Mark Calcavecchia hits his tee shot on Friday on the 2nd gap at Prestonwood Nation Membership.
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Mark Calcavecchia allows you to in on a secret. A hack.
Professional outlets, it appears, provide greater than scorching canines and headcovers.
They home the “finest” putters, he says.
Imagine it, the 1989 Open Championship winner mentioned. Possibly take word. Take into account him a little bit of a spokesman on this space. This week, he mentioned he purchased a Ping PLD Anser, full with a putter cowl, off the rack on the clubhouse at Prestonwood Nation Membership, the place Calcavecchia and the PGA Tour Champions circuit are taking part in the SAS Championship.
“I’m determined,” he informed a Champions Tour social media producer, through a video shared by the tour. “I’ll strive something. It’s a ravishing putter. I’m placing fairly good with it at the moment, so I’m excited.”
At this level on the video, Calcavecchia confirmed the place he acquired the blade.
“These are all the time the very best putters,” he mentioned. “In the event you get one despatched to you, it’d most likely be hooked and never set proper and have loft on it. I simply checked out this one and it appeared stunning proper off the hop so went proper in my bag.”
Determined instances name for determined measures, proper? In a take a look at this season’s Champions stats, the 64-year-old has a placing common of 1.828 (which might place him 63rd on tour if he performed in sufficient occasions), and he’s taking 29.31 putts per spherical (which might place him twenty first). Notably, although, Calcavecchia has gone to the pro-shop nicely earlier than — he mentioned on the video that three of his 13 PGA Tour victories have been gained that approach.
So we began to dig just a little. On Google, we looked for “Mark Calcavecchia and putter professional store” and located:
— In 2007, on the then-called PODS Championship (now the Valspar Championship), Calcavecchia gained with a putter buy — one week after he snapped a putter over his knee and missed a minimize, in line with an Related Press story.
“I simply form of take a look at it [the putter] and see which one appears to be like much less ugly to me,” he informed the Related Press. “Or which one I actually wouldn’t thoughts breaking a while throughout the course of the spherical.”
— In 2015, on the Principal Charity Basic on the Champions tour, Calcavecchia gained after he went to a Dick’s Sporting Items in Des Moines, in line with an Related Press story written by Jimmy Golen. The story mentioned he went to the sporting items retailer solely as a result of his spouse wanted operating garments — then he rolled in 12 putts on the observe inexperienced.
“That’s how silly it’s; it’s simply all psychological,” he informed the Related Press. “It’s principally simply look to me and the way it appears to be like. … There are occasions once I simply don’t like several of my putters, I’ll simply search for one thing else.”
— In 2010, Yahoo Sports activities’ Jay Busbee reported on Calcavecchia’s dissatisfaction with putters, citing a GOLF Journal story.
“Properly, there’s one sitting in a rain gutter at a Residence Inn in Akron, Ohio,” Calcavecchia mentioned in Busbee’s story. “I used to be staying on the second flooring and simply reached out the window and put it in there. It’s not very good there within the winter. There’s one in a flower backyard in Westchester [N.Y.]. There are a number of within the ocean. I’ve given extra away to youngsters than I’ve damaged, however generally it simply feels good to interrupt one.”
— In 2022, the Champions tour’s Bob McClellan sat down for a Q&A with Calcavecchia, who revealed he gained his first PGA Tour occasion, the 1986 Southwest Golf Basic, after a locker-room journey.
“We play a observe spherical in Abilene, Texas, it’s blowing about 30, and I had 4 three-putts on the entrance 9,” Calcavecchia mentioned within the story. “I had solely introduced one putter, my regular outdated Anser, and I mentioned, ‘I’m going within the professional store to purchase the ugliest putter I can discover.’ I went via the locker room to go to the toilet and the Titleist man had put about 20 putters out within the locker room. Then I noticed it, the massive outdated black-headed putter known as the Lifeless Middle Titleist putter. I mentioned, ‘That is the ugliest factor I can discover. Can I do that for the again 9?’ And I went out and made every part, shot like 31 and took all people’s cash after which ended up successful the match with it. I nonetheless have that putter to at the present time.
“The winner’s test was $72,000. That’s after they gave us the massive cardboard checks. I’m flying to West Palm from Dallas via Atlanta, and I’m dragging round this large test. Everyone checked out me like I used to be a whole fool. However I didn’t care. I used to be fairly comfortable. Fairly positive I nonetheless have the test in a storage shed someplace.”
