Equipment

The best putter in the world uses a $70 putter that he re-paints himself

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2023

Taylor Montgomery currently leads the PGA Tour in putting average, overall putting average, one-putt percentage, and putts per round. Plus, he ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Putting.

All things considered, he’s a top-3 putter in the world right now, and he’s probably not two or three.

So, what custom, high-end, 1-of-1 prototype does he use? Well, he actually uses a stock TaylorMade Ghost Spider S putter from 2013… that he re-paints himself!

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Some brief third-party research shows similar offerings are currently listed for under $80.

And, no offense to Montgomery, but the ones listed on the market “in fair condition” might actually be in better shape than his – I’m not sure the dents and uneven globs of paint would help the resale value much (of course, Montgomery’s particular putter would sell for more since the best putter in the world uses it, but you know what I mean).

Anyway, Montgomery has been using the putter since college at UNLV, and when the paint gets chipped enough to be distracting, he applies blue painters tape to the face and uses white spray paint to “refurbish” it to his liking.

I caught up with Montgomery on Tuesday at the 2023 PGA Championship to check out the putter for myself, and he said he doesn’t care about the uneven paint job on the body of the putter, he just wants the perpendicular toplines to be crisp for visual alignment.

Aside from the paint job, the combination of a low-lofted face (between 1-1.5 degrees), the way the sole sits, and the overall forgiveness of the over-sized mallet have made it difficult for him to find a replacement that has any staying power. He even has a fresher-looking backup of the same putter, but it just doesn’t sit quite the same.

This putter simply works perfect for him, regardless of the cosmetics.

And believe it or not, he actually gave the putter a new paint job just last week.

Through the years, he’s also had the Pure Roll insert on the face replaced, but he’s left that relatively more-complicated task up to the professional builders.

I wrote way more about Montgomery’s putter over at PGATOUR.com, but I wanted to expand a bit more here on GolfWRX from a club fitting perspective.

It’s easy for amateurs to read a story like this and think to themselves, “Why would I waste money on a new, expensive putter when the best putter in the world uses THAT?!”

Not a bad point, really, and I agree that used golf equipment can be a smart purchase when done right.

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that there are real reasons Montgomery feels comfortable with that putter – and not just because he’s had it forever. The design, the CG, the feel of the face, the loft, the sole, the length, the grip, the weight, and the alignment lines all match up to what Montgomery wants and needs for his stroke style and body type.

It’s extremely unlikely to simply buy a random, used, stock putter and start putting lights-out with it.

In my opinion, it’s most helpful to gain an understanding of what basic putter specifications suit you best before making a new purchase, whether it’s used or new.

My suggestion is to always consult a fitter or local pro so you know what hosel type, head shape, grip size, and alignment lines work best for your particular eye sight, stroke style, height, hand size, arm length, posture, and so many other factors.

It’s not easy to do alone, especially in the putter category where there’s a million options.

If you can’t get with a fitter, my next best suggestion is to get into a local golf store or pro shop and demo out some different putters yourself. Try out putters with a soft insert, and ones with a firmer one-piece face. Try out plumbers necks and double-bends, blades and mallets, long putters and short putters, long grips and big grips, and definitely try out putters that have different visual alignment mechanisms.

For me personally, I started putting the best I ever have in my life this past year after switching into a custom-fit Ping PLD putter that I got fit for me at Ping’s PLD Lab.

That putter will run you about $1,200 for the full treatment, but I’m not putting better because it’s expensive or looks cool (I mean, it does look cool, and I like it a lot, but that’s not why it’s effective for me). This isn’t a Ping ad, either. I’m just putting better because I found out that a 0.5-inch longer putter helps me stand more comfortably at address, allowing my arms to swing more freely, and I align better to my target without any alignment lines on the top of the putter. I tend to align too far left with a line, and I miss the center of the face more often with a dot.

If I were value shopping, I could simply use that information try to find a less expensive 35.5-inch blade style putter with a plumbers neck and blank toplines, with weight and grip style that suits me.

But I only have that information because I went through the fitting process.

Everyone is different, but I do believe there’s a right putter setup for everyone. Then, once you find the right one, stick with it. Look at all the best putters throughout recent history – Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Denny McCarthy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Brad Faxon, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Harris English, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Taylor Montgomery – they all used the same putter for years, especially in their putting primes.

The secret to finding the right putter is experimentation, ideally under the watchful eye of an expert, and then once you find “the one,” stick with it for at least a few months, even when things seem to be going poorly. Have confidence that the putter is right for you, and give your hands, eyes and mind some time to get comfortable.

The right putter for you could be a chopped up used putter, or it could be a custom high-end option. But before you commit to a new purchase, take the time to learn what style of putter works best for you, and then go shopping for one you like within your budget.

The point is that, yes, a putter that’s only $70 could be perfect for you, as long as it fits into your baseline specs. Or, maybe it’s a $5,000 one-off that’s hand-made for you. It’s up to you to use the resources available to you to find your putter.

OK, I’ve said enough.

Click here to see all of our photos from the 2023 PGA Championship

Related Topics:featured pga championship putter TaylorMade

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/19/23): Brand new 2023 TaylorMade P770 irons

Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

1 Comment

Pat

May 23, 2023 at 11:21 am

Looks like he used Whiteout….after an all night bender.

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

1 hour ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.