Scottie Scheffler, who has primarily used blade-style putters during his professional career, was seen trying out several TaylorMade Spider mallet putters earlier this week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Not just Scheffler made headlines by swapping putters right before the FedExCup Playoffs. Rory McIlroy followed suit, changing positions simultaneously at Nos. 2 and 3 in the FedExCup standings going into this three-week playoff period.
The top two golfers in the world have arrived in Memphis brandishing new flatsticks.
Scheffler, who now sits at No. 135 in the world rankings for putting but leads the Tour in strokes gained off the tee and approach, was testing out a number of putters, including three different TaylorMade Spider mallets and a Scotty Cameron Newport blade. The most recent time Scheffler changed putters this season was at the U.S. Open when he put a Scotty Cameron Timeless Tourtype GSS blade in his bag.
For two reasons, the putters that Scheffler tested made headlines in the equipment industry.
1. For Scheffler, who generally uses personalised Scotty Cameron Special Select blade putters, this was a rare break from the norm.
2. The TaylorMade Spider putters stood out visibly from the brand’s standard retail designs. The faces of TaylorMade Spider putters typically contain “Pure Roll” inlays for improved feel and performance, but Scheffler’s prototype models appeared to have solid faces without the addition.
Scheffler spoke about the enigmatic new design on Wednesday, confirming that he will start using the TaylorMade Spider TourX “SS Proto” putter on Thursday.
“Therefore, the putter has undergone extensive work on my behalf by the TaylorMade team. Although I’ve always enjoyed the visual appeal of that Spider putter, I simply did not enjoy the way it felt.
That’s something we talked about, sort of the feel, and I’ve always had trouble lining up with putters that have a lot of weight in the back. This Spider is a little bit different than most of the others because the weight is more in the front, giving it the feel of a blade putter, which I like. However, it also has a lot of that visual on the top, which makes it easier for me to line up. This year, I’ve felt like I’ve made a lot of putts that were good but went just over the hole at times.
It might be my alignment, who knows? The ball lips out or lips in instead of going in the middle if your alignment is wrong by half an inch. Since the margins in this game are so small, I am eager to use this putter this week because I feel pretty comfortable with where the balancing point is.” Scheffler said.
Since most Spider mallets have soft face inserts, Scheffler’s prototype’s solid face aids in shifting the centre of gravity (CG) closer to the face. With a larger, more accommodating head type, this helps more precisely imitate the appearance and feel of his former blade putter.
Consider Scheffler’s new putter to be something between a blade and a mallet; it has the body and structure of a Spider mallet but was designed to fit Scheffler’s preferences and comfort level with blade-style putters.
The new Spider TourX SS Proto putter from Scheffler appears to have a milled face, a single black alignment line on the crown that contrasts with a white True Path channel, a muted charcoal body and a unique sole plate. It also has a neck hosel that looks like a plumber’s, which makes it similar to his earlier blade putters.
At the Wells Fargo Championship six weeks later, McIlroy switched back to his original putter, a TaylorMade Spider Hydro Blast mallet.
He’s utilising a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5, a winged mallet, this week. McIlroy asserts that the change doesn’t seem to be as abrupt as it might be.
“In all honesty, I just wanted to give it a new look and freshen it up. If the putter doesn’t start performing the way I want it to over the first few days, I have my Spider with me this week. I might return. All I wanted to do was update it.
Sincerably, there was no testing involved. Go into the garage, see what I have, take a few things out and hit a few putts. That was it.” McIlroy said.
McIlroy, who had the best putting season of his career in 2022, is ranked 86th in Strokes Gained: Putting this year. Along the way to his record-tying third FedExCup victory, he achieved a career-high 16th place in that category.
