Roberts: Why Scheffler can set new PGA Tour record in 2025 after switching to claw grip
GolfMagic Editor Andy Roberts believes Scottie Scheffler has made a very smart move by experimenting with a new claw / saw grip ahead of the 2025 PGA Tour season.
Scottie Scheffler might be the best golfer in the world right now having won eight times around the world this season, but if I am being picky then there is one glaring area of his game that I think needs big improvement ahead of the 2025 PGA Tour season.
And that is his putting from inside of 10 feet.
Scottie seemingly knows it, too.
Instead of solely working on improving his personal best time for nappy changes during his recent off-season that lasted a good three months, Scheffler spent a lot of time working alongside his putting coach Phil Kenyon.
Now unlike 12 months ago when Scheffler was chopping and changing putters to just try and find anything to improve his form on the greens, this time around the runaway World No.1 was working on an improved stroke.
In particular to help him on those must-make putts from between five and 10 feet.
Yes, I know Scheffler still won seven official titles on the PGA Tour this year including a second Green Jacket in three years at The Masters and a first FedEx Cup, but he could and should have won more believe it or not.
Throwing away the Texas Children's Hospitals Open to Stephan Jaeger after missing a number of short putts instantly springs to mind.
Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh's joint record for nine tournament wins in a PGA Tour season really should have been beaten in my eyes, especially given Scheffler topped the charts in just about every tee to green category in '24.
Putting on the whole was better. But he still struggled badly from short and mid range, at least compared to his biggest rivals on Tour.
To put Scheffler's lacklustre putting from inside of 10 feet into perspective for you, I have raided some quick stats from the PGA Tour this year.
Check these stats out below:
Putting Stat | Value | Rank |
Inside 10 feet | 87.20% | 139 |
From 10 feet | 29.41% | 179 |
From 9 feet | 38.10% | 164 |
From 6 feet | 67.31% | 132 |
From 4 feet | 90.52% | 135 |
As you can see from the numbers above, Scheffler - who incredibly led the PGA Tour for Putting Average (1.680) in 2024 - very much struggled from close range by ranking 139th on all of his putts from inside of 10 feet.
From 10 feet exactly, he ranked 179th. From nine feet, 164th. Even putting from six feet and four feet wasn't a great deal better for him.
It all led to Scheffler ranking 77th in Strokes-Gained Putting for the season, too.
That was a big improvement on the season before, however, since Scheffler ranked 162nd en route to winning just twice in 2023.
Related:
But much to the disappointment of Scheffler's PGA Tour rivals ahead of 2025, the runaway World No.1 has very possibly found a cure for his sloppy putting stats from inside of 10 feet by adopting a new claw putting grip, or saw putting grip as others like to call it.
Scheffler's not even too sure what to call it.
All he knows is that it works and feels good.
Scroll down for his latest comments...
"I have literally no idea what's it called," joked Scheffler after using his new putting grip for the first time in competition en route to an opening 5-under 67 in the first round of Tiger Woods' 20-man Hero World Challenge.
"I think Phil [Kenyon] calls it a claw, but he really doesn't even say that, he just says 'I want you to try a little bit' and he points his hand like that and wherever my hand felt good, that's where we settled. Not trying to think too much about it, trying to keep things simple."
Scheffler added: "I would say I'm always looking for ways to improve and I felt like this was something that we had looked at last year when Phil and I first started working together, but it was really our first time working together and it's something that's different than what I've done in the past.
"You know, this year I had thought about it from time to time and it was something that we had just said let's table that for the end of the season, take a look at it.
"Took a look at it this off-season and figured this is a good week to try stuff just because you can practice and practice and do all the stuff at home, but there's just something different about being in competition.
"I really enjoyed the way it felt, I felt like I'm seeing some improvements in my stroke."
Scheffler still intends to use his conventional grip for longer range putts though, just as he did during the first round at Albany.
Another interesting aspect to Scheffler's putting stats this season is that he ranked 14th in three-putt avoidance, so he certainly doesn't have too many problems from long range.
It's really all about tucking away those shorties now on a much more frequent basis.
"Typically the further I am away from the hole I'd say the more likely I am to use the conventional grip because, like I said, I feel like my speed has always been extremely good, especially from long range," he added.
"I think I've always been a really, really good lag putter. That's an area where I don't think I would see much improvement with the grip. The closer I get to the hole, kind of that inside 15-foot range, I think that's where I'm seeing a lot of the benefits of it."
Eagle-eyed golf fans will also notice Scheffler has his own different way of using the claw grip.
If you take a closer inspection at footage, you will notice Scheffler's left index finger now runs down his putter grip unlike it does when he is using his conventional grip.
Brooks Koepka is one particular player that springs to mind who has regularly putted with his left index finger running down the grip.
Unfortunately for Scheffler he can't add to his official haul of PGA Tour titles in 2024 since this week's Hero World Challenge is an unofficial event on the schedule.
But he would be able to say that he's won a total of nine times in one season should he go on to defend his title this Sunday, having also earned a first gold medal at the Olympics in Paris that also unfortunately did not count as an official title on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler is currently playing some fantastic golf in The Bahamas, and the claw grip is working wonders for him at Woods' Hero World Challenge. Keep track of live scores here.
Update:
Whether the new claw / saw putting grip remains in tact for Scheffler after this week and through into the 2025 PGA Tour season remains to be seen, but early evidence would suggest Scheffler is already feeling quite upbeat about his latest experiment.
And that is dangerous for everyone concerned.
I have said it before and I'll say it again, but if Scheffler just putts averagely at any golf tournament right now, then he comfortably wins that golf tournament.
If the two-time Masters champion can somehow slash his short to mid-range putting stats down in half next season, then you could very easily be looking at double-digit wins for him in 2025 and with it a new PGA Tour record.
Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself now, but I genuinely think Scheffler could do it given he's that darn good from tee to green.
Putting from inside of 10 feet really is the final piece of the puzzle for Scottie Scheffler.
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Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
