CRITERIA
Our judges evaluated Hot List candidates in four areas.
- Performance ( 45%)
What happens to the ball when it’s struck by the club. - Innovation ( 30%)
How a ball’s technology, advances the category. - Look/Sound/Feel ( 20%)
What the golfer experiences before, during and after impact. - Demand ( 5%)
The relative interest in a product and its reputation.
(L) Low-Handicapper | (M) Mid-Handicapper | (H) High-Handicapper
Bettinardi
QUEEN B (2017)
Performance 5 stars
Innovation 3 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict This wide-soled shape, which is made from mild carbon steel and features a face-milling pattern designed for a crisp feel, makes perimeter weighting a point of emphasis. Most notable is the back heel-and-toe bumpers that create a squared look.
Comments (L) The milled face feels great, even on mis-hits. (M) No wiggle: It stays sturdy at the bottom of your swing. I like the muted sound. (H) The white and gold bling is elegant.
Bettinardi
STUDIO STOCK (2017)
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 3 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict Another classic collection, this milled, carbon-steel series embraces old styles and new techniques with counterbalanced and arm-lock options. The distinctive soft feel is a result of a milling pattern that removes more than half the metal from the front of the face.
Comments (L) Pillowy soft in the best way. (M) The no-reflection pewter finish really works. (H) Delivers all the right feedback. The club swings itself.
Cleveland
HUNTINGTON BEACH COLLECTION
Performance 5 stars
Innovation 3 stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 3 ½ stars
Verdict This bargain comes with more than a good price. The milled face is cut four times deeper than most putters. The result is a soft feel and more friction.
Comments (L) Just tremendous control – from takeaway to impact. (M) Whatever they’re charging, they should charge more. It’s that good. (H) It has a quiet, firm face. Didn’t feel like it skidded once.
Edel
TORQUE BALANCED
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 1 star
Verdict Unlike traditional face-balanced or toe-down flatsticks, this putter features less weight inside the toe. This makes the club more resistant to twisting during the stroke for improved control of the face angle coming into impact.
Comments (L) The distance control on longer putts is really superb. (M) Everything stays on line throughout the stroke.
(H) You can sense how efficient the energy transfer is at impact.
Odyssey
O-WORKS
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 5 stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 5 stars
Verdict Making the ball roll better regardless of the player’s stroke seems ambitious. But that’s the idea behind this putter’s elaborate face piece. A soft elastomer insert is fronted by a super-thin stainless-steel-mesh face insert. Tiny hinges contract at impact to launch putts with more topspin.
Comments (L) Adding the red is an A+ for alignment. (M) I could feel the ball rolling true even with my eyes closed. (H) Soft but still transferring the energy of your stroke.
Odyssey
TOULON DESIGN
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict The putters from this brand within a brand feature a deep “diamond” mill pattern on the face for crisp yet soft feel and extra friction for a truer roll. Three weighted sole plates are available to match the weight you prefer. Bonus: multiple hosel options are coming later this year.
Comments (L) Classic with a thoroughly modern, techie vibe. (M) You’ll sense an off-centre hit, but you won’t see it. (H) The natural weighting makes your stroke feel easy.
Odyssey
WHITE HOT RX
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 4 ½ stars
Verdict Three ingredients join forces in the insert: a supple inner core, a firm outer layer and tiny oval depressions on the face. Together they deliver resilient contact, soft feel and the enhanced roll from a friction-filled face.
Comments (L) It has that classic White Hot feel with just a bit more click. (M) It’s like stroking a ball with another ball. (H) Face insert makes the ball come off hot but smooth.
Ping
SIGMA G
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 4 ½ stars
Verdict Described as the “sum of all Ping technology”, the Sigma G features an anodised aluminium face in front of a soft elastomer insert. The face is milled at precise depths and widths so heel and toe misses better match centre hits.
Comments (L) Very consistent, and the bad shots can feel really good. (M) Energetic face. Call it The Thief, because you’ll be getting into your partner’s wallet. (H) A perfect blend between classic and modern.
Ping
VAULT
Performance 5 stars
Innovation 4 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 3 stars
Verdict For the first time, Ping’s milled putters incorporate the company’s distinctive face technology to make those off-centre strikes roll like on-centre hits. That soft feel comes from a single forged billet of 303 stainless steel that is 100 percent milled.
Comments (L) It frames the ball nicely, gets the ball rolling cleanly and makes that vintage sound. (M) Quite forgiving on the heel and toe. (H) It’s automatic if you line it up right.
TaylorMade
TP COLLECTION
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 ½ stars
Demand 4 stars
Verdict A special milling process precisely shapes the final form of these cast 303 stainless-steel heads. They’re powered by a face insert whose 45-degree-angled grooves create friction to reduce unwanted backspin so the ball gets rolling more quickly.
Comments (L) The putter seems to naturally follow through to the ball. (M) The looks alone make you feel like a good putter. (H) Tons of help in a hidden way.
Titleist / Cameron
SCOTTY CAMERON SELECT
Performance 5 stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 5 stars
Verdict This sophisticated, multiple-piece design still retains the artist’s familiar touch. A vibration-damping layer behind the insert allows the stainless-steel insert in the stainless-steel body to produce a responsive feel that Cameron calls “soft but solid”.
Comments (L) You have a lot of confidence staring down at this. Still the gold standard. (M) The sound is understated, but it still gives you feedback. (H) I don’t feel like I ever missed the sweet spot.
Carbon Putters
PROJECT ROULETTE
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 3 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 1 star
Verdict Having multiple choices for sound and feel isn’t unusual. But this series has three milling options for different sound feedback. This allows the player to choose the classic shape for its performance attributes and marry it to a feel preference.
Comments (L) Stable with good feedback. I felt like I was having a conversation with it. (M) Feels cool and aggressive, like a smoking revolver. (H) The ball goes fast off the face.
Evnroll
ER2
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 3 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 3 ½ stars
Demand 1 star
Verdict The face channels offer distance and directional correction. Calibrated in a V-shape towards the middle of the club, they allow mis-hits to gravitate back to the centre. Then, they narrow from the centre towards the heel and toe for better energy transfer on mis-hits.
Comments (L) Felt like I could take my hands off it and it’d still work. (M) Great heft and stability, easy to start the ball on target. (H) Insanely consistent roll.
Seemore
Z1C
Performance 4 ½ stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 3 ½ stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict The company’s familiar and innovative alignment aid gets much of the attention in this unique, near-centre-shaft model, but don’t overlook the putter’s balance point: it’s weighted to stay square to the plane of your swing from backstroke to impact.
Comments (L) It’s so easy to dial in. (M) The club seems to be doing a lot of work to help you, and I’ll take all I can get. (H) I could feel this making me a better putter.
