A pronounced tri-sole has long been a tried-and-tested putter design feature. Think Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 or the Ping 1966 TR Anser 2. We’ve also had golf club designs (non-putter) with guidance rails on the sole, such as the Cobra Baffler or T-Rail.

Combine the two, and you get Austin Eckroat’s one-of-one Ping Anser 2. Why? Well, it features two custom-welded rails on the sole of the putter, raising about a golf ball’s width of the center point of the face off the ground.

As the Oklahoma State University alum readied himself to take on TPC San Antonio, he was happy to share the method behind his madness.

“I wanted the club to sit on two points, especially our greens get baked out here,” Eckroat said. “If you ever put it on Bermuda greens and you go down to pick up your ball and the putter slides out from underneath you, the same thing happens when I’m over the ball. I set into it with one hand, so I set in with one hand, and I’d look at the hole and come down, and the club face is closed or whatever. So that was the first idea with it, was to get the putter just sit still and the two balance points really helps there.”

The other reason for Eckroat’s welded lines on the sole is to help where his hands sit in relation to his body and how it affects whether the putter is flat to the ground or biased to either heel or toe.

“I kind of play with handle position, not on purpose,” Eckroat continued. “It’s inconsistent day in, day out. With this, the putter builds my setup every day because it just sits down in the same spot every time and I don’t have to think about wherever the handle position is. … I mean, it’s been very nice and I’ve noticed my putting has been more consistent for sure.

The putter itself is 35 inches in length with 3 degrees of loft and a lie angle of 20.5 degrees. Eckroat uses the PP58 Tour L grip.

It’s not the first attempt Eckroat has made to customize the sole of his putter. Luckily, though, this time around, there’s no issue with the design.

“I tried using athletic tape,” Eckroat said with a smile. “I asked the rules official one time. I was like, ‘Hey, can I throw a piece of athletic tape on the bottom of my putter, what I do at home whenever our Bermuda greens get really dry?’ “He was like, ‘Oh yeah, it shouldn’t be an issue.’ Comes back the next morning, ‘Hey, do not put athletic tape on bottom of your putter. It has to be lead tape.’”

Since the addition, Eckroat has climbed from 15 spots in Strokes Gained: Putting, but at 120th in the standings, there’s still room for improvement. It seems that the putter Eckroat is using in Texas is only the beginning, and there’s already work being done for a second attempt with larger welded rails.

“This is the first proto, I guess you could call it, the next one is going to have bigger welds,” He added. “So this has done the trick, but I think I want it to be a little bit more pronounced and I think that’s on its way now and hopefully here it’s pretty soon.”