The putter is the only club in the bag that you can say will be used every time you play golf. With the average player hitting more than 30 putts in a round, it is probably the most important club for your game.
With the weather getting better across the country, golf season is upon us and this year’s putter lineup has a lot of new faces from familiar manufacturers.
Nike Method #1 ($249.99 MSRP)
Nike Method
The Method first appeared on Tour last year and made a huge splash but was not available to the general public until Nike released their putter lineup.The Method was the putter used by Stewart Cink at the British Open and Lucas Glover at the U.S. Open when they claimed their first majors. With five worldwide wins last season it was a successful year for the guys at Nike’s Oven.
The distinctive polymetal groove technology creates a faster forward roll after impact to create the kind of accuracy and consistency Tour professionals demand. While most traditional steel-faced putters start the ball with backspin that causes the ball to initially bounce a little higher, the new groove technology starts the ball spinning forward to minimize bounce and keep the putt on line.
Thoughts: The Nike Method is steps beyond what would be expected of Nike in the area of putters. The putter has a great feel, good weighting and gives good feedback to the player.
Odyssey White Ice Mini T ($179.99 MSRP)
Putter alignment can be one of the hardest things for a new golfer to pickup and for an aging golfer to maintain. With a new head design with Hi-Def alignment lines this club has some of the best alignment tools that can be found.That coupled with the connecting weighted alignment wings to increase consistency and control as well as the familiar White Hot insert; this putter can be a nice addition to anyone’s bag.
Odyssey White Ice Mini T(L) and Backstryke (R)
Thoughts: As expected from Odyssey, this is a well built putter that gives good feedback both through the feel of the club at impact as well as the visual alignment tools. Once you get accustomed to the look the putter can make improper alignment a thing of the past.
Odyssey Backstryke Blade ($199.99 MSRP)
Have a hard time telling if your putter face is square? Well, Odyssey has moved the shaft of its newest putter to the rear of the club to allow you to see the face of your club instead of the shaft of the putter. By doing so it also stabilizes the club for those with a forward press when putting by eliminating the extra loft added by over exaggerating the movement.
Thoughts: It’s off design with the shaft going into the heel of the clubs definitely gets looks out on the practice green. The putter weight is affected by this shift of the shaft as well. Even though the shaft is so far away from the face it does give good feedback and allow for good control of the putter head through the ball.
Titleist Scotty Cameron Studio Select Laguna ($299.99 MSRP)
Fan of the Newport line of putters from Scotty Cameron? Well this new putter from Titleist has some interesting improvements from the original. With adjustable weights on the sole of the putter, it allows you to be able to change the weights based on preference and head to shaft balancing if you wanted to change the shaft to a belly or long putter. The large circular weights also increase the size of the sweet spot for when you just can’t seem to hit it in the same place every time.
Titleist Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi-S (L) and Laguna (R)
A slight change in the toe profile from the original helps to address people who get the toe up in the air when addressing the ball. With the changes made it allows for less of a chance of pushing the ball left often caused by this issue.Thoughts: Holding true to the quality standard of the rest of the Scotty Cameron Studio Select line of putters this putter has great feel and good feedback. The new toe configuration and weighting system is great for the normal golfer who may not hit the sweet spot every time.
Titleist Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi-S Putter ($299.99 MSRP)
The Kombi is the first time an advanced mallet style putter has made it into the Studio Select series of the Scotty Cameron line. The T shaped sightline allows for good alignment with minimal distractions. The Kombi-S has a factory adjustable weight to change how the sole of the club is weighted per the player’s preferences (Not available in the mid- or long- versions).
Thoughts: At first it was off to look at any Studio Select putter that has an advanced style mallet , but after the initial shock it was a well thought out design without a lot of extra visuals going on to draw your eye away from the ball.
