I’ve had the same putter in my bag for years. I’ve reviewed dozens of putters and really liked many of them. Yet none have been able to dethrone my trusty, ancient Ping Zing….until now.

Elite Sport Products Dead On Putter

Materials

The Dead On Putter is a mallet putter made with two core materials:

The face of the putter is a block of 316 Stainless Steel. 316 is an aircraft grade stainless steel, and possesses excellent strength and corrosion resistance. Type 316 is more resistant to atmospheric and general corrosive conditions than any of the other standard stainless steels.

The rear wing of the putter is milled from a solid block 6061 Aluminum. 6061 is a grade of aluminum with good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties.

Design

You might think the arrows in the center of the mallet are there for show. Yes, they do look cool. But there are a other great reasons for these “accelerating arrows” (arrows changing down the line of the putter).

The arrows first give the player a very strong alignment aid. The arrows provide a great setup and alignment tool but perhaps what is even more important is what they do during the stroke. As the player sees the arrows in his peripheral vision he’s still subconsciously being influenced to keep the club on line. This helps especially when a player has brought the club back on an improper line. During the stroke the player will tend to make a correction.

Another benefit of the arrows is “increased throughput” or follow through. The player will tend to follow through longer and on a better line due to the arrows and the weighting/balance of the club.

I can feel the great MOI

The “moment of inertia” of this putter is perhaps the best quality it has. MOI refers to the tendency for the head to stay online during the swing. With a high MOI a club will hit straighter shots. This is especially noticeable on very long putts with the Dead On putter. During long putts the club tends to go around the body simply due to the fact that your arms can only extend down the line so far. The Dead On stays on line longer than any other putter I’ve tried for very long putts.

HIGH center of gravity

It seems like with every club ad on TV or in print you always hear “low center of gravity.” Well that refers to clubs other than putters. The low center helps get the ball launching UP. You don’t necessarily want this in a putter or you’d hit putts which launch in the air too much and don’t roll well.

The Dead On has a high center of gravity which starts the ball rolling well and rolling quickly.

4 degrees of loft

Putters typically have about 2-4 degrees of loft. The Dead On has four, which is a bit more than I’m used to. Having the loft for me makes the ball roll better and skid less. I also find that putting with the Dead On out of the fringe is almost just like putting on the regular surface. This is because of the loft of the putter I suppose.

Models Available

My model has a black mallet wing with no weights and is what I’d call “reverse face balanced.” The face balances to the ground when I balance the shaft on my finger rather than balancing to the sky.

Some Dead On models are available with perimeter weights in the wings and say “Dead On” on top of the stainless steel face. I’m glad for the one I have, as these are a little busier visually. I like the flat black tail.

There are two shaft versions:

* A centered shaft version that features a choice of a stepless chrome shaft or stepless black shaft.
* An offset shaft version with a double bend shaft.

Both versions are available with your choice of:

* 33″, 34” or 35” length (optional lengths are available upon request),
* Right or left handed configuration,
* Clear or black anodized “rear wing”
* Choice of Winn putter grips (model M8WSC-USA standard).

On The Course

Here’s where it really counts, on the course. The feel, weighting, balance, MOI of this putter help big time. Even in pressure situations when you might gag and pull a little 2-3 footer, the Dead On wants to stay online and helps prevent those misses.

I was so confident in my Dead On after playing one round with it that I used it in my club championship quarterfinal match the next day. The last two crucial holes I made some pretty long bombs. One was for a sand save which then made my opponent choke on his par putt. That one put him one down with one to play. The next was about a 25 foot downhill birdie which sent my opponent home for the season.

LOOOOOONNNNNG putts

In the last few weeks of using my Dead On I’ve made some insanely long bombs. I’ve made about five putts over 60 feet in the last 2-3 weeks. Just yesterday I made a really long one for eagle. After sinking it I walked it off at 84 feet!

The putter is extremely solid on short putts too. The perfect weighting of the Dead On helps me stroke those knee knockers in with confidence.

The putter makes a nice “ping” sound when you putt with it, similar to the old Ping A1 but not quite as loud.

Cover

The putter cover is adequate. It’s seals with Velcro though and I’d rather have magnets. Velcro wears out over time. The head is fairly big so the cover is even bigger. My pal told me it looked like a “personal pan pizza box!” I like to throw my putter cover toward where I’ll exit the green, and this baby will fly a good 30-40 feet!

Conclusion

I’ve got a new putter in the bag, after years of my trusty old one. I’d check out the Dead On if you are in the market for a new putter. The Dead On is good looking, sounds great when you hit it, travels right on line and rolls the ball wonderfully.

I’m sinking putts from all over. They’re dropping from some insane distances and the ones I don’t make are not missing my more than a couple of inches. On the back nine today I knocked in four birdies with my Dead On, en route to a 71 on a tough course.

I have more pics of the Dead On putter in the Elite Sport HOG photo gallery.