Adam Scott has had one for ages. Lucas Glover salvaged his career with one. Will Zalatoris and Akshay Bhatia slipped one in their bags this year. Should you consider using a broomstick putter too?
If pros playing for their livelihoods are convinced a broomstick putter will help them hole more putts, why don’t more golfers use them?
Pride and ego are a powerful combination, it would seem.
When broomsticks hit the tour in the late 80s, most of the players who switched to the long-handled putters had lost their nerve on the greens. It reinforced the view that broomsticks were simply a crutch for yippers, and thus a sign of weakness.
Unfortunately, shifting that stigma has proven difficult. Many golfers still erroneously believe anyone playing a broomstick does so because they can't putt.
However, ignoring the judgment that inexorably comes with playing a broomstick might provide the spark that changes your golf game forever.
Just ask Bernhard Langer.
THE FORMER YIPPER WHO CLEANED UP WITH A BROOMSTICK
The exploits of Bernhard Langer in the early 90s seemed to be a turning point for the broomstick putter on tour.
The German, one of golf’s greatest players, was known as an acute yipper. He was also one of the early adopters of the broomstick.
It completely transformed his putting, and he went on an incredible winning streak that continues to this day.
Langer’s early success made tour players in particular sit up and take notice. Broomsticks were viewed in a more favourable light and over the years have gradually been accepted as a legitimate way to achieve a more reliable putting stroke.
But the greatest impediment to both tour players and amateurs making the switch seems to be pride. Admitting your putting isn’t up to scratch is a tough pill to swallow for most golfers; contemplating a broomstick to solve your woes is often even more of a stretch.
Even so, there remains a much greater proliferation of broomstick putters out on tour compared your local course on any given day.
So, what is everyone missing?
THE BENEFITS OF USING A BROOMSTICK PUTTER
No doubt somewhere along your journey in golf, you’ve been told to swing your putter like a pendulum. Well, broomstick putters are designed to swing exactly like a pendulum, with very little input required.
An ideal putting stroke with a regular-length putter requires the shoulders, arms and hands to move as one unit. The broomstick stroke, however, is much simpler.
All it requires is the player to hold the end of the grip stationary with their top hand. Then the bottom hand just rocks the club back and forth. Just remember though, the rules of golf forbid any part of the shaft being anchored to the body.
It creates a free-swinging, neutral, pendulum stroke that should square the face at impact without any manipulation from the hands.
And that is why the broomstick putter can be such a gamechanger. It takes the hands and arms out of much of the stroke and tends to keep the brain quiet too, eliminating those unintentional compensation moves that can creep in when under pressure.
Mastering a broomstick will require some practise and time, but refining the stroke will pay big dividends — particularly when those stress-inducing short putts become just about automatic.
Another bonus of using a broomstick putter is the unique perspective it can provide of the greens. The upright lie angle of the putter tends to provide golfers with a superior viewpoint of the putting surface while over the ball. It can help players read the greens and pick their lines better and should result in more putts starting on the intended line.
And finally, the broomstick is an excellent option for golfers with back issues. Standing in a more upright position rather than being hunched over a short-shafted putter, will lessen the strain. And it will also permit longer sessions on the practice green without your back feeling the pinch.
If you can set your ego aside, playing a broomstick might change your fortunes.
Are you ready to add one to your putter roster?
Check out GolfBox’s broomstick range now.
