Equipment

Wyndham Clark’s Ping putter: There’s more to the lead tape than just weight

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 24, 2026

Alistair Cameron

No, I’m not Andrew Von Lossow of Lead Tape Chronicles, but I’ll try my best.

In a whirlwind week for Wyndham Clark, he signed a putter deal with Ping and then went on to win the U.S. Open trophy.

Much was said of the flatstick during the week (and Clark signing on with Ping to play the putter) some of it partly due to the lead tape and weight added that Clark was spotted using on the Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset CB, but more so because the now two-time U.S. Open champion used it to pick up more than six shots on the field at Shinnecock.

“I played some ugly golf the last two days, but my putter and short game kept me in it,” Clark told NBC’s Mike Tirico after lifting the trophy Sunday night. “To make all the putts that I did with my Ping putter that I love so much has been amazing.”

To some, the putter may look ugly as well, thanks to the layers of lead tape slathered to the bottom of the piece by Clark himself. To AVL, and folks who admire customizing what works to make it better, it’s a masterpiece. But there’s a method to the madness, and it isn’t just adding weight to the head. Yes, the added weight is something that Clark prefers, but it’s also there to serve a purpose. To help the putter sit correctly on the ground and to position Clark’s hands correctly at address.

“He (Clark) is the one that personally puts on the lead tape, so we’re not even doing any of that,” Kenton Oates, Ping Tour Rep, told GolfWRX. “… there’s a strip of lead tape here (on the rear of the sole) to make it so the putter sits more flush on the ground. …He builds it up right there so that it sits square on the ground.”

Initially, Clark wasn’t the biggest fan of the sole of the putter, but having “fell in love with really the alignment features,” according to Oates, Clark gave it the time it needed and the correct placement of lead tape to turn it into a real weapon. Lead tape is found all over the surface of the sole, but there are two added strips towards the rear and heel side, to help with how the putter makes contact with the ground.

The Scottsdale TEC putters were developed using eye tracking research rooted in a visual performance philosophy known as “Quiet Eye.”

This new alignment technology, called Eye Q, provides a distinct focal point on the top rail of the putter. By combining a focal point with a long alignment line, the design helps naturally quiet a player’s eyes before the stroke, making it easier to center and maintain a stable gaze during the putt. This visual stability is key to enhancing the “Quiet Eye” period.

“So it quiets what’s going on inside your head,” Oates said. “You might not feel or even know it, but when your eyes are scattered, it’s hard to focus and it is a ton of stuff going on.”

On some of the toughest greens this season, Clark’s focus helped him to a one-shot victory over Sam Burns.

The putter itself is estimated to weigh around 400 grams, with a 17-gram tip weight and 13 grams of lead tape. Pretty heavy, considering most putters on Tour average around 340-360 grams. What’s interesting is that Ping had also sent Clark a head that weighed 400 grams without adding tape to it but according to Oates, the putter “was actually too heavy, so he didn’t use that.”

Oates and the team have looked into designing a different sole plate for Clark’s putter, to try and raise the heel and rear of the club, along with the weight, to save the lead tape usage from Clark, although Oates thinks that experiment would be to no avail.

“I think even if we did that, I think Wyndham would put tape on it,” Oates joked.

However, the team is even thinking about taping the gold-plated replica that will be entering the Ping Vault after the company’s first major victory since 2014.

See the full specs below:

Loft: 3 degrees
Lie: 70 degrees
Length: 38 inches
Headweight: ~400 grams
Grip: SuperStroke Tour 3.0 17 inch

Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Dustin Johnson’s winning WITB, 2020 Travelers Championship

Published

27 mins ago

Jun 24, 2026

Ben Alberstadt

Dustin Johnson won the 2020 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, finishing at 19-under-par and edging Kevin Streelman by a single stroke. Johnson closed with a final-round 67 after entering Sunday near the top of the leaderboard. An incredible third-round 61 helped propel him into contention. Despite a few tense moments on the back nine, including trouble off the tee and a dramatic recovery from a water hazard near the 15th hole, DJ held his nerve to secure his 21st PGA Tour victory.

Check out the gear DJ had in play six years ago below.

Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 X (45.75 inches, 59 lie, D4)

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 95 6.5 (42.75 inches, 59.5 lie, D4)

Hybrids: TaylorMade SIM Max (19, 22 degrees)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Black 105 6.5 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (soft stepped)

Specs (in degrees): Loft/Lie/Length/Swing Weight

3: 21/62.5/39.5/D4
4: 24/63/39/D4
5: 27/63.5/38.5/D4
6: 31/64/38/D4
7: 35/64.5/37.5/D4
8: 39/65/37/D4
9: 44/65.5/36.5/D4
PW: 48/66/36.25/D4

Wedges: TaylorMade MG (52-09SB @54, 60-10SB)
Shafts: KBS Tour Custom Black 120 S

Putter: TaylorMade Truss TB1

Loft: 3°
Lie: 70°
Length: 35.75”
SW: E0

Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0 PT

Ball: TaylorMade TP5X (2019)

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 58R (1 wrap 2-way tape + 2 wraps left hand, 3 right hand)

Equipment

Even the caddies are slabbed – Lead Tape Report, Travelers Championship

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 24, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

Let’s take a look at the silver slabs on display at the Travelers Championship.

Jake Knapp

Jake Knapp with some lead tape applied to the heel and toe area on the bottom of the Ping 440 driver, 7.5 loft with a stout Project X HZRDUS T1100 shaft. When you average 124.83, this is the territory you live in. Some tape on the wedges with a raw finish. Then, when it comes to putter testing, we have a Scotty Cameron GoLo with a plumber’s neck hosel in the Dull Silver finish. Also in the bag is the soon-to-be-released Phantom 12, but with a custom-welded flow neck.

Will Willcox

Caddying for Sungjae Im, Willcox played in the Monday Pro-Am this last week at Travelers. Things that caught my eye were the cult following of Adams Idea Pro still in the bag. Cleveland Raw wedges with lead tape. Forged Miura wedges as well. All the makings of a player and a high golf IQ. Will is a current rostered player on the Hollywood Hitters in the Grass League.

Ted Scott

The bagman for world number one Scottie Scheffler has TaylorMade through the bag. The thing that caught my eye here was the amount of swing speed Ted Scott has. In the R7 mini-driver, a Project X Titan with a TX shaft. The irons have True Temper Dynamic Gold X100’s. I know there are a number of great players who caddie in the professional realm, but I was unaware that Ted Scott really has some speed to back it up.

Ricky Romano

Ricky Romano caddied for Rickie Fowler and was in action this past Monday. Since Romano was instrumental in the recent Odyssey Jailbird movement, with being the original with the Jailbird counterbalanced putter, where Rickie Fowler caught a hot streak. That spread throughout the PGA Tour, including the same putter in the bag for Wyndham Clark’s first U.S. Open title in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club. Certainly, I had to see what putter was in the bag this week. He is rolling a Scotty Cameron GoLo with the familiar SuperStroke 3.0 17” grip in true counterbalance putter fashion.

Equipment

Wyndham Clark’s many putters of the past year

Published

1 day ago

Jun 23, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

The winds were finally calm, and the sun was setting — a new U.S. Open Champion was crowned. Wyndham Clark sealed the deal with a lag putt from 52 feet to 9 inches. Good in any game, Clark brushed in the final putt, and raised his putter to the sky.

Clark’s Ping Scottsdale Tec Ping Ally Blue Onset putter was the star of the championship week. While it is a complete test through the bag and mental game, Clark’s putting and short game were the highlights to propel him to victory.

Here’s when Wyndham Clark first gamed the @PingTour Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset putter. Now’s he’s in the counter-balanced design. At the time he was 147th in SG:Putting. Now he’s 62nd and a two-time U.S. Open champion. Safe to say it’s worked out pretty well for him. https://t.co/95aqDH081g

— Alistair Cameron (@ACameronWRX) June 21, 2026

Clark’s journey with the Ping Ally Blue Onset putter began at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Our Alistair Cameron spotted him trying the standard-length putter and then graduated to the counterbalance version just after. With that, he added more weight on the bottom with lead tape covering the sole. This is a setup that lets the putter do the work in the stroke.

Clark proved that tinkering with putters doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. He has tried a variety of putters this year. Ending last year with a L.A.B Golf DF3 and trying other putters such as the Toulon Le Mans, along with various versions of his traditional Odyssey Jailbird from the 2023 U.S. Open win, and a Scotty Cameron Tour T-11.

At The Players Championship in March, he was using a Bettinardi Antidote SB1, which he bought in the pro shop at his club in Scottsdale – price tag still on the putter.