While the NHL’s Opening Night got underway with the Florida Panthers taking down last year’s Stanley Cup winners, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Utah Mammoth don’t start their season till Friday night, puck fans can get some hockey action at the Black Desert Resort – Well, kind of.
Tony Finau surprised many earlier this month at the Biltmore Championship Asheville when he was spotted using a hockey-stick-style putter. He’s rolling with it again this week at his native-state event, the Bank of Utah Championship.
The 37-year-old is using a Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset, equipped with a Caliber Golf hockey shaft, which he was asked about Wednesday ahead of the tournament in Ivins, Utah.
“I really liked the basic math of it, or basically what it teaches is everything is pointing to target, everything is lined up with the face,” Finau said. “… it’s not a round grip. It’s literally perfectly flat, but everything – the way you put your hands on it, it all faces the exact same angle as the putter face. I thought that was a really cool thing, and I just think it’s easier to aim.”
Where Finau believes his hockey stick putter gives him a real boost is on shorter putts, giving him a better chance of making ones that matter.
“Aiming to me is the most important thing,” Finau said. “The closer you get to the hole, the better you have to aim. You don’t have time to manipulate the face on a short putt. So it seems to help me aim better, and that’s why I put it in the bag.”
The process began when CEO of Caliber Golf, Tim Wright, first spotted Finau putting at the Truist Championship earlier this season, with what looked like a hockey-style grip on a broomstick-length putter. As time went on and Finau was looking for options on the greens, he found Caliber Golf, providers of putter options that use hockey shafts instead of the traditional putter shaft, and the collaboration blossomed.
Finau saw his 11-year postseason streak come to an end earlier this year after he failed to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. He currently sits 100th in the FedExCup Fall rankings, the bubble number for earning a PGA Tour card for next year. Finau ranks 122nd in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing over a shot on the greens every tournament.
Despite already being exempt through 2027 on Tour, it’ll take a mammoth task to qualify for Signature Events next season, in what will be a vital year for players to keep status as new regulations hit in 2028.
