Dustin Johnson Switches Putter, Wins BMW

Dustin Johnson’s year on the PGA Tour has been superb. He has had a great statistical year on the ball striking side, been very consistent week in and week out, won his first Major Championship, leads the tour in money earned, and so on. So why would a guy playing so well make such an important equipment change so late in the season?

putting

Old putter US Open

dustin

New Putter BMW Championship

Simple. He wanted to get even better. Johnson was ranked 42nd in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour this season, picking up 0.257 strokes on the field, not bad at all. However, like many golfers, he wanted to see the ball go in the hole more often. Using an anser style head for quite some time, Johnson’s natural stroke tendencies benefits a touch of toe hang and his new Taylor Made Spider putter is designed to replicate that feeling, but with a bit more MOI than traditional anser style models.

Additionally he felt his current putter was not performing up to his standards and prompted the search for a new wand. In his words, “It couldn’t have been any worse”, illustrating a player that was fed up with his current gamer.  The results of the switch speak for themselves, his strokes gained putting stat for the week was tops at 1.827, and combined with his typical great ball striking, he won going away.

How can this help you?

Golf is a difficult game, even more so at times on the greens. A putting change can prompt more freedom in your putting stroke and help with confidence. Having a putter that feels good, looks good, and starts the ball on your intended line can do wonders for your putting. In the cases of Rory (putter and style switch), and Dustin we see top level professionals focusing on an area of their game where they see potential room for improvement.

Finding a club that looks, feels, and performs great for you is very important. Having a professional assess your putting stroke and determine what model of putter which fits your stroke best is a start. Dustin already knew what model style works best for him; he just needed a different look and feel, and one that helped him get the ball started more on his intended line.

A putter that better fits your personal stroke style, assuming there are no major issues in technique, should help allow you to start the ball on your intended line. From there you can work on speed control, dial it in, build confidence and start making more putts.

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