Jordan Spieth changed his putter grip for the first time in years before the Masters

The 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, comes into the 2019 Masters following his best finish in a stroke play event of the year: T30 at the 2019 Valero Texas Open. Addressing the media on Tuesday, Spieth expressed optimism in his game and what he’s working on off the tee.

“I feel like my recent results aren’t a tell of where my game is actually at, and I feel I’ve made a lot of strides in the last couple days in the tee-to-green game, really just off the tee, my long game, which has been the only separation from being able to win golf tournaments over the last month or so,” Spieth said in a press conference at the Masters.

In addition to working on his long game, however, Spieth has also made a rare equipment change to his putter ahead of the Masters.

At the 2019 Valero Texas Open, Spieth switched into a SuperStroke Traxion 1.0 putter grip from his previous SuperStroke Flatso 1.0 grip. The new grip technology features SuperStroke’s Traxion Control that’s designed for more surface texture, and Spyne technology, which is a raised ridge that runs up the under side of the grip.

According to a SuperStroke representative, Spieth had been using his previous

Flatso 1.0 grip for “almost two years!” Based on photos taken by PGATOUR.COM at the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies

While Spieth hasn’t changed the putter head – he’s still using a custom Scotty Cameron Circle T 009 putter – sometimes a slight change in feel can spark success for a golfer. So far in 2019, Spieth is ranked 70th in Strokes Gained: Putting, compared to 123rd in 2018, 48th in 2017, and 2nd in 2016.

Spieth’s Masters record in just five events includes two T2 finishes, a third place finish, and a victory, with his worst finish being a T11 in 2017. If Spieth wants to ensure that T11 remains his worst career finish at The Masters, he’ll need his best result of 2019.