Putter Talk With PGA Tour Player Nick Hardy

Last year, PGA Tour Player Nick Hardy stopped by Swag HQ to talk with CEO Nick Venson about everything golf. The Nicks (this won't get confusing at all) discussed everything from Hardy's Swag putter and his growing headcover collection to his Chicago roots.

Hardy is currently playing on the PGA Tour using a custom Swag putter and the newest Swag headcovers each week. But growing up in Northbrook, Illinois (just down the road from our headquarters), Hardy’s tie to Swag goes beyond his putter. 

Read some of our interview with Nick Hardy below and check out the full video on YouTube. Take it away, Venson…

VENSON: You want to talk a little bit about growing up here in Chicagoland and the trials and tribulations of playing golf in the winter here?

HARDY: I think growing up and spending winters here really kind of made me hunger the game more and crave the game more. I think it almost rejuvenated my love for the game. Obviously in winters you can't play as much but coming out every spring with that excitement, with that joy of playing golf again, it's something I always remember and cherish.

VENSON: Yeah I totally agree. I mean if it's 45 degrees, I'm going out there and playing, at least here in Chicago. I gotta take every day I can. 

HARDY: 45 is balmy. I'll take 25 with no snow on the ground but it just depends on wind though. There can't be that good ole’ Chicago wind that comes off the lake. It's really bad.

VENSON: It's funny you say that - how it kind of invigorates you after the winter because in a weird way, I think the golf industry is kind of the same way. I think we kind of need that break during the winter sometimes. That's when we kind of get hunkered down, come up with some of our best ideas and then come out hot in the spring with new stuff.

HARDY: Definitely. I think it's a much needed break. I think in this game obviously the game is really tough itself and I think it can kind of relate in all ways to getting a little restart, a little fresh in the mind and just craving that hunger and excitement again. That was something that was always big to me.

VENSON: Well I'm happy to say that we were able to make you a putter that you really like which I think is awesome. It took us a few tries but we got it right. I thought maybe it'd be cool to talk a little bit about that whole process with you.

Obviously, Nate our Tour Director was a huge part of this but I think the crazy part of the story is a little bit more about not only just making the head the way you wanted it, but even the shaft itself. So, I mean maybe first let's talk about the shaft.

HARDY: Well in order to talk about the shaft, I got to talk about Nate a little bit and the trust that I have with him. I've known Nate for a long time now and he's I think the best tour rep, period - for any company, any specific golf club. I think he's the best and so that was another draw for me to go with Swag was really that trust factor.

Nate knew all my specs before I even had to come to him so he knew what I liked. I think that's what made the process go by pretty quick actually. I feel like we got the putter done pretty quick in the grand scheme of things. Definitely the shaft was something that I'd been hunting out with him for maybe over a year now, and he knew exactly what we were looking for - the style, the make, the way it swung. We knew what we were looking for but we didn't know the exact brand and so that's what kind of made it a needle in a haystack type of search. And for Nate to find it - it’s not surprising to me because he's the best - but he found it and that's what’s going to make my experience with my Swag putter even better.

VENSON: That's awesome. I don't know how much Nate paid you to have you say those good things about him but yeah, he did a good job, for sure. The shaft's a crazy story -  I mean it was in one of our friends' workshops and probably sat there for five to ten years. Nate hunted it down, which I think is a testament to what he likes to do and how he likes to take care of guys like you.

HARDY: I think the biggest thing in the professional golf world is how dealing with professionals might be tough, like Nate does. I think most guys out there are really strict and very spot on with their performance and what they're using out there, and I think that’s what made the switch for me to Swag so easy, because you guys do such a great job in club building. I feel like the putters are already how I like them in the big picture of it and I think that was the sort of ease of kind of being I acclimated to the switch.

VENSON: In the process of making your putter, Nate and I and Trent - who does all the 3D modeling - had to go through a bunch of variations to get there, but I think it’s kind of a testament to what we do here. Being able to machine it start-to-finish exactly the way you wanted it. And that was probably the bigger hurdle but we got five years of experience doing it now and it made it fun for us to be able to make you exactly what you wanted. To tweak the bumpers, the shoulders and do things the way you wanted them - the neck positioning to get the right toe hang - I mean everything that we did, I think you had a reason for it and I'm happy that we were able to do that. and I think clearly you put it in play and have eight birdies in a row, right? I don't think you've ever done that before, have you?

HARDY: No, one short of a record and I'm still a little bummed I didn't get it. But eight in a row is something that not many players have ever done on the PGA Tour and it hadn't been done in 10 years. So you think about all the great golf that has been played in the last 10 years and for a streak like that not to come and for me to do it is really special.

VENSON: And those weren't all short putts either.

HARDY: No, if you have eight in a row you're gonna have to make a couple putts, that's for sure. You can't stick everything close but it was only my fourth round of using that exact putter. For me to feel that comfortable, that fast with my new Swag putter, it speaks to the job you guys did on getting it exactly how I like it. There's really not any other company that would tailor that specific of specs to what I like and that's what makes it special.

VENSON: I'm happy we were able to do it because you're a good putter to start with, so it's nice to be able to give you an instrument that works that well.

HARDY: Totally. I mean that's just gonna hopefully enhance my putting even more and we'll be leading those putting stats next year. 

VENSON: I want to ask you a little bit about why you - besides the fact that we know you love Nate - but why did you choose Swag? What makes Swag cool to you? 

HARDY: Well number one, growing up in Northbrook and being a hometown kid is really important to me because I have such amazing support here. Not only my fans but friends, people. Truly some of the best people in the world are from Northbrook and they've been so genuine to me. Having Swag literally down the street, especially just a block away from the golf course I grew up at is super special to me. It really feels like Swag is an extension of that community aspect and feeling for me and I think it's growing with me. I think the company is new, it started when I started my career and I hope that I can be the first one to start winning majors and big tournaments with the putter. 

VENSON: Yeah us too.

A few months post-interview, Hardy clinched his first PGA Tour win at the 2023 Zurich Classic with his Swag putter in hand.