If you play golf long enough, chances are good that you will have a closet full of old putters that, for some reason, you don’t love anymore. The courtship and honeymoon phases were terrific, but then putts stopped dropping, the honeymoon ended and you started to eye other putters in the pro shop.
It’s okay, a lot of professional golfers go through the same thing. Even household names like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas can find themselves doubting the ability of an old putter to get the job done or waffle between different putters in hopes of breaking out of a slump.
The problem is not isolated to just putters. Pros often get perplexed when they hit shots with their woods and irons and the ball doesn’t react the way they anticipate. It can mess with their heads and shatter confidence, which is crucial for success at the elite level.
This leads to an interesting dilemma: How can you tell when you need to improve your technique or if it is time to change putters or any other club in your bag, for that matter?