Equipment
Kuchar makes tweaks to his Bettinardi Arm Lock putter
Chances are you’ve seen it. Matt Kuchar holed out a bunker shot for birdie on his last hole to win the 2014 RBC Heritage at Harbor Town.
After a rare three-putt miscue on No. 17, Kuchar didn’t even need to pull his flatstick out of the bag to finish the job. That putter model, a Bettinardi Kuchar Model 1, has served him well since he put it in play in 2013, but this year at the Masters, Kuchar felt like he needed to make some minor changes.
Kuchar and Bob Bettinardi started working with prototypes of the current putter back at the 2012 BMW Championship. There were some 15 different “experiments” before the Model 1 was born. Kuchar rolled to victories at the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (def. defending champ Hunter Mahan) and the 2013 Memorial Tournament.
The Model 1 is a face-balanced blade with a wide body, which offers more stability than traditional Anser-style putters. It also has Bettinardi’s F.I.T. Face (Feel Impact Technology), a milling process that removes 55 percent of the face material for a softer feel at impact. Ahead ofTthe Masters, Kuchar asked Bettinardi for some visual changes to his trusty arm lock model. After his Friday round at Augusta where he shot 71, Kuchar decided it was time to give the new Model 1 a go. It’s a nearly identical Tour Stock Model 1, with a 17-inch Bettinardi grip, Tour Stock shaft band with a black oxide finish that Bettinardi applied in house.
Overall, the Model 1 has served Kuchar well. He’s had four consecutive top-10 finishes, the most on the PGA Tour since 2013. Kuchar’s miss from 4 feet this week was particularly rare, as he has ranked no worse than 14th on the PGA Tour in 3-putt avoidance the last five years.
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Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra Tour Z5 65 M5
3-wood: Titleist GT2 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: MMT Utility 105 TX (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F), WedgeWorks (58, 60 @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @8.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 70 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3), Ping Blueprint S (4-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 Hybrid X (3), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 TX
Wedges: Ping Glide s159 (50-12S, 56-12S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 Wedge S
Putter: Ping PLD Anser 2D Prototype
Grip: Garsen Golf Ultimate
Grips: Lamkin UTx Mid
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
See the rest of Tony Finau’s WITB in the forums.
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM TI (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB Proto (4), P7CB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (5-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-SBC)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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david
Apr 25, 2014 at 7:43 am
its such a brief article, i’m embarrassed to say i missed what the change are….. can anyone help me out?