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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Justin Thomas has used a Scotty Cameron X5.5 Tour Prototype on his way to 12 of his 13 PGA Tour titles. To celebrate that success, Titleist is introducing a limited release – 2,020 of them to be exact – of the Inspired by Justin Thomas Phantom X5.5 putter.
Each of those putters incorporates the custom setup that Scotty Cameron crafted for Thomas in summer 2016. By combining a high-moment-of-inertia, wingback head style with a welded small slant neck, the putter promotes an arced stroke more commonly associated with a blade.
“This was an extremely cool project for me to work on with Scotty,” Thomas said. “When I first saw the 5.5, I immediately noticed how nicely it sits down on the green. The neck just makes it sit so square. In the beginning, I was only thinking it would give me something different to look at for a couple weeks. Yet here I am, four-something years later and still using it. So, I guess it’s worked out pretty well.”
To commemorate the special release, Cameron and his team created a “Circle JT” emblem engraved on the heel of the putter face. It’s only fitting given how special the flat stick has been to Thomas throughout his career.
“He first visited the putter studio as a young amateur when he played a Newport 2,” Cameron said. “JT loved that traditional putter look. But even after getting his first tour win with the blade, he started to consider a change. He poked around our putter bag on the tour van and was initially drawn to the Futura X5 – the compact mallet shape really suited his eye.
“After some back-and-forth discussions, I welded him a small slant neck as a prototype setup and here we are – 12 PGA Tour wins later and still counting with the same putter, including a major championship, two World Golf Championships and a FedEx (Cup) championship. Players are always asking me for a welded-neck putter like JT’s. It’s a special setup that deserves this kind of treatment.”
Every head is hand-welded from the bottom and the top of the neck, a process that takes considerable time and patience. There is normally not a neck put onto this particular head, so the welding option allowed for Thomas to gain the feel he wanted.
The Inspired by Justin Thomas putter joins other designs Cameron has done with individual players, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Brad Faxon, Sergio García and David Duval.
Sean Fairholm