Changing to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-Neck turned Scottie Scheffler's putting around
Changing to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-Neck turned Scottie Scheffler's putting around Not long ago, the world's No. 1 player was putting terribly. But after switching to a mallet for a non-obvious reason, things turned around.
Scottie Scheffler had one of the most dominant seasons the PGA Tour has ever seen last year, and he just won the 2025 PGA Championship on Sunday, so you can be forgiven if you forgot that poor putting may have cost him several more wins back in 2023 and that switching putters early last year might have been the best equipment adjustment the Texan has ever made.
In the second half of 2023, Scheffler benched the Scotty Cameron blade-style putter he had been using and tried several different flatsticks, including prototype TaylorMade Spider Tour putters designed with milled faces at the end of the PGA Tour season. None of them stayed around long, and Scheffler finished that year with a blade made by the Olson Putter Company, a boutique brand purchased by TaylorMade in 2024.
Then, before the start of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler switched back into a TaylorMade Spider with an L-Neck hosel and won, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. The next week, he won again at the Players Championship, finishing 37th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
As you can see in the chart below, while Scheffler's ballstriking has remained elite, his putting has dramatically improved.
Shop Scottie Scheffler's putter
Understandably, when most golfers think about why a mallet putter could help them on the greens, they think about forgiveness and stability, and for good reason. Mallets tend to have more perimeter weighting than traditional blades, so they resist twisting on off-center strikes more effectively. But for Scheffler, the Spider mallet provided something else he needed.
"The goal, honestly, was to give him better alignment," said Andrew Oldknow, TaylorMade's director of product creation for putters, in a recent chat with Golfweek. "While centering the ball with the alignment system, we were actually trying to get that thing to perform just like a blade."
Looking back to the testing period when Scheffler was thinking about making changes, Oldknow said, "At the time, he loved the performance of his blade, he just felt like he didn't have enough alignment out of it. True Path worked really well for him in terms of centering the ball. One of his biggest issues is that he doesn't always hit the ball center face."
By removing weight from the back of the Spider Tour X head and repositioning it forward, then adding an L-Neck hosel to create the same level of toe hang Scheffler's blade putters had created, TaylorMade was able to give the world's No. 1 player a putter with enhanced alignment that swings like the blade putters he had used all his life.
The combination has now helped Scheffler win two majors, a Players Championship and a Tour Championship in 15 months.
Shop Scottie Scheffler's putter
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Phil Mickelson knows this US Open could be his last Grand Slam chance
Phil Mickelson is well aware that his window to complete the career Grand Slam is getting slimmer and slimmer. But the 54-year-old will attempt to complete the milestone with a major upset at next week's U.S. Open, the only of the four major championships he has yet to win. Mickelson acknowledged that this U.S. Open, which kicks off June 12 at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, could be his last chance at becoming the seventh golfer to accomplish the feat. Advertisement 3 Phil Mickelson hits a chip shot during the second round of the PGA Championship on May 16. Getty Images 'There's a high likelihood that it will be,' Mickelson said Wednesday at a press conference at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, where this week's LIV Golf tournament is being held. 'But I haven't really thought about it too much. This year marks the last of Mickelson's five-year exemption into the U.S. Open field, which he earned by winning the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Advertisement Without the exemption, he would need to go through the qualifying process, a two-stage system that includes a local 18-hole qualifier and a final 36-hole qualifier. Mickelson said he hasn't considered whether he would be willing to go through that process in the future. 'I don't know,' he said. 'I haven't thought that far.' 3 Phil Mickelson of the United States talks with Luke Reardon, caddie for Jason Day of Australia, as they walk the ninth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 16, 2025. Getty Images Advertisement Mickelson has finished runner-up at the U.S. Open a record six times, although he has missed the cut at the tournament the last three years. The San Diego native, who is a few weeks from turning 55, has won 45 PGA Tour events, including three Masters titles, two PGA Championships and one Open Championship in his legendary career. The USGA announced a pathway for LIV golfers to directly qualify for the U.S. Open in February, which could give Mickelson a shot at an exemption for the 2026 tournament at Shinnecock Hills. 3 Phil Mickelson of the United States plays a shot from the 16th tee during the first round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 15, 2025. Getty Images Advertisement An automatic spot will be awarded to the leading golfer in LIV Golf's final individual standings from this year — if they are not already exempt. Mickelson is currently 15th.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Marquee group of Canadians headlines home contingent at RBC Canadian Open
Marquee group of Canadians headlines home contingent at RBC Canadian Open It's a special week for Canadians. The NHL's Stanley Cup Final begin Wednesday night, with the Edmonton Oilers hoping to beat the Florida Panthers and take Lord Stanley's Cup north of the border for the first time in 32 years. Of course, the start of the Cup Final also means it's a special week for Canadian golfers and golf fans as the PGA Tour stops in Ontario for the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto, a golf course hosting the tournament for the first time. There are 24 Canadian golfers set to play in their national open, including PGA Tour stalwarts Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Nick Taylor. Taylor, who finished fourth at the Memorial last week, famously sunk a 72-foot eagle putt on the 18th green at Oakdale to win the 2023 RBC Canadian Open in a marathon playoff over Tommy Fleetwood. "I actually drove in with my wife, and we saw the one photo that's the silhouette of that [putt in 2023]," Taylor said in a press conference Wednesday. "In that moment, I always remember, when I see my face, it's when I found Dave [Markle] and just was like 'holy-you-know-what' in the moment. It's a cool thing to see it, and it only is good memories. It's pretty fun to see it around here the whole week." Adam Hadwin — who was hilariously tackled by a security guard when he ran onto the green to celebrate with Taylor after he made said putt in 2023 — will also tee it up this week. The Canadian contingent of Pendrith, Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes will play together for the first two rounds. The group tees off at 7:29 a.m. ET Thursday. "It's going to be really fun," Pendrith said. "We were all at the same event yesterday when the tee times came out and there was a group chat. We were all fired up. I don't think I've played with Mackenzie on the PGA Tour, not that I can remember, so that'll be fun. And Nick, I mean, legend of the tournament in Canada, so that'll be really fun. There will be a lot of people out there." World No. 21 Conners, who's the highest-rated Canadian in the Official World Golf Rankings, will not be joining in on the fun with his countrymen. "I spend enough time playing with those guys, I'll be okay," Conners said. "I got paired with Taylor [Pendrith] last week at the Memorial, which was a lot of fun. I've got a great pairing. I know those three guys will have a lot of fun together. Regardless who I'm playing with, I'll be feeling the love from the Canadian fans, and it's going to be a fun week. Conners is set to tee off at 12:55 p.m. ET with Shane Lowry and defending RBC Canadian Open champion, Robert MacIntyre. Canadian golf legend Mike Weir is also in the field this week, playing in his 32nd Canadian Open. "Mike, he was an icon in Canada," Conners said. "He was an inspiration to me when I was growing up and an aspiring junior golfer. He's someone that I've always had my eye on. The success he was able to have really motivated and inspired me to work hard and try and get to the top level of professional golf someday." Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, plays with fellow Canadian Ben Silverman and Chan Kim of the U.S. That group tees off at 7:07 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Rory McIlroy explains decision to duck media at PGA, saying he didn't want to discuss driver issue
Associated Press CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Rory McIlroy explained his decision not to speak to the media during last month's PGA Championship, saying Wednesday he was annoyed that news had leaked about his driver failing to pass inspection before the tournament. McIlroy said the results of equipment tests are supposed to be confidential and noted that Scottie Scheffler's driver had also failed before the championship, but that was not reported until afterward. Scheffler revealed after he won the PGA for his third major title that he had been forced to use a backup driver. 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted,' McIlroy said in a news conference at the Canadian Open, which begins Thursday. 'I'm trying to protect Scottie. I don't want to mention his name. I'm trying to protect TaylorMade. I'm trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself.' It was a strange week for McIlroy, who arrived at the PGA as the most celebrated player in golf after he completed the career Grand Slam with his triumph at the Masters. Instead of taking a victory lap at Quail Hollow — a course where he has won four times — McIlroy was in a bad mood all week, and his refusal to discuss the driver test was much debated. McIlroy gave a day-by-day breakdown of his decisions not to talk to reporters, saying he wanted to practice after his poor first round. He finished his second round late and wanted to put his daughter, Poppy, to bed. He didn't want to talk about his driver, he was tired after his weather-delayed third round, and after his week concluded with a tie for 47th place, he just wanted to go home. He reiterated that PGA Tour players are not required to speak to the media. 'I talk to the media a lot,' McIlroy said. 'I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street, and as much as we need to speak to you guys — we understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, I understand that — but again, I've been beating this drum for a long time. 'If they want to make it mandatory, that's fine, but in our rules it says that it's not, and until the day that that's maybe written into the regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time, and that's well within our rights.' McIlroy also declined to talk to reporters after he blew a late lead and lost to Bryson DeChambeau in last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. He's a two-time winner of the Canadian Open, and he skipped a PGA Tour signature event last week at the Memorial to play in Canada as his tuneup for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont. Whether he'll be interested in discussing his performance at the storied western Pennsylvania venue remains to be seen. 'If we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on this,' McIlroy said, holding up his phone. 'We could go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way. 'We understand that that's not ideal for you guys and there's a bigger dynamic at play here.' ___ AP golf:
