Scotty Cameron debuts his "most technologically advanced" putter line to date

When you’re Scotty Cameron— the world’s most recognized name in putter design—and you produce what you feel is your most technologically advanced putter line yet, it’s not simply going to be the next iteration of a current line.

“I changed the name from Futura to Phantom X simply because I felt it was so different and it needed a new name for people to realize that,” said Cameron.

The Scotty Cameron by Titleist Phantom X is a big undertaking for the company. A collection of nine new mallets covering five head styles with multiple shaft bend, alignment and toe hang options.

“Materials and design have evolved. In this putter line you notice that I’m not talking much about hand-crafted and some of the things you might have heard me focus on in the past,” Cameron told Golf Digest. “This is much more high-tech, almost aerospace computerized design.”

Available in golf shops April 12 for $429, the Phantom X replaces the Futura line. The putters are a multi material construction that utilizes 303 stainless steel heads and milled 6061 aluminum faces. Using a lighter matieral in the face and a heavier head helps boost the moment of inertia for better performance on mis-hits. Shaft bends of low-bend, mid-bend and straight shaft, in addition to a variety of flange orientations and alignment aides are among the enhancements, too.

As usual, Cameron used his extensive work with the tour to help guide him. Interestingly, one of the requests was for a smaller mallet. Another was a change in face height.

“Working with some our guys such as Adam Scott Justin Thomas and Jimmy Walker was very helpful,” said Cameron. “I have thoughts and sometimes I ask things in a way that they confirm I’m on the right track. I don’t believe many people think of some of the crazy things I’m thinking of. For example, the height of the face on the Futura is taller. Some players feel that when the face gets too tall that they have to forward press to hit the ball in the center of the putter face. Or if it’s too shallow or low profile, they feel they have to come up and out of it to hit the center of the face. So we made these different models for face height and I spent time asking them about what height looked best to their eye and what the new Phantom X is came about as a result of that input. There are a bunch of these little things within this product line that make a major difference.”

Another area of preference was not to have an insert. Cameron noted the overwhelming preference was for a more solid feel than most insert can produce and having a one-piece face helps provide that.

As for alignment, a variety of choices from lines running front to back, simple dots and the like have been added, including triple milled sight dots highlighted in neon yellow paint to better frame the golf ball at address.

Even the grip has been tweaked. Called Pistolero Plus, the grip boasts a bigger, less tapered right-hand area, which Cameron says seems to take the pinch out of the right hand.

As for the new models the Phantom X 5 is a wingback mallet with a single mid-bend shaft.Three milled topline sight dots with the neon yellow paintfill are used for alignment.

The Phantom X 5.5 is dentical in shape to the Phantom X 5 but with a lower shaft bend (inspired by Justin Thomas) that provides enhanced toe hang for players seeking stability while still creating an arc in the stroke.

The Phantom X 6 is a face-balanced mallet with a single mid-bend shaft with two long neon yellow sight lines milled into the stepped down flange, framed by three milled sight dots on the topline. Customizable sole weights can boost MOI and stability through the stroke.

The Phantom X 6STR has zero offset and a straight shaft that produces a face-balanced putter with a clean look at address. The topline sight dots are painted neon yellow for easy alignment in conjunction with the extended sight lines in the stepped down flange.

The Phantom X 7 is a single mid-bend-shaft with a near-face balanced setup. This putter has a heel-to-toe tapered aluminum face that is has a raised center flange for a continuous, connected surface from the leading edge all the way back. A semi-traditional topline is used for horizontal and vertical alignment at setup.

The Phantom X 7.5 has a single low-bend shaft to promote enhanced toe hang. A raised center flange provides a continuous, connected surface accented with neon yellow alignment cues from the leading edge through the back flange.

The Phantom X 8 (shown above) uses simple visual cues and a continuous transition from leading edge through the back flange. Designed with tour player input, the putter is a near-face balanced mallet with a single mid-bend shaft. Milled sight dots and neon yellow sight lines are used to frame the ball.

The Phantom X 8.5 differs from the Phantom X 8 only in shaft-bend length and increased toe hang. An unbroken, sculpted flange from the putter’s leading edge through the back flange with a single low-bend shaft promotes a slightly-arced stroke.

The Phantom X 12 features swept-back wings milled from 303 stainless steel to produce a near-face balanced, high-MOI mallet with a single mid-bend shaft

Each of the Phantom X putter utilizes two customizable stainless-steel heel-toe weights and stepless steel shafts. An anodized black misted finish has been used on all the models to reduce sun glare as well.

As for working on the new line, Cameron says producing a mallet line can be more fun that blades.

“When I do a Newport 2, which is the bread and butter of the blades, I’m somewhat limited in what I can do,” said Cameron. “I’d hate to do something to that design, hand it to a tour pro or a consumer and have them say, ‘That looks nothing like a Newport.’ So they’re used to seeing what a Newport looks like. With a mallet there is more freedom because there is less expectation as to what a mallet should look like. I can do a lot more things because I’m not so set as to what it should look like. It can be anything.”