CROMWELL, Conn — If Tiger Woods is willing to bench Excaliber, his Scotty Cameron Newport GSS putter that helped him win 14 of his 15 majors, no putter should ever feel completely safe in a pro’s bag. That includes Jordan Spieth’s Scotty Cameron 009 blade.
A day after Spieth needed 30 putts to shoot an even-par 70 at TPC River Highlands (when the field scoring average at the Travelers Championship was 68.6), there were two prototype Scotty Cameron putters, a heel-toe weighted blade and a mallet, leaning against his blue golf bag alongside the practice green.
The sole of the copper-toned blade putter was stamped “Scotty Cameron Xperimental Jordan Spieth Special” and “For Tour Use Only.” Like Spieth’s gamer, it had a single white alignment line on the top line, along with four small screws on the back that appeared to be holding a face insert in place.
Jordan Spieth’s prototype blade and mallet putters on the practice green at TPC River Highlands Friday. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The unique thing about the putter is it is fitted with a graphite shaft that is labeled “Scotty Cameron Xperimental Prototype.” As of now, Scotty Cameron has yet to release a graphite shafted putter at retail, even though graphite putter shafts have gained popularity over the last few seasons.
The blade putter’s shaft clearly says “Scotty Cameron Xperimental Prototype.” (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The mallet putter is prototype Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5, again with a copper-toned finish and a short, single white alignment line extending back from the topline instead of the two black lines that come on the putter you will see in stores. While the retail version of the Phantom 9.5 has a short “Jet” neck that creates some toe hang, Spieth’s putter features a plumber’s neck hosel that has been hand-welded onto the head.
The letters “JS” have been stamped into the toe of the mallet and filled in red, as has the circle T logo on the face. While the retail version of the Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 features a dual milling pattern on the face to soften the feel and enhance the sound created at impact, Spieth’s putter has a smooth face.
The shaft on the mallet putter was dark and step-less, but it was not visibly labeled, so Golfweek can not confirm whether it was graphite or dark-toned steel.
On Friday afternoon, before his 1:50 tee time with Wyndham Clark, Spieth rolled a few putts at the start of this warm-up session with the mallet putter but quickly started using his old 009 putter and never changed back. At several points during his putting warm-up, Spieth had his caddie, Michael Greller, take his smartphone and shoot a video of his putting stroke, which the three-time major winner then studied before rolling more putts.
He did not hit any putts with the Jordan Spieth Special blade putter fitted with the graphite shaft, and when he walked toward the practice area carrying a wedge and two bags of balls, Greller smiled and pointed at the old putter, indicating that the old putter was going to be in the bag for at least another day.
Spieth has been struggling on the greens for nearly three years, as the chart above shows, but with the Travelers Championship being a no-cut event, this would be an ideal place to try something new.
Below are several close-up images of Speith’s prototype putters.
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