Hideki Matsuyama, the 54-hole leader at The 2021 Masters, has been blazing the greens at Augusta National with preeminent putting. While he’s using a Scotty Cameron Tour-Only Newport 2 prototype this week, that specific putter is far from the only option in his arsenal.
Most golfers, especially professionals who get clubs for free, have backup putters. If something happens to the gamer, such as Si Woo Kim for a recent example, it’s smart to keep a backup putter in the bullpen. Many also keep a small rotation of putters they can switch to when things aren’t going well with their usual putter. Sometimes switching things up can free your stroke and mindset.
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There’s a few different players on the PGA Tour, though, who are constantly testing and switching putters; sometimes week-to-week, and sometimes day-to-day. Matsuyama is at the top of the list of players who switch putters most frequently.
As we discuss often on our gear-focused Fully Equipped podcast, Matsuyama brings five or more putters to nearly every event throughout the season. Each of the options, typically, are high-end Scotty Cameron custom models that he tests throughout his practice round days to figure out which one will make the starting lineup.
Due to Matsuyama’s putter testing process, and his good taste, Scotty Cameron recently called Matsuyama’s Scotty Cameron putter collection the best that he’s seen in the last five years.
For many putter collectors, Scotty Cameron putters are more than just golf clubs. They’re collectors items, and finding the coolest or most expensive Scotty Cameron putters is a hobby. The success of Scotty Cameron users, such as Bernhard Langer, Brad Faxon, Davis Love III, David Duval and Tiger Woods, has contributed to the craze. Just this week, Langer’s custom 1993 Masters-winning putter sold for nearly $50,000 at auction. Some of Woods’ backup Scotty Cameron putters – yes, just the backups – routinely sell for six figures.
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Of course, the Faxons and the Woods of the world are legends in the game, and they own some the game’s most legendary putters. Their Scotty Cameron putter collections are likely unbeatable, in terms of both market value and historical value.
There’s a new crop of young legends on Tour, though, who are also known to have cool, custom Scotty Cameron putters. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Adam Scott come to mind.
It’s Matsuyama, however, your 54-hole leader at the 2021 Masters, that has the coolest Scotty Cameron custom putter collection. At least, that’s according to Scotty Cameron himself.
In a recent interview with Scotty Cameron – we spoke mostly about his new Phantom X lineup extension – I asked Cameron who has the best Scotty Cameron putter collection he’s seen on Tour.
Here was his answer:
“Wow. So, Tiger. Tiger has a huge putting room in his house. He has some pretty cool stuff, but I would say, in the last five years, Hideki Matsuyama has gotten the most and the coolest putters. He always goes by my gallery in Tokyo or Hamamatsu, and he gives them an honest try. What I like about it is he’ll give me feedback on why he didn’t like a putter, whether it’s the finish, or the line, or the way it sat… sometimes he gives the putters back, but I think his collection is very impressive.”
