Long Story Short
Bob Toski told Golf Digest in 2002 that, €Somewhere there's a 10-year-old kid practicing with some version of the long putter. When he grows up, he'll putt better than anyone the world has ever seen.€ Provided he can find one, of course.
That's because the belly putter has taken on fad status. Not an uptick or a trend, but a flat-out craze along the lines of Crocs or Silly Bandz. Since Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in August using an Odyssey White Hot XG Sabertooth belly putter, consumers have been breaking their ankles jumping on the belly bandwagon €" and manufacturers and retailers are now playing catch-up.
TaylorMade recently announced it was tripling its fourth-quarter forecast for long and belly putters to meet demand by consumers and, therefore, its retail partners. Given the atmosphere surrounding theseputters in the last few months, the move hardly comes as a surprise. Owing in large part to the success (and increase in use) of belly and long putters on the PGA Tour,a buying frenzy is underway.
€We can't make these putters fast enough,€ said Michael Fox, TaylorMade's global product category manager for putters and wedges, noting that the company will sell five times as many long/belly putters as it did last year. Other manufacturers such as Cleveland and Odyssey also have significantly ramped up their production as large retailers are now ordering such putters by the thousands instead of a few at a time.
€It might be the hottest topic on our store's floor,€ said Leigh Bader, co-owner of Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop in South Easton, Mass. €Manufacturers were caught short in supply, but who knew?€
Indeed. For years the belly putter has been deemed at various times a crutch, a cheater stick or simply a final act of desperation for those whose nerves could no longer handle the seemingly simple act of bringing a putter back and through the ball without the aid of anchoring it to one's stomach. As such the demand for belly putters was short and manufacturers often treated them as an afterthought €" a simple line extension of an existing model €" if they even thought of them at all. Now some manufacturers are telling retailers they can't get belly putters to them until December€¦ at the earliest.
That phenomenon startedthis year as numerous players on the PGA Tour switched to bellyputters, providing a noticeable surge not only in terms of numbers, but in success. In addition to Bradley atthe PGA Championship, other longer-than-standard putter users to win this year on the PGA Tour include Martin Laird, Brendan Steele, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Ben Crane at the McGladrey Classic. The number of players using belly putters has crept to almost 20 at some events this year. Last season it was closer to half a dozen.
The success and visibility has provided the impetus for everyday players to try the club. However, with its popularity comes some problems other than availability: Players need to be fit to belly putters. The clubs are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The eagerness of some golfers to grab a belly putter €" any belly putter €" could eventually lead to consumer frustration as they find it difficult to get the ball in the hole and banish the club to the garage along with other castoffs.
That's in the future, however. For now Bader said the trend shows strong signs of sustained momentum €" with the demand perhaps even continuing to increase as these putters are now seen as a legitimate means of improvement as opposed to a last gasp by hopelessly poor putters. €Because of that it's verging, if not already registering, on the coolness scale,€ said Bader.
That's because the belly putter has taken on fad status. Not an uptick or a trend, but a flat-out craze along the lines of Crocs or Silly Bandz. Since Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in August using an Odyssey White Hot XG Sabertooth belly putter, consumers have been breaking their ankles jumping on the belly bandwagon €" and manufacturers and retailers are now playing catch-up.
TaylorMade recently announced it was tripling its fourth-quarter forecast for long and belly putters to meet demand by consumers and, therefore, its retail partners. Given the atmosphere surrounding theseputters in the last few months, the move hardly comes as a surprise. Owing in large part to the success (and increase in use) of belly and long putters on the PGA Tour,a buying frenzy is underway.
€We can't make these putters fast enough,€ said Michael Fox, TaylorMade's global product category manager for putters and wedges, noting that the company will sell five times as many long/belly putters as it did last year. Other manufacturers such as Cleveland and Odyssey also have significantly ramped up their production as large retailers are now ordering such putters by the thousands instead of a few at a time.
€It might be the hottest topic on our store's floor,€ said Leigh Bader, co-owner of Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop in South Easton, Mass. €Manufacturers were caught short in supply, but who knew?€
Indeed. For years the belly putter has been deemed at various times a crutch, a cheater stick or simply a final act of desperation for those whose nerves could no longer handle the seemingly simple act of bringing a putter back and through the ball without the aid of anchoring it to one's stomach. As such the demand for belly putters was short and manufacturers often treated them as an afterthought €" a simple line extension of an existing model €" if they even thought of them at all. Now some manufacturers are telling retailers they can't get belly putters to them until December€¦ at the earliest.
That phenomenon startedthis year as numerous players on the PGA Tour switched to bellyputters, providing a noticeable surge not only in terms of numbers, but in success. In addition to Bradley atthe PGA Championship, other longer-than-standard putter users to win this year on the PGA Tour include Martin Laird, Brendan Steele, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Ben Crane at the McGladrey Classic. The number of players using belly putters has crept to almost 20 at some events this year. Last season it was closer to half a dozen.
The success and visibility has provided the impetus for everyday players to try the club. However, with its popularity comes some problems other than availability: Players need to be fit to belly putters. The clubs are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The eagerness of some golfers to grab a belly putter €" any belly putter €" could eventually lead to consumer frustration as they find it difficult to get the ball in the hole and banish the club to the garage along with other castoffs.
That's in the future, however. For now Bader said the trend shows strong signs of sustained momentum €" with the demand perhaps even continuing to increase as these putters are now seen as a legitimate means of improvement as opposed to a last gasp by hopelessly poor putters. €Because of that it's verging, if not already registering, on the coolness scale,€ said Bader.