‘Training aid’ & Kickstarter putters, Rickie’s bag tweak

South African European Tour pro Jaco van Zyl was the talk of the gear world over the past week.

Why? Well, he put a putting training aid in play as his short stick for the Joburg Open. 

The Cleveland Smart Square Stubby was designed to help build a consistent stroke and here it is in action.

Goosen uses Kickstarter putter

Speaking of putters, Retief Goosen put a peculiar one in play at the Honda Classic in an attempt to regain some form on the greens.

The two-time major winner used a Bloodline RG-1 mallet putter. Never heard of it? 

Well, it was developed through a Kickstarter campaign by a pair of industry veterans and is balanced so it can stand by itself, allowing the player to stand behind it and make sure it is properly aligned.

DeChambeau & side-saddle: It’s over

Bryson DeChambeau has officially binned his side-saddle putting method but it wasn’t without a pop at the USGA.

The 23-year-old, who put the technique in play in December, told
GolfDigest after missing the cut at the Honda Classic: “The USGA
essentially doesn’t like me doing it. I’m pretty much done with it.
They’re not a good organisation, and you can quote me on that.

“I’m part of their family and as family it’s very frustrating to see them stunt the growth of the game.”

However, he made a dramatic u-turn on his comments on Sunday with an apology on Twitter.

Rickie shortens driver

A few recent tweaks to his Cobra bag helped Rickie Fowler to his fourth PGA Tour title at the Honda Classic.

In an effort to find more fairways, Fowler shaved an inch off his driver length this week, using a 43.5” King F7+ driver, helping him average 303.9 yards through four rounds and ranked T17 in driving accuracy.

In addition, Fowler recently put three new King V-Grind wedges in the
bag, currently helping him lead the PGA Tour in overall scrambling for
the year and sand-save percentage.

Koepka’s meltdown

Brooks Koepka needs a new driver for this week’s WGC-Mexico
Championship after unleashing his fury at the Honda Classic, where he
missed the cut.

And finally…

Pat Perez is in the news again…

But this time, it’s official confirmation that he’s become a PXG troop.

Perez won last November using PXG 0311XF 3- and 4-irons and 0311 irons (5-9) while not under contract and, according to Golfweek,
is expected to add PXG 0311 Milled Siera 46- and 54-degree wedges, an
0311 Milled Romeo 6-degree lob wedge and a Gunboat putter to his bag.

Read more -> Pat Perez’ no ‘Fore’ shouts spark anger