14 clubs in the bag, 13 similar grips, one putter grip! Standard, right? What if I told you there were 14 of the same in this pro’s bag? Alistair Docherty has made some key equipment decisions, and they’ve paid off.
Alistair just qualified for the PGA Tour a couple of weeks ago through the Korn Ferry Tour. You may also recognize him from his win at the Argentina Open earlier this year on the KFT. A year prior, he just missed his PGA Tour card on the Korn Ferry Tour. But with belief, a strong supporting team and trust in his process, he put together a big 2026 and punched his ticket.
Before the win in Argentina, in 2024 he tied for second at the PGA Tour Myrtle Beach Classic; that week he put a TaylorMade Spider Tour X X9 in the bag. Talk about a debut!
Another parallel for a memorable finish and an equipment change? He put a Golf Pride Z-Cord grip on the same Spider before the week in Argentina. That’s right: he’s carrying over the grips from his woods, irons, and wedges to his putter to maintain the same feel when gripping all 14 clubs. You cannot argue with the results either: First week in the bag, and a tournament he will never forget.
Here’s what Alistair had to say about the decision:
“I was working with a putting coach, doing drills. He wanted me to complete the drill, and I just kept hitting the tees, kept missing, and I told him I was just a better putter with a wedge; the stuff he was having me do just didn’t feel natural at all. My hands never felt right, and there were too many thoughts about being perfect. So i grabbed a wedge and completed the drill first time. Didn’t touch a tee, made every putt. So that clicked in my head that maybe it was the grip of the wedge. Grabbed a putter at home that I liked the look of and neck that was most similar to a wedge and put my ZCord on it.”
I first played golf with Alistair at The Lights at Indio in the Coachella Valley in the winter of 2016. We played in the Muni Madness Skins game Tony Shuster hosted every Tuesday and Friday night. We both caddied at desert clubs with 50 others and loved playing the skins game to sharpen our skills. Digging a little deeper than equipment, what else does Alistair like for tournament play?
A fresh glove always wins the day. “I mean there’s nothing better than a fresh set of grips with a fresh glove. The control is so much better the way it sticks and stays in my hand properly. I get 4 gloves a week from FJ/Titleist so before each first tee the new glove is used unless the glove used the day prior still feels great,” Docherty said.
When it comes to the putting surfaces, along with a putter you can trust, you need to make sure the right mojo is there with ball markers too.
“A superstition I have is I have to have two ball markers, one from CMC Design that they custom-made for me and a quarter that my very good friend gave to me that is so smooth on both sides that it’s hard not to run your thumb on it every time before placing it down. I use the CMC ball markers for longer putts and the quarter on the shorter ones.”
We will be watching this one-of-a-kind gearhead closely in 2027!
