Berry Tramel: Short putter a goofy look at the U.S. Open or at Lincoln Park
Copyright ©2010. The Associated Press. Produced by NewsOK.com all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The first time I saw Robert Garrigus standing over his little putter last week in the U.S. Open, I thought he had lost a contact lens.
Garrigus was bent over, almost at a 90 degree angle. that 28-inch putter looked like a stick stoking a campfire.
One minute, you’re watching the U.S. Open at Congressional. The next minute, it’s putt-putt at Andy Alligator’s.
Don’t like those grandpa putters that rise up to an erect golfer’s chest? those putters that seem longer than vaulting poles? Robert Garrigus is for you.
But before we cackle at the little-kid putter and the paunchy golfer using it, let’s remember one thing.
Two Americans finished in the U.S. Open top 10. Garrigus and Kevin Chappell. Two. which equaled the number of South Africans in the top 10.
So just because Garrigus and Chappell don’t roll off the tongue like Nicklaus and Palmer, let’s not make too much of the little putter. Heck, maybe the Americans should start putting with pool sticks, see if that helps.
Give Garrigus credit. He’s been using the miniature putter since he was 19. He doesn’t seem like one of those experimenters who chase gimmicks, trying to get ball into cup.
Ken Green was an inspirational golfer, using a tiny putter, anywhere from 18 inches to 28 inches, after returning to the seniors tour with a prosthetic leg.
Still, there’s something unsettling about guys who putt differently. Remember when Phil Mickelson said the long putters, or their first cousins the belly putters, almost seemed like cheating?
There’s nothing technologically unethical about using revolutionary-sized putters. It’s still a metal blade tapping the ball. still all about touch and direction. who cares how you get blade and ball to meet?
I never did understand the outrage. Guys are teeing off with jackhammers and hitting irons with sweet spots wider than some fairways, yet griping about the length of the putter shaft. made no sense.
These putters aren’t unethical. They’re uncool.
“It’s not a fashionable thing to have a long putter,” said Gaillardia Country Club pro Peter Vatali. “Something out of the norm shows a deficiency in putting.”
Isn’t that the goal of most of us on the golf course? Avoid embarrassment? Avoid bringing attention to ourselves? Better to let everyone think we stink than to actually swing a club or putt a ball and remove all doubt.
Jim Hopson of Golf USA’s Norman store said Garrigus hasn’t created a run on short putters, which really are just cut-down conventional putters. Hopson said the long putters are much more popular.
Professionals lose their decorum much faster than the rest of us. You start putting for money or for trophies engraved with names like Sarazen and Snead, you worry less about being cool.
No recent golfer has won a major championship with a long putter — or with a short putter, for that matter — but guys still use them. You just don’t see a lot of long putters in contention. Adam Scott in this year’s Masters. Rocco Mediate in that memorable showdown with Tiger in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Stewart Cink won the 2009 British Open after switching back from a long putter.
Which just goes to show you, putting is all mental. The short putter helps you get your eyes right over the ball (looking for that contact lens). The belly putter anchors against your abdomen, which means wrist action is easier to control. but you lose some feel that way. Grandpa putters eliminate the wrists; the stroke becomes a pendulum. Feel is virtually gone, but the long putter cures the yips.
At least that’s what people say. I’ve never used a long putter, haven’t used a kiddy putter since about 1971 and haven’t gotten overly serious about any putt since I had a four-footer on the 18th green for an 85 at Lincoln West about 12 years ago.
Heck, I don’t even wear contacts and can’t remember ever looking for one. but if I ever do, I know who to call.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at . He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.
Sports Photo Galleriesview all
