Troy Matteson: PGA Tour winner talks putting REALITY

Edel Golf Podcast

On this installment of the Edel Podcast, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Troy Matteson. Troy’s resume on the golf course speaks for itself. He was the 2002 NCAA Individual Champion at Georgia Tech. In 2005, he led the Nationwide Tour in earnings. On the PGA Tour, he won the Frys.com Open in 2005 and 2009.

Troy’s been a friend of Edel Golf for a longtime and today, he’s been kind enough share his insights on putting.

Over the course of his career, Troy was a streaky putter. Even though he could light it up, he “didn’t understand how his stroke worked or his tendencies other than that he was a right aimer.”

Looking back, he says “I was a mechanical putter… not an artist… When you’re putting your best, you’re not really thinking about mechanics.”

Throughout his time in college and then on Tour, Troy worked tirelessly on his putting with Jeff Patton at the Golf Club of Georgia. Troy estimates that he “probably spent one third of his practice time just time just talking about putting with Jeff.”

Trust and belief were evident in their relationship throughout. Before he won his last PGA Tour event, Patton gave Troy some poignant advice: “All you can do is hit 18 of your best first putts.” With that in mind, Troy recovered after an over par opening round to make the make and, go on to win.

When we asked Troy what he thought about modern putting instruction, he had an interesting take.

“Back then, people didn’t understand different types of stroke… We have a better understanding of mechanics today.”

When it comes to all the gadgets and gizmos you see on the practice putting green at a PGA Tour event, Troy thinks “Everyone is trying to be more consistent.”

While that can’t be argued he says the greatest putters, like Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, “have a great feel for the greens… and aren’t overly mechanical.”

Concerning the mass-produced putters from OEM’s today, there’s no question that we are seeing more high-inertia and counterbalanced putter designs. While that’s great, “we need more advancement in putter fitting,” according to Troy.

Even though he no longer plays competitively on Tour, looking back he says he wishes he would have had a “counterbalanced, properly weighted putter… That, along with finding a way to practice aim” could have made a real difference.

We’re lucky that Troy has, and continues to be a dear friend of the Edel Golf family. His insights are invaluable and he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. To hear more from our conversation with Troy, tune into to the podcast above.