\t\t\t\tTony Finau is wielding a rather unusual putter during the FedEx Cup Fall Series \u2013 and the American believes it might help save his season\u2026<\/p>\n
The alarm bells sounded long ago on the greens for Tony Finau. <\/p>\n
This is the fourth consecutive season that Finau has lost strokes to his rivals in putting and that prolonged malaise has led the six-time PGA Tour winner to take drastic action.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo secret, I\u2019m using a hockey stick to putt with,\u201d Finau told reporters ahead of the Bank of Utah Championship<\/a>, the $6 million event in his home state, this week.<\/p>\n Indeed, Finau first put his new unusual new grip in place at last month\u2019s Biltmore Championship<\/a>, where he missed the cut. The unlikely move came after Tim Wright, the CEO of Wisconsin-based putter grip company Caliber, spotted Finau trialling an unorthodox grip on his broomstick-length putter during the Truist Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finau was using a Ping Scottsdale Tex Ally Blue Onset mallet at this stage, and Wright sent the American his exact model with the Caliber grip, which runs almost all the way down to the putter head. <\/p>\n It is a striking look as Finau addresses the ball, but with the grip entirely flat, he believes that he can benefit from having both his hands and the putter face pointing in the same direction towards the target. <\/p>\n \u201cThe way you put your hands on it, it all faces the exact same angle as the putter face,\u201d he explained. \u201cI thought that was a really cool thing, and I just think it\u2019s easier to aim. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been really good from 20 to 25-plus feet throughout the history of my PGA Tour career, and then as I got closer to the hole, not as good. Aiming to me is the most important thing. The closer you get to the hole, the better you have to aim. You don\u2019t have time to manipulate the face on a short putt. So it seems to help me aim better, and that\u2019s why I put it in the bag.\u201d<\/p>\n It seems Finau is going to be wielding the hockey stick in his bag<\/a> for a little while yet \u2013 and he desperately needs the change to spark some kind of resurgence.<\/p>\n