Putter Faces

[+TourSpecGolfer]

What type putter face do you think offers the best contact, feel, roll and accuracy? The majority of milled putter companies use the same swirly mill marks similar to Gauge Design U.S, Scotty Cameron, Callaway Ti, T.P Mills, Zodia etc..

Brands like Bettinardi with their honey comb face feel awesome also and now in the Japanese markets there is "YES" and several other companies making a designed milling.

And then there is Gauge Designs Japan using a 100% flat CNC milled face to produce the least amount of variables between the face and the ball. JPGA is moving toward this direction at the moment.

What putter face feels best to you and has the best science for a quality putter face?

[GolfGuru]

I have a Terdrop putter and it has like lines across the face different from that of Scotty Camerons putters, and it rolls the ball great.

But Odyssey White Hot Inserts have a great soft feel.

I have tried a Callaway Blue putter and loved it, just a bit to much $$$, wait till the price drops.

[MGB]

Currently using a Scotty and loving it! Went back to a blade type putter because I'm more intuitive and target oriented with it. I've fooled around with the YES, some Bets, Honmas, the Tourstage PV series and truth be told, can't really tell if they make a difference or not. I know, I don't hit the Teardrops well. Cant seem to make solid contact with the ones I've tried.

What's important to me is balance and how it lines up at address (whether it fits my eye or not).

[boyce89976]

CNC milling has gotten so precise I doubt there is much difference in "flatness" from one manufacturer to another. That said, the mass produced putters will obviously have a lower level of quality control, so the the extent that is a variable I think the Bettinardi's, Gauge, Kevin Burns etc... are probably the most consistent since they are done in smaller quantities.

As far as contact, feel, roll and accuracy... all those things are affected more by design than the texture of the face. Personally the Betti's feel the most solid of anything I've tried due to the thickness of the face (they are substantially thicker than a Cameron, for instance). I also think they roll the ball better due to the extra weight in the face (being thicker, there's less weight low in the putter) which gives a truer roll. Accuracy is a product of contact, roll and ease of correct alignment which are all byproducts of the design. In the end, it's personal preference.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

There are tons of innovations in wedge and putter science that many of us don't know about. I had no clue about Laser engraving machines for logos and letters until Todd at TKS Bettinardi told me about it, I had no idea about the machines they use to turn auto cad into an actual plaster prototypes.

What many putter companies don't advertise is the actual lofts of the putters. I use a loft measured 6 degrees from the shaft due to todays changing ball and stroke, I play the X-01 and the ProV1x what i have learned in a putter fitting seminar recently was that a professional golfer can tell the loft of the putter by the balls role. I'm still trying to figure that out myself :? Whats cool too is that people who putt with their hands often feel the putter head is too light and people that putt with a perfect triangle and elbows in against the waist often feel the head as Heavier. I messed with this myself and agree 100%.

When a putter gets milled they use whats called needles. I was told Cameron uses 10 needles for the CNC milling process while Bettinardi uses 15 and GD Japan uses 20-25 depending on the type of model putter. The more needles provide a smoother more accurate milling but more needles mean more $$$ they wear faster and the more you use the more you replace which also takes time.

I guess what's new with wedges is forged heads with hand ground edges, CNC milled faces perfectly flat, no sandblasted faces and also computer milled tour grooves.