One of golf’s biggest myths has been debunked and it’s unfortunate news for Rory McIlroy.
At the 2024 Genesis Invitational, Scottie Scheffler drove and chipped the ball across the course with ease.
‘I was relieved’ – Rory McIlroy’s one-in-a-million shot left Scottie Scheffler with rare feeling
But when it came to the greens, the American superstar looked a shadow of himself.
When it came to putts from 10 feet or more, Scheffler holed just three efforts.
His woes with the putter meant he mustered a T-10 finish at the tournament and was nine shots behind eventual victor Hideki Matsuyama.
One of Scheffler’s missed putts from 10 feet away was captured by the CBS crew, who had McIlroy on the broadcast having finished his round.
What did McIlroy say about Scheffler’s putting woes?
Having witnessed Scheffler’s miscues on the green, McIlroy was asked if there was any advice he had for his colleague when it came to putting.
“For me, going to a mallet was a big change,” McIlroy, who finished T-24 at the 2024 Genesis Open, said.
“I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.
“So, I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet. But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he’s given the rest of us a chance.”
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Scheffler’s switch to a new putter earned him millions in prize moneyCredit: GettyWhat is the difference between a blade and mallet putter?
For the uninitiated, a blade putter is the more traditional-looking one rather than the mallet.
It has a blade-like appearance and usually features a thin and flat clubhead.
As for a mallet putter, they tend to have a more elaborate design and are known to be slightly more forgiving than a blade putter.
Coincidence or not, Scheffler began to use a Spider putter, a type of mallet putter produced by golf brand TaylorMade, following McIlroy’s comments in March last year.
It was a move that paid off handsomely, as Scheffler went on to win The Masters, The Players Championship, the Tour Championship and an Olympic gold medal.
Scheffler also scooped up his third-straight PGA Tour Player of the Year award, a feat no player had achieved since Tiger Woods did so from 2005 to 2007.
But if McIlroy thought he had a hand in Scheffler’s stunning season, he was wrong.
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McIlroy may have regretted his advice to Scheffler on the putting front, even if others have claimed he didn’t inspire the changeCredit: GettyMyth surrounding McIlroy’s comments debunked
In an appearance on the Fore Play Podcast, Adrian Rietveld, who is the senior manager at TaylorMade, shot down the theory McIlroy had inspired the switch.
“It started way longer before Rory made that comment,” Rietveld said.
“And it was really a project with, I do thank Rory for the comment though, definitely.
“Even if it contributed 1 per cent it was needed, because Scottie’s a tough switch.”
How did Scheffler’s putting improve after switching to a mallet putter?
The numbers behind Scheffler’s putting since the change proved the call to switch up his putter was the right one.
Since he debuted the Spider putter at the 2024 FedEx St Jude Championship, Scheffler boosted his percentage of putts made at mid-range.
At 10 to 15 feet, Scheffler improved from 26.4 per cent to 33. 4 per cent while his efforts from 15 to 20 feet rose from 21.1 per cent to 27.6 per cent.
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Since the start of 2024, Scheffler has won three out of a possible eight majors
Scheffler himself waxed lyrical about the Spider putter in March last year and noted how simpler it made the putting process.
“This Spider putter is really easy for me to line up,” Scheffler said.
“I don’t have to use the line on the ball. I line the putter up really well, and I line up in the middle of the face, and pretty much as simple as that.
“Kind of gives me just a really good visual.”
Scheffler has not featured on the fairways since the Ryder Cup, where the United States lost on home soil to Europe in a drama-filled event marred by unbecoming behaviour from patrons.
The world No. 1 is expected to return at the Hero World Challenge, which tees off on December 4 in the Bahamas.