What Putter Is Jaco Van Zyl Using In The Joburg Open?

Jaco Van Zyl's Cleveland putter was a big topic of discussion on social media after he was seen using it in the Joburg Open first round

What Putter Is Jaco Van Zyl Using In The Joburg Open?

That's because it was barely larger than the ball, some amateurs may even manage an air-shot if they used it!

The putter is a Cleveland Smart Square Stubby, which was originally brought out in 2014 as a training tool.

The company say it was designed to 'positively influence the putting stroke and the mental approach to striking the ball accurately and consistently' and to 'build a stroke for beginners and reinforce a good one for experienced players'.

It seemed to work well for the 14-time Sunshine Tour winner, who shot one under par in his opening round on Royal Johannesburg and Kensington's East Course.

To put it in the bag for a tournament shows either that he is lacking in confidence on the greens, or that his putting stroke is absolutely perfect because anything but a perfect stroke would surely end up looking quite silly.

Van Zyl may have made the change after what happened at the recent Qatar Masters.

In a sudden-death playoff with Jeunghun Wang and Joakim Lagergren, he was the only man to hit the par-5 18th green in two but three-putted to hand the title to Wang who made birdie.

It incorporates the same black and white square graphics that we've seen with Cleveland's Smart Square putter.

How do you think you would get on with the Smart Square Stubby?

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Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.