Tag: arm lock

6 Last Minute Father’s Day Gift Ideas

We’re less than a week away from Father’s Day, and this year more than most is a year to celebrate what we all hope is the return of family gatherings and outdoor activities without restrictions. If you haven’t figured out what to get dear old dad on Father’s Day, here are a few last minute suggestions.

Try an Arm Lock Putter!

Let’s face it – If you are here, you and dad are probably golfers, and you both probably suck at putting. Why not try an arm lock putter? Several companies fit them and custom make them, and the style helps eliminate left wrist breakdown, which causes missed putts. I know, because I’ve switched and my putts per round stat has dropped by almost 1.5 putts in 4 months!

Odyssey has a new model called the Arm Lock 2-Ball Ten, SIK putters have a few models and a custom fitting program for those local to Orlando. I was recently fitted for my SIK (Study In Kinematics) arm lock putter and the experience was eye opening! Also, Bryson DeChambeau won the US Open with a SIK arm lock putter, and he’s statistically one of the best putters on the planet. Another great option is the Directed Force 2.1 putter from LAB Golf. LAB stands for lie angle balancing, which is a technology that prevents the face of the putter from opening and closing during the stroke. It just wants to stay square. Pair this tech with the arm lock style and you have the makings of a very accurate putter!

Recommendation: Book a fitting in Orlando with Greg Harrison from SIK golf to explore every nuance of dad’s putting stroke under a high-speed camera, and they’ll not only fix your stroke, but they’ll build you a putter to make more putts by fitting it to your new improved putting stroke. That’s a win – win if you ask me!

Walk The Course

18 months of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions has kept many of us indoors, and that means many of us also got fat or fatter! There’s an easy fix to get rid of those extra pounds – Get out of that golf cart and walk the course! Grab one of Big Max Golf’s Dri Lite Hybrid Bags and the Cape model push cart from Walker Trolleys and you’ll be ready to go in style. You’ll get years and years of use from both because they are built like tanks!

Big Max Golf has been selling top quality golf bags and accessories in Europe for years and now they are available in the USA. The Big Max Dri Lite Hybrid stand bag fits all push & pull carts, is 100% waterproof and weighs only 4.4 pounds. That’s what I call versatility. Paired with the solidly built and classic styled Cape pushcart from Walker Trolleys, you’ll be ready for anything the golf course (and Mother Nature) can throw at you.

Cleveland RTX Full Face Wedges

Who doesn’t need new wedges? We can always use new wedges. Some PGA Tour pros get new wedges every few weeks! While we common folk don’t have the luxury of having new wedges built for us each week, once per year we can keep our short game sharp with fresh grooves and take advantage of new designs like the new Cleveland RTX Full face Wedges. These clubs feature a high-toe profile and full face grooves, along with Cleveland’s Zipcore technology to reposition the center of gravity for more spin and control. You can also custom order your wedges with several custom shafts and grips, or even personalize the paint fill and add engraving.

Let’s Go Racing!

Lexus, the official vehicle of Pebble Beach Resorts, is offering a full-day racing experience at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Dad can drive this thrilling, iconic circuit while building his driving skills and confidence – on and off the track. Summer school dates include June 25, 26 or 27, and Aug. 20, 21 or 22, 2021. Fall and winter dates are also available. The experience is $995. To order a gift certificate or to register a participant as a gift, contact the Lexus Concierge at 888-211-8522 or Concierge@LexusPerformanceDrivingSchool.com

Must Have Accessories

Most golfers wear a glove when they play, but why not ditch the boring white or black color and add some personality with something from Bender Gloves? They have all kinds of fun designs for gloves that will make you and dad stand out on the course while helping you get a grip. Check out their limited time deals before Father’s Day here: https://www.bendergloves.com/

Bushnell range finders are being used by 98% of professionals on the PGA Tour. In fact, they invented laser rangefinders for use on the golf course. To say they are the industry leader would be a bit of an understatement to say the least. With a full range of devices at every price point and technology like Elements Compensation that adjusts distances based on factors like elevation, temperature and barometric pressure, Bushnell makes the best golf rangefinders on the market. Get more info here: https://www.bushnellgolf.com/golf-laser-rangefinders/#

June 14, 2021
BioMech AccuLock Ace Putter – First Look

In case you were living under a rock for the past year, the arrival of 2016 ushered in the USGA’s not-so-popular ban on anchored putting strokes. What this means is that golfers can no longer lock or “anchor” the putter shaft to their bodies. The familiar broomstick long putter and belly putter styles of putting will be changed forever as everyone from PGA Tour players down to weekend hacks at the local muni are forced to adapt to the post-anchored stroke.

One style of putting that stands to gain more acceptance with this rule change is the arm-lock style. You may have seen it before. Matt Kuchar has used it for several years to cash in on the PGA Tour. I spent several months playing with his unique putter a couple of years ago and wrote a review of it here. Being familiar with the arm-lock style, I was excited to see someone take the next step with this trend and make a putter specifically designed for the arm-lock method.

BioMech Sports is hitting the market with their AccuLock Ace putter, and you may see some in use on the PGA Tour with Heath Slocum. During the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am you may also see some of the amateurs using the AccuLock Ace as they are being given to all the participants to try out. I spoke to the founder of BioMech – Dr. Frank Fornari about the design at the 2016 PGA Show and I’m excited to try it on the course. Stay tuned for the full review of this unique and interesting looking putter soon!

February 11, 2016
Bettinardi Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock Putter

Matt Kuchar is on to something. He may not be the one that invented his Arm-Lock putting style, but he is quickly making it famous. I once heard Johnny Miller claim on the air at Doral that he invented the Arm Lock style, but that’s disputable. Either way, he’s using it with great effect and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.

Kuchar used a unique Bettinardi putter to win more than $5.5 million in 23 starts on the PGA Tour in 2013 without missing a cut. That’s an average of $244,209 for every tournament he played. The guy is simply a check cashing machine, and his putting has a lot to do with it. A quick look at his putting stats reveals that he made 88.25 percent of all putts inside 10 feet for the season, and an incredible 97.56 percent inside 5 feet. For the season, Matt had 1268 putts inside that critical 10 foot scoring range, and made 1119.

If you don’t think those numbers are all that impressive, try it yourself! Line up 100 five foot putts on the putting green at your club and try to make 97 of them. Then try it on different courses with different grasses and greens rolling at 12 on the stimpmeter, and put $244,000 on the line. The PGA Tour is right on with their catchphrase: “These guys are good.”

I just spent three paragraphs talking about Matt Kuchar and his putting stats because I think his putter has a lot to do with it. I would be skeptical reading this had I not tried this putter first hand and almost immediately put it in my own bag. Kuchar’s tool of choice is the Bettinardi Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock putter. Designed specifically for him, it varies greatly from Bettinardi’s standard Kuchar Model 1. The special Arm Lock model has seven degrees of loft, 2.5 degrees of shaft offset, a 400g head weight and is 42″ long. Like all Bettinardi putters it is 100% milled in the USA and looks fantastic with a striking pewter PVD finish.

First Impressions

At first glance, this Bettinardi putter looks weird. Most putters have between 3 and 4 degrees of loft and slight offset, but the Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock has 7 degrees of loft and a large shaft offset, which makes it look strange when at address. This high loft and amount of offset is by design of course, because the arm lock style requires a pretty healthy forward press to anchor the top of the handle to a right handed golfer’s left forearm. Once locked in to the required stance, the putter sits perfectly square and is easy to align.

The 400 gram mild carbon steel head and milled F.I.T. (Feel Impact Technology) face give this putter a classic Bettinardi feel. The ball rolls off the face with a soft feel, yet isn’t mushy like most insert putters. The weight and face balanced design make it very forgiving on off center hits, and the traditional Bettinardi hex face milling and beautiful pewter PVD finish gives the putter a classy look.

Performance

Photo Credit: GolfWRX

The Arm Lock putting style is such a radical departure from my standard putting style that it felt very strange and uncomfortable to get into such an extreme forward press with this putter. However, once I figured out where to grip down the shaft and how to align the putter properly, I found that the ball was rolling on target immediately. I was starting to see what made the Bettinardi putter so solid on short putts. The key to this style of putting is to make sure the shaft remains anchored to the left forearm (for righties) throughout the stroke. Imagine pulling with the left arm during the stroke with the right hand just along for the ride, and you’ll have the right feeling. The main drawback to the arm lock style is the same as any anchored putting style – distance control. I’m used to letting my wrists hinge a bit on long putts for better feel, but any anchored stroke eliminates the wrists and engages the big muscles of your shoulders instead. Distance control can be an issue with the anchored strokes, so a little practice outside 20 feet will go a long way to fixing that.

I was fortunate enough to have the Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock in the bag during my visit to PGA Village in Port St Lucie, FL recently. There I met golf technology specialist Mark Drenga, PGA who put me through the paces with the SAM Putt Lab. This amazing ultrasound tracking device measures 28 parameters of the putting stroke down to a tenth of a degree. During my session, the Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock allowed me to keep the face almost perfectly square at impact, and I also had minimal face rotation (about 1 degree) before and after impact. What this means is my putts will almost always start on my aim line. The SAM Putt Lab also showed my stroke path going 1.2 degrees right, which is a slightly in-to-out direction. While not perfect, I am able to repeat this path with 99% consistency, which is key.

What does all this data mean? According to Mark who guided me through my session with the SAM Putt Lab, my stroke with the Bettinardi Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock putter is on par with PGA Tour players. That was a huge ego boost for me. Unfortunately my speed control, green reading and aim are not quite at the same level, which explains why I don’t make as many putts as the guys on the PGA Tour. What I can say with a high degree of confidence is that the Arm Lock putter style has dramatically improved my putting inside 10 feet, just as it has for Matt Kuchar. I have played quite a bit lately (9 rounds in 12 days) and have seen the results of better ball striking converted into better scores because of my improved putting. My handicap has fallen a full stroke to +2.4 in just over 6 weeks due to improved scores with the Bettinardi putter.

Conclusions

Robert Bettinardi has taken his mastery of the flat stick to another level with the Kuchar Model 1 putter. Matt Kuchar has wielded this wand with great effectiveness on the PGA Tour, and now everyone can try it out for themselves. The anchored arm lock style is USGA legal also, since the butt of the club is not static. It swings with your arm, so by definition isn’t illegal like belly and long putters who’s anchor point doesn’t move. This putting style isn’t for everyone, but it has worked wonders for me and I look forward to getting better with it at longer distances. The Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock putter is available at select Bettinardi dealers around the country. To find a dealer, visit Bettinardi’s website for a complete list. MSRP for the Kuchar Model 1 Arm Lock is $375.

October 22, 2013