19th Hole

PGA Tour pro gives positives and negatives of using a zero-torque putter (and whether you should play one)

Published

6 months ago

Nov 3, 2025

Michael Kim is one of the must-follow professionals on social media, with the 32-year-old continuously offering fans insights into tour life throughout the year.

Kim is currently gaming a zero-torque putter (TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT), and now the American has offered his thoughts on the putters, highlighting the positives, negatives and giving his perspective on whether more amateurs should be using them.

As a reminder, zero-torque putters are designed so that the shaft axis passes through the head’s CG, virtually eliminating toe hang and resisting face rotation throughout the stroke.

Taking to X, Kim went deep into the putters, writing:

Positives:

Like I mentioned, very easy to start putts online. I’ve always had trouble pushing putts and I don’t push putts as often anymore. That’s the biggest and really only benefit to these putters.
I’ve been one of the top putters inside of 8ft as those are way less speed dependent and way more start line and set up dependent.

Negatives:

Those slight twists that sound like something you’d never want actually help your hands and body know where the club is and how fast it’s going. The ZT putters can often feel “empty” during the stroke itself because there’s no torque and therefore less feedback during the stroke.
Those torques are actually VERY minimal. It doesn’t take much to keep the head square.
Once you get past 10ft, it’s way less about stroke and start line and way more about green reading and speed control. Sasho Mackenzie recently talked about how it’s not THAT important to hit putts perfectly online. Putting is more about speed and green reading especially as you get further away.
If I just purely look at the rankings for the best putters on the PGA Tour, (I might not remember everyone’s putter) I don’t see one person inside the top 50 using a ZT putter. Companies have looked at stats on guys doing better with a ZT putter compared to the regular ones and it’s usually better with their regular putter (very small sample size).

Why do I use it?

Like I said, I’ve used these style of putters for 3 years now.
I generally hate pushing or pulling putts. Comes from having a lot of anxiety of pushing putts back from when I was a kid. My urge is to now pull putts with the ZT putters because of that.
The putter can take some time to adjust. I’ve gotten better at it with practice and really trying to focus on the speed aspect of a putt as my final few thoughts before hitting a putt (which is probably a good thing regardless of what putter I use)
I still have lots of room for improvement from 8-15 ft as I’ve consistently lost a little bit of strokes from that length but that has more to do with my green reading I think. (I have really improved these last few months with Aimpoint)

Should you get one?

This is a tricky question. Most ams just don’t start their putts online but that’s mostly due to improper aim and set up. Starting putts online is 90% in the set up, maybe 95%. A ZT putter might only be a minimal improvement on that and until you fix your set up, it might not do too much good.
These putters and clubs in general are quite expensive so it’s tough for me to say you should absolutely get one.
However, a lot of pros have transitioned to one because it just feels easier to start putts online and more and more guys are transitioning.
If you’re getting one, try one that is a bit on the heavy side. That’ll help you feel the club a bit more as you’re making ur stroke.

See Kim’s full WITB here.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”