Golf is a game of quiet desperation. Usually. But then there are moments where the lid just blows right off the pressure cooker. If you were watching the opening round of the 2025 Valspar Championship, you saw exactly that.
Professional golfers are supposed to be the masters of the "zen" approach. We see them take deep breaths, close their eyes, and visualize the ball going into the hole. But on a random Thursday in March at the Copperhead Course, Patton Kizzire decided he’d had enough of the visualization. He wanted a field goal.
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Patton Kizzire punts putter into the stratosphere. That's not a metaphor. He actually launched the thing.
It was the par-3 15th hole—Kizzire’s sixth hole of the day since he started on the back nine. He had a 40-foot lag putt that he actually hit pretty well, leaving it about five or six feet away. Not a tap-in, but the kind of putt a three-time PGA Tour winner makes in his sleep. Except he didn't make it. The ball lipped out or slid by, and the frustration that had been simmering for weeks finally reached a rolling boil.
Before the ball even stopped moving, Kizzire’s right foot was in the air. He caught the putter perfectly on the laces. The club went 20, maybe 30 feet into the air. It had "unreal hang time," as the social media clips quickly pointed out.
The club eventually came back down to earth, but it wasn't in one piece—at least not a functional one. The shaft was bent. Kizzire had to finish the hole by putting with a wedge.
Why the Meltdown Happened
Honestly, you kind of have to look at the context to understand why a veteran like Kizzire would lose his cool so spectacularly.
Coming into the 2025 Valspar, Kizzire was in a dark place, golf-wise. He had missed six consecutive cuts. Think about that for a second. That’s six weeks of traveling, practicing, paying a caddie, and staying in hotels without making a single dime in prize money. It’s a grind that can break even the toughest players.
Just a few months earlier, in September 2024, things looked completely different. Kizzire had just won the Procore Championship in Napa. He won it by five shots. It was his first win in six years, and he credited the whole thing to a new mental approach. He was working with a mental coach. He was seen hugging trees at Silverado Resort. He was walking barefoot in the grass to "ground" himself.
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He even had a mantra written in his yardage book: "I am here. I am now."
But the "here and now" at the Valspar was apparently a lot harder to stomach than the "here and now" in Napa wine country. When the putts stop falling and the missed cuts start piling up, the tree-hugging vibe starts to feel a lot like a distant memory.
The Aftermath and the Apology
Kizzire didn’t stick around long after the punt. He played two more holes, went to the locker room, and withdrew. The official reason given to the PGA Tour was a "back injury."
Naturally, the internet had thoughts. Some fans loved the raw emotion—it made a millionaire golfer look like the rest of us when we four-putt on a Saturday morning. Others thought it was a bad look for the game. Golf Channel analysts even joked that he was auditioning for a job as an NFL kicker.
A week later, once the adrenaline had worn off and the reality of a likely fine from the Tour set in, Kizzire took to Instagram to clear the air.
"I wasn't feeling well and I certainly lost my cool. It wasn't my putter's fault... it's unacceptable. I'm looking forward to being a better version of myself."
He looked genuinely embarrassed in the video. It’s a reminder that these guys are human. They aren't robots programmed to hit 7-irons; they're people whose livelihoods depend on a 1.68-inch ball falling into a 4.25-inch hole. When it doesn't happen, sometimes you just want to kick something.
The Reality of the "Procore High"
What’s fascinating is how quickly the momentum from his 2024 win vanished. Winning the Procore Championship was supposed to be the "reset" button for Kizzire’s career. It got him back into the Masters. It got him into the PGA Championship. It secured his job for two years.
But golf is the only sport where winning a championship on Sunday doesn't guarantee you'll even be able to play on Saturday the following week.
Between that win in September and the meltdown in March, Kizzire struggled immensely. He missed 8 out of 12 cuts. The "grounding" exercises and the mental coaching were clearly being tested by the reality of the Copperhead Course—one of the toughest tracks on the PGA Tour.
Is There a Fine Coming?
While the PGA Tour doesn't typically publicize its disciplinary actions, historical precedent suggests Kizzire’s wallet took a hit. Players like Marc Calcavecchia—who knows a thing or two about being fined—tweeted that Kizzire would almost certainly face a financial penalty.
Interestingly, Kizzire wasn't the only one losing it that week. Sahith Theegala was seen tossing a club. Adam Hadwin famously whacked a sprinkler head with his wedge, causing a literal geyser to erupt on the course. There must have been something in the water in Florida that week.
Actionable Insights for Your Own Game
Watching Patton Kizzire punts putter is entertaining, but it’s also a cautionary tale for the rest of us. If a guy with a mental coach and three PGA Tour wins can lose it, you probably will too. Here is how to handle the "red zone" on the course:
- The 10-Second Rule: Kizzire reacted instantly. Experts usually suggest giving yourself 10 seconds to be angry, then letting it go. If you’re still fuming when you reach the next tee box, you’ve already lost the next hole.
- Check Your Expectations: Kizzire’s frustration came from the gap between his "Procore Winner" self and his "Six Missed Cuts" reality. On the amateur level, we often get mad because we expect to play like pros. Accept that you’re going to hit bad shots.
- Equipment is Expensive: Punting a putter usually results in a bent shaft. Unless you have a Titleist truck parked in your driveway to fix it for free, keep the club in the bag. Putting with a wedge is a lot harder than it looks on TV.
- The "Grounding" Works (Until it Doesn't): Don't ditch the mental game just because you had one bad round. Kizzire’s success in late 2024 proved that a calm mind wins tournaments. One outburst doesn't mean the whole system is broken; it just means you're human.
If you find yourself reaching for the "punting" option, maybe just take a page out of Kizzire's Napa playbook instead. Take the shoes off, feel the grass, and remember that it’s just a game. Even if that game occasionally makes you want to launch your gear into the next zip code.
To move forward productively, take a look at your own bag and identify which club causes you the most "rage." Spend your next practice session focusing exclusively on that club in a low-pressure environment to rebuild that trust before your next competitive round.