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Kuchar makes tweaks to his Bettinardi Arm Lock putter

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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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  1. 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?

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Equipment

Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article. 

…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.

Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.

Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.

According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.

He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.

Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

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Whats in the Bag

Akshay Bhatia WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X

Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X

Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split

Grips: Iomic

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.

 

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Whats in the Bag

Emiliano Grillo WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX

5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.

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