Adam Scott set to switch to short putter at Doral

Adam Scott, the last of the long-puttered major champions to cling to a soon-to-be verboten flat stick stroke, may finally be ready to sweep his broomstick out in exchange for a club of a more conventional length.

Scott, a first-time father as of last month, will make his PGA Tour debut Thursday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. If his dabbling on the practice green at Donald Trump’s Miami place is any indication, fatherhood is not the only thing new about the 2013 Masters champion.

“I’ve obviously had a lot of time up my sleeve at home to think and tinker ... It’s been a really productive couple of months for me,” Scott told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis on Tuesday. Scott’s last start was in December at the Australian PGA Championship.

While his grand slam brethren have made the switch to untethered putters, Scott has (until now, at least) stuck with a style that will be illegal as of Jan. 1, 2016. As recently as December, when he three-putted his way to a runner-up finish to Greg Chalmers in overtime at the Aussie PGA, Scott defended his much maligned chicken-wing short stroke.

“It wasn’t like I missed 10-footers today all day long,” he said after failing to defend his Aussie PGA title. “When you hit it outside 25 feet, there is almost the same chance you are going to three putt as two putt on tour. You have to hit it closer.”

Scott was the fourth of four golfers to win a major while jamming his putter into a body part. Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA champion), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open) and Ernie Els (2012 British Open) -- belly putters all -- have been playing with conventional putting methods.

The 34-year-old Aussie contended in December he would not use the offseason to doodle with a stick that was untethered from his sternum. At some point between then and now he decided to deal with the impending anchoring prohibition.

“Of course, I have to make an adjustment by the start of next year and seeing I had some time up my sleeve, I thought I may as well get on with the job,” said Scott. “Potentially, I could putt with a short putter this week.”

The non-anchored approach is not exactly foreign to Scott, who navigated courses worldwide until he went to the long putter in 2011. His first and only major title followed, as has a machine-like record of three tour wins and an additional 18 top-10 finishes since his last missed cut (the 2012 AT&T Byron Nelson Championship).

“It feels really good,” Scott said about the stroke he had adopted with the two conventional-length putters he was packing on Tuesday. “I’ve done it before, it’s just been a while. I don’t think it’s that big a jump. I’ve just got to take that first step.”

Just in case, Scott also had his traditional big bat in the bag. But should he take the new stick to the course, it appeared Scott would employ one of Phil Mickelson’s go-to grips -- the claw.

No matter which putter or stroke he opts for this week, Scott said he looked forward to spending as much time as possible with his wife, Marie Koziar, who delivered their daughter, Bo Vera Scott, on Feb. 15.

“It’s hard to be away,” Scott said. “If anything, the change certainly makes me want to achieve a lot out here quickly and enjoy everything in the future with my wife and child.”