{"id":743,"date":"2012-02-16T20:24:59","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T20:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jaystuller.com\/?p=743"},"modified":"2012-02-17T17:07:16","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T17:07:16","slug":"in-the-belly-of-the-sabertooth-beast-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/golf\/equipment\/743\/in-the-belly-of-the-sabertooth-beast-2","title":{"rendered":"In The Belly of the Sabertooth Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Keegan Bradley's 2001 PGA Championship paved the way for younger golfers to embrace long putters.<\/p><\/div>\n

Once the last resort for old men with bad backs and yippy hands, long and belly putters are now showing up in the bags of PGA Tour<\/a> professionals, in even more bags on the Nationwide Tour<\/a>, and a certified rage amongst kids wearing Ricky Fowler colors and wide white belts.\u00a0 Bellies, it seems, are growing as prominent as Maltbie\u2019s gut.<\/p>\n

So is an increasingly heated debate on whether or not these \u201calternative putters\u201d are good for the game, or even legal since the butt of the shaft is \u201canchored\u201d to one\u2019s chest or stomach. \u00a0For example, the recent Sports Illustrated<\/em><\/strong> golf equipment issue contained a long feature entitled \u201cThe Belly Boom,\u201d which concluded that no matter what critics may say, the weird-looking long putters were in the game to stay.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Northern California Golf Association\u2019s <\/a>latest quarterly magazine includes a point-counterpoint column on whether belly putters ought to be banned. I was asked to write the \u201cno\u201d side of the argument, and of course crafted a professional opinion without ever actually testing a belly on a real green.\u00a0 But the assignment triggered an interest in the belly, and it\u2019s now clear I should have tried one long ago.<\/p>\n

The plain fact is that once on the short grass, I\u2019m cursed.\u00a0 Now, on putts of 20 to 30 feet, I\u2019ll lag them to kick-in distance maybe 8 out of 10 times.\u00a0 Alas, when putting for birdie or par from three feet out, well, I\u2018ll lag those lag those close, too.<\/p>\n

Then came this Golf Road Warriors<\/a> adventure, and from trip sponsor Callaway Golf<\/a> an Odyssey White Hot Sabertooth Belly Putter<\/a>, just like the one Keegan Bradley used to win the 2011 PGA Championship, the first major ever captured by a player who was alternative putting.\u00a0 More significant on the personal level, the Sabertooth is turning into absolute beast, enabling me to drop short Coachella Valley putts this week at the Mountain Course<\/a> at the La Quinta Resort, the Indian Wells Golf Resort<\/a>, Silver Rock Golf<\/a>, Shadow Ridge<\/a>, the Golf Club at Tierra Lago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jenkins Needs Fiber<\/strong><\/p>\n

The argument against long putters is that anchoring the butt end of the shaft against one\u2019s sternum or stomach enables you to make a more stable and consistent pendulum stroke, which is ostensibly an unfair advantage against someone crouched over a regular-length stick, gripping the club only with the hands. \u00a0Tom Watson, who can get\u00a0 his panties in a bunch over most anything, railed against \u201cthis big broom putter.\u201d\u00a0 Venerable Golf Writer Dan Jenkins announced that: \u201cI loathe and despise the long putter with every fiber in my body,\u201d which at his age indicates he\u2019d better be eating more fiber.\u00a0 In 2004 Ernie Els insisted \u201cthey should be banned.\u201d\u00a0 Guess who I saw using an alternative putter at the Frys.com Open<\/a> last fall?<\/p>\n

Now Els is flopping like a beached carp, or maybe worse and like a Republican presidential candidate. \u00a0\u201cAlthough I\u2019ve used it, I\u2019ve used it for, what, six months now, I feel the same as most of the tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adists,\u201d Els said at the 2012 North\u00adern Trust Open in Los Ange\u00adles. \u201cI feel that no club should be anchored to your body.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re (the USGA) going to go around it;, maybe use a put\u00adter as long as you want as long as it\u2019s not anchored to your body any way, even up your arm.\u00a0 You see a lot of the guys use it in their armpits now. \u00a0\u201cNoth\u00ading should be anchored to your body. I was in such a state that I felt that I needed to change some\u00adthing, which I did.\u00a0 I went to the belly.\u00a0 It hasn\u2019t really helped me that much, but it has helped me.\u00a0 But I\u2019m for it.\u00a0 Ban it.\u00a0 It\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks a lot, Big Whatever.<\/p>\n

The USGA<\/a> in fact \u00a0had a chance to ban these putters some 20 years ago.\u00a0 If Sam Snead\u2019s croquet-style putting stroke could have been prohibited, the thing about anchoring the butt of the club against the body would have met little or no resistance.\u00a0 USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas wanted long putters banned as non-conforming, but was overruled. Now?\u00a0 Well, the big cats are out of the bag.<\/p>\n

Putting guru Dave Stockton<\/a> has been learning to personally stroke the alternative putters just so he can teach their use with his distinct approach to putting. \u00a0Short game instructor Dave Pelz has found that players tend to make more short putts with belly putters, but are not quite as accurate on long lags.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found that one simply needs to spend a little time getting a feel for the stroke on those longer putts, which is soon identical to using a standard length flat stick.<\/p>\n

(Caveats: Casual one-handed automatic tap-ins from 12 inches out aren\u2019t as easy with the heavy and long-shafted bellies.\u00a0 Make sure it\u2019s conceded before flipping an alternative at the ball.\u00a0 Oh, and since it\u2019s also one of the heaviest clubs in the bag, walkers who pack ought to sure they\u2019re ready for the additional weight.)<\/p>\n

Yet another putting guru is PGA Teaching Pro Norm Albergio of Rhode Island, who is also one of the world’s most far-sighted putter<\/em> gurus. \u00a0Albergio contends that most regular length putters have shafts too long and heads that are too light, which makes it too easy to put unwanted side-spin – – perhaps only 30 rpms – – on short putts. \u00a0He believes Tiger Woods is making a perfect stroke on those five-footers, but missing on the left edge, because of his equipment<\/em>. \u00a0Albergio also says that the USGA would be wrong to think anchoring a putter to you body gives any kind of advantage. \u00a0“It’s the mass and weight of a long putter,” he insists, “that gives them stability.”<\/p>\n

The Short and Long of It<\/strong><\/p>\n

How rapidly are long and belly putters penetrating the golf market?\u00a0 “In 2011, interest in belly and long putters has brought tremendous excitement to not just the putter category, but the golf industry as a whole,” says Chris Koske, Global Director of Odyssey Golf. “Odyssey has seen a 400 percent increase in sales of our mid and long putter offerings over 2010, and we are not expecting it to slow down any time soon.”<\/p>\n

Titleist\u2019s Scotty Cameron<\/a> says he used to sell between 500 and 1,000 alternative putters a year, but thanks to Adam Scott\u2019s second place finish in last year\u2019s Masters, Bradley\u2019s PGA win and other professional successes, Cameron expects to sell up to 20,000 of them in 2002.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

My White Hot Sabertooth is increasingly good on lags, while producing more reliable rolls on short putts.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like a baseball bat with perfect weight and balance, putter choices are highly individual, which is why it is good golfers today have so many choices.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried several belly models now, but find I have excellent long-range touch with the White Hot XG Sabertooth, while getting much closer to dialing in the accuracy on those long-perplexing short challengers.<\/p>\n

With one of the more radical head shapes, the club\u2019s \u201cDual Fang\u201d design gives it the name of the extinct cat.\u00a0 But those big teeth position weight out and behind the sweet spot, helping keep the putter on line.\u00a0 Here\u2019s more of what Odyssey says about the Sabertooth:\u00a0 Aiming Channels inside the fangs make lining up putts easier. The multi-layer White Ice\u00ae Insert allows weight to be shifted to the perimeter of the head for stability, while also delivering enhanced feel, sound, responsiveness and resiliency, adding up to consistent distance control and ultimate feel on the green.<\/em><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what you need to roll the long putts close, and make the short ones that produce the most pleasing and rewarding sound in golf – – a ball hitting the bottom of the cup.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once the last resort for old men with bad backs and yippy hands, long and belly putters are now showing… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[294744,251739,294746,6127,39217,294737,9,294742,288270,5658,152652,3,17],"tags":[1027933,293743,2464,1027937,125457,90633,293745,4503,277579,293746,5835,1175,293747,89813,2868,89842,277585,83,293740,293741,1570,1027934,1027938,294749],"class_list":["post-743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-golf-club-at-terra-lago","category-pga-tour","category-silverrock-golf-resort","category-so-cal-golf-assoc","category-golf-road-warriors","category-venues","category-golf","category-mountain-course-at-la-quinta","category-grw-palm-springs","category-shadow-ridge-golf-club","category-callaway-golf","category-equipment","category-courses-and-travel","tag-golf-road-warriors","tag-silver-rock-golf-club","tag-sports-illustrated","tag-pga-tour","tag-shadow-ridge","tag-keegan-bradley","tag-golf-club-at-tierra-lago-dan-jenkins","tag-ricky-fowler","tag-odyssey-golf","tag-ernie-els-northern-trust-open","tag-roger-maltbie","tag-tom-watson","tag-scott-cameron","tag-dave-stockton","tag-frank-thomas","tag-northern-california-golf-association","tag-chris-koske","tag-usga","tag-white-hot-sabertooth","tag-la-quinta-resort","tag-nationwide-tour","tag-callaway-golf","tag-indian-wells-golf-resort","tag-norm-albergio"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2012\/02\/Picture-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":760,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions\/760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}