One of the hottest players headed into the Travelers Championship this week on the PGA Tour is SuperStroke Grips staff player Matt Bettencourt. After a Top-10 finish at the US Open, his first ever Major championship, Bettencourt now has back-to-back Top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. His secret weapon? A jumbo sized putter grip that is three times the size of a standard putter grip.
Bettencourt has been using an all-white prototype 85-gram slip-on SuperStroke grip designed to inhibit the breakdown of the wrists since the HP Byron Nelson Championship. The new putter grip has helped his putting significantly and helped him to a career best 5th place finish at The Memorial Tournament, a course record 64 while qualifying for the US Open at 9-under par, and a finish on the top of a star-studded leader board at a Major championship.
“The new SuperStroke Lite grip allowed me to excel on the greens with confidence at Muirfield Village and at the sectional qualifier,” said Bettencourt. “I like everything about this new grip. The texture is awesome and the weight is perfect.”
“I putted extremely well at the US Open and I have made sure to put an identical backup grip on another putter,” said Bettencourt this week while preparing for the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Bettencourt finished at 2-over 282 and earned $154,600 at the notorious Bethpage Black course. He climbed from 133rd on the PGA Tour money list to 102nd with a total of $510,890 for the season. By finishing in the Top 15, Bettencourt earned an automatic spot in next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Other players on tour have taken notice of the big white putter grip that measures 1.67 inches in diameter.
“It’s funny because after KJ Choi won with the SuperStroke, I had a flood of players that approached me asking for ‘the KJ Grip’,” said Tiger Shark Tour Representative Jeff Dill. “This week, everybody keeps asking if they can try out ‘the Bettencourt grip’ they have been hearing so much about. I had a busy week to say the least and worked with about a dozen new players with our oversized grips.”
The 85-gram slip-on version that Bettencourt plays will be available later this summer.
“We’ve been flooded with calls and e-mails from golf fans and retailers who saw the new grip at the Memorial and the US Open,” said Tiger Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Ian Zubkoff. “We are working feverishly to infuse this new design into the market place. We are expecting to be able to deliver the new grip to the public by August 15. ”
More About SuperStroke
The large surface area of SuperStroke brings more of the grip into contact with the hands, inhibiting breakdown of the wrists. Scientific tests have shown that the SuperStroke requires up to 32% less grip tension and represents a significant improvement over conventional putter grips. The SuperStroke’s size encourages use of a “soft hands” technique and ensures a smooth and fluid putting stroke. To learn more about SuperStroke or to order a grip directly, please visit www.superstrokegrip.com
More About Tiger Shark Golf
With the acquisition of SuperStroke grips in January of 2009, Tiger Shark became the predominant oversized putter grip company in golf. Bettencourt’s Top 10 finish at the US Open was the 4th of the year for players on the 2009 PGA Tour using one of Tiger Shark’s oversized putter grips. The grips have won 4 times on the PGA Tour, including a victory by the 2009 Byron Nelson champion with their popular UltraTac grip. Over 40 professional golfers from the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour have put either a SuperStroke or an UltraTac grip into play.
Tiger Shark offers a variety of golf equipment with a specialty in drivers, women’s clubs, wedges, hybrids and package sets. Tiger Shark has more than 1,600 accounts across the U.S. including Golf Galaxy, Edwin Watts, Golfsmith, Roger Dunn, Pro Golf, PGA Tour Superstores, Golf Headquarters and Golfers Warehouse. For more information about Tiger Shark Golf, call 800-667-0181 or visit www.tigersharkgolf.com.
Contact:
Jon Claffey
jonclaffey@yahoo.com
