Luckily for me last week I took the Nike Method Putter for a spin, alas not a brilliant deduction into the way the mind of the Worlds #1 works but it is the same putter the Stuart Cink used to win the exact same competition this time last year. So below is a quick golf club review on the Nike Method Putter.

When you choose your putter it should be the club that you are most comfortable with in your entire bag. Lets face it most of us play nearly 40% of all our shots with a putter but we spend more money on our drivers and irons. When you look at the number of putters that are available the sheer multitude of what is available can be a little daunting but when it comes to precision my personal opinion is that a putter where you can put the shaft of the club over the top of the ball and the blade of the putter behind the ball gives the cleanest strike. The Nike Method 001 Putter pretty much offers all of that and of course being from the swoosh a little more.

The sales bumph on the Method Putter range is immense especially as there are five versions of the club to meet the needs of any golfer. As my personal preference is the design inventively named the Nike Method 001 that was the one I took for a few hours on the practice green and then 18 holes.

Nike are using the fact that they have two (three if you now include Tiger Woods) big winners on the US PGA Tour as a major player in their advertising and it isn’t much of a shock to be honest. Looking back at the way Stuart Cink was putting at last years British Open, especially that putt on the 18th to get the play off with the ageless Tom Watson, there had to be something to it and Cink openly talks about how the putter improved his game.

Nike have done a good job of curing one of my major ills on the green, the addition of the “Polymetal Grooves” mean there is a greatly reduced skip of the ball as it leaves the club face. This removes the skip as teh ball is struck and takes away the skidding as the ball rolls true along the green. The benefit of this is that the roll along the green is now as you read it, where before the skip and skid would cause a discrepancy in even the most experienced of golfers putts.

So after having this club with me on the practice green for a little longer than normal and taking the advice of the club pro on a few things, I started to get to grips with the Nike Method Putter. Normally I wouldn’t take the advice of the club pro before going out on the course but I was having a few issues with my putting with this club, I was going 3 feet long on pretty much every putt and it wasn’t because I was putting badly. The reason I was hitting long was because of the reduction in the skip and skid, because the ball was rolling straight off of the club face I didn’t need to hit the ball quite as hard to get a smooth roll.

Overall this caused me a few issues out on the course and I would say that the club would need a few more hours (well quite a lot actually) for me to get used to over my beloved Scotty Cameron but having said that I do see a massive benefit in getting a true roll on the ball in the way that the Nike Method 001 Putter does. I was struggling with putts between 6 to 10 feet but it would seem that the advantage I had with this club was at the greater distances and my putting nemesis the uphill putting!

Uphill especially I was hitting either into the cup or much closer than I normally would, meaning I was finding it a lot easier to make less mistakes on the green! Would I recommend this putter for a higher handicap golfer? Many of the clubs I review I think they are designed with the tour pro in mind and not the average Joe looking to enjoy his game, when testing this for this golf club review I had with me my long suffering buddy who also used the putter and he managed to drop from his average of 34 putts in that round to 29.

Now before this became Tiger Woods new putter I was already convinced about this being a fantastic club but I guess with the endorsement of the worlds best golfer and the benefits to all levels of golfer, adding to that the huge amount of increase in accuracy and control on slower greens, this is a great leap forward in technology as well as club development.

The price tag is a little expensive but again as previously mentioned if you are going to be using this more than any other club in your bag it is worth shelling out for the extra control. Oh yeah one more thing I love the grip on this club! Seriously comfortable to grip and even after a number of hours on the practice green I was still happy to continue.

Nike Method 001 Putter
		$127.00
Nike Method Putter
		$249.99
NIKE Method Putter

The first noticeable thing with this putter is the two white circles on the back of the club, followed by the weight. I use a blade putter which is quite literally the blade and a little weight behind it, due to the size of the head it is much heavier than the old style putters.

Now I have been trying out a few different putters in the past few weeks and I have to say that I am starting to like the style of putter where the shaft is in the center of the club face, the reason for this is it means you are in total control of the contact with the ball. However the unique weight distribution brings this putter in a close second, its not my favorite putter but it is a good putter and I can see why the higher handicap golfer would use it.

Sales Bumph Below:

ODYSSEY White Steel 2 Ball Odyssey s latest introduction of White Steel continues to push the envelope of insert technology. The White Steel 2-Ball utilizes a brand-new technology called Dual Insert Technology – a milled stainless steel insert suspended within the tour-proven White Hot insert. White Hot face insert technology is a resilient urethane that produces a softer, more pleasing feel and the maximum distance control . The patented 2-disc alignment system atop the putter head makes lining up simple and accurate . An improved highlighted alignment stripe on the top of the putter gives you the ability to square the putter to the target by helping you focus your eyes on the center of the clubface. An extended mallet design produces a lower, deeper center of gravity that s far away from the face to reduce backspin at impact. Get the best of both worlds with Dual Insert Technology — the soft, responsive feel of insert technology with the sound and precision of milled stainless steel. Includes putter cover Two-year warranty

All in all a great putter and one that would do anyone who is looking to improve their putting averages and reduce their scores, as previously mentioned not the best I have ever tried but its still a top club that I would recommend.

Well as this morning was my putting practice morning where I go through a number of drills to ensure my routine and line are correct, I decided to raid the pro shop again and give the Scotty Cameron Red X2 a run around the putting green.

A little bit of history about Scotty Cameron Putters, Tiger Woods as we said has it as the only non Nike brand club in his bag, When it was first released the Red X2 was taken up by 9 PGA tour pro’s straight away and in the Masters for the year of release it boasted being in the bag of six players.

Now my trip to the putting green with the Red X2 was quite eventful and I can see why so many tour pro’s would take this putter on without much use. It is a good comfortable weight and the overall feel of the club is one that feels very fluid and gives a confident strike to every putt.

What makes the Scotty Cameron Putters so good? Well the Red X2 comes with three dots which when hidden by the shaft of the club means you are in prime position and you will get the best performance from your putter. The other thing which I liked a lot is that the shaft of the club is directly in line with your ball when you strike it, this means if your club motion is correct then your putting will be very straight.

Sales bumph below:

SCOTTY CAMERON PREOWNED Cameron Red X / X2 putter Good Condition Scotty Cameron Red X Putter The Red X started out as a concept putter, code named Cabriolet during the initial design, and then introduced to the PGA Tour in 2004. Several Tour players immediately accepted the Red X. It averaged a count of 9 in play during most tournaments and 6 in the bag at the Masters. Most new putters take months to get in play, and usually start with one or two, slowly working up to more. The putter is developing a strong following among touring professionals and amateur players alike. What makes the Red X special is that it s the best of all worlds. It has a stainless steel body, unlike traditional aluminum, and has a stainless steel insert with an elastomer membrane behind and around the insert for great sound and feel. The sole of the design is aluminum to position the weight in the optimal position. Even the inside of the body is precision-milled to keep weight in certain positions and remove it from others. The result is a putter that sounds, feels, and performs optimally, with weighting where it is needed most, back-center and at the equator of the ball. It has 1/4 toe hang for ideal toe flow and a single bend shaft that inspires confidence at address. Scotty could get the perfect shaft bend because of the bore angle where the shaft enters the head. Many prototypes were produced to find the best angle that would create a shaft bend which is sleek and effective. The Red X is a high tech design that performs. The shape of the Red X is clean and simple with a design that has a finished look to frame the ball at address, and a sight line at the true sweet spot. The finish is a light mist to knock down any glare. A red baby-T grip, and a newly designed Red X head cover and shaft band round out the look.

I like the Red X2 it has a good feel and was instantly comfortable without much practice could easily replace my Odyssey putter in the next few months as I go through the process of changing my clubs. So Scotty Cameron Putters get the thumbs up from me!

Golf putters can also be classified into different types based on the material used in their face and the design of the face. Metal faces putters have a metal face and typically this is made of steel on contrast to olden days when bronze, titanium and similar metals were used. Metal faced golf putters are strong and heavy and hence they are greatly helpful in smooth putting. The major advantage offered by metal faced type of putters is the noise feedback that helps in locating where the center of the putter is hitting the golf ball. Insert faced putters are similar to metal face putters but this type of golf putters have a no metal insert that helps in smoother strokes and offer greater forgiveness. Further this type of golf putters can allow the distribution of weight across the toe of the putter assisting in cleaner strokes. Groove faced putters are another type of golf putters in this category and they are metal faced or insert faced but they have grooves on their face. The use of the grooves is that the back spinning effect on the golf ball is reduced and the ball does not skid away as with a smooth putting face.

Golf putters can also be classified into various types depending on the shaft and the hosel. The hosel is the place where the shaft meets the head of the putter and putters could be classified into heel shafted, center shafted and offset putters based on the hosel location. Center shafted putters are helpful in driving the ball straight while heel shafted putters provide a better drive.

Apart from this golf putters are classified into different types based on the length of the shaft – classic, belly button and broom handled. A classic type of golf putter has a length of 33-36 inches and it facilitates oscillatory movements. A belly button golf putter is 41-46 inches long and it helps in the extra grip due to the third point of contact at the belly button. The long handled type of golf putters are the most rarely used and they have shafts ranging from 48-52 inches and are used only by pros for highly sensitive strokes.

Ultimately the type of golf putter used depends on the individual playing type and preferences as with most other golf equipments.