HIGH MOI PUTTERS
They’re designed to help the wonkiest of strokes, yet even the world’s best swear by some of these
CLEVELAND TFI 2135 ELEVADO £129
www.clevelandgolf.co.uk Headweight: 370g Grip: Lamkin TFI Toe hang: Face balanced
TECH: Cleveland says 80% of golfers don’t have their eyes directly over the ball when putting. They reckon by raising the alignment aid to exactly half the size of a golf ball, they’ve created the most accurate aid ever.
WE SAY: Any MOI putter worth its salt comes with some sort of hollow body or “fanged” head design, as weight split between the fangs improves stability and forgiveness when putts are hit off-centre. The really clever bit of design, though, comes in blending those fangs into a design which isn’t distracting – and the Elevado does that in spades. It’s a really simple, straightforward matt black head with a single silver alignment stripe right at the same height as the centre of the ball. It’s a clever idea, and if you’re the type of golfer who struggles with aim, the Elevado is worth trying.
VERDICT: A very solid MOI putter and with a price tag under £130 it won’t bust the bank. Thanks to the soft insert and polymer backer it feels good, and its circular groove tech has the capability to roll putts alongside the best.
BENROSS TRIBE MDJ2 £99
www.benrossgolf.com Headweight: 370g Grip: Lamkin Sink RND 11 Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: The ‘fanged’ design increases MOI to aid stability on every stroke. Forgiveness is increased by a two-piece hollow head construction which allows the CG to be positioned accurately to encourage putts to skid less and roll sooner while also maximising stability.
WE SAY: Benross featured among our favourite putters of 2016 as they offered a decent product at an affordable price. But while last year’s Casino putters started at less than £60 a pop, 2017’s Tribe will set you back close to £100. And that’s a big increase in a year. The Tribe’s fanged head may look similar to Odyssey’s #7, which was involved in our test, but thanks to its hollow head delivering a higher pitched impact sound, performance against the premium brands was very different.
VERDICT: We understand many golfers don’t have £250 to spend on a new putter. If £100 is your top budget, the MDJ2 should be on your shortlist.
PING SIGMA G WOLVERINE T £175 FIXED SHAFT £199 ADJUSTABLE
www.ping.com Headweight: 370g Grip: Ping Pistol PP60 Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: New milled aluminium face inserts have variable depth and width grooves to deliver consistent across the face ball speed performance.
WE SAY: All manner of lines, circles and curves have promised better alignment, yet we’d say the Wolverine’s simple single stripe is one of the best we’ve ever seen. That’s because the line comes right up onto the top edge of the putter at the ball’s equator. If you draw a straight line on your ball it couldn’t be simpler to see whether your blade is set up squarely or not. Yes, the Wolverine’s head shape is wacky, but it’s exactly the shape needed to increase MOI and forgiveness.
VERDICT: Ping has obviously worked hard on the Sigma G range and the updates over previous Ping MOI putters are notable. The new PP60 flat-fronted grip is a great size and its sharp, defined edges mean you feel when the blade is square.
TAYLORMADE SPIDER TOUR RED £269
www.taylormadegolf.com Headweight: 355g Grip: Winn Medallist or AVS Mid-size Toe hang: Moderate
TECH: Teams a light, aluminium body with a heavier 304 stainless steel frame to create a very high MOI and forgiving putter.
WE SAY: If our test team had a pound for every time we’ve heard a club golfer say they want the same club a tour player uses, we wouldn’t be testing golf equipment for a living. For us the Tour Red is a prime example of the grass not being quite so green as you’d expect on the other side. There’s no doubt it is a quality putter; it feels great and rolls putts brilliantly. But the lack of an alignment line means the Tour Red’s got a look club golfers won’t be accustomed to, certainly not in an MOI mallet. There’s a short flow neck too, which tour pros are fans of as it gives a really clean appearance – but its trade-off is a decent amount of toe hang which isn’t that common in a MOI mallet, either.
VERDICT: A high-quality MOI putter that, in the right hands and matched to the right stroke, really performs. But you need to take time getting to know it before taking the plunge on one as it is so tailored to Jason Day’s eye and stroke.
EVNROLL ER7 £275
www.evnroll.com Headweight: 370g Grip: Winn Pro 1.18 Toe hang: Slight
TECH: EVNROLL putters have a new groove pattern which gives a progressive energy transfer, so putts hit off-centre roll virtually the same distance as pure hits.
WE SAY: Some will argue the ER7 is more mallet than MOI putter, but we reckon because there’s so much weight removed from inefficient areas it’s a great looking MOI design. The story behind the Evnroll’s groove pattern is what separates it, though. The grooves are wider in the centre and narrower to the toe and heel, which designer Rife says regulates energy transfer, so off-centre hits travel just as far as on centre impacts. He also reckons just like a wood face that’s not flat, off-centre putts are geared back towards your target, too.
VERDICT: We can’t say for sure those grooves gear putts back on line, but we will admit to being really impressed with how putts interacted with the face and rolled across the green. All three testers loved the head’s simplicity, the overall weight (heavier than some) and the cracking oversized Winn grip, which sits really snugly in your hands.
‘YES, THE HEAD SHAPE IS WACKY, BUT IT’S EXACTLY THE SHAPE NEEDED TO INCREASE FORGIVENESS’
ODYSSEY O-WORKS 2-BALL £199
www.odysseygolf.com Headweight: 350g Grip: Superstroke Pistol GT Tour or Superstroke Slim 2.0 (Counter Core) Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: A timeless, bestselling head design, but new finger-shaped grips on the stainless steel face plate are combined with a thermoplastic elastomer feel layer to interact with the ball at impact.
WE SAY: It’s amazing the 2-Ball is still so popular; it’s been around for years. As much as our testers loved the feel and roll delivered by the microhinge insert, the 2-Ball’s overall body design came in for some questioning. There’s no getting away from how round the head’s edges are. Combine all those curves with two huge, ballsized alignment aids on the top and that’s a lot of circles to aim squarely, particularly if you like working in straight lines. Having said that, the 2-Ball shows the path away from the ball brilliantly, and now the feedback and roll are unquestionably better than any 2-Ball putter before.
VERDICT: The new insert makes this iconic design better than ever before. For us, a straight red line across the centre of the discs on the top would raise this design up to a whole new level.
SCOTTY CAMERON NEW FUTURA 6M £335
www.titleist.co.uk Headweight: Depends on the length Grip: Matador Midsize Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: Created with a multi-material construction to ensure a total MOI performance. An aluminium sole plate and face unit deliver excellent feel and roll.
WE SAY: The 6M is one of the new 2017 Futuras and its design and extreme weighting creates what can only be described as an MOI monster. We loved the simplicity of the single black alignment line and two white stripes (at the extremities of the ball), which focus attention beautifully at address, while never distracting. We also loved the superpremium sound and feel, which our test pro said was as distinctive as the solid sound of a Rollsroyce door closing. Scotty hasn’t yet bought into face groove tech like many others, but when his putters roll as well as this we’re not sure he needs to.
VERDICT: If you’re after super-stability you’ll struggle to find better. And if you’ve found in the past that high MOI putters usually mean some wacky, far-out head shapes, the 6M is relatively simple.
BETTINARDI INOVAI 3.0 £249
www.bettinardi.com Headweight: 358g Grip: Lamkin Deep Etched Toe hang: Slight
TECH: A lightweight aluminium face is fused with a heavier stainless steel sole to deliver extreme perimeter weighting, which Bettinardi reckons promotes a stable stroke and larger sweetspot.
WE SAY: If ever there was a putter to split the opinion of our test team, this is it. It’s important to make it clear, though, that we thought feel from the Inovai’s grooved face was outstanding. No, our arguments centred over the cosmetics. Big, wide, bold black and white alignment lines and a two-tone silver and black head weren’t as sleek as some and won’t be to everyone’s liking. But if we’re honest they’re much more common and readily accepted when talking MOI putters.
VERDICT: If you’re after a top, milled MOI putter, the Inovai won’t let you down and because it’s available in centre-shafted and counter-balanced designs there’s an option to suit everyone.
ODYSSEY O-WORKS TANK #7 £179
www.odysseygolf.com Headweight: 375g Grip: Superstroke Tank Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: Counterbalanced design. New finger-shaped grips on the stainless steel face plate combine with a thermoplastic elastomer feel layer to lift the ball into a better roll.
WE SAY: We doff our cap to Odyssey – they never feel the need to go back to the drawing board, reinventing models every year, as they’ve got a ton of tour-proven designs that work. Instead, each time they develop new tech it’s incorporated into their most popular models. We’ve loved the #7 before and our feelings haven’t changed; it’s a very solid MOI design, and with the Tank version having a larger head and being 25g heavier than the standard model, it’s capable of ironing out the wonkiest of strokes.
VERDICT: It’s a cracking head shape; the Versa alignment system is enhanced by some simple red highlights; and there’s a brand new insert, which feels amazing and rolls putts super smoothly. A lot of putter for £179!
WILSON STAFF THE BEAN FROM £95
www.wilson.com Headweight: 365g Grip: Wilson Infinite Toe hang: Face Balanced
TECH: A large flanged mallet with extra weight in both the head and grip to create a counter-balanced model. A double milled face ensures precision.
WE SAY: It could be argued the Bean is more mallet than MOI putter, but because it has a particularly big, wide head and benefits from a substantial amount of counterweighting, we reckon it weighs in as a decent MOI option. There are more alignment lines on the head than you can shake a stick at, which some will say is distracting. Our three testers were two thirds in favour of the lines, saying they’d want any help they can get. The facebalanced Bean is well suited to straighter strokes and its oversized grip, decent counterbalancing and reasonable price makes it a sound option.
VERDICT: The head is cast and then its face is milled, which is a very different construction to some of the 100% milled putters in this test. But it doesn’t mean the Bean lacked feel or roll performance; it didn’t. If you’re openminded regarding brand and factor in the £95 price tag, this is a solid option.
‘THE LARGER, HEAVIER HEAD IS CAPABLE OF IRONING OUT THE WONKIEST OF STROKES’