New Bettinardi Putters for 2011

Famed putter designer Robert Bettinardi is teeing up several new releases for 2011, leading with the latest incarnation of his popular BB Series putters.

The new BB Series putters are milled from a "proprietary fusion" of carbon steel with "special ingredients" to ensure superior feedback (consider us intrigued!).

They also boast a "metallic fog" finish to complement the signature Bettinardi honeycomb face. Each putter is available in head weights of 340 and 355 grams, skewing heavier than the current BB models (which come in head weights of 332 and 348 grams).

The new Bettinardi BB putters are the BB1 heel-toe weighted blade with a plumber's neck; the BB8 flow neck with a two-tier flange; BB27 face-balanced, heel-toe weighted blade with a double-bend shaft; and BB33 face-balanced mallet (pictured below). The retail price is $275.

For 2011, Bettinardi is also launching a new suite of Studio Stock putters ($375), as well as two limited-edition Signature Series putters ($495; Signature Model Two pictured at top).

You may recall that Robert Bettinardi amicably parted ways with Mizuno Golf in 2009 after a fruitful partnership spanning three years.

He soon followed up with the 2010 BB Series putters, which earned high marks from PutterZone.com. At the time, Bettinardi told PutterZone.com, "For me, it was a matter of wanting to take my company to the next level, to have more independence in terms of design as well as sales and marketing."

Apparently, so far so good, as his numerous upcoming releases would seem to indicate a successful return to retail independence. Stay tuned for more information on the new 2011 Bettinardi putters.

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New Odyssey Divine Line Putters

Odyssey Golf today announced its next generation of Divine Line of women's putters, featuring an enhanced look and a new insert.

According to Odyssey, “Through our research, we’ve come to understand what women want in a putter in the areas of look, feel and styling.”

Careful there, Odyssey.

New features include a white chrome finish and an insert that is said to be firmer than the White Hot XG insert but softer than the White Ice insert. The insert was designed to offer more pronounced audio feedback as well.

Head weights of 350 to 360 degrees, depending on the model, skew heavier than normal for "enhanced feel and control."

The new Odyssey Divine Line putters will officially be available on October 29 at a price of $129 for the Divine Blade putter and Divine Rossie putter, and $179 for what the "progressive" models of the Divine Mini T putter and Divine 2-Ball putter.

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The Fringe: Nike V-Rev Wedge Review

Watching someone like Phil Mickelson wield his wedges can be inspiring—and also depressing.

Have you watched his instructional video? It’s chock full of jolly-good advice on how to work potent wedge magic around the green, from lobs to flops and everything in between. But then he gives you a wink and hits the over-the-head shot that lands near the hole, and you think, “This dude’s messing with me.”

Which brings us to the high-lofted wedges that are all the rage these days, but that can leave the average recreational golfer feeling left out, like a kid pressing his or her nose to the glass of the candy store.

For many of us, staring down the barrel of a 60-degree wedge is unnerving. There is so much promise in that high loft—the promise of the ball arcing over the trap, falling out of the sky and sticking next to the hole—and yet so much peril if you don’t strike the ball perfectly, and if the bounce angle on your club isn’t ideally calibrated to your lie, be it tight or fluffy.

Enter the Nike Victory Red V-Rev conforming wedges, which aim to lower your blood pressure and your score by offering added relief on a wider variety of shots.

Under The Hood

According to Nike Golf, “With the Dual Sole design, the heel and back of the sole are ground to allow for less friction on open-faced shots. 8620 carbon steel enhances feel and is 45 percent softer than 17-4 stainless steel, making it the material of choice for accomplished players. The VR grip by Lamkin has a soft, more sensitive rubber compound that lets you grip the club lighter, reducing forearm stress for a more effective swing.”

-New V-Rev groove design to conform to the new USGA / R&A rules

-Dual Sole design for versatility in multiple conditions

-Constructed from feel-enhancing 8620 carbon steel

-Victory Red grip by Lamkin

-$109 street price

Why It Rocks

While the Nike VR V-Rev wedges enjoy a strong presence on the professional circuits, they boast an “everyman” quality that works for the rest of us.

Simply put, the Dual Sole design works like a charm, making the wedge eminently playable. With this design, the aggressive grind along the heel and sole gives ample relief, so that you can confidently open the club face when needed without the heel grabbing the ground.

Additionally, when testing the 60-degree model with 6 degrees of bounce, we found it to be effective not only on tight lies, but fluffier lies as well. We have no explanation for this (perhaps it's another benefit of the Dual Sole design?), but we’re not complaining. All we know is that this wedge has become a go-to club around here on chips and pitches because it just seems to roll with the proverbial punches.

Some golfers aren’t going to like the relatively thick hosel and brash graphics of the Nike V-Rev wedges, but Nike has never catered to traditionalism. Nike also earns style points for having no markings whatsoever on the sole of the club, giving it a cool vibe in the bag.

The Final Word

The Nike Victory Red V-Rev wedges live up to their promise of versatility, giving the average golfer more confidence to aim high around the green.

About The Fringe

The Fringe is where PutterZone.com roams "beyond the green" in search of golf's hottest new gear. This bi-weekly series is reserved for products that truly earn the spotlight by demonstrating superior quality and ingenuity.

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Miura Series 1957 Putter Preview

We are excited to announce that the Miura Series 1957 KM-005 putter is now in the review queue at PutterZone.com.

Our first impression is that this is a classy, confident putter with a lineage to match. Miura putters are designed by Katsuhiro Miura, who resides in Himeji, Japan, a city with a rich history of forged metal work, originally with samurai swords.

The KM-005 ($390) similarly boasts looks to kill, with a purposeful minimalism in the ornamentation department. This putter is forged and milled from stainless steel for "unmatched feel and precision."

Stay tuned for the Miura KM-005 putter review on PutterZone.com

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New Putters, Grips and More on The Greenside

The latest episode of The Greenside radio show is now airing on The Hacker's Paradise, and is now available for download on iTunes as well.

The Greenside is hosted by Sean of PutterZone.com and Josh of THP. It focuses on the short game, with an emphasis on putters and putting.

The new episode features the new PING Scottsdale putters and Cleveland Black Platinum putters, as well as a discussion on putter grip size and Jim Furyk's remarkable success with a second-hand putter.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

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The Loathsome Putter

In a classic interview with Golf Magazine in the November issue, the irrepressible Mark Calcavecchia shares some hilarious insights into his love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with his putter. Make that putters, plural, as there have been many of them, and most have died an ignominious death.

In one round, he chucked his putter into a canal just after the turn, forcing him to putt with a 1-iron the rest of the way. Another putter ended up in the rain gutter at a Residence Inn in Akron. Yet another found its way to a flower garden in Westchester. Calcavecchia says that he has given most of his castoffs to kids, but adds, "sometimes it just feels good to break one."

(As for the one putter he might truly cherish, the one he used to win the 1989 British Open? His ex-wife inadvertently donated it to a church auction, and it was never seen again.)

Stories like this abound on the PGA Tour, and on golf courses across America...Putters snapped over knees, putters dragged behind automobiles, putters thrown into trees and lagoons and creeks.

Simply put, no other club in the bag inspires such passion, positive or negative. The question is: Why?

The amateur psychologist in us would say that the putter, more than any other club, is like a mirror, one that vividly reveals our flaws, foibles and fears. It is the final instrument in the engineering of a birdie, as well as making of a triple bogie. It is last club in the hand on the 18th hole, a symbol of triumph, or of a round to forget.

With the full swing, it's easier to accept failure, as there are so many moving parts, all converging at high speed. But in the simple act of putting, we have only ourselves to blame when the ball sails wide. Well, that's not quite true: we can always blame the putter instead, and often do.

That said, it can be cathartic and even beneficial to discard a putter, because some putters just don't fit your game, while others are exactly what the golf doctor ordered. Some folks will argue, "It's the archer, not the arrow." But that's not always true. The fact is that certain putters fit your eye, your physique and your game better than others.

As for those that don't make the cut? Well, there's a putter in the gutter of a Residence Inn that could use a few friends.

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PING Scottsdale Putter Review

PING Golf recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, but the company shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, when it comes to putters, PING has been downright prolific in recent years, launching its Redwood, Karsten, iWi, iN and now Scottsdale putters.

The PING Scottsdale putter line ($129 to $159) features a whopping 14 models, several with fanciful names.

PING founder Karsten Solheim is nothing less than the pioneer of the modern putter industry. Do the new PING Scottdale putters advance his legacy? Following is PutterZone.com's PING Scottsdale putter review.

The Storyline

The Scottsdale name is a nod to the company's headquarters in Arizona's Valley of the Sun, and also salutes the old PING Scottsdale Anser putters of yore.

According to PING, “The solid feel and consistent response of the insert in the new Scottsdale Series will help your distance control and accuracy. The insert is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) with a face appliqué for a soft yet solid feel on every putt. This response is key in accurately gauging distances.”

The company continues: “The combination of TPE and high-contrast alignment aids allow you to take confident aim with your Scottsdale putter. Choose from 14 models, including a number of bold new designs like the Wolverine. Proven PING favorites like the Anser2 and B60 are also available in this new technology.”

PutterZone.com experienced the Scottsdale Pickemup mallet (345 grams, face balanced), Scottdale Wolverine mallet (355 grams, face balanced) and Scottdale Tomcat blade (340 grams, slightly toe down).

The View from PutterZone.com

Of the three PING Scottsdale models I tried—the Pickemup, Wolverine and Tomcat—the Pickemup was the clear favorite.

To be honest, there’s a sense that PING threw some darts at the proverbial board by offering so many models of the Scottsdale putters. But the Pickemup hits the bull’s-eye for me, offering intriguing feedback and sharp visuals with a delightful twist.

Let’s start with the twist, which is revealed by the name of the putter. Sure enough, the Pickemup picks ‘em up perfectly. The arc in the flange is smartly designed to embrace the ball, so when you’re close enough to the hole for your friends to give you a “gimme,” you can lift the orb in style by easily scooping it up with your Pickemup. The cool thing is that this feature doesn’t jump out visually as a gimmick, but rather fits harmoniously into the design aesthetic of the head.

From business end of the putter—the top view—the Pickemup is brilliant. The design is very purposeful, with numerous visual cues framing the target line. The aforementioned arc frames the ball and features a vivid white sightline along the flange for added alignment reference. The fangs, while slightly curved, bring an added sense of linear forward motion.

Interestingly, while the putter is center shafted with no offset, there’s a bit of a forward press built into Pickemup. In other words, the shaft leans slightly toward the target at address. The result is a “hands forward” setup that you would typically associate with an offset hosel. Some golfers will love this option of maintaining a familiar hands-forward setup on a more neutral looking, center-shafted putter. Others may not be so keen on staring down at a shaft that isn't in line with the face angle.

The feel and feedback of the Pickemup are also distinctive. In fact, the Pickemup really puts the “ping” into PING, with a ringing quality that is clearly attributable to the acoustics of the head shape, as this same quality was not evident on the other two Scottsdale putters that I tried. The feel of the Pickemup seemed livelier, too. I found the feel of the Wolverine and Tomcat to be a bit muted, fitting the classic stereotype of the synthetic insert.

My experience with the three models is ultimately another reminder that a putter’s head shape can have a tremendous influence on feel and feedback, even if the head material and/or insert remain the same from model to model.

Cosmetically, the Scottsdale putters leave me a bit wanting. I’m not crazy about the look of the Scottsdale insert, with its graphical flourishes and the brand name PING screened along the center. The Scottsdale color scheme of burgundy, white and charcoal black doesn’t seem very inspired, either. I do, however, love the little saguaro cactus motif on the sole of the putter.

The Bottom Line

The PING Scottdale Pickemup is a sharply designed putter with a fun twist—the ability to easily scoop up your ball with the rear of the head. The feel and feedback of the Pickemup are livelier on the Pickemup compared to other Scottsdale models, and the purposeful look at setup inspires confidence near the hole. Of the three Scottsdale putters tested, the Pickemup was the clear winner.

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GolfTEC Features PutterZone.com

We are excited to announce that GolfTEC, a leading national provider of golf instruction services, has featured an exclusive article by PutterZone.com in its October newsletter.

The article, titled "Zero in on the perfect putter," offers tips for finding a stick that fits your game. It begins:

If you hang around the putter section of your local golf retailer, you will see a lot of recreational golfers who are just looking for something that catches their eye, with little regard to how the different putters might fit their individual game.The result is typically an impulse purchase, rather than an informed purchase. Needless to say, the results of such an approach are often disappointing. But you can easily avoid this pitfall by having a plan for buying your next putter. Below are three key factors in finding a putter that fits your game.

Click here to read the rest of the article on the GolfTEC web site. Our thanks go out to GolfTEC for spreading the word about good putter shopping practices, and for including PutterZone.com.

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