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Premium Zone - Not so easy?


Mjr. D

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I have a bunch of putters, all of which i like for certain reasons. Scotty Camerons for sound and craftsmanship, Bettinardi for overall feel and the Premium Zone #0 for looks and softness. All my putters are heel-toe weighted. Putting is definitely the strongest part of my game and i would argue that i'm a pretty good putter. Now everyone loves their Premium Zones and they're indeniably nice, but i find them very difficult to hit. I can't seem to find the sweet spot with mine? I've tried hitting the ball high, low left right, center......i'm honestly starting to believe i got a defunct one. I can hit my Bettinardi BB43 and 2 in the sweet spot all day long, same goes for my Cameron Newport Beach Proto Center (sorry, not selling, haha) and Proto Tel. Anyone else find the Premium Zone difficult to pure?

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I find the sweet spot for me to be right on the inside of the sight line towards the heel. Also I find it's easiest to hit on #1 for me at least.

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I find the sweet spot for me to be right on the inside of the sight line towards the heel. Also I find it's easiest to hit on #1 for me at least.

Same for me ( Premium Zone #0), slightly inside the sight line towards the heel - PROVIDING that the lie is correct, by this I mean that I have a bad habit of raising the toe slightly and this can affect putts quite badly. I absolutely love my #0, it is certainly the nicest putter that I have ever used, but I do have to be careful to make sure that I dont get lazy at address, which is why I pull so many putts!

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I know I am the spoiler here and apology to Gocchin in advance... I think Gauge putters are overrated and wouldnt compare it with Betts which are special.

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They are not overrated for its original price which is 249.00 premium zone. Bettinardi is made very well, now imo only second to Golds Factory but what gets me and yes we sell a lot of Bettinardi Japan putters is the engraving style and the honey comb design. On video it produces more skip than YES, G.Rife, and G-Field. All three mentioned that rolled better in testing were far cheaper and not made as well. That said i never liked any Gauge putter that has a flat face, too clicky and too light, only their 350g stuff. Also looking at design only, tungsten on the face does make it less forgiving when you miss the sweet spot.

The frenzy for the premium zone I feel is very odd, people trying to sell theirs for way above market value calling them rare when shops cant dump them fast enough in Japan and Asia. Its not a 400.00 putter guys.

My suggestion to TSG'ers is to have 2 gamer putters one Neo Mallet and one Anser style, when one goes cold switch to the other and so on. Make sure length is right for you along with the lie angle and loft based on forward press.

If your a not so gifted putter a heavier or much heavier head should help you. Also most important, putting lessons are worth a ton on the course if you like to place bets.

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I know I am the spoiler here and apology to Gocchin in advance... I think Gauge putters are overrated and wouldnt compare it with Betts which are special.

No need to apologize R. ^^

I also think Bettinardi's are awesome but if you can find me one for around $200-250 which are what many of the g-field's and gauge's originally retailed for that roll the ball as well then I'll be pleased. I do love some of the Studio B anser putters, simply beautiful! I've been grabbing any Gauge that is 340g or more but I've stopped collecting putters for now... moved on to wedges... (^_^)

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This is my collection of putters..

Got a SC Futura 33" with matching weights, Ping JAS Anser, Callaway TT3, Golds Factory #2 and a Gauge Premium #0..

Have to say that the Gauge does roll the best compared to all of the above..

But 90% of the time, I play SC Futura as I just ahve so much confidence on that one..

The harshest putter is the JAS Anser (Milled from a chunk of Titanium with tungsten inserts)

As for the Gauge Premium#0.. the ball does leave the face quite a bit with little force.. the Golds need a bigger stroke to do the same..

I guess whatever fits your putting style.. If you have habit of leaving the ball short, Gauge will be perfect, if you tend to go over, Golds might be better..

Honestly, the putters I have ain't ultra exotic but ain't too shabby either and I find the craftsmanship all beautiful.. hard to honestly say one is better milled then the other..

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My suggestion to TSG'ers is to have 2 gamer putters one Neo Mallet and one Anser style, when one goes cold switch to the other and so on. Make sure length is right for you along with the lie angle and loft based on forward press.

That is the reason I brought the Matsu MG 8. I think it is the best of both worlds -Small neo mallet with anser style head and two sight lines for alignment and it is relative heavy.

post-8082-1180712170.jpg

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The reason i mentioned that is because people get stale with one putter and need something to reinvigorate their putting game. Even with that Hiro putter i would still suggest to someone to get something in harsh contrast as it really helps people get over the hump and brings a fresh feel back to the original gamer when you return to it.

Just a couple of cents given to me by a highly regarded Japanese putting teacher.

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If I'm having trouble I switch to my Leap M and that is usually the drastic change I need.... ^^

Yes R, I know you think that the "batman" is one of the ugliest putters alive... (^_^)

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That is the reason I brought the Matsu MG 8. I think it is the best of both worlds -Small neo mallet with anser style head and two sight lines for alignment and it is relative heavy.

post-8082-1180712170.jpg

I think I could get to like that putter. Is that from TSG here?

jeff

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I think I could get to like that putter. Is that from TSG here?

jeff

Chris can get it, he carries Matsumoto. Just send him a PM.

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The reason i mentioned that is because people get stale with one putter and need something to reinvigorate their putting game. Even with that Hiro putter i would still suggest to someone to get something in harsh contrast as it really helps people get over the hump and brings a fresh feel back to the original gamer when you return to it.

Just a couple of cents given to me by a highly regarded Japanese putting teacher.

I'm actually doing this right now having replaced the Premium Zone #1 in the bag for the M2 Plus. Getting much better results now having done that. I think due its face-balanced design it more suits my putting style. I used to putt with a Wilson 8802 for years until I went with Scotty Newport. The Zone #1 replaced that and was working well but of late wasn't getting me the results. I'm not overly in love with the mallet look of the M2 Plus, but, with the CNC insert the roll is just as good as the Premium Zone but better contact with my arc-style of putting. The M2 is small though so its not at all overly huge like some mallets out there now. For me personally, I can't get over the look of huge mallet style putter but I know they are very effective. I'm going to give the M2 a go for awhile and see if I can't make a few more putts here and there. So far its doing just that. We'll see how it goes. Too bad G-Field never made an face-balanced Anser-style putter.

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Here's my putter story, I had some time to kill so I went over to the local Nevada Bob's, which is a really interesting place run by a bunch of golf fanatics where I have even stumbled across some old Honma woods. After hitting a bunch of irons, a few drivers, trying on some shoes I went to the putter area and hit most everything they had. No intention of buying anything. Needless to say I walked out of there with a YES Marilyn which has now replaced my Gauge Design Tubu. The Tubu puts a nice roll on the ball and I've never had a problem with distance control on greens I'm familiar with (it's a different story on greens I've never played before). I like the firm feel somewhat clicky sound off the face of the Tubu and with the center shaft I've found alignment much easier. But the Marilyn is flat out bar none amazing. If I get my set up correct (ball position is everything) this putter rolls the ball right from the get go with a very solid, soft feel. I love this putter, especially for short putts because I can just line up and actually roll the ball into the back of the cup without thinking too much about it(for now, that may change at any time because my brain always gets involved in my putting at some point and I wind up going completely crazy on the greens). The feel, solid solid and soft combined with the fact that it appears those funky half circle grooves just roll the ball better than anything I've every tried. I always thought the whole YES thing was a gimmick. Not anymore. For today I'm a convert.

I also agree with Chris in that you need to have a variety of putters so when one decides to hate you their are options to rediscover the love. I go back and forth between heel and center shafted, mallets and Anser to keep me sharp. When that doesn't work I go in search of a lobotomy.

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hey X,

does any one make a good faced balanced putter?

if there was a premium zone one, it would be in my bag for sure.

the only face balanced g-field with a similar insert is the LEAP.

i use the blade style LEAP for those bad putting streches. it works well. very easy.

similar to the M2 plus.

i had a M2 plus but gave it to gocchin.

the M2 was pretty good but still not face balanced.

the stroke for the M2 was intended to be for golfers who dragg the putter through the putting zone.

see if this helps sink those putts.

cool

T

Thanks T,

I'm still playing around with the M2. Making more long putts now. I thought the M2 was face-balanced as mine points straight up to the sky. I'll try dragging it a little to see if I can dial it in even more. I do wish there was a face-balanced anser-style putter with the G-Field insert. Well, actually, I'm sure Sasaya-san could build one under the Gold's line but you're talking a $1000 putter now. Might just have to save up for that one, one day.

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