Golf is a game of tinkering. We’ve all seen it. One week a guy is winning a Major, and the next he’s basically rebuilding his entire swing from the ground up because a 7-iron felt "a little clunky" on a Tuesday afternoon. Justin Thomas is the poster child for this obsessive pursuit of perfection. But if you really want to understand why he’s back in the winner's circle in 2026, you have to look at his hands. Specifically, the justin thomas putting grip and how he finally stopped fighting his own equipment.
For a long time, JT was stuck in a loop. He’d struggle, switch to a fat grip, find some rhythm, then lose the "feel" and go back to something slim. It’s a cycle most amateurs know too well. We buy the $30 oversized grip hoping it cures our shaky wrists, only to realize we can't feel the head of the putter anymore. JT lived that at the highest level possible.
The Evolution of the Justin Thomas Putting Grip
If you looked in his bag during his 2022 PGA Championship win, you would’ve seen a SuperStroke Traxion Pistol GT Tour. It’s a great grip. It has that "No Taper" technology that everyone raves about because it quiets the hands. But then, things got weird.
By the time the 2023 Masters rolled around, JT was playing with Rory McIlroy and noticed Rory’s grip. It was a classic, skinny Scotty Cameron "Dancing Cameron" rubber grip. No cord. Just old-school feel. JT basically said, "My dad uses that, Rory uses that, let me try that." He swapped it out right before one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
That’s the thing about JT. He’s a "feel" player. If the connection between his palms and the putter face doesn't feel like a direct wire, he’s not happy. However, that old-school rubber grip didn't solve everything. It actually led to a bit of a slump where his Strokes Gained: Putting numbers looked more like a weekend warrior’s than a Hall of Famer's.
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Why he moved to the Zenergy Pistol Tour
Fast forward to his recent resurgence. As of early 2026, JT has settled into a very specific middle ground. He’s currently using the SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour.
Why does this matter? Because it’s the "Goldilocks" of grips. It combines that classic pistol shape—which JT loves because it fits the contour of his left hand perfectly—with the modern stability of SuperStroke's Zenergy tech. It’s not as bulky as the stuff he used years ago, but it’s more stable than the tiny rubber "pencil" grips.
Honestly, the switch was about trust. When he won the RBC Heritage recently, he was third in the field for Strokes Gained: Putting. That doesn't happen by accident. He stopped searching for a "magic" grip and started using one that let him execute his specific stroke.
What's actually happening with his hands?
When you watch JT over a ball, he isn't doing anything "funky" like a saw grip or a claw. He’s a traditionalist. He uses a reverse overlap grip.
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Basically, his left index finger rests across the fingers of his right hand. It’s the most common grip in golf history for a reason—it works. But JT does one thing differently that most people miss. He keeps his grip pressure remarkably light. If you’re strangling the club, you lose the ability to feel the weight of the putter head. JT’s grip is firm enough to control the face but light enough to let the putter "swing."
The "No Peek" Secret
You can’t talk about the justin thomas putting grip without talking about his head position. This is the part you should actually steal for your own game.
JT is disciplined. Like, scary disciplined. He keeps his head down until the putter has completely passed his lead foot. Most of us are so eager to see the ball go in that we look up impact. That move—the "early peek"—causes your shoulders to open up and pushes the putt right. JT trusts his grip so much that he doesn't need to see the ball start. He listens for it to hit the bottom of the cup.
The Gear Breakdown
If you're trying to replicate the JT setup, here is what he’s currently rolling:
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- Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5 Tour Prototype (a compact mallet).
- Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour.
- Alignment: He uses a single sight line on the topline.
- Ball: Titleist Pro V1x.
He switched to the mallet (the Phantom 5) because it offers more MOI (Moment of Inertia) than his old blades. When you combine a high-stability mallet with a pistol-style grip, you get the best of both worlds: the "feel" of a blade and the "forgiveness" of a spaceship.
How to Apply the JT Method to Your Game
Stop changing your grip every three holes. Seriously.
The reason Justin Thomas is winning again isn't that he found a "magic" piece of rubber. It's because he found a grip that suited his natural tendencies and stuck with it. He stopped the "gear-hop" and started focusing on his start lines and his pace.
If you want to putt like JT, you need to find a "home base." Here’s a simple way to do it:
- Pick a shape, not a size. Do you like the way a pistol grip fits your top hand? Or do you prefer a straight "non-taper" feel? JT chose the pistol shape because it helps him lock in his hand position.
- Focus on the "No Peek" drill. Put a coin under your ball. Stroke the putt and don't look up until you've counted to two. If you can't see the coin after the ball is gone, you're looking up too early.
- Lighten the pressure. On a scale of 1 to 10, JT is probably at a 3 or 4. If you're at an 8, your stroke will be jerky.
The justin thomas putting grip works because it matches his "feel" with modern tech. He isn't trying to fight the putter anymore. He's just letting it work. Next time you're at the golf shop, don't just grab the biggest, fattest grip on the rack. Look for something that actually lets you feel the putter head. That’s the JT way.
To really dial this in, go to the practice green and try the "gate drill" that JT is famous for. Set two tees just wider than your putter head. If you can stroke the ball through the gate without hitting the tees, your grip is doing its job. Focus on the start line, keep your head down, and let the grip do the rest.