Lauren Coughlin had a profession yr en path to her first Solheim Cup look — and an unconventional coaching support helped her get there.
Zephyr Melton / Getty Photos
GAINESVILLE, Va. — Lauren Coughlin‘s meteoric rise to the Solheim Cup began with a putter change.
In March of this yr, Coughlin was 107th on this planet rating. She had aspirations of enjoying her manner onto the Solheim Cup staff by yr’s finish, however with zero profession victories, the purpose regarded unlikely.
Her 2024 marketing campaign received off to a stable — if unspectacular — begin. Coughlin made 4 cuts in 5 begins, together with her greatest end a T21 end in the course of the Asia swing. Cashing checks is all the time good, however to make the Solheim Cup roster, she wanted a particular season.
When the LPGA schedule returned stateside, Coughlin readied for the Ford Championship in Arizona. A couple of days earlier than the event, she and her husband visited Ping’s headquarters in Phoenix. Whereas there, she fell in love with a brand new wand — the PLD Oslo.
Armed together with her new putter, Coughlin positioned eighth on the Ford Championship — simply the third top-10 of her profession. Three weeks later, she cashed the most important examine of her profession with a T3 on the Chevron Championship. She continued the stellar play for the rest of the summer season, successful twice and ending third within the Solheim Cup standings as she certified for her first nationwide staff.
“It’s been sort of a whirlwind,” Coughlin mentioned. “However in the easiest way. It’s been tremendous enjoyable and I’ve loved each minute of it.”
Coughlin’s putter change has been credited for sparking her outstanding run this summer season. However the 31-year-old made one other key change to her placing similtaneously her membership swap.
PING 2024 PLD Milled Oslo 3 Customized Putter
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Shares the attributes of the Tyrrell Hatton-influenced mallet however with an Anser 3-style hosel that makes it a slight arc putter. Its mild aluminum hosel helps place weight low to optimize the middle of gravity for consistency and accuracy.
High quality and precision
A stable block of cast, 303 chrome steel requires greater than 4 hours of milling time; exactly shaping each floor and radius to attain the top quality and premium look anticipated in a precision-milled putter.
Management and consistency
A precision-milled face sample, referred to as deep AMP (Aggressive Milling Sample), is impressed by tour participant suggestions and gives the texture and velocity management you should ship score-lowering consistency on the inexperienced.
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A part of the explanation for Coughlin’s placing woes got here from her behavior of turning her head to observe the ball roll proper as she struck the ball. To repair the issue, Coughlin’s husband and coach received collectively and created a do-it-yourself coaching support: security goggles with duct tape over the left half of the left lens.
“I have a tendency to actually search for early, particularly on quick putts,” Coughlin mentioned. “It’s simply principally so I don’t search for and I don’t have a look at the outlet once I’m placing.”
The creation of the goggles got here the identical week as her putter change in Arizona — and the outcomes converse for themselves.
In keeping with KPMG’s Efficiency Insights, Coughlin ranks thirty seventh on the LPGA Tour in SG: Placing, gaining .70 strokes per spherical on the greens. Final season, she ranked 210th in the identical class. The yr earlier than, she was 227th.
“At the start of the yr I used to be giving myself a 45-, 50-footer that used to trigger me a whole lot of anxiousness as a result of I assumed I’d three putt them,” she mentioned. “I feel [putting has] develop into a energy of my recreation this yr.”
All due to a well timed putter change and DIY coaching support.
