Equipment
The WILD story behind Tom Hoge’s 1-of-1 putter he used to win at Pebble Beach
Tom Hoge – at 32 years old – rolled in a 20-footer on the 71st hole of the 2022 AT&T Pebble Pro-Am to all but seal his first PGA Tour victory ever. At the moment, the putt gave him a two-stroke lead over Jordan Spieth and allowed Hoge to cruise home to victory with a par on the 72nd hole.
When that 20-foot putt dropped, you could feel the relief from Hoge. Something he worked for his whole life was finally coming true. It’s one of those moments in sports that gives you chills just thinking about it.
The backstory to how Hoge ended up with the putter he used to make the putt, though, is arguably even more intriguing.
Here’s how the story goes.
Ahead of the 2022 American Express in Palm Desert, Hoge was searching for a putter that would help him with his alignment. He was tending to aim left, and he needed something to help square him up.
His caddie, Henry Diana Jr., approached Odyssey Tour rep Joe Toulon on the side to request a custom 2-ball for Hoge to try.
“Henry thought a 2-ball with a long line on it might be something easier for him to line up,” Toulon told GolfWRX. “He didn’t tell Tom about that conversation… I said, ‘You know what, I’ll have one made up and ready to go in case that time comes.’”
This was no stock order, though. Hoge is very particular with his putter preferences. According to Toulon, Hoge has always used a plumber’s neck hosel with slight toe hang. The problem is, the Odyssey White Hot OG 2-ball doesn’t come stock with that hosel offering.
Therefore, the custom 2-ball putter that Toulon ordered for Hoge had to be specially made with a plumber’s neck.
The custom job took about a week, and the putter was delivered to Pebble Beach on a practice day prior to the event. Due to the heavier hosel construction, Toulon had to remove the back weight from the sole as you can see below.
With all of the proper weight adjustments made, Toulon then caught up with Diana Jr. at Pebble Beach to show him the putter, to which Diana Jr. responded, “Yeah, I think he’s going to like it…let me show it to him.”
So, ahead of the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Hoge was presented with a 1-of-1 custom Odyssey White Hot OG 2-ball putter with a custom plumber’s neck built to his liking.
According to Toulon, Hoge liked the putter immediately, but he was still deciding between a few different putter options as of Wednesday night before the event started. Ultimately, though, he decided to give the new custom 2-ball a try for the tournament.
“He switched last week, but he probably didn’t make a final decision until probably Wednesday I don’t think,” Toulon explained. “He had a couple putters in the bag until then. It was kind of a game-time decision.
“We took weight out of it, just because with that neck that we put on it adds some weight compared to the usual spud that’s on it. So we had to take shave some weight and ended up going with that. It was still heavier than what he using, but he said, “I kinda like it, so let’s leave it.” So we left it… it’s a 1-of-1 with that hosel for sure.”
So, just to summarize: Hoge was looking for a putter, his caddie had Toulon build up a custom 2-ball with Hoge’s preferred hosel on it, and then Hoge went on win with it the same week he saw the putter for the first time.
Pretty incredible, right?
Just wait. The story gets even better.
Didn’t it seem odd that Diana Jr. would recommend a 2-ball putter specifically, especially when it needed such a custom build?
Well, not really, as it turns out.
Diana Jr. was a professional golfer back in the day, and his father, Diana Sr., was a tool-and-die maker who also built golf clubs on the side.
In his playing days, Diana Jr. had the same problem with his putting that Hoge was having; Diana Jr. tended to aim his putter too far to the left.
He was using a 1986 Dave Pelz Three-Ball putter at the time, which was years before the Odyssey 2-ball was invented or available on the market.
Since Diana Jr. was struggling with his aim using the Pelz 3-ball putter, his father, who was a tinkerer and club maker, suggested that he build up Hoge a 2-ball putter for him to try.
“My dad used to be a tool and die maker but he made putters,” Diana Jr. told GolfWRX. “When I was playing professionally I was having a hard time with alignment, so in the mid-90s he made a 2-ball putter. I was using the Pelz putter, but I was aiming too far left. I didn’t like the Pelz putter. He’s like, ‘Well, hell, I’ll make you a putter. I think three is too many, I’ll make you a putter with two…that was 5 years before the Odyssey 2-ball came out.”
As Diana Jr. explains, the custom 2-ball his father made worked wonders for his aiming and squared him up.
Seeing Hoge struggle with the same problem, Diana Jr. figured a 2-ball could help Hoge the same way it helped him nearly 30 years prior.
“My dad was a tinkerer and he was always forward thinking in a lot of ways and he had great ideas,” Diana Jr. said. “Pelz was obviously the pioneer of it, and then [my father] tweaked it, then Odyssey obviously came out with it. But it really worked.”
Obviously, it worked on Sunday for Hoge, too.
“It’s just unbelievable how full circle it went,” Diana Jr. said. “I told my dad [when they came out with the 2-ball years after he developed it]: ‘You missed the boat again. You tweaked the 3-ball down to a 2-ball, then they made a zillion of them.’ But we certainly got paid back last week with what happened. I chuckled to see [Hoge] putt the way he did. It was a magical week. It really was.”
The funniest part? Hoge has no idea about this whole backstory. When I asked Diana Jr. if he told Hoge the full story about how the putter came about it, he answered, “Eh, not really.”
The 20-footer that Hoge made on the 17th green on Sunday at Pebble Beach was an absolutely huge putt for Hoge and his career, but that putt — and all Hoge’s putts last week — had special significance for his caddie, and it all goes back to his father’s handiwork some 30 years prior.
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Whats in the Bag
Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)
- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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Equipment
Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons
TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
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 Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
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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Thomas A
Sep 6, 2022 at 10:28 am
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Pelz sell Odyssey the 2-ball design for $250,000?
gunmetal
Mar 15, 2022 at 11:02 am
Wicked cool story! If Hoge-No bogey keeps winning, I’m pretty sure there will be a plumbers neck variant offered in the near future!
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bevan
Feb 9, 2022 at 8:34 pm
Really great article, thank you
Bladehunter
Feb 9, 2022 at 6:51 am
How that man a raise. When you have a guy on the bag who’s that active behind the scenes. He’s worth a lot.
L
Feb 9, 2022 at 1:52 am
Hilarious how all these companies are pushing for MOI with weights at the back of everything and yet here we are LOL
L is bad a flog...
Feb 9, 2022 at 9:50 am
Is your stroke as pure as that of the guys on Tour… I thought not… Enjoy the MOI moron…
GaGolfer
Feb 9, 2022 at 10:49 am
A little harsh, aren’t you, son? No more caf for you for a while.
True L
Feb 9, 2022 at 12:07 pm
L is correct, they didn’t have any problems putting with little blades back in the day.
L Train
Feb 9, 2022 at 12:29 pm
“…is correct” … “back in the day”….. hey little bud, I think you meant to say “was correct”
Ben
Feb 8, 2022 at 11:51 pm
If I could go ahead and get one made up in lefty that would be great.
birdiedancer
Feb 8, 2022 at 8:15 pm
That’s how Karma is supposed to work. Hoge is a grinders’, grinder..
I hope he keeps running the tables with his magic stick.
Benny
Feb 9, 2022 at 6:24 pm
Well said. Great read as always Golfwrx. We know golf doesn’t bring forth amazing stories everyday. Yet time and time again viewers on here get all mad about the articles.
Thanks again Golfwrx.