BIONIK105 Red Insert Putter (RH) - Custom Assembled

I think this is going to end up being my all-time favorite putter.I like the way it feels, and I have had no trouble sinking several one-putts in my living room, with the little rubber holes that lay flat on the carpet.And I just know I'm going to love it out on the course, because, for one thing, it has a great feature, of being able to pick up your ball with one swipe, off the green.My other putter did that, too, but the shelf on the back was too narrow, resulting in just as often as not, just missing being able to sweep the ball up, and getting it about halfway up, but the ball falling back down to the green, and rolling away, and you look like a fool, chasing the ball all over the green.A putter that does that quite often doesn't exactly endear itself to you, and you start looking around for a replacement.And so, a putter has a dual purpose: It has to be well-made, so that it is sturdy, and be hefty enough to withstand long-term use, and, of course, enable you to make putts, but also, picking the ball up off the green is no small thing.You do it constantly - on every hole - and especially as you get older, you don't want to be always bending down just to retrieve the ball out of the hole or pick it up off the green.And I don't know about you, but I get older every day.In fact, I'm older at this moment than I've ever been in my life!What boggles my mind is to see putters for sale, on Amazon or anywhere else - such as the pro shop - costing anywhere from two to three or even four hundred dollars.That is just insane.Even this one: From the first time I saw it, priced at $44.00, to a few weeks later, when I decided to buy it, the price had shot up to $59.95.That's not good, but it's still a far cry from multiples of a hundred dollars, so I grabbed it before it goes up any more.*****I'm going to pass along something I've learned, which has stood me in good stead, for quite some time now.Putting is very vexing, in that no matter how long you've been doing it, you never have it quite mastered.But that's actually our own doing.When you try to read the break in the green, and figure out the speed and the amount of curve to the hole, you are actually trying to second-guess Mother Nature..Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't actually have to go through all that agonizing second-guessing, at all.How many times have you hit a putt that looked for all the world like it was bound to go in, only to see it miss by an RCH, and you stand there slack-jawed, and disappointed?Here's a little exercise to try:Go to the practice green at your favorite golf course, on a day when their aren't many people around, and find a hole close to the center of the green.Drop a ball about six feet away from the hole, then go to the direct opposite side of the hole, and do the same thing. At right angles to that, do the same thing again, making an X of four balls.Then, between those four balls, drop four more around the hole.That's a total of eight balls, all spaced equally around the hole.Now, with your handy-dandy putter, putt each ball straight toward the hole, without regard as to any break you might see.It would be nice to have a partner to retrieve your balls as you make them, so that you're not hampered by knowing that there's a ball already in the hole.But here's the key: Set yourself up, in your foot placement, so as to have your swing arc always pointed at the hole, without altering your swing. In other words, keep moving your feet until you come up with a stance that will cause your swing to always be directly at the hole.This is the stance you will always use when putting, so that you can always go to it immediately, and expect that your swing will always be oriented toward the hole.Now, using your ordinary grip, and taking the putter back only about 5 or 6 inches, putt the ball, with a smooth follow-through.This means extending your forearms toward the hole, so that after you have hit the ball, your club and your forearms make one continuous line toward the hole.Lift up slightly as you swing through the ball, so that you hit the top half of the ball, and are always hitting the ball with an upward stroke. This will give the ball forward roll, and initiate forward momentum. Plus, it will eliminate any chance of stubbing the green with the club as you swing, which totally blows the shot every time.Plus, when you hit the ball flat, you sometimes pop the ball up into the air, and it bounces, and throws it off line.Never hit and pull back. Always continue completely through the ball, toward the hole, even after you have struck the ball.This creates forward momentum, which will virtually always prevail over any break to one side or the other, provided you always keep your hands moving toward the hole.Now, because trying to guess which way the ball will break on a long putt, your goal is to always chip up as close to the hole as possible, using your sand wedge, so as to leave yourself with a makable putt - something "inside the leather," if possible, or at least within six feet.You should be able to sink any putt inside of six feet, without any problem, which means that you have just eliminated many strokes that you now lose by landing on the green, sometimes far from the hole, and taking your chances on getting down in two from wherever that might be.If you're a "bump-and-run" specialist, with a 7-iron, you have no control over how far the ball will roll, and it could very easily miss the hole and catch a down-slope on the other side, and roll completely off the green.

Club did not have a good feel and the small insert in the putter face was too small. Any mis-hit was a miss.

Head is nicely weighted. The insert is not soft and prone to scuffing. The shaft is a little longer allowing me to anchor it in my wrist for smoother repetitive stroke.

So far I am happy with the putter, the course my league plays on always seems to have really fast greens, so I bought this as a lighter putter than the mallet type that I had. This putter being lighter has made my putting softly easier and I like the alignment system, plus you can scoop up the ball with the back of the putter and save yourself from having to bend over to pick it up.

Not bad