Do you like putters? Or hate them? How many do you have? I know one fellow who says he has several and they all know that if they begin to three-putt, then to the back of the line they go. It’s not the golfer, when it comes to this endlessly experimented-upon club, it’s the club. That’s why the search will continue as long as the game is played. It’s why a friend of mine keeps trying to find new putters that will work, but continually returns to an old and somewhat reliable favorite that he calls “Toby.” Toby may not always behave, but his is a familiar and trusted society. Maybe that’s the thing with putters, trust.
Now you take this man, Arnold Palmer. He was one who loved to tinker and his workshop, nay, laboratory, at Latrobe CC bears witness to his passion. There are many hundreds of putters on the racks, some just for amusement, but many others that bear the mark of experimentation with weight, grinding, grips, shafts… you name it. Kingdom Magazine, a journal devoted to Palmer and his many works, recently published an article about the King’s putters. It’s well worth reading, and then going to your own, currently valued, flat stick for a quiet talk about its recent behavior on the green.
Click here to read the story about Arnie’s putters on the Kingdom Magazine website.