More than most have had their troubles with putting, but one player is taking a rather unconventional method to overcoming them at this week’s Hainan Classic.
In what is just his second start on the DP World Tour, Kymer Li stands apart from the field this week at Mission Hills Resort Haikou: he has two putters in his bag.
That’s right. The 28-year-old from Hong Kong is not confirming to the norm of the traditional 13:1 ratio with his club selection, instead carrying both a right-handed and a left-handed putter.
In the field this week as a member of the China Tour, Li is aiming to make his first cut in a European Tour group event, having also made two appearances on the HotelPlanner Tour in China at the end of last season.
“I am a right-handed golfer, I putt right-handed but in the middle of last season I have got a little mental block going on,” he explained in an interview with club equipment specialists SMS on Tour.
“I wouldn’t call it the yips, but it is pretty close to where I freeze when I am about to pull the trigger.
"That caused a lot of problems with my stroke, with decelerating, mis-hits and just not being able to start the ball on line. It’s mentally frustrating."
After a series of missed cuts in China last year, a change in approach resulted in an upturn in form and he has since continued to use two putters: a right-handed Scotty Cameron Tour timeless and a left-handed Odyssey 2 Ball F7.
Whether it be a change in grip, looking at the hole while putting or otherwise, Li has "tried everything you can think of" to improve his fortunes on the greens.
"So, at first I was working with my coach and he just gave me one of these Ping putters from the 1970s," he added of how his strategy first arose. "It’s a really long one, an ugly looking one, and he just said pretend like you're playing a putt putt course where you just aim and fire to refresh my mind.
"I started having problems with that too so with four tournaments left last year I walked by the pro shop and I saw a left-handed putter and I picked it up, bought it and used it in the tournament.
"I just found that it was a lot easier for me to putt mentally and I putted pretty decent with it so I stuck with it for two tournaments.
"I realised that it is hard for me to lag putt left handed because that is something that I have never worked on, my speed is off, so I went back right handed the last two events so right now I have both putters in my bag just in case I am not feeling great, having a mental issue right handed whether it is in the practice round or on the putting green I pull out my left handed putter and putt left handed."
