Putter Changes and Short Game Woes Lead to Another Spieth Missed Cut

After another missed cut at the Players this year, Jordan Spieth decided to change things up. For only the third time on Tour, Spieth took his Scotty Cameron 009 Prototype and swapped it for a Cameron T5W Tour Mallet this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson. The results were less than pleasant. Spieth clawed his way to an opening 68 before shooting 75 today and missing yet another cut. During those first two rounds, Spieth ranked 118th out of 156 in Strokes Gained: Putting.

One of the reasons Spieth cited a putter change was because his alignment was off on the old putter. He has been using the same 009 Prototype since 2012, and it’s obviously been beat up and worn out throughout the years. However, it was the same putter that carried him to nine PGA Tour victories as well as two major championships. Being a Spieth fan, I think the best move for Jordan would have been to get a newer, cleaner model of his 009 Prototype with all the same specs. If I’m not mistaken, the old putter didn’t have an alignment line on the top of the putter, so if Spieth is struggling with lining up his putts, then get a replacement 009 with the alignment aid on the putter. However, it’s better to stick with what you know works as opposed to switching up putters when things start to go awry on the greens.

Statistically speaking, this year has been a bit of an off year for Spieth. While his 1.065 strokes gained on approach shots is good for second on the tour this season, he is only picking up .126 strokes around the green and .371 strokes putting, only good for 66th and 39th place, respectively. These numbers tell the tale of how Spieth has seen tremendous improvements in his ballstriking, but hasn’t been able to convert his increased number of opportunities. In order for Spieth to regain his winning form, he needs to focus on on his play where it really matters, on and around the green. You hear him say it all the time, and I truly do believe that his game is really close. If he can maintain his ballstriking while making improvements in short game stats, look for him to re-enter the winner’s circle this season.

Written by Paul Choma