Steve Stricker is one of the best putters on the planet, so when he changes putting instruments, it’s news. Working on his stroke on the eve of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship after struggling on the greens a week earlier at the PGA Championship, Stricker made the move to a mallet-style Odyssey White Hot OG #7S. It has a similar neck to the White Hot #2 that has been in his bag for most of the last two decades, and has enough “toe hang” to allow him to have the open and closed stroke that he wants to have.
Because Southern Hills features dramatic undulations, the greens are not cut to run as fast as Stricker might see week to week, so he liked the thought of using a heavier putter this week. So far, so good. He is near the top of the leaderboard (69-68) and through two rounds, is very satisfied with his speed.
Still … Steve Stricker, going to a mallet style?
“It’s got my same hosel on there, same neck, so it's not like totally face-balanced,” he said. “I practice with one of those quite a bit at home, I really like the feel of it, just never really pulled the trigger. But this week, because it's heavy is what I'm really enjoying about it. My speed has been really good with that so far, so knock on wood. Hopefully make a few this weekend.”
Stricker, who completed his first round Friday morning, made bogeys at his first two holes of the day (Nos. 18 and 10 in the first round) and his last two (17 and 18 of Round 2). He was 5 under for his round when he got to 17 Friday afternoon, helped by an eagle-2 he made at the par-4 10th when he jarred a wedge for 2 from 107 yards. But he said his bogey-bogey finish would ensure his dinner would not taste great.
