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Putter
Test Results: 2006
New
Testing Methodology for Putters
At the end of 2005 GolfTest USA partnered with
Golf Illustrated, one of the top national golf publications,
to provide them with the results of our standard golf equipment
testing that we conduct on an ongoing basis. Golf Illustrated
has agreed to publish a feature article in each issue highlighting
many of the new clubs that have been introduced. In the
process of explaining our testing process to GI they asked
if we could expand the criteria we have the testers evaluate.
We agreed and there are now 10 criteria that the testers
evaluate. There is also an additional rating we list in
the last column which is the combined "AVERAGE" of the first
10 criteria. We feel this "AVERAGE" gives golfers a good
indication of which clubs performed the best across all
the criteria.
We pick test golfers with varying skill levels based on
what the manufacturer recommends that each club is best
suited to. Some clubs are designed for low handicap golfers
and some clubs are referred to as game improvement clubs
and are designed for mid to high handicap golfers
When testing putters we use two testing formats. The first
evaluation format is done by GolfTest USA Test Administrators
in which we rate how many putts are made and on average
how close are the putts that are not holed. In the second
evaluation format GolfTest USA has each tester rate 10 criteria
on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best. Each tester made
three putts each from three stations on the practice green:
7 foot straight putt, 14 foot, left to right breaking putt
and 20 feet, right to left breaking putt.
On
a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being best) they rated each
of these criteria.
Distance Control: Each tester rated how much distance
control they felt they had.
Alignment: Testers was asked to rate the
alignment characteristics of the putter.
Accuracy: Testers rated how accurate each
putter was.
Forgiveness: Testers rated how forgiving
the putter was.
Sound: Each tester rated how they liked
the sound of each putter.
Appearance: Testers rated the appearance
of the putter.
Feel: Testers rated the feel of the putter
during the putting stroke.
Design: Testers rated the design features
of the putter.
Recommend to others: How strongly would
they recommend each putter to friends or other golfers.
Overall Rating: The testers took into consideration
what is important to them in a putter and gave it an overall
rating. (This is not an average of the other criteria).
Overall Average: A final category was added
at the request of Golf Illustrated which is the average
of the 10 criteria rated by the testers. We feel this average
helps to give golfers an indication of how each putter performed
taking into account all of the criteria in the test.
Why
are the test results the way they are? Click
here to find out!
Let us
know if there are other putters you would like us to test
and we will contact the manufacturers and see if they will
participate in our next testing cycle. requestatest@golftestusa.com.
 Based
on the testing completed to date we have determined that
any club that has an "AVERAGE" score 7.7 or better based
on our scoring system is awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence" award. Being awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence" indicates a golf product has been tested
and reviewed by our staff of golf testers and has been judged
to be of superior quality, value and performance. Golfers
who purchase any of these clubs can feel confident they
will be obtaining a quality golf product.
Click on each column head to sort ratings by that criteria.
| Putters |
Distance Control |
Alignment |
Accuracy |
Forgiveness |
Sound |
Appearance |
Feel |
Design |
Recommend |
Overall |
Average |
| Nike OZ Black T100 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.5 |
| Kramski HPP 325 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.5 |
| Ping CRAZ-E G5i | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.4 |
| Yes! Victoria II | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 8.4 |
| Rife Two Bar Blade | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Wilson Kirk Currie III | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Rife Two Bar | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
| Mitchell BC330 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.1 |
| Optix MIR-1 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Nickent Pipe | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Daito Genesis | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Aserta Eclipse | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Yes! Olivia | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Dead Straight Middleweight | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Aserta Monster | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Mentor Sports V-MOI Duet | 8.3 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Kane Klassics Blade Bamboo Insert | 8.1 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Fisher Talon Series TS2 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| Carbite Tri-Weight | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| Odyssey Tri-Ball SRT | 8.0 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Daito Stealth | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.8 |
| Louisville Stimp | 8.0 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 7. | 7.6 | 7.8 |
| Gaim G360 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.8 |
| PinFire Eagle-DB | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.7 |
| Founders Club B-2 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| Kane Klassics Bamboo | 7.6 | 7.1 | 7. | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Dead Straight SharpShooter | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
Over
several years of testing GolfTest USA has determined that
when subjective and objective ratings from our Test Administrators
and the golfers taking the test are combined the overall
rating is a very accurate indication of the actual performance
of any particular golf product. There is only a small difference
in the ratings yet even a couple of percentage points difference
from one club to another is significant enough to indicate
a club that performs at a superior level to other clubs.
Go to
our manufacturer's links
page to get more information about these putters.
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