Scottie Scheffler’s new putting grip made the headlines during the world number one’s ninth win of 2024 at the Hero World Challenge.
Scheffler cruised to victory at Tiger Woods’ event and looked in ominous form despite taking a two-month hiatus from the course after the Presidents Cup.
The American’s putting, in particular, was impressive, and his work with guru Phil Kenyon is clearly paying off. The 28-year-old ended the week ranked third for strokes gained on the greens.
Scheffler surprised fans by using the claw grip for shorter putts at Albany, a technique that may become a regular part of his game.
“It was good to come out here and compete and play under pressure, play with the lead, play close to the lead most of the week, and I felt really comfortable,” Scheffler said. “I would definitely assume that it’s going to be there in Maui. Like I said, I’ll go home and assess the week, talk to Phil.
“Overall, I felt like the results and the way I felt over the ball, I was really comfortable in competition, and I was pretty pleased.”
What Scottie Scheffler will now do after testing out claw grip
YouTuber Rick Shiels, who is an avid user of the claw grip, now anticipates Scheffler will start using the technique on longer putts before it eventually becomes a full-time fixture on the greens.
“Scottie Scheffler switched to the claw grip, which was a big shock,” Shiels said during his latest podcast.
“I didn’t see it coming as I felt like Scottie really improved his putting over the last year. And he has won pretty much everything. He obviously works with Phil Kenyon, and Phil Kenyon, I know from personal experience, is a fan of the claw. He also coaches Tommy Fleetwood and several others.
“He seems to be doing it on short putts at the moment, which is how I started, and then as you get used to it, you can start to do it on long putts.
“He is going more traditional on long putts at the moment. Claw grip on short putts. Considering he was experimenting with the claw grip to go out and win the Hero Challenge is pretty epic.”
- READ MORE: Peter Finch predicts how many majors and PGA tournaments Scottie Scheffler is going to win in 2025
What Tiger Woods has said about Scottie Scheffler’s claw grip
Considering Scheffler earned over $60m last season, the new putting technique came as a surprise to most.
“It just came about. I saw it on Wednesday. I thought, what is that thing? [Things were going pretty well], now they are going even better,” Tiger Woods told the Golf Channel on Sunday evening.
“You know he can do it either way, he has got amazing feel. You see that with his short game and trajectory control into the greens. If he has consistent weeks or consistent times on the greens, he is going to finish top 10 every week and pick off a lot.”
Other high-profile names who currently use the claw grip include Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, and Sergio Garcia. The technique improves feel on the greens and reduces hand action, with the arms and shoulders emphasised more.
If it works for Scheffler, there’s no doubt more will follow in the world number one’s footsteps.
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