Aaron Wise finds 'fresh start' with long putter

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Aaron Wise wanted a fresh start on the greens at the end of last season, and thanks to an old friend, he got just that.

Wise, who shot a 1-under 70 on Friday at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, began wielding a long putter at last season’s Barracuda Championship and has continued to use it through the early part of 2021-22.

The putter itself (an older TaylorMade Ghost model) belonged to his University of Oregon coach, Casey Martin. Wise has kept it since college – he used it “a little bit” back then, he said – but never used it on TOUR.

He admitted he was “putting bad” near the end of last season and wanted to try something different as he entered the FedExCup playoffs.

“It was one of those things that I had tried before and I kind of forgot about it,” said Wise. “I thought it might be worth a shot.”

Wise was 174th in Strokes Gained: Putting last season but has improved to 83rd in the same category through three events this season. He has notched top-10 finishes in his last two starts.

The 25-year-old opened his week at El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course with an 8-under 63 – the same score he shot to close out 2020 at Mayakoba – and needed only 23 putts on Thursday.

On Friday he took only 25 swipes, but said he struggled off the tee.

“I just didn’t hit it quite as well off the tee (as Thursday) which hindered my iron shots,” said Wise. “But I felt like I chipped amazing, and I putted pretty well again and kept myself in it.”

Wise is just four shots back of the 36-hole lead held by Matthew Wolff as he looks for another solid result to kickstart 2021-22.

And, he said, his putter change is a big reason for that.

“I putted bad for long enough that maybe it was getting in my head a little bit, and this was just a fresh start. I hadn’t missed any putts with it yet,” said Wise with a laugh. “I started on neutral ground, and I started to build confidence from there.”