Scotty Cameron
Brooks Koepka’s win at the 2023 PGA Championship marked another major championship moment for one of Scotty Cameron’s most iconic designs: the Teryllium copper alloy inlay. Tiger Woods put the buttery-soft insert on the map when he won the 1997 Masters with a Newport TeI3, but Koepka’s kept it relevant over the past decade with five major victories.
In 2021, Cameron introduced a limited line of Champions Choice putters with the same Teryllium inlay and “button back” design as Koepka’s wand — and watched them sell out in minutes. Two years after Champions Choice was unveiled, Cameron is rolling out an updated version that highlights the success of the “Plus” designs. Of course, this version also features the famed copper alloy inlay.
“Recognizing the demand for our original Champions Choice release in 2021, I had to do it again,” Cameron said. “But, of course, it had to be special. With the introduction of our new Super Select Plus models and the popularity of this new blade shape, it was a natural to create some unique Newport and Newport 2-style models for this seasonal release. I call the Plus width a “tweener” because it’s in between the size of a normal blade and our wider, Squareback 2 mid-mallets. Add the Teryllium in our Button Back design and these new Champions Choice Plus Button Back models celebrate the years of victory with our putters in four new designs built to look as good as they perform.”
Available July 28th, the 2023 Champions Choice Limited Release ($700) putter line consists of four “Plus” blade models — Newport Plus Button Back, Newport 1.5 Plus Button Back, Newport 2 Plus Button Back and Newport 2.5 Plus Button Back (also available in left-handed). Similar to the Newport 2 Plus model Scottie Scheffler is currently using, all four putters in the line are slightly wider face to flange for an additional layer of stability.
Each putter head is milled from 303 stainless steel with a 6061 aluminum sole plate and Teryllium inlay that’s secured with three button head machine screws and Cameron’s vibration-dampening technology. The same I-Beam neck design found on the current Super Select line has been added to Champions Choice as well.
The I-beam has been used in the past by Cameron to strategically move weight to other areas within the head. As for the notch, it was first introduced with the popular Mil-Spec as a way to efficiently adjust loft and lie without negatively altering the neck.
“We did a Mil-Spec where we had a notch in the back to bend around,” Cameron said. “I hate seeing pro shops bend the putter, and the neck wants to bend at the lower portion of the neck, where I want it to bend higher to keep the neck straight. By weakening that, it’s going to go to the weakest point. So the notch removes weight and makes it weaker so when you do bend it, it bends in the proper area.”
All four Champions Choice models come with heel-toe stainless steel sole weights and either a plumbing neck or jet neck in three lengths (33, 34 and 35 inches).
Want to overhaul your bag for 2023? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.