Scotty Cameron Champions Choice Button Back Putters

• Scotty Cameron announces the new Champions Choice limited-run putters.
• Putters feature teryllium faces and button back cavities.
• Available Aug. 6 with a MSRP of $600.

Today, the crown prince of putters, Scotty Cameron, announced his new Champions Choice putter line. This limited release features three spruced-up models from Cameron’s Special Select putter line: the Newport, Newport 2 and Flowback 5.5.

While these will all feature custom aesthetics, that is not the cool factor for this release. What is it that makes these so cool?

All Are Teryllium-Faced Button Backs!

Of all the Scotty Cameron designs, his Button Back putters are my favorites. At one time, the first-generation teryllium putters were my favorites. I love the feel of the teryllium insert and the Newport longneck is a head style of legend. Although my Tel3 Newport LN looks like it was left out in the rain for a season or two, it is still one of the jewels in my putter collection.

So why do I think the Button Back version is better? Basically, the answer is “time.” With the modern Button Back, Scotty has had time to perfect his machining process and to fine-tune the relationship between the teryllium and polymer in the insert. You get the pedigree of the teryllium combined with the modern milling of the 21^st Century. That’s a win-win combination for me.

The Choice of Which Champions?

It seems unlikely but some of you may not have watched Brooks Koepka roll his Button Back Cameron putter to major victories. Yes, that’s the plural “victories.” His Cameron putter is a T10 Newport 2 Button Back prototype. As an amateur golfer, I never typically want to add Tour pro equipment to my bag. That said, every time the coverage zooms in on Koepka’s putter, I covet it a little more.

With the Champions Choice release, I need not Golem that oh-so-precious putter any longer. Admittedly, the Newport 2 in this release will not look exactly like Koepka’s putter but it’s closer than any non-Tour-truck putter we have seen in recent years. Plus, if the Newport 2 is not your jam, there are also the Newport and Flowback 5.5 models to choose from. All three feature that sweet teryllium face and buttons on their backsides.

What is Teryllium?

Some of you younger folk may have been born after the original line of teryllium putters launched in 1997. While copper was already well established as a putter material, Mr. Cameron wanted something with different properties than pure copper for his insert. Though it looks like copper, teryllium is actually a copper alloy made up of 12 different metals. Completing the design is a layer of elastomer behind the insert to soften the feel. With the early models, this elastomer was hidden but appeared in the later versions as the iconic white border around the copper insert in the Teryllium Two line.

After the 2001 Teryllium Two line, the teryllium insert vanished from the production lines. From there, we would only see teryllium in limited releases. The most notable of these are the T10 and T22 putters celebrating the 10th and 22nd anniversaries of the original 1997 putters and the Button Back Newport in 2008. That 2008 Button Back was the first time we saw the button back design and it has always been my putter-collecting white whale. It is also the design that seems most similar to Koepka’s putter. I have a weird, maybe false, memory of Anthony Kim playing that Button Back as well before injuries forced his retirement.

Enough about the insert. Let’s take a look at the new Champions Choice models.

Scotty Cameron Champions Choice Newport

Though I just finished gushing about Koepka’s Newport 2, I actually prefer the shape of the Newport. I don’t need to go on at length about the differences between a Newport and a Newport 2. This topic has likely been discussed as much as the differences between an Anser and Anser 2. For me, I like the more compact look of the Newport, along with the more curving lines of the bumpers.

This version of the Newport is similar to the current 303 stainless steel Special Select Newport. The topline is a little flatter, it has a sight line and it also features removable tungsten weights on the sole. Like I said, you take the modern elements and mix in the teryllium and you have the best of both worlds.

Scotty Cameron Champions Choice Newport 2

I do feel that this one should say IBBK on it somewhere. No, you don’t have the B.K. initials stamped into the toe-end of the face but it really is inspired by Brooks Koepka. Common sense says that if you win back-to-back U.S. Opens, you should inspire a whole mess of things. Outside of the red, white and blue design, the only other deviation here is that this putter has a black sight line, while Koepka prefers his line to be white.

Like the Newport, the Newport 2 features a blending of the modern design elements with the classic teryllium insert. Should you be looking for a blade that is a little blockier with a thinner top line, this one is for you.

Scotty Cameron Champions Choice Flowback 5.5

Those of you who are parents know that provoking instant distraction is a key parenting skill. You point at a bright red traffic sign so your kid won’t notice the donut shop on the left. It’s parental second nature. I bring this up because this may be what the folks at Odyssey will need to do with Jon Rahm when it comes to the Champions Choice Flowback 5.5. Rahm is gaming a mallet similar to this one, also featuring a flow neck to promote more of an arcing stroke. Look over there,  Jon …

The Flowback 5.5 also has the aluminum sole plate that is found with the current Special Select version, making it the most multi-material one of the bunch. Naturally, this putter head fits in nicely with the mallet-that-plays-like-a-blade theme that has run through recent years.

Champions Choice Aesthetics

Rounding out the Champions Choice package will be a red, white and blue color scheme. I don’t know if it was intentional but this ties in nicely with the upcoming Olympic games. Maybe JT will have a little bit of patriotic paint slapped on his Scotty in the coming weeks. Regardless, I always like seeing designs where the graphics on the sole wrap around to the face as well. It’s a solid and unique look.

And Actually Reasonably Priced

The most surprising thing about the Champions Choice release is that these putters have a MSRP of only $600. Yes, I said “only.” Hear me out. A normal Special Select Newport 2 will run you $399. That means for a buck and two Bens more, you can have a limited edition with a teryllium face and backyard buttons. I had to triple check that price, making sure I didn’t see $600 instead of $900.

Yes, paying $600 for a golf club still makes me feel like a resident of Loonytopia, but this time I feel less loony as other limited runs cost well north of that. And that 2008 Button Back that I wish I had bought at the time? It is now a four-digit putter, not a three. The bottom line is that if you think you want one of these, buy it now. If you wait, it will likely cost you more in the future. While these officially release on Aug. 6, it may be a good idea to talk to the folks at your shop today to see if you can reserve one. I don’t have the numbers on how limited the release is, but these will sell out.

For more information about this release, check out ScottyCameron.com.