Scottie Scheffler made a placing swap in March, opting to go from a blade to a mallet putter-head forward of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He struggled on the greens for the primary two months of the season, an enormous motive he didn’t win any trophies in January or February.
However after making that change, the World No. 1 gained that week at Bay Hill, gained The Gamers seven days later, after which triumphed at Augusta Nationwide the next month. He added 4 extra PGA Tour victories throughout his historic 2024 marketing campaign, not together with his unbelievable come-from-behind victory on the Olympics in Paris.
Quick ahead to this week on the Hero World Problem, and Scheffler has made one other change to his placing routine. He nonetheless has the identical flat stick, a TaylorMade Spider Tour X, however he now employs the ‘Claw’ grip, through which your sturdy hand—on this case Scheffler’s proper—makes a claw-like form when gripping the putter. Gamers will use the claw grip to attempt to have their putter resemble a pendulum, through which you rely extra on shoulders to sway the membership by affect. Theoretically, the putter head ought to transfer straight again and straight by, thus creating straighter putts.
The con to utilizing this grip is that it’s uncomfortable, particularly quickly after making the swap. It additionally shouldn’t be used on slower greens.
Via the primary few holes on the Hero World Problem, Scheffler has solely utilized the claw grip from within six or seven ft. You possibly can see him accomplish that within the video above.
Since he’s one of the best ball-striker on the planet, Scheffler makes a dwelling by hitting his method pictures inside 10 ft, which results in loads of birdie alternatives. However Scheffler has missed a ton of putts from short-range over the previous couple of years amid all of his accolades, accomplishments, and inexperienced jackets. So, maybe this swap will result in extra consistency within 10 ft, a metric the place Scheffler ranked 139th in 2024. If the transfer pays off, the remainder of the tour can be on excessive alert as Scheffler dominated the game all through the 2024 season. Think about what he may very well be if he improves from shut vary.
Up to now within the Bahamas, Scheffler has transformed each alternatives that he gave himself within 10 ft. He’s 2-under by 7 holes as of this writing, however his feedback on why he made this swap—and the way he feels about it—will undoubtedly draw probably the most intrigue from day one.
Keep tuned for additional updates.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. You should definitely try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
