HONOLULU, Hawaii – Will Zalatoris put his seven-month layoff due to back surgery to good use – he found a putter he loves.
Add Zalatoris to the list of converts that have adopted a broomstick putter to their arsenal. He’s using the same L.A.B. putter popularized by Adam Scott and Lucas Glover, the Mezz.1 MAX.
“If I had known about this thing 10 years ago, I would have gone to it (then),” he said on Tuesday ahead of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Zalatoris had a college teammate who used one and tinkered with his from time to time but never understood how to use it. But after being sidelined to repair his back he had several months to figure out the right weight, loft and shaft.
“I love it,” Zalatoris said. “You rock your shoulders and that’s it. It takes the hands out of it completely. I’ve always been very linear. It feels way more straight back-straight through as opposed to trying to work on an arc. It’s just the best way.”
Zalatoris said that putting wizard Brad Faxon suggested he try it as did a friend he plays with frequently at home in Dallas. So, he ordered an arm-lock model online and paid for it like a regular customer. Someone at L.A.B. recognized the name on the order, comped him, and sent him a couple broomsticks too. Even before he could start hitting shots again after his surgery, he would go out and watch the guys at his club play and used the broomstick putter on the greens.
“Shoot, dude, you need to putt with this,” they told him.
Zalatoris ranked No. 103 in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2021-22, his last full season before his injury, good enough for him to climb to No. 8 in the world (he’s No. 43 now) and notch his first Tour title at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but he’s had some struggles on the greens, especially with short putts, switching to the arm-lock style before he made his way on Tour.
He used the broomstick for all four rounds at the Hero World Challenge, his first foray back inside the ropes at the December unofficial event. He finished last in the field of 20, including an opening-round 81, comparing playing in the Bahamas to cramming for a test the night before an exam compared to feeling prepared for his new season to get underway on Thursday. It wasn’t his putting that held him back in the Bahamas.
“I knew it was going to be a lot of trial and error,” he said. “But it was really good to get one competitive rep under my belt.”
