Probe Lazarus
When word of my Probe 20/20’s demise ran through the Elma Meadows community, I received a number of condolences. Nobody in the Club had ever seen me without my trusty “anvil on a stick,” so its absence was conspicuous.
I had accepted that it was over. The Probe had a unique, inverted shaft, so there was no “stock” replacement that I could order at the Wehrle Dome. On top of that, the shaft didn’t set into a neck or hosel that was attached to the head. Rather, it melded into a pool of epoxy within the brass head. There was just no way that I was going to strike another putt with my old friend.
But Elma Club Champion Roger Kapturowski refused to give up. During a rain-out of our season-opening Scramble Event, we grabbed breakfast and I informed Roger of my need for a new putter. He asked me to give it to him to see what he could do.
But my hopes were slim, at best. After several weeks passed without hearing anything, I assumed Roger was unable to fix the damage. I had moved on, using everything from a lost-and-found putter at Byrncliff, my wife’s starter “Top Flite XL” putter, and even borrowed Mo’s Scotty Cameron model. Each had their moments of initial glory, but as of last Sunday, I was lost.
I played in a scramble the previous Wednesday, and knew that something was missing. Normally, I relish putting in the two-spot during scrambles, and love to contribute to the team. But on this day, all the putters at my disposal felt like foreign objects. There simply was not enough weight for me to feel the putter head, and I had no hopes of hitting my intended lines.
Last Sunday morning, I was about to head out for our June Monthly tournament with the Scotty Cameron and little hopes, when Roger spotted me in the parking lot.
“Hey, Kevin, I have your putter – do you want it?”
I couldn’t believe it was be true. Roger had pulled off a Lazarus-like resurrection of my trusty club. It was now a few inches shorter, but I wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t told me. Without taking a single practice stroke, I dumped the Cameron and headed out to the course.
The first round was an adjustment period getting re-acclimated to the Probe’s weight, so several putts were well off in their intended speed. But yesterday morning, I rediscovered why the Probe had been with me for 16 years. In the first 10 holes, I sank three putts ranging from 10-20 feet, and made all my clean-up efforts without risk of 3 putting. At the end of the day, we posted a 3-year low of 75, good enough to win the Elma Weekly Tournament.
Thanks Roger, for my new Probe Lazarus Model.
