Kirk Currie article

[Moecat]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/glf/7000844.html

 

Kirk Currie, right, takes a hands-on approach to making sure a player ends up with a putter with which he is comfortable.

 

There was a time in Kirk Currie's life when he was happy just to try to beat his best buddy in a round of golf.

 

“I lived right next to No. 8 (on the TPC at The Woodlands),” said Currie. “I got down to a 1- or 2-handicap. I would get together with my buddy, Garry Rippy (who was a pro at the TPC) and play. Those were the days.”

 

In those days, the 52-year-old Currie was a machinist in the oil field business.

 

“I could make almost anything you wanted out of steel,” Currie said.

 

He could even make a putter.

 

“You remember the ol' putter that you put a mirror on the back of it?,” Currie said. “I did that for John Mahaffey. I had so much fun, I decided to start making my own stuff.”

 

That was in 1991.

 

Since then, Currie said, he has designed putters for Lynx, Ben Hogan, Bridgestone, Slazenger and Wilson Staff.

 

He also designed the inserted sand wedge that TaylorMade Golf just introduced.

 

“I designed that four years ago in my shop behind my home,” said Currie, who lives in The Woodlands and has his own trailer of merchandise. “I currently have two other products in the pipeline for the golf market.”

 

But his main love is putting. He said he has built putters for Jack Nicklaus, Gary Nicklaus, Payne Stewart, Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington.

 

Don't blindly copy pros

“You can go in and buy a $10 putter off the rack, but that is almost stupid,” he said. “If a pro wins a tournament one week with a certain putter, lots of people go buy that putter. That is how they want us to buy putters. The golf industry is all about brand names. The question is: Is that putter right for you?

 

“If you buy one of those putters and it happens to have the right length, lie and you can aim it, you might have success. But through my putter fitting, all I try and do is increase your odds of becoming a better long-term putter.”

 

Currie said he asks a lot of questions when he does a putter fitting.

 

“If you go out and buy a two-ball putter, you are so positive it is going to work that it usually does for a while,” he said. “It is all about confidence. But after a while, the negatives set in.

 

“I find out what kind of putter you need. I ask a lot of questions and then answer them. I make sure they are aiming better and their stroke is right. Before all is said and done, I give them 10 reasons they are going to putt better.”

 

In other words, he builds confidence through mechanics.

 

“I get the mechanical side totally taken care of,” Currie said. “Then they have to practice.

 

“The exciting thing about putting is that a 70-year-old grandmother, if she can stand up, can become a good putter. It doesn't require conditioning. Putting doesn't require a full turn and muscles. It doesn't take power. It just takes the proper mechanics, equipment and practice.”

 

Currie said people don't think enough about putting.

 

“It's only half your strokes,” he said with a laugh. “People don't think about it like that, but they should. If you can drive the ball good and putt good, you can play good golf.

 

“If you miss a few greens, you can chip up and make putts. But if you drive the ball out of bounds every hole, it doesn't matter if you make the putt or not.”

 

A business on wheels

Currie, who has several other training aids, takes his equipment trailer to several clubs around the Houston area, including Carlton Woods, River Oaks and Houston Country Club.

 

He also does private putter fittings out of his home.

 

“Several years ago, I used to bring people into my shop,” he said. “Now, I can take my shop and move it around.

 

“I have had this idea for a tour van in my head for several years. Three years ago, I built it all by myself. I have an air conditioner and cameras and a computer in there. I want to give you the entire putting experience. I want you to walk out with the right putter.”

 

Currie can be reached at kirkcurriegolf@yahoo.com

[GolfSpy_X]

Great article Moe...thanks. I am going to get in touch with him today I had not heard anything about him for a while.

[JohnBarry]

Very good read

[mbkeller]

I have a Currie and have the fitting I received is supposed to be the same everything that he does. My new putter and approach to putting has knocked 5-6 strokes off my game.