I am going to second everything positive said about the Pa4 so far.
The last weekend was the most important A-Tier tournament I have ever played in, especially since I am trying to qualify for the 2014 Am Worlds here in Minnesota; my home courses.
On Friday I was disappointed with how I was putting with my Ions and Rhynos; more importantly I was disappointed with my upshots that were not less than 10 feet from the basket so I could take putting out of the equation. The Ion is a wonderful driving putter, but I needed something less stable that could take a powered down approach and land pin point under the basket. I could care less about running the basket, I just want to make the putt automatic, especially if I am just trying to save par. I know through my fairly decent and consistent driving that I will have my birdie opportunities.
I went to the store to pick up some Neutron Anodes, knowing in the past that they paired well with my Ions. I had no idea why I kicked them out of the bag originally. When I head there, I always cruise the TeeBirds and Leopards to see if they have anything in unique colors or dyes, but in the process I know I open myself up into checking out the other aisles as well.
I found myself in the Prodigy aisle. Two months ago I gave up on the D1 and D4 because I needed to overtorque the D1 to get the flight I needed in my bag, and my D4 was the illegal overweight one. Yet I liked the plastic and when I felt up the Pa4, I could not help myself and had to purchase one to compete against the Anode.
Taking it home that night, I putzed around in the garage working on my putting. I am one of the worst, most inconsistent putters you will ever see. That is why I play for par in tournaments; if I can eliminate bogeys, I know my driving will give me some birdie opportunities. Yet the Pa4 was coming out of my hand cleanly and impressed me enough for me to give it a shot before this major tournament. Why not? Whenever I try a new putter (a monthly ritual), I usually putt better because I have lower expectations and thus putt more conservatively.
I was blown away by the Pa4. My driving almost completely abandoned me during this tournament. I do not know what happened, but I was often releasing shots nearly 30 degrees from my intended line. Some early releases, some grip locks, all stemming from my hands having no grip to the point it did not even feel like I had a disc in my hand when I was throwing. My upshot game is the strongest part of my game and often I at least put myself in a position where I can save par but it was often from 20 to 30 feet away instead of my normal 10 to 15 feet.
What the hell, I thought I was going to lose anyway. I never went into this tournament expecting to win; I just wanted to place well so I can collect points towards qualifying for next year. The Pa4 just started finding the chains and sticking. I was making critical putts when normally I would already concede that I was at best 50/50. During the first round I missed only one putt, and that was because I let movement behind the basket get into my head. Making these early putts gave me the confidence to be more aggressive, to stab more at the basket, and the Pa4 always came cleanly out of my hand, always had the right height and aim. It seemed to fit perfectly into my form which normally made me miss with other putters, and I have tried other understable putters before.
The second day was just as good. I was sitting in 3rd place in Intermediate out of 40 players despite what I thought was a horrendous round. My putting completely saved me. I was again tormented by uncharacteristically bad driving, again finding myself further from the basket than I would normally find myself on par saves, and again I was nailing critical putts. Near the end of the second round, when I realized I could win this tournament (I know it was Intermediate, but it was an A Tier and I have a low enough rating to play there), I let my confidence get into my head, and only then did I start missing putts I had been making all weekend long.
I have another A Tier coming up this weekend. Now that I believe I have enough points to qualify, and that I have won two Intermediate tournaments this year, I am going to bump up to advance again. Last time I did that it was a complete disaster, but I really like the confidence the Pa4 has given me in my putting and approach game. Putting was always the only thing that kept me from being competitive in advance because my driving and approach is solid.
I am going to have to find a few more Pa4s to practice with and hope that too much confidence does not become their downfall.
