Maginnes: Magic in Parnevik's putter?  PGATOUR.com Contributor SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Tiger Woods has often been quoted that his mantra on the golf course is: "Keep it simple, stupid." Sounds easy enough. After all, golf is not rocket science. Or is it?  (AP)
On Wednesday, Jesper Parnevik picked up a new putter on the practice green at the Valero Texas Open. No, he didn't have to whip out his credit card -- TOUR players not only get the newest equipment for free, they often get paid for using it. So like a lot of TOUR players, Jesper was sniffing around the bags full of the latest and greatest flat sticks in the game when something caught his eye. A small company called Elite Sports Products, or ESP, makes The Dead On Putter Series. Jesper found one that looks like a miniaturized space ship and put it in his bag. Now he's taking a three-stroke lead into the final round. This is not an uncommon tale. Like a lot of TOUR players, Jesper is always looking for the newest piece of equipment. After some work early in the week, Jesper put the new wand in the starting line-up. What makes this particular story unique is that Jesper has used that putter to near perfection. While any number of players each week may switch putters, rarely does it make such a significant difference. You may recall back in March that Mark Calcavecchia felt so bad about his putting at the PODS Championship that he went to a local golf retail shop on Friday night and bought a new one. He went on to win the golf tournament. Calc is another of those players who isn't afraid to change dates in the middle of the dance. Budding golf club manufacturers count on the fact that TOUR players are willing to change clubs at a moment's notice. Phil Vinton, who founded ESP, couldn't have dreamed about a week of exposure like this, though. Vinton, who has a background in aerospace and biomedical engineering, started the company just three years ago. Aerospace engineering -- isn't that the same thing as rocket science? So perhaps putting is more rocket science than Tiger has led us to believe. Dave Pelz, or Professor Putt as he has been dubbed, is a former NASA researcher. Pelz has broken the short game into a science that few of us are capable of fully understanding. But the proof is in the pudding where Professor Putt is concerned. The success of his books and instructional videos is only trumped by the testimonials of his high-profile clientele. Undoubtedly, Vinton is dreaming of that same type of success. And this could be the week that jumpstarts his little company. But Jesper wasn't thinking about all of that when he was searching for a new flat stick earlier this week. And he certainly wasn't thinking of that on the ninth green Thursday afternoon when he was looking at a putt to shoot 9-under par. He just wanted a putter that had the right look, heft and feel. Fortunately for all concerned, Jesper went with the ESP Dead On Putter and has been dead on with it all week in San Antonio.
On ESP's web site you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about the science that went into this unconventional design. Jesper's putter looks like a cross between the two-ball putter from Odyssey and that space-ship-looking thing that Scotty Cameron came out with a few years ago. In other words, it looks like it might be better suited for mashing potatoes than rolling golf balls. It is no surprise that Jesper would find the answer to his putting questions in an unconventional utensil. After all, little about Jesper is conventional. This is the same man that once claimed to eat volcanic dust as a dietary supplement. I don't know much about volcanic dust or rocket science. Most of the players on TOUR don't either. What they do know, though, is that when you and your putter are getting along magical things can happen. The first three rounds have been as close to magic as Jesper has seen on the golf course in a couple of years. If no one else saw it coming perhaps Jesper did -- after all he now has ESP, at least that is what his putter says. |
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