Ben Silverman skates into contention with hockey-style putter in Bermuda

The jokes are too easy to write. The clichés are too obvious.

Ben Silverman, a Canadian golfer struggling with his game, suddenly found form when he returned to his hockey roots, the sport that dominates the discourse of our neighbors in the North.

It sounds like the plot of a children’s novel, yet sometimes clichés are clichés for a reason. And nobody will land a joke at Silverman’s expense if he keeps playing as he has in Southampton, Bermuda, so far.

Silverman is tied for third and 12 under through two rounds of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a start partially sparked by a change in putter grips.

Silverman is using a hockey-style grip that extends down almost to the putter head. He didn’t know it existed until a few weeks ago at the Bank of Utah Championship, where Tony Finau was using one. Silverman struck a few putts with Finau’s flat stick on the practice green.

He was sold.

“I was like, 'Let me see that, one second. What is that?'” Silverman said. “It's hockey, right up my alley, I'm a big hockey guy, love it. … It's fun for me playing with a hockey stick as my grip.”

Silverman contacted the grip maker, Caliber Golf, and within a week, he had one of his own. The benefit isn’t only aesthetic, though that’s a bonus for the hockey crazed.

Its primary advantage is in the structure. The grip is flat on both the front and back, letting Silverman get more of his palms on the surface.

“It fits perfectly in my palms,” Silverman said. “I do a double interlock left-hand low grip, but you can literally hold it anywhere as long as your palms are on it and you're going to be square to the face, so that's what I like about it.”

Silverman made five birdies on Friday, though truthfully his iron play did much of the work. While he converted the putts, he didn’t need to drain many lengthy ones. His longest made putt came on the par-3 13th, a par from nearly 15 feet. After opening in 8-under 63, Silverman shot 67 on Friday. He ranks fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach at the midway point.

Yet the benefit of finding confidence with a putter goes beyond the feet of putts made and often trickles down throughout the game. Silverman needs a mental boost. He began the week at No. 143 on the FedExCup Fall Points List. He had missed seven of his last nine cuts. He needs a win, or multiple top finishes, to secure full status for 2027.

Born and raised in Ontario, Silverman grew up in an environment that has produced other top athletes. Former No. 1 pick and NBA champion Andrew Wiggins went to the same high school as Silverman. So did Nickeil Alexander-Walker, current star of the Atlanta Hawks, and the Nembhard twins (both active in the NBA). Fellow golfer Adam Hadwin also went to the school. Yet, surprisingly, the school has no prominent hockey alums.

Would Silverman winning a PGA Tour event with a hockey grip suffice? Here’s the start of our official petition.