Fowler acquired the concept to make use of an Odyssey Versa Jailbird after attempting out caddie Ricky Romano’s gamer. The relaxation is historical past.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
The 2023 PGA Tour season shall be remembered for Rickie Fowler’s resurgence on the greens with a putter that took the golf world by storm. The story behind the decade-old Odyssey Versa Jailbird mallet Fowler’s been wielding since January has been nicely documented by the person himself and the Tour rep who helped convey the putter to life.
The one particular person we haven’t heard from is the impetus behind Fowler’s putter change. That could be caddie Ricky Romano, who launched Fowler to the putter again in January throughout a spherical collectively on the Madison Club.
During a current interview on GOLF’s Subpar Podcast, Romano recounted the story to co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz of how Fowler wound up with a precise reproduction of his gamer putter.
As the story goes, Romano and Fowler have been on the observe placing inexperienced on the Madison Club getting ready to tee off. Romano had simply made one other mid-range putt when Fowler requested if he might roll a number of along with his putter. From that time ahead, Fowler was hooked.
“We played 9 holes that day,” Romano advised Subpar, “and on each inexperienced, he grabbed my putter and requested if he might use it. On the fourth inexperienced, he made a remark to me, ‘This putter is like cheating.’ At that second, a lightbulb went off in my head. For the final 12 months, I’ve seen Rick with 4, 5, six totally different putters. He’s looking out.
“I wondered if he was going to have another putter made. I didn’t suggest any of that, but when we got done, he asked if he could borrow the putter for a couple of days to have the guys at Odyssey make a replica. I told him of course he could, and if they couldn’t make a replica, he could just have mine. As long as he’s making putts, I’m good with it.”
Odyssey wound up making Fowler a reproduction from the lone Jailbird head on the truck — keep in mind, Odyssey had stopped making Jailbird heads — and issues began to click on. It acquired to the purpose that different execs began to take discover of Fowler’s success in the course of the season, together with Wyndham Clark.
Soon after enjoying a match with Fowler, Clark requested Odyssey to make him a reproduction of Fowler’s putter. Shortly thereafter, Clark took down Fowler on the U.S. Open — whereas enjoying in the identical group on Sunday — with an an identical Versa Jailbird in his arms.
Romano admitted that regardless that Fowler had a powerful season, he wished the putter might have stayed below wraps — and out of the arms of rivals — for just a little longer.
“I just wish nobody had the opportunity to try it,” Romano joked. “Obviously you can’t hide it, but it was a little gut-wrenching to watch [Wyndham] win the U.S. Open with that putter.”
Odyssey, on the opposite hand, was more than pleased to embrace the demand. Its restricted launch of the Versa Jailbird 380 bought out in minutes and shortly turned one of probably the most worthwhile days within the firm’s historical past. Not unhealthy for a putter Romano picked up on a whim throughout his days looping for Charlie Beljan.
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