Garsen Grips: Putt With Tour Technique and Confidence

Maybe it’s just me, but having the right equipment is a liberating experience. I’m talking about that driver that helps place the ball right where you want it in the fairway or the wedge that helps every bunker land like a butterfly. And while these aspects of your game will ebb and flow, I like to think that the right putter can always be something you can rely on.

Now I love my Evnroll ER1.2 Tour Blade. It’s a solid, milled putter, I think the groves actually work, it looks great at address and feels even better. But that’s not what helped make it my Elder Wand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Garsen Putter Grips (@garsengolf)

Garsen Golf Grips starts with Bernerd Garsen, who put his teaching skills to the test, becoming an assistant pro at the Links at Fisher Island. And while teaching, one thing stood out: golfers struggled with putting. And the struggles ranged from proper setup to making a consistent stroke, which, naturally, affected speed control and proximity to the whole. So Garsen did some research and decided to investigate whether changing the grip to address the golfer’s flat-stick woes.

Garden started by developing the Edge, a grip that forces your thumbs onto either side of the top ridge so the palms open up, face each other, and the wrists settle into a neutral position. It turns your elbows into your body and sets your shoulders back. This relieves arm and shoulder tension and inhibits wrist action, which takes “the hands out of the putting” and promotes shoulder rotation, creating a solid putting stroke, which gives you a one-piece feel, leading to a more consistent stroke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Edge was a hit. After getting USGA approval, the Edge quickly garnered attention on the Tour, but really kicked off in 2015 when J.B. Holmes put the Edge into play and, after not winning a tournament since the FBR Open in 2008, won the Wells Fargo Championship, which he then followed up with a victory at the Shell Houston Open in 2019.

And Holmes’ performance doesn’t stand alone. Henrik Stenson won the 2016 Open Championship, and in 2022, LPGA golfer Brooke Henderson (Quad Tour) won her 2nd Major at the Evian Championship, and PGA golfer Tony Finau (Ultimate) won the 3M Open, both using a Garsen. In 2023, Garsen already has 5 Tour wins, bringing their total to over 70 professional wins. And that, of course, doesn’t account for numerous other Garsen wins, including guest and friend of The Golf Podcast James Nicholas’ back-to-back wins at the Long Island Open and Westchester Open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Now, a part of me believes that Henrik Stenson, Brooke Henderson, Tony Finau, Lydia Ko, and James each could putt with a rock if you gave them enough time, my experience with Garsen’s Quad Tour (Tapered) has been similarly noteworthy.

After experiencing some very frustrating putting woes during the early part of the 2023 season, I decided to ditch my mainstream, oversized putting grip for the Quad Tour—which, like the Edge, is designed so your elbows turn into your body and sets your shoulders back, which promotes a putting stroke driven by shoulder rotation, rather than your hands.

The Quad Tour features a trapezoid shape to fit your hands and
promote a proper putting setup position

It immediately felt different, as one would expect, switching from a more rounded grip to something more boxed off with flat sides. But what happened over the next few weeks has been euphoric. I still go through the exact same pre-putting routine—taking practice swings while looking at the hole to dial in speed and break and then lining up the putt with my right hand only—but now, I have steadfast confidence that what happens next will go as planned.

Over the past few weeks, including several pressure-filled tournament rounds at my home club, the Quad Tour grip has revealed itself to be the missing ingredient on the greens. Regardless of where I’m on the green, I’ve found myself nestling lag putts within a couple of feet—if not inches—of the cup, regardless if we’re going up, down, or along the side of some sloped greens. Likewise, putts from inside 5 feet no longer induce a cold sweat; I find myself significantly more confident in just lining things up, finding my grip on the Quad Tour’s flat edges, and letting it rip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Garsen Putter Grips (@garsengolf)

Fortunately, Garsen’s grips—which are recently finding themselves onto OEM putters, including some Odysseys and Pirettis—are available in a range of sizes and colors and work for traditional, claw, and saw putting styles. So when my Quad Tour is tattered and due for replacement, I’ll be looking at other color options (as there’s no chance I’ll be switching to a different model of grip).

Grips are maybe one of the most underappreciated pieces of equipment in a golfer’s bag. They are, in fact, the only part of the club you touch and, therefore, influence everything that happens when you take a swing, no matter how big or little. Rather than fighting your putter stroke, Garsen’s grips are purposefully designed to promote a more repeatable and reliable putting stroke. And because of that, as an amateur golfer, I’m going to keep a Garsen putter grip on my putter to help make sure I have the best chance to go low on the greens when it counts.

Cover Image via GolfWRX