Equipment
‘The Claw’ and ‘Flatso’ putter grips from SuperStroke
The ban on anchored-putting styles isn’t scheduled to go into effect until 2016, but many tour players are already preparing for the day when they can no longer lean on their long and belly putters.
It’s not even February, but we’ve already seen photos of two very successful long-putter users, Carl Pettersson and Adam Scott, practicing with non-anchored putters. If you look closely at the photos below, you’ll see that neither Pettersson nor Scott are gripping the putter in a traditional way — they’re both using a version of the “claw” grip, which places their right hand on the putter in a position that’s similar to the way they gripped a long putter.
Dean Dingman, president of SuperStroke golf, said that as the death date for anchored putters grows nearer, golfers who were successful with anchored long and belly putters will start to gravitate toward new, non-anchored putting styles. That’s why his company has released five new putter grips that will give golfers who struggle with conventional putting styles more options on the green.
SuperStroke’s new “The Claw” putter grip looks much like conventional putter grips, but it’s length has been stretched 2.5 inches, which better accommodates the claw style of putting.
The grip was inspired by Phil Mickelson’s experiment with the claw putting style last fall. Mickelson wanted more grip length to accommodate the position of his lower hand, which rests farther down the grip when using the claw style of putting. To do so, Mickelson cut down one of SuperStroke’s 21-inch belly putter grips to 13 inches, which gave him the length he needed as well as a reduced weight (The Claw weighs 93 grams) that gave his putter a better balance.
SuperStroke’s Flatso grips are designed in a non-tapered pentagonal shape that creates a wide flat section on the front of the grip, as well as a pistol-style ridge that give the grips a different feel than the company’s round-shaped putter grips. The Flato is available in four different styles — Flatso, Flatso Mid, Flatso DB and Flatso 17 — all with different constructions that target different golfers.
The standard Flatso has a front-section diameter of 1.7 inches, which some golfers will use to place their thumbs more parallel to each other on the wider flat section of the grip, which will level their shoulders at address. With the Flatso, golfers can also position their hands further away from each other, which will help some create a more shoulder-driven stroke.
“We noticed that some tour players were trying to get their hands closer together and level out their shoulders at address,” said Jon Luna, director of marketing for SuperStroke. “Others players asked us for more of a pistol-style feel on the back of the grip. We feel that the larger flat section gives golfers more versatility and more options on how they can putt.”
The Flatso weighs 100 grams, and like all of SuperStroke’s standard-length grips, measures 10.5 inches. The Flatso Mid is a smaller, lighter version of the Flatso, with a diameter of 1.4 inches and a weight of 60 grams. Because of it’s smaller front section, the Flatso Mid will help golfers square up the face slightly faster at impact than the larger Flatso grip.
The Flatso DB (or Double Barrel) has the same outer construction as the standard Flatso grip, but it has two holes on the interior of the grip that will allow golfers to either add or subtract offset from their putter. If a right-handed golfer installs the grip on their shaft through the left hole, they will subtract 0.25 inches of offset from the putter, which should delay the closing of the putter face through impact — good for players that tend to miss their putts to the left. If the grip is installed through the right hole, the grip will add 0.25 inches of offset to the putter, which should speed up the closing of the face and help players who tend to miss their putts to the right.
SuperStroke’s Flatso 17 is a 17-inch-long version of the company’s Flatso Mid grip, and was designed to add stability for golfers who anchor mid-length putters to their leading forearm. In this style of putting, which has been popularized by Matt Kuchar, the Flatso 17 is turned counter clockwise (for a right-handed golfer) so the 1.4-inch diameter of the grip rests flatly against a golfer’s upper wrist and forearm.
Click here for more photos of the grips and to see what people are saying in the putter forum.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Equipment
Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes
As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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THONG
Mar 15, 2015 at 4:45 pm
They stopped making the claw grip. Best grip Ive ever used.
shane spray
Mar 13, 2015 at 4:29 am
I have the flatso grip on my scotty cameron select newport 2. I cant wait to get my claw grip on my clevland belly putter im getting cut down it comes in tommarow!!!!! 🙂
Mack N
Jan 29, 2013 at 12:58 pm
It seems to me that the statement on offset is backwards. The more offset should be for misses to the right.
Colorado Golf Discounts
Jan 29, 2013 at 10:20 am
The grip with 2 holes in it if very innovative, allowing adjustment of the offset angle of the putter. Golf club designers should take note. With adjustable drivers like Ping already out, can adjustable putters be far behind? Seems like a simple gear mechanism near the shaft/blade junction would easily accommodate a slight angle adjustment of the putter blade.
Troy Vayanos
Jan 18, 2013 at 11:42 pm
It’s good to see golfing manufacturers coming out with some new alternatives to help out golfers.
The new grip is an interesting one that hopefully offers a good substitute for the golfers who love the longer putter.
Being an Adam Scott fan I hope he finds a way to move back to the standard length putter and retain the same touch. His putting has always been his weak point so he needs it remaining strong.
Don
Jan 18, 2013 at 10:08 am
Superstroke hasn’t put these on their website yet. I Really want to see the specs of the Claw one.