WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Tour Edge launches a new installment of its Template putters, a collection of classic shapes cast from soft 304 stainless steel and each featuring a milled face and friction grooves. There are seven new shapes in the series, among them a heel-toe weighted Anser-style blade, a parallel-winged mallet, a clamshell shaped mallet and a plumbers neck, heel-toe weighted half-mallet.
PRICE: $130. 34 and 35 inches, in both black and silver PVD finishes. Available at retail Nov. 1.
3 COOL THINGS1. Looks Familiar: Like the idea of “template” holes in golf course architecture, first described by C.B. MacDonald, the shapes in the Tour Edge Template putter series continues to evoke some of the more popular forms across the current putter landscape, just as it did when it was introduced in 2019 [https://www.golfdigest.com/story/tour-edge-pure-feel-template-series-putters-mix-traditional-heads-with-high-tech-grip-technology]. In addition to the single blade model whose plumbers neck heel-toe weighted form takes its lead from the Iconic Ping Anser, there’s also a winged mallet reminiscent of the Odyssey No. 7, as well as classic clamshell and half mallet designs. A wider blade and an oversized open-frame “The new Template putter series has taken leaps and bounds in the look and feel department,” said David Glod, Tour Edge president and master club designer.“This putter line is bringing together today’s technology with classic putter designs and perfectly blending the two, just like what Template golf holes are designed to do in course architecture.”
2. Going deep on grooves: Each putter in the Template series features a grooved face designed for two functions. First, the micro-milled etchings are there to create a softer feel on the already soft 304 stainless steel head. According to Glod the 304 measures 50 percent softer than 17-4 stainless steel, which is traditionally used on the least expensive putters. Second, the grooves are an effort to create initial roll more quickly with less backspin and skidding. That leads to a more efficient roll for better distance and direction control. The grooves on these latest Template models also are 20 percent deeper than past iterations for a greater effect on roll and feel.
3. Finishing touch: The PVD coating on these models comes in both a black and silver finishes. (PVD is a thin coating that is the result of a physical vapor deposition process produced in a vacuum environment.) The PVD finish improves overall durability as well. A central aiming line aids alignment and a contrasting black section on the silver finish models further frames the ball at address.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
