Flesch, Sergio, VJ

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Loves me, loves me not . . .
With Steve Flesch and putters,
you never know
by Jeff Rude




FORT WORTH, TEXAS — If you want a long-term relationship — or a short-term love affair, for that matter — you do not want to be Steve Flesch's putter. Flesch shows as much loyalty to his putters as most people do IRS agents or dangerous-looking strangers, which may not be mutually exclusive.

Nobody has less job security than a Flesch putter. Not a .200 hitter in baseball. Not a 30-percent shooter in basketball. Not a security guard without a gun and walkie-talkie. Not Mickey Rooney's next ex-wife. Not an employee of a mega-wealthy New York City egomaniac — take your pick, Donald Trump or George Steinbrenner.

When it comes to benching a putter, Flesch has zero conscience. He has no heart. Take last year, when he won the Bank of America Colonial. He used a Scotty Cameron putter in opening 66-69. But that wasn't good enough. He switched putters on Saturday and used an Odyssey putter on the weekend.

And what of that Odyssey he won with? It was out of the bag by the end of the next tournament. A winning putter, abandoned. He cashed a check for $954,000 but didn't think twice of benching his victorious wand less than a week later.

"If it doesn't cooperate, it's out," Flesch said. "I don't have any allegiance."

Thing is, Flesch is a nice guy. Funny guy. He's as grounded as an old white basketball player. You could trust him with about anything.

Except putters. He changes them about as often as most men do shirts or women do jewelry.

"My putters are out of the bag too quick to get comfortable," Flesch said. "They're like a baseball player who's always on waivers. They can get released at any time."

Flesch has had the same set of irons for two years. He doesn't mess with his irons. But he does change drivers often and sometimes balls. And always putters. By Tuesday afternoon at Colonial, he had already been through two putters for the week, and the week really hadn't even started. He also used two putters in his last start, the Wachovia Championship.

Golf has had its share of equipment junkies. Arnold Palmer, of course, is the king of tinkering. Legend has it he once used four different putters in winning a tournament — a different one each day.

Larry Nelson is another crazy club changer. Believe it or not, he won the 1987 PGA Championship using three different sets of irons. He turned a major championship into a series of Demo Days and, guess what? He won.

"That's amazing," Flesch said, as if he's normal.

Nelson was so wacky about equipment that he flew to Japan to play in the Dunlop Phoenix tournament one year and didn't bring his clubs. "I'll get them when I get there," he said matter-of-factly. So he picked up a set from the Dunlop factory and, you guessed it, won the tournament. You know you have talent if you can win a pro tournament with a loaner set.

Flesch broke through with his first PGA Tour victory in New Orleans in 2003 using a belly putter. By the next spring his mid-size putters were gone.

Nowadays he travels with three or four putters, including, most of the time, two old faithfuls — a Cameron Newport and Red X. He figures he has tried out 30 putters this year and used five in competition.

He estimates he used eight to 10 in Tour events last year That included a rare loyal period of two or three months with one putter. "That's big," he admitted. "That's almost a marriage with me."

Continuity to him means about 18 holes.

"If it doesn't work, I'll change right away, figuring there's something better," Flesch said. "It's never the player. That's the way I look at it."

He's not loyal to a certain model or style. He admits all the putter swapping is something of a game for him during his search to make two more putts per round. He says he knows of no one who jumps from blade to blade like he does. He figures he has 150 putters in his basement at home, along with about 100 drivers.

"I usually carry three putters with me in a practice round," Flesch said. "You've got to weed them out some way."