This is post number two for HOG Putter Week!
I’ve been looking forward to putting a Boccieri Golf Heavy Putter in my bag for quite some time. The concept is great. A heavy putter is harder to yank or push off line. A heavy putter makes breaking the wrists or wrist flipping difficult. A heavy putter makes it harder to have a sudden, jerk of a transition from back to forward in the stroke. A heavy putter will want to stay on the intended target line and promote a smoother stroke.
So do these things really happen?
Mid Weight K4-M Construction
The K4-M is a standard “toe-droop” design blade putter with a thin top line. I’d say the most comparable design is to that of a Ping Zing.
Having putted only standard weighted putters until my Mid Weight, I want to say that the Mid is heavy. At 750gm, this thing is drastically heavier than a standard putter or any club in the bag for that matter. There’s a 200 gram weight inserted into the butt of the shaft. Having this much weight up where the grip is makes “wristy” strokes nearly impossible, which is good.
The face of the putter is CNC milled with grooves which get the ball rolling end over end, better than a face with no milling. The milling in the putter’s face also aids in giving the putter a soft feel.
Looks & Feel
Speaking of feel, this putter feels great. The pendulum like stroke one puts on a putter this heavy is very smooth. The timing and transition from back to forward with all that weight in the club is very smooth. I find that my stroke stays on line very well.
Grip
The Winn mid-size V17 grip is very soft. My hands feel like they blend right in and become one with the shaft of the putter. With the weight and the grip combined, my arms, shoulders, wrists and putter all feel like one piece.
Specifications and Options
The Heavy Putter K4-M is available in standard lengths from 32″ – 36″ (right hand only), and can be ordered as a custom putter in other lengths.
- Finish: Black PVD or Satin
- Stock lengths 32″ – 36″ (custom lengths available 30″ – 38″)
- Dexterity: Right Hand Only
- Total Putter Weight = +/- 750 grams
- Head Weight = +/- 400 grams
- Back Weighting System (weight in grip end of shaft) = 200 grams
- Proprietary Steel Shaft
- Custom Winn Mid-Size Grip
- Custom Head Cover included
- Stainless Steel Material
- CNC Milled Face
- Loft = 3° (custom loft adjustments +/- 2 degrees)
- Lie Angle = 70° (custom lie adjustments +/- 2 degrees)
- Custom Mid Length Putters available
Head Cover
The included head cover looks great and protects the putter well. I’m not a fan of Velcro enclosures which wear and the look shabby after a while, so the magnetic enclosure on this unit scores points in my book.
Conclusion
If you don’t feel that your stroke is smooth or you have a hard time with excessive wrist action; if you have a hard time keeping your putts on line or you have poor timing, try a Heavy Putter (any model really).
Wow this is quite a big and sudden deal. Lorena Ochoa, #1 female golfer, announced that she’s retiring. Must be nice to be able to retire at the age of 28.
More details and hopefully the reason she’s retiring will be announced on Friday.
Press release below (click read more).
(more…)
This is post #1 of 2010 HOG Putter Week!
Once again, this review is another of the many cases of “being a golf web geek doesn’t suck.” My daunting and difficult task is to test out the very hyped up and popular Nike Method putter, mine being the model 001. Yes, being a golf web geek can be a rough go sometimes, but someone has to do it.
Many people are comparing the quality level of the Nike Method putter to that of a Cameron. I didn’t even know Cameron made putters. I thought he was a film maker. You know, Terminator Two, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar…
Nike Method Putter Model 001 Construction
The Method putter has a multi-material face. “Flowed through low durometer Polymetal Groove Technology” (that’s what I was going to say) dampens vibrations and gives the club a soft feel. The “interspersed milled steel face” gives audio feedback which helps the player control distance.
What does all that mean in plain English? The putter has a soft and buttery feel. The physical and audible feedback gives the player a closer connection to the stroke, the ball and the proper club head speed to deliver the ball the correct distance.
Extreme heel-toe weighting via Tungsten inserts makes the MOI (moment of inertia) of the putter very high and increases stability of the head during the stroke and especially impact.
Rock & Roll
I can roll the rock fairly well. Ask any of my victims golf buddies. Putting with the Method is a joy. I can sense and see that the ball is rolling very quickly off the putter face and not skidding. The previously mentioned Polymetal Groove Technology gets the ball rolling end over end much faster than a regular putter and I can definitely attest to that. The roll is pure and there’s not much initial skidding like on many other putters.
Looks
The Method 001 is a sharp looking putter, similar to that of a standard heel-toe weighted blade. But looking closer reveals many finer details than you’ll find on any standard heel-toe offering.
The finish of this putter is a very nice gray/silver color. The bottom is chrome. The milling in the face, the bottom and the back is very sharp and precise. The face not only has the large Polymetal Grooves, it has thousands of tiny milled round diamonds. See the face image below:
Feel
One of the first tests I do with putters is to simply see if the putter “wants” to stay square during the stroke. I’ll just take a few lightly gripped swings and see what the weighting feels like and what angles that weighting wants to take the head. Due to the distribution of more than 30 grams of weight in the heel and toe, the Method 001 wants to stay square. This is a good thing. If the person putting goes to sleep a tiny bit, the putter will still tend to stay square, resulting in the ball starting out on the right line.
The softness of the face is noticeable. It feels like you can sense the split second that the ball is in contact with the face. In fact that contact feels longer.
Grip
The grip is an old school pistol grip style, but with a tacky rubber which I really like.
The grip is crucial, as it is where the player connects to the putter. Without a good connection and feel through the grip, the best milling and design in the world can’t help make putts.
Head Cover
No zipper: check. No stupid Velcro: check. No wacky, nutty, clunky design: check. The head cover passes the test. It is classy looking, functional and best of all, easy to use.
Conclusion
Though the golf world didn’t necessarily need another heel-toe weighted blade, the Method 001 should be strongly considered when looking for a new putter. All aspects of this club, from aesthetics to feel to performance, are at the highest level.
Related Links
HOG Nike Image Gallery (more Method putter pictures and other Nike products).
Nike STR8-Fit vs TaylorMade R9.
I’ve got roughly six putters in my review queue. I thought I’d do something special and dedicate a whole week to putters, posting one putter review per day. I’ll be reviewing some amazing putters, some crazy putters (like the HOG 14 ball putter pictured), and some putters that just make me ask the three letter question: WTF?
Stay tuned. Putter review #1 is coming shortly!
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