Spieth at the Phoenix
Jordan Spieth Phoenix Open Scottsdale Arizona February 2025
Michael Kim very impressed by seeing Jordan Spieth up close. One of the most impressive aspects of Jordan Spieth’s game when he’s on song is his putting. Looking back, Spieth was almost unstoppable on the greens in his dominant 2015 year and after producing some good moments on the greens at the WM Open, Michael Kim has explained what it’s like to see up close
“I wish I could better describe what it’s like watching Jordan Spieth’s ball roll on the green. It’s like his golf ball has eyes and it’s actively trying to go in the hole haha,” Kim wrote. The performance by Kim himself was not exactly lacklustre! He was runner up, tied 2nd with Daniel Berger to the eventual winner Thomas Detry and using very successfully his LAB Zero Torque putter.
Michael Kim - Phoenix Open Scottsdale Arizona February 2025
While Kim was impressed with Spieth in Phoenix, one man who suggested Spieth is still not back to his very best was experienced caddie, Billy Foster. The Englishman was on Sky Sports at the time and Foster admitted the Spieth of old would have given Detry a tougher time. “He’s just played the two par 5s and not made birdies,” Foster commented. “The Jordan of old would be 18 under by now and putting the heat on Detry but luckily for Thomas, he’s not quite the putter he once was.” Still, despite not being quite at his absolute best, it does look like Spieth is getting back to where he wants to be for and for the game of golf, that can only be a good thing.
Back in 2009, Jordan Spieth took a trip to the Scotty Cameron putter gallery as a junior golfer, and he was fit into a Scotty Cameron 009 triple black putter. Spieth went on to use that putter to win the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Junior championships, the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open, and The Open Championship in 2017. Aside from a few brief stints with other putters, the 009 has been a mainstay in his bag throughout his career.
At the 2025 WM Phoenix Open on Thursday, however, Spieth opted for a T.P. Mills Trad II putter, which came out of his stash of clubs at home. Like his longtime gamer, the T.P. Mills putter is made of carbon for a soft feel, has a raw look, is equipped with a SuperStroke grip putter, and has a plumbers neck hosel design. The putter swap was highlighted by a 56-foot birdie on his 15th hole of the day to move two shots back of the early clubhouse lead held by Nicolai Højgaard and Speith's good friend Justin Thomas.
“I'm just kind of messing with some – I've got a few options, just trying to mess a little with how it sits on the ground, the draft on the bottom of the putter, see if I can get it to where it sets aligning a little better and off the ball is a little bit smoother,” Spieth said after his first round at the WM Phoenix Open. “I may use a few options this week. I may stick with the one I did today. We'll see.”
The main difference with the T.P. Mills putter, according to sources on-site, is that it has a lower loft. Whereas his longtime gamer measures about 4 degrees, the T.P. Mills putter measures about 2.5 to 3 degrees.
At the time Spieth finished his round, he was positive for Strokes Gained: Putting.
If you’re new to the T.P. Mills name, the company was founded in 1963 by Truett P. Mills Sr, and has been manufacturing high-end putters since then. T.P. Mills calls its putters “Playable Works of Art.” His son David now creates the putters the same way his father did.
David Mills was first put onto Spieth's radar after his friend Frank Hartwick, who is a master club builder out in Dallas, asked him to put together a putter for Spieth. All David Mills needed was the weight and the length and he put his craftsmanship to the test to design a putter for Spieth.