His wizardry with the flat stick but a fleeting memory, Tiger Woods may want to do more than toy with a belly putter. The golfer who, seemingly eons ago, appeared to make almost every clutch putt he lined up, acknowledged brief flings with a longer putter but said he’s sticking with a regulation model.
“No, I can’t, no [conceive of every using a longer stick],” Woods said Tuesday at a press conference for December’s Chevron World Challenge. “When I pick up the belly putter and I try it, it’s very similar to my stroke. The only difference is the weight throws me off. Because the way I believe in releasing the putter is exactly what the belly putter does. So my putt into my putter generally stays right there anyways. I like to release it with my right-hand.”
Woods further explained why the club that even Phil Mickelson has in the bag was not for him.
“It’s kind of the guys who like to drag the putter — Phil’s always been one who does drag the putter a little bit and the handle and been very successful at it. But the belly putter is in actuality a releasing stroke, which I believe is how you should putt,” he said. “So when I pick up the belly putter and I try it, it’s very similar to my stroke. The only difference is the weight throws me off. But how it’s released is how I release a putter anyways, so it doesn’t really change.”
It’s not surprising that Tiger would tinker with a putter that PGA champ Keegan Bradley and Deutsche Bank Championship winner Webb Simpson have used with great success. After all, the formerly eagle-eyed putt-meister has plummeted from the top 10 in putting average in 2007 to 46th today in the PGA Tour’s “strokes gained-putting” rankings.
Even Woods, who chided a contestant during a Chevron-related putting challenge in Hollywood yesterday for using a belly blade, conceded that he endured one of his worst-ever days on the greens in the first round of last week’s Frys.com Open.
It’s unclear when Woods fiddled with the longer putter, but complaints about his short stroke go back to his first comeback of the 2011 season at the Masters in April. A T4 finish seemed to signal a successful return to competitive golf, but even then Woods was unhappy with his play on the greens.
“I swung the club well all day. That wasn’t the problem,” Woods told reporters following a third-round 2-over 74 at Augusta. “Two three-putts and a bunch of putts that looked like they were going to go in….I just didn’t make anything on the greens.”
With his putting an obvious ongoing concern, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Woods does more than fiddle with a longer mallet. He’ll have an opportunity to learn from the best when he plays with Bradley at the Chevron.
The putting contest, which reportedly attracted several hundred fans, was part of a promo for the December tourney, which Woods, Bradley, Steve Stricker, and Dustin Johnson will headline. Woods, who hosts and barely qualified for the event that benefits his foundation, thanked the tournament committee for letting him play.
While the Associated Press noted that some Tiger impersonators made the scene in Hollywood, wiener-tossing was not on the menu.
“Part of the lure of our sport is our access. Fans can literally reach out and touch you,” Woods said about the spectator who threw a hot dog at him during the final round of the Frys. “You don’t ever touch football players unless they jump in the stands. That personal interaction is what makes golf so special. We’ve been very fortunate over the years to have everything turn out positively.
“This guy was just trying to gain attention for himself, which he did. I’ve had another fan throw an orange in Phoenix one year,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, people have a few of their libations of choice, and do things that they probably don’t normally do.”
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the The A Position, Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
Related posts:
- Rocco Mediate makes like Keegan Bradley, adds belly putter to his bag at Frys.com Open
- Furyk learns ins and outs of belly putters from PGA champ Bradley
- Invasion of the long putters, Part III: Appleby goes low with belly bat
- Long putters not selling despite Bradley
- Mickelson tinkers with belly putter at Deutsche Bank Championship
