Check out Matt Kuchar’s 0-degree lofted prototype Bettinardi putter

Golf is a game of trends, especially as it relates to putting. Over the last several years, the armlock putting style has soared in popularity.

But Matt Kuchar is reversing the trend, and now he has a putter to match his style.

Kuchar is using a unique Bettinardi prototype putter specifically designed for Kuchar’s reverse-armlock putting style, meaning his hands sit behind the golf ball at address. That grip and stroke style necessitates a putter with zero degrees of loft because Kuchar adds loft with his stroke. A standard putter is lofted between two and five degrees, but if Kuchar used that much loft with his hands positioned behind the golf ball, the putter would have far too much effective loft, launching the ball in the air and causing it to bounce too much. A putter with zero degrees of loft helps him offset the stroke style and achieve a quicker roll.

Kuchar, who has deployed a reverse-armlock style since 2021, wanted a putter that measured 40.5 inches so the end of the grip nestled against his inner right forearm. He also wanted to boost stability, feel and acoustics with the putter.

With that in mind, Kuchar looked to Bettindari, who has built his putters since the early 2000s.

“Keeping feel intact, we made some modifications to our BB28 head shape," Bettinardi putter rep Nike Garofalo told GolfWRX.com. "We altered the neck position, keeping it center-shafted but with negative offset, along with an added aluminum insert within the pocket to aid in CG (center of gravity) placement, feel and acoustics. Combining those alterations with our FIT (Feel Impact Technology) Face, we were able to achieve the feel and look that Matt was hoping for.”

The putter was months in the making. Kuchar saw the final prototype at the Wells Fargo Championship and wasted little time testing the putter. It was in the bag two weeks later at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and finished T17.

It's not a bad start for his new, one-of-a-kind flatstick.

Kuchar is in the field this week at the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, where he’ll look to keep the ball rolling – literally and figuratively.