Equipment
‘The Claw’ and ‘Flatso’ putter grips from SuperStroke
The ban on anchored-putting styles isn’t scheduled to go into effect until 2016, but many tour players are already preparing for the day when they can no longer lean on their long and belly putters.
It’s not even February, but we’ve already seen photos of two very successful long-putter users, Carl Pettersson and Adam Scott, practicing with non-anchored putters. If you look closely at the photos below, you’ll see that neither Pettersson nor Scott are gripping the putter in a traditional way — they’re both using a version of the “claw” grip, which places their right hand on the putter in a position that’s similar to the way they gripped a long putter.
Dean Dingman, president of SuperStroke golf, said that as the death date for anchored putters grows nearer, golfers who were successful with anchored long and belly putters will start to gravitate toward new, non-anchored putting styles. That’s why his company has released five new putter grips that will give golfers who struggle with conventional putting styles more options on the green.
SuperStroke’s new “The Claw” putter grip looks much like conventional putter grips, but it’s length has been stretched 2.5 inches, which better accommodates the claw style of putting.
The grip was inspired by Phil Mickelson’s experiment with the claw putting style last fall. Mickelson wanted more grip length to accommodate the position of his lower hand, which rests farther down the grip when using the claw style of putting. To do so, Mickelson cut down one of SuperStroke’s 21-inch belly putter grips to 13 inches, which gave him the length he needed as well as a reduced weight (The Claw weighs 93 grams) that gave his putter a better balance.
SuperStroke’s Flatso grips are designed in a non-tapered pentagonal shape that creates a wide flat section on the front of the grip, as well as a pistol-style ridge that give the grips a different feel than the company’s round-shaped putter grips. The Flato is available in four different styles — Flatso, Flatso Mid, Flatso DB and Flatso 17 — all with different constructions that target different golfers.
The standard Flatso has a front-section diameter of 1.7 inches, which some golfers will use to place their thumbs more parallel to each other on the wider flat section of the grip, which will level their shoulders at address. With the Flatso, golfers can also position their hands further away from each other, which will help some create a more shoulder-driven stroke.
“We noticed that some tour players were trying to get their hands closer together and level out their shoulders at address,” said Jon Luna, director of marketing for SuperStroke. “Others players asked us for more of a pistol-style feel on the back of the grip. We feel that the larger flat section gives golfers more versatility and more options on how they can putt.”
The Flatso weighs 100 grams, and like all of SuperStroke’s standard-length grips, measures 10.5 inches. The Flatso Mid is a smaller, lighter version of the Flatso, with a diameter of 1.4 inches and a weight of 60 grams. Because of it’s smaller front section, the Flatso Mid will help golfers square up the face slightly faster at impact than the larger Flatso grip.
The Flatso DB (or Double Barrel) has the same outer construction as the standard Flatso grip, but it has two holes on the interior of the grip that will allow golfers to either add or subtract offset from their putter. If a right-handed golfer installs the grip on their shaft through the left hole, they will subtract 0.25 inches of offset from the putter, which should delay the closing of the putter face through impact — good for players that tend to miss their putts to the left. If the grip is installed through the right hole, the grip will add 0.25 inches of offset to the putter, which should speed up the closing of the face and help players who tend to miss their putts to the right.
SuperStroke’s Flatso 17 is a 17-inch-long version of the company’s Flatso Mid grip, and was designed to add stability for golfers who anchor mid-length putters to their leading forearm. In this style of putting, which has been popularized by Matt Kuchar, the Flatso 17 is turned counter clockwise (for a right-handed golfer) so the 1.4-inch diameter of the grip rests flatly against a golfer’s upper wrist and forearm.
Click here for more photos of the grips and to see what people are saying in the putter forum.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
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THONG
Mar 15, 2015 at 4:45 pm
They stopped making the claw grip. Best grip Ive ever used.
shane spray
Mar 13, 2015 at 4:29 am
I have the flatso grip on my scotty cameron select newport 2. I cant wait to get my claw grip on my clevland belly putter im getting cut down it comes in tommarow!!!!! 🙂
Mack N
Jan 29, 2013 at 12:58 pm
It seems to me that the statement on offset is backwards. The more offset should be for misses to the right.
Colorado Golf Discounts
Jan 29, 2013 at 10:20 am
The grip with 2 holes in it if very innovative, allowing adjustment of the offset angle of the putter. Golf club designers should take note. With adjustable drivers like Ping already out, can adjustable putters be far behind? Seems like a simple gear mechanism near the shaft/blade junction would easily accommodate a slight angle adjustment of the putter blade.
Troy Vayanos
Jan 18, 2013 at 11:42 pm
It’s good to see golfing manufacturers coming out with some new alternatives to help out golfers.
The new grip is an interesting one that hopefully offers a good substitute for the golfers who love the longer putter.
Being an Adam Scott fan I hope he finds a way to move back to the standard length putter and retain the same touch. His putting has always been his weak point so he needs it remaining strong.
Don
Jan 18, 2013 at 10:08 am
Superstroke hasn’t put these on their website yet. I Really want to see the specs of the Claw one.