BOMB: Well, after spending 8-plus hours with you in a car driving back from Toronto, some of the thoughts are starting to come to the surface. Chief among them is this: Last week saw K.J. Choi using a putter grip about the size of a soda can, Colin Montgomerie using a belly putter and those two plus Brad Bryant all using 60-degrees wedges. We hear lots of people bellyaching that shotmaking is being taken out of the game but they have little problem allowing a putter grip that Choi himself said, “reduces the movement of your wrist.” It’s the golf equivalent of this. And anyone using a belly putter might to grab hold of one of these for comfort, too. And would Choi have made that miracle bunker shot on 17 if it were a 56-degree instead of a 60-degree? Doubt it. I used to be OK with the long putters and the like, but there’s just something not right about these. Of course, watching you three-putt from eight feet the other day, perhaps you’ve changed your position on crutches such as these.
GOUGE: Not at all. More crutches for everyone. Why not set up some netting along the right side of every fairway so those wild heel slices are gently pushed back into play? Why not allow players two or three throws a round (depending on what USGA testing suggests would be most equitable)? Why not let them use some sort of catapult to launch tee shots? I know we harped on the unnecessary clamor over equipment regulation the other day, but sometimes you have to look at technology’s progression objectively. We’re both more than OK with a steady generalized growth over time, but when there are weird affected departures, it’s time to make it just stop, especially when that kind of development is fueled by a desire to compensate for some staggering ineptitude or lack of intestinal fortitude. Bracing the grip end of the club to your gut is not in the best interests of the game and shows an inherent psychological weakness in the individual. Exposing weakness is the whole point of the golf exercise. Holding on to a putter grip about the size of a racing bratwurst is not the stuff of unwavering mental strength. Using a pancake flipper as a greenside chipping club is using technology to overcome a lack of skill. None of us would be the worse for wear without any of these so-called innovations. Or maybe we just need a few more out there. Maybe what everyone needs isn’t a 60-degree wedge. What we need is a 73-degree wedge. Because, after all, a 70-degree just isn’t enough club to let you hit all the shots you need. All I know is I can skull that club across the green, too.
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