Reader Review: Bettinardi Putters

Looking for a new line of putters for your store? With over 100 tour wins, Bettinardi offer a premium milled product that stands out amongst the crowd.

TESTER: Chris Berry
Location: Tredegar Park Golf Club
Tested: Bettinardi BB28
Price: £429
I’ve been testing the BB28. It’s a spud neck double wide Anser style with really nice soft lines.

I’m like a lot of golfers, in that I prefer the look of a classic Anser. However, I putt much better with a mallet putter. This is a nice compromise, somewhere in between the two, and it really suits my eye. It’s not heavily toe balanced and feels stable throughout the stroke. It’s a great style of putter for me, and if I was designing my own putter, it would look very close to this.

I use a Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball which is a hard golf ball. I always find it difficult to find a putter that works well with it as the ball often feels clicky. It’s even harder because I don’t like insert putters which take some of the sting out of a hard golf ball. The BB28 feels great and softens that click. With a softer ball this putter feels like an absolute dream! The face milling has a definite impact.

I have tried the putter on the Foresight GCQuad as well and it is giving me some great numbers, with a really nice end-over-end tight roll.

I love the gun metal finish; it will help reduce glare on a sunny day. You can tell by the quality of the finish, the face milling, even the paint fill, that this is a premium putter. To take it a step further, the quality of the headcover is second to none.

The Lamkin grip is superb. I really like the feel of the Fingerprint technology on the Sink fit grips. From my experience they are much longer lasting than other putter grips.

I’ve just recently started stocking Bettinardi, and I’ve brought in some of the limited-edition models. Plus, I’ve got the new Studio Stock line on the way. I just loved the idea of the limited-edition putters. The quality is incredible, but they are also a niche product that will draw some new customers into the store on word of mouth. Their use is really growing on tour as well, and Matt Fitzpatrick’s win really helped get them noticed. But even these stock models are just better made than anything else I’ve seen, plus they have good margins as well.

TESTER: Scott Anderson
Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club
Tested: Bettinardi Studio Series SS35
Price: £429
I’ve been testing the SS35. It’s like a double wide Anser style, but with mallet shaping on the heel and toe. I’d not seen the head shape prior to the limited edition Tiki model they brought out earlier this year.

I like how sharp the edges are. It sits really nicely on the green and I can use the back edge to help alignment. And it feels amazing. It’s softer which I like. I know a lot of people I fitted in the past year have picked out the Queen B for feel. Personally, I will always go for a softer putter. The modern golf ball is very firm, so this gives me a feel I much prefer.
I used a limited edition SS28 before this and I’ve still got that in the bag. I’m a sucker for an all-black finish because it frames the ball so nicely. But this is helping me align to target better so far.

I love the cosmetics of the putter, and the headcover and grip. The green and black headcover looks unbelievable! Super classy. The whole package is stylish and premium without being outlandish. In fact, my only negative is I think the headcover should have a magnetic closure. Velcro can lose its stick too easily.

I like the feel of the Lamkin grip. However, I should have gone with the larger Lamkin Sink Fit grip. These feel much more durable than the Super Stroke grips that seem to be everywhere at the moment.

When I get customers to compare a Studio Stock putter to their own, they can normally feel the difference straight away. And they understand that’s the difference between a £430 putter to a £50 one from Sports Direct. I know some people won’t spend this much on a putter. But they will happily spend it on a driver which baffles me. They will get a lot more value from a putter and play many more shots with it.

An Odyssey or a Spider are at the £300 mark now, so Bettinardi’s aren’t as expensive comparatively as they used to be. I try and fit everyone into a milled putter because I believe they offer a lot more feel and feedback. And across the range of Bettinardi putters, they offer something for everyone. From different feels and sounds to classic shapes and modern mallets.

TESTER: Richard Gregory
Location: Abbeydale Golf Club
Tested: Bettinardi Queen B11
Price: £429
I’ve been testing the Queen B11. It’s a heel-shafted classic mallet with a short neck. It is suited to an arced stroke. It reminds me a lot of a Scotty Cameron Del Mar, or even further back the TPA putters. But with the neck choice, it is unique. It’s a toe hang mallet which have become much more popular, but I can’t think of another putter on the market with this combination of head and neck. It gives a bit more stability than a blade, while swinging like one. I like the long white sightline on it, it really helps with lining putts up.

Where it really stands out is the finish. It looks so premium in-store and stands out amongst all the other models we offer. It offers a nice contrast between the ball and the club as well. Pictures don’t do the finish justice. It looks like a copper putter that hasn’t and won’t tarnish. It definitely feels softer than other Bettinardi’s. Bettinardi putter faces are always impressive, but the Mini Honeycomb on this one seems to really soften the feel. It’s noticeably softer than the BB series putter I have been using.

The putter is finished off nicely with a premium headcover. In fact, the headcover is amazing and so detailed, it looks more expensive and unique than a lot of tour headcovers. Calling out that is is Milled in the USA is nice as well, people want to know why they are paying more for a product, and that it is not mass-produced in China.

People don’t really question the price and understand milled putters are more expensive. Golfers understand why they are paying more for a fitted driver, and we will always try and fit a putter. We use Capto and spend time with the customer to help them walk away with the correct putter for them that fits their stroke.

I chose the standard grip. I like the fact that they colour match the Lamkin Sink Fit grip with the headcover. That’s the sort of detail that makes it easier for a customer to spend money on one of these putters. It’s a soft grip, but it feels durable as well.

I first started stocking Bettinardi last year. Because of supply issues, there was a limit on how many Scotty Cameron putters I could get, so I wanted another premium milled putter I could offer. I spoke to David my rep at JS International, and I brought in Bettinardi. We sold 10 of the 12 we got last season, so I’m really impressed with how it’s gone in the shop and the membership really likes them. Being a Sheffield club, Matt Fitzpatrick’s US Open win really helped create a buzz too.

I’m unsure if this will stay in the bag, however, if it doesn’t it will only be replaced by the Bettinardi I’m already using. For more information on the Bettinardi Range or to become a stockist, contact European Distributor, JS International.

Tel: 01923 209 440
Email: sales@jsint.com