Connect with us

Equipment

Charles Howell III Q&A: Putter testing, being a “gearhead” and his favorite putting drills

Published

on

This week at the 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 42-year-old Charles Howell III is making his 600th career PGA Tour start. Chucky Three Sticks, as he’s called, has been one of the most consistent golfers on Tour for the last two decades, amassing over $40 million in on-course earnings.

He’s also a massive gearhead who loves to test and switch equipment. While the full-time Titleist staffer is currently set with 13-of-14 of his clubs, he still enjoys testing putters – everything from Scotty Cameron’s to putters made from other manufacturers. As he discusses below, he just likes to keep things interesting.

A look at Howell III’s Titleist setup at the Phoenix Open.

On Tuesday ahead of the WM Phoenix Open, I caught up Howell III following a putter testing session on the TPC Scottsdale practice green. I noticed he was testing a bunch of different putters, and the session lasted for hours. I couldn’t help but talk to Howell III for a few minutes following the session to pick his brain.

Happy 600 to Chucky Three Sticks, and enjoy the quick interview below!

Tursky: So I just saw you grinding for hours, doing a little putter testing. What are you looking at? What are you seeing?

Howell III: So, for some reason I’ve putted my best historically with more of a Newport style putter with some amount of toe hang, but my eye always wants to go to a mallet putter. So I’m always in that… it’s why we’re golfers I guess. We’re strange creatures. But I’ll end up with a Newport style putter. I love the way the others look when they sit down. And then Tim Suzor, who helps me with my putting and I’ve known forever, he’s…none of it’s rocket science but we play so much we fall into these bad habits and weird stuff, it’s nice to have another set of eyes there to get your attention to go in [the right direction].

I feel like you had the same putter for a few months in a row there and ended up switching it out.

Three months is just way too long. It’s just way too long.

Is that a thing where you just can’t help yourself? Like you just have to look at something different?

I don’t switch anything else…I’ve played the same driver and driver shaft forever now. I’ve played the same 3 wood, etc., so you have to switch something. There’s also part of it, too, that it keeps it interesting and exciting. When you’ve played golf as long as I have, sometimes it’s just part of the fun of it to look at something else. It’s why we’re all gearheads, right? You don’t need any more reason to it than that.

I’m not a guy that can look at the same putter forever. I’m just not.

What are you working on technique wise?

A lot of posture and balance stuff. We’ve actually introduced quite a bit of games to make it more of a competitive environment on the practice green, similar to how you feel and what you do on the golf course.

It’ll be a certain amount of block practice, some setup and posture stuff, and then some games for the competitive side of it.

What are some of the games?

Well, we do a lot of holing a certain amount of putts before you can leave the green. We’ll do a lot of speed drills where you have to get a certain amount of balls between the front edge of the hole and a rod, let’s say 3 feet behind it. All different things like that just to make it a little bit competitive.

So how many putts in a row will you need to hit?

We’ll go from 8 feet and you have to make 5 in a row from both sides of the hole, so that would be 10 in a row. That game at times can take for-absolute-ever, and then you just give up and say, ‘The hell with it, I’m going to the driving range.”

But as long as there’s a balance between a certain amount of block practice for what we’re trying to do, and a certain amount of practice of like, let’s get out of that and into results and a little bit of competitiveness. So it doesn’t really matter what the game is, it just matter that it’s more a performance game as opposed to like a block game.

And you’re only doing putter testing, you’re not testing anything else?

No, it’s just putters. See it’s boring. See, it’s all boring. Just putters, because everything else is fine.

Your Reaction?
  • 31
  • LEGIT8
  • WOW2
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: TOUR REPORT: Bryson DeChambeau’s new “LA Golf” prototype putter, and Collin Morikawa makes a big change – GolfWRX

  2. V

    Feb 12, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    Thank you for this. I always like reading CHIII’s interviews. Fun perspectives on equipment that many of us can relate to.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

on

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.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

on

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.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

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

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

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

Your Reaction?
  • 12
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW3
  • LOL2
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK3

Continue Reading

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

on

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

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending