Marianne Skarpnord’s putter is a mallet. And so is the other one she has in her bag.
And all of it’s made her at least wonder.
“I’m going to apply and see if I’m allowed to play with 15 clubs,” she said before laughing. “So see what the response is.”
You never know. Stranger things have happened, and Skarpnord’s situation is a bit different. It drew a bigger audience last weekend, when cameras spotted the 39-year-old pro from Norway as she putted at the Ladies European Tour’s Australian Women’s Classic, and the clip was shared by the tour’s social media team.
At Coffs Harbour Golf Club, Skarpnord was putting longer putts with a right-handed putter. If they missed somewhere in the 10-foot range, or if she started from there, her caddie handed her putter two.
Which is left-handed.
On the broadcast, the announcers were fascinated.
Said one of the commentators on what looked to be about a 60-foot putt: “Just going to go back and have a look at this. Marianne Skarpnord is cross-handed on the right-handed putt.”
Said another commentator: “Swaps the putter.”
Said the first announcer: “Reaches for the exact same putter but a lefty and makes par.”
So what gives?
It’s part frustration with a putting problem. It’s part frustration with a solution. It’s clever. About a year and a half ago, the five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour had had enough with the putting yips, so the natural right-handed putter crossed over to a lefty style. She said she was embarrassed at first, but found some success.
“The thing is, now that I know I can actually hit the hole from 2 feet, it gives me confidence in the rest of my game,” Skarpnord told the LET’s website in 2023. “When you miss short putts over a long period of time, even if you flush it from tee to green, it’s going to affect your whole game after a while.
“So now that I know I can stand over a putt and feel comfortable, it makes my whole game more comfortable and I can actually believe in it and trust it. I’m not stressing when I’m out there. I just go out and play and hope I’m going to make some birdies.”
But there was an issue with the left-handed move. She struggled from long range.
So back to a right-handed putter. But just for lengthy putts.
“I had the worst yip you can ever imagine with a right-handed putter,” Skarpnord said on another social media clip. “And so I changed to a left-handed putter probably a year and a half ago. But then I never felt that I got really good at distance with it, and I cannot aim with it. So now I’ve got a right-handed putter for long putts and then a left-handed putter for short putts.”
Has it worked? May the 14-to-15-club application be coming, after all?
Well, at the Australian event, she tied for 31st.
And over the three rounds of play, she gained strokes in putting.
