Tony Finau makes surprise putter switch ahead of the Truist Championship

Broomstick-style putters are very much a love/hate proposition among players of all levels, and while it's rare to see players turn to the style after such a long time using a conventional-length flat stick, Tony Finau has made the switch in an unconventional way.

Finau skipped the weekend's Cadillac Championship in order to iron out some wrinkles in his game, and was spotted at Quail Hollow, site of this weekend's Truist Championship, practicing with a brand new broomstick-style version of PING's PLD Onset Oslo putter. 

“Putter’s felt good and bad, kind of inconsistent,” Finau told GolfWRX's Alistair Cameron. “So I’m like, it’s (a long putter) something that I’ve thought about. It’s something never really fully gave a chance. So off week, I didn’t play last week, so I was like, maybe this is the time to give full chance.”

What makes Finau's move to a longer-style putter even more interesting is the technique he's adopted. While most players lean over a broomstick style putter and use an overhand grip to create a sweeping motion, Finau has the thumb of his bottom hand pointing down towards the putter head, creating an underhand grip.

“Most people use it because it helps almost anchor it up here, but it’s like helps ’em get rid of any type of yip or anything,” Finau continued. “I feel like I’m going to get the yips going like this.

“… I was just forcing myself to do this, and then I just noticed getting, even on a mat, it was so hard to make a good stroke and I was like, all right, yeah. I was just like, there’s no way this, it doesn’t feel natural at all. 

The PING putter itself is part of the brand's low-torque PLD milled range. The Oslo is a half-moon mallet shape, with a raw-look copper finish, minimal alignment aids and a centre-shafted placement for forgiveness.