Golfers are a nostalgic group. PGA TOUR players can relate to this sentiment. Many clubs are cherished memories that we all cherish. Some clubs are kept in the bag for many decades. Some clubs make a comeback after a long hiatus. While many of the TOUR’s most prominent names will be introducing the latest technology in the new year at the Sentry Tournament of Champions this week, Justin Thomas will bring back a club from his junior days. Thomas will be using a Scotty Cameron Circle T303 SSS blade putter to tackle the Plantation Course’s slopes. He has owned it since high school. Thomas takes the putter with him everywhere he goes and also uses it for practice. This flatstick, just like the late-round draft pick at a Division II school is being called up from the practice squad to get meaningful reps in an important competition. After carding a 3-under 70 on Thursday at the Sentry, Thomas stated that he uses this one when he has a lot of free time. “If I’m not playing in a tournament, I’ll go on a boys trip and bring a backup set of golf clubs. I’ll just throw this in there. This is my go-to set of clubs for any occasion that it is not serious or vacation. It’s a great memory. I won it in college. It was probably in high school.” Thursday’s final competitive round for the putter. Thomas stated, “Freshman year in college, I believe.” This was over a decade ago. How did that backup make it to the Sentry? The 2023 PGA TOUR’s first event features 17 of the best 20 players around the world. There is an increase in purse ($15 Million) and FedExCup points for the winner (550), which is 50 more than last year. Thomas says he has “probably thirty to forty” putters to choose. It is a serious event. The one that was making the most noise had been around for a while. He said, “I had just been putting it well at home.” “My tendencies have improved over the past two years. The bad tendencies that I had that were exposed by this putter, they still exist, but I am able to get away with them a little better.” Thomas loves the Sentry. He won the event twice in 2017 and ’20. Thomas also shares the Plantation Course course record, which he shot last year at 61. He had a double-bogey at the 17th hole in his opening round. He also played in the final tee time with Xander Schauffele and did not putt well. He finished 28th out of 39 players in Strokes Gained : Putting. Before heading to the practice area, he stated that “it was fine.” “I missed two within six feet, but made four beyond 10 feet.” “The greens were not very nice this afternoon, so I was unable to get true rolls.” Thomas changed his putters several times last season as he tried to find the right flatstick to maximize his iron play. Thomas was eighth in Strokes Gained : Approach-the Green last season, his sixth consecutive year ranking in the top 10. He was 85th in Strokes Gained : Putting. Thomas may be unfamiliar with the traditional, elegant blade design. He has been using a dual-winged mallet since 2016. However, he won the 2015 CIMB Classic with a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Timeless GSS350 blade putter. Thomas made several notable putter changes last year. Last January, Thomas was spotted with a Scotty Cameron X5 Tour mallet featuring a short slant neck. Thomas had been using the mallet putter since 2016 so it was not surprising that he was there. Thomas changed to a Scotty Cameron T5Proto putter in May. It featured a knuckle plumbers neck to stabilize Thomas’ stroke and an aluminum plate at the back to alter the sound at impact. It was truly a one-of-one design. This is the same putter he used last year to win the PGA Championship. Fast forward to last year’s BMW Championship and Thomas changed again to a 1-of-1 Scotty Cameron Proto mallet putter. The custom knuckle neck was still there, as well as a sound-enhancing backplate. However, it was only 34 inches long (half an inch shorter than his standard model). The new “JT” engraving was added and the colorway was darker red. Thomas finished the year exactly where he began it with his Scotty Cameron X5 Tour mallet, which has a short slant neck. This putter was used in The Match, The Hero World Challenge and the PNC Championship to end 2022. As we all know, it’s a great time to make changes. This change will last how long? We will have to wait and watch.
By: GolfWRX
Title: Justin Thomas is using a Scotty Cameron that he’s owned since … high school
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/equipmentreport/2023/01/05/justin-thomas-using-scotty-cameron-putter-owned-since-middle-school-clubs-equipment-titleist.html
Published Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2023 07:00:00 -0500
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