Are blade putters dead? This one player's switch has people saying so
"We’ve lost our sport. Big Mallet is ruining this game."
Seemingly week on week, golf's steadfast rearguard of blade putter users inches ever closer to extinction.
Last week, we were greeted with the news that Patrick Reed had switched from a bladed Scotty Cameron to a more forgiving Phantom putter in anticipation of the Scottish Open.
Now, in perhaps even more shocking news, one of golf's last true equipment purists has made the switch in 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith.
The longtime blade user, who has played most of his career with a simple Scotty Cameron 009M Tour Prototype nicknamed the "Magic Wand", has been on the putting greens at ahead of this week's Open Championship testing a new Scotty Cameron Mallet. Naturally, the equipment commentariat is in shambles.
With yet another blade devotee turning his back on the form, plenty have taken to speculating that Smith's move is yet another nail in the coffin for a dying art form.
"The blade putter is officially dead. There is no coming back from this," said one user on X.
"We’ve lost our sport. Big Mallet is ruining this game," decried another.
The shape Smith has actually switched into is a fairly conservative one, and seems to be a blacked out version of the Phantom 3 shape with a plumbing neck. Like his former putter, his has a simple dot engraved into the head as an alignment aid.
We'll have to wait and see whether Smith's new putter makes it into play as he tees off this morning for his opening round.
Brad Nash is Reviews Editor at GolfMagic, having joined the team in June 2025 to look after all things reviews, soft goods testing and equipment alongside Equipment Editor Georgina. Primarily a writer, you may see him pop up in videos or on the GolfMagic socials from time to time.
