Golf fans stunned as Scottie Scheffler makes ‘insane’ change on his return to golf at the Hero World Challenge

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The worry for anyone on the PGA Tour heading into the Hero World Challenge would have been the prospect of Scottie Scheffler showing any signs of improvement heading into the 2025 season.

Of course, Scottie Scheffler had one of the greatest seasons of all-time in 2024. The world number one won eight times worldwide. His victories included the Masters, the Players Championship, the Tour Championship and an Olympic gold medal.

Scheffler seemed to be absolutely flawless from tee to green throughout the year. But if there was one weakness in the 28-year-old’s game, it was on the greens.

Scheffler was 162nd on the PGA Tour for strokes gained putting in 2023. And, while he made a big improvement this past year – having switched to using a mallet putter early on in the year – he was still 77th for strokes gained with the flat stick.

Golf fans react as Scottie Scheffler makes significant putting change

The concern for Scheffler’s rivals will be that he could improve further on the greens. And it certainly seems that the two-time major champion has no plans to rest on his laurels, judging by what happened during the opening round at the Hero World Challenge.

Scheffler opted to use a conventional putting grip whenever he was putting from distance. However, when he was closer to the hole, he would change things up and use a claw grip.

Obviously, many players have used a claw grip extremely successfully over the years. Players such as Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose have grown extremely comfortable using the less conventional grip. And it seems that Scheffler is hoping that it could prove to be inspired for him.

‘Insane’

Unsurprisingly, the change has prompted plenty of debate on social media. Some are baffled given the improvement that Scheffler made over the last 12 months, while others feel that he must have made the switch for good reason.

And thus, they fear it could be an ominous sign for his rivals ahead of 2025…

@Daniel_Rapaport wrote: Play the best golf since Prime Tiger and promptly switch putting grips. Golfers are a unique breed.

@thicckiefowler wrote: I’ve been here. Peak putter tinkering. It always ends in the same place… @labgolfputters broomstick

@BasementGolfer: So this is either the best thing to happen to Scottie or the best thing to happen to the rest of the Tour

@kpaso27 wrote: Welp, time for me to switch to the claw grip