INCAgolf All you ever wanted to know about golf (well almost)

By DOUG FERGUSON
Associated Press

KAPALUA, Hawaii – It looked like an act of desperation last year when Retief Goosen, whose pure stroke brought him a pair of U.S. Open titles, switched to the belly putter at the start of the season.

He eventually ditched it for the conventional putter and went on to win the Transitions Championship, pick up 10 finishes in the top 10 and restore his name among the top 20 in the world ranking.

So why was the belly putter back in his bag when he teed off on Thursday in the SBS Championship?

The bigger question is how long it will stay there.

Goosen believes the belly putter helped to get him pointed in the right direction early last year, so he thought he would at least start out the season doing the same thing.

“It’s a good training device,” he said.

He messed around with it in South Africa and said he would keep it in play at least through the Hawaii swing, and possibly through a U.S. West Coast schedule that will include Pebble Beach and then Match Play.

“If I do well with it, who knows? Maybe I’ll keep it in there longer,” Goosen said.

His goal for the year is to “put my name up there in majors,” and that was one area he was lacking the last few years. Dating to his first major at the 2001 U.S. Open, Goosen went consecutive years without a top three in the majors for the first time. His best was a tie for fifth at the British Open, where he started the final round two shots out of the lead.

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/notes-belly-putters-stories-claret-jug-34491/