English used to win the tournament, there was a noticeably odd quirk you would have trouble finding with any other PGA Tour player.
English’s Ping Palm Lock grip is badly frayed to the point that it is peeling off, giving the impression that the whole thing would fall apart in seconds if in the hands of a child rather than a professional golfer afraid to start anew with a fresh grip.
He’s used the same grip – and the same putter head – since his college days at the University of Georgia playing alongside Hudson Swafford, Russell Henley, Keith Mitchell and others. English is 31 years old, making this combination about a decade old.
That is an outlier of epic proportions. While professional golfers usually change grips for the rest of their clubs every month or two, putter grips often are changed less frequently. Still, it would be considered lengthy if a player kept the same grip for more than a few years. Sticking with the same one for 10 years is impressive.
English has been a tremendous putter throughout his career, finishing in the top 20 of strokes gained putting in five seasons. He sits 23rd so far this season, so why would he change?
From the old to the new: Titleist’s T100 irons jumped into play last month. Six players at the Travelers Championship used them immediately, including Cameron Smith and Hank Lebioda. It was Lebioda who picked up his best finish of 2021 in Connecticut with a tie for fifth place.
Jason Day also had a solid showing at the Travelers with a T10 finish, thanks to a putter switch. Day had been using a SIK putter but went back to a TaylorMade Ghost Spider Itsy Bitsy, finishing No. 23 in strokes gained putting. He held the lead through 36 holes.
“I was looking down at the putter and just wasn’t lining up correctly,” Day said of his past experiences without the TaylorMade putter. “To me it felt a little bit closed. So that kind of crossed – I crossed myself up and wasn’t trusting my line. So going back to the Spider, which sits a little bit more open for me, I can trust the line that I’m aiming at.”
By strokes gained, Day was the No. 1 putter on the PGA Tour in 2016 and the No. 2 putter in 2018. It’s been a consistent strength, once making him the best putter out of all the elite players near the top of the game. But he’s No. 103 this season.
Day entered last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic ranked 66th in the Official World Golf Ranking. It’s his worst position since July 2010.
Odyssey has an incredible streak going with its putters. For 30 consecutive weeks, at least one player using an Odyssey putter has won on either the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions.
Sean Fairholm