Justin Thomas says he'd "putt with a shoe" if it meant curing his putting woes, "as long as it was a Scotty Cameron shoe", as he put a new flat stick in the bag at the 3M Open.
His performances on the greens have been a big reason why Thomas has struggled this season, as he's down in 159th on the PGA Tour in the strokes gained putting stats.
And as professional players tend to do when they're struggling on the greens, Thomas has been making changes - firstly going left hand below right when putting, and now trying out a new flat stick in the bag.
"It's a counterbalance," Thomas said after finishing two under and six shots off the lead at the 3M Open.
"I used a counterbalance my rookie year for a little bit and I putted really, really solid with it in that kind of short range, it was just the speed with the longer ones. And in practice it was great, my speed was great.
"I think I just probably put a little bit too much pressure on myself to make some putts early. And I stayed patient, I holed some, obviously left plenty out there.
"But I holed some really nice ones there on the back nine to salvage a decent round in some tough conditions. And yeah, it was good."
Bringing the crowd to their feet 💪@JustinThomas34 drains it from distance @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/RNmeL4nmUrJuly 27, 2023
Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark have all made similar changes with their putter and have all won this season - and Thomas is willing to try anything to follow their lead.
"Yeah, I guess it's the hot thing right now," he said of the counterbalance putters.
"I've always said, I mean, I'll putt with a shoe if it means I'll make everything, as long as it's a Scotty Cameron shoe. It's something I feel comfortable with.
"Obviously to go back and forth just because of where we're at in the season, but at the end of the day I'm obviously going to play with what I feel like is going to give me the best chance for success and good play, and that's what I did and I still have faith in it."
Although looking for something new, Thomas is sticking with his trusted Scotty Cameron brand and is using a Phantom X9 prototype with a counterbalanced 38-inch shaft this week at TPC Twin Cities.
@JustinThomas34 has a new counter-balanced putter in the bag this week.He's off to a nice start at 2-under after his opening round @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/mP9BVuVgJTJuly 28, 2023
Sitting down at 75th in the FedEx Cup standings, Thomas is playing the next two weeks to try and get up into the top 70 and avoid missing the season-ending Playoffs for the first time since turning pro.
Thomas has played in the past seven Tour Championships and won the FedEx Cup in 2017 but only has a career-worst three top 10s in a winless season that is threatening to end with him missing the Ryder Cup.
He's got plenty in the bank in terms of Ryder Cup form to press his case for a wildcard, but Zach Johnson needs to see something before picking him - and Thomas hopes this putter switch could be the catalyst.
