I recently tested the Bettinardi Studio Stock 15 putter. Now I am going to write a review. How’s that for an intro? Thanks.

In a nutshell, Bettinardi is a premier putter brand that has been around the Tour since 1999, earning its first major championship merits when Jim Furyk used one in winning the 2003 U.S. Open. Matt Kuchar is currently their featured Tour player, which supports my initial feeling that Bettinardi is a bit further down the road than a “boutique” putter shop. The good folks at Bettinardi might cringe when I say this, but my brain thinks of them as a smaller, slightly younger version of the Scotty Cameron thing. High-end putters, increasingly in attendance at big-box golf stores, legitimate track record.

Bettinardi currently offers 6 different series of putters – BB Series, Counterbalance Series, Queen B Series (women’s), Studio Stock Series, and Signature Series (high high-end). It’s tough for me to get a full grasp on Bettinardi’s offerings, as their website plays things pretty close to the vest. It’s a good, crisp, corporate website, I just can’t find any ‘big picture’ explanation of what each series of putters is about (is it the color that constitutes a “series”, different theories, different weights, yadda yadda). Perhaps this is by design and Bettinardi would rather their putters and their Kuchars do the talking. But still, if I was shopping online, I would have very little material to base a trigger-pull on.

I tested the Studio Stock 15, a face-balanced mallet with a simple half-oval shape. Truth be told, this is my first ‘premium’ putter ever, being a man that longed for Scotty Camerons back in the day but never had the chutzpah to drop 300 to 400 clams on a flatstick. And so it goes I’ve spent the last 15 years or so using standard putter offerings that ring up at the $120.00 mark and being perfectly happy. That’s not to say that I’ve always been happy with my putting game, but being from the old school I always had it in my mind that the putter was the one club that required very little pampering. I mean, guys were draining putts with the old two-sided Bullseye putters back when I was significantly shorter, and Nicklaus won the ’86 Masters with that piece of furniture on a stick . . . it’s clearly all about the stroke and not the club, right?

Well, like anything in golf, yes and no. I think we can all agree that putting has a lot of headgame in it, and if you can feel confident and/or excited over the ball, the stroke is going to go a lot better. And like anything in life, if you’ve got a top notch piece of equipment in your hands, you’re jacked.

At the risk of sounding more like a scientist than a blogger, since I put the Bettinardi Studio Stock 15 in my bag two months ago, I have been in a state of total jackedness. Here’s why:

Looks – This thing looks awesome, and you’re a fool if you don’t agree. I’ve always been a fan of black putters, and all of the Studio Stock models come in Corona Black (like a really dark gray). What I didn’t see coming, however, was the subtle rainbowy finish that looks like oil in a puddle of water, creating a gentle semicircle of flare on the flange. Good lord I hope that makes sense. I don’t think it does, actually, but the pictures should do it justice.

Oh, and don’t forget the whole orange theme, which, Rickie Fowler fan or not, adds a little pop to the overall vibe of the putter. One thing I must note – what you first notice about this putter’s looks is the cool design on the sole of the club (I say this with confidence, btw, because every person that picks up this club comments on the sole before anything else). But after wielding it for a few months, I must admit that this is the last thing on my mind when I think about this putter. I still think it looks cool, I just don’t care.

This is a consistent theme with me and clubs – I see other people getting all lathered up about certain aesthetic aspects of clubs and I briefly get on board with the concept, but once I start hitting them, the whole “looks” thing goes out the window. Maybe this happens to everybody but all our hot air about a club’s looks has already been released into the atmosphere. Which brings us to . . .

Performance – Put your barf bags away, I’m not about to tell you that I drain every putt I look at with this club. Your man Adam will attest to the fact that I’ve been struggling with my game-time putting for a while now, and my stroke is anything but consistent. So yes, I still miss putts with the Bettinardi. What’s different, though, is how consistently excited I am to stroke putts with this thing in hand.

The feel of the ball coming off the face of this putter is absolutely addictive. It’s like a soft version of what a milled putter usually feels like, but not wimpy soft and not like an insert at all. It’s hard to describe (obviously, given that last train wreck of a sentence), but my addiction has me logging more time on a practice green in the past two months than in my whole life prior. I’ve gone from range rat to putting green spazz, and my token collection has the Bettinardi to thank. Stream of consciousness regarding the feel – I’d say it’s definitely not a click but a smooth crunch. Gross. But awesome.

Bettinardi calls the Studio Stock 15 “one of our most forgiving models yet, with just the right amount of weight displacement towards the perimeter”. I would agree with the forgiving part, because mis-hits do tend to work out just fine, more so than with my last few putters. Sadly, when putting I miss the sweetspot at an alarming rate for a decent golfer, and with the Bettinardi I’ve been able to fool the outside world a bit more with putts that still have a legitimate roll. You can feel the negative feedback when you mis-hit a putt, and while it is not punishing, it makes you nuts that you didn’t get the sweet feeling that pure contact gives you with this sucker. Again, it’s honestly addictive. I find myself staying on the putting green for 10 minutes longer than I should (to my kids this is called “working late”) because I’m just jonesing for more of that solid contact feel. That sounds ridiculous, but what can I say – it’s true.

‘Feel’ blubbering aside, one thing I do expect from a $400 putter is that all the scientific requirements – weight, angles, twist-reduction stuff – have been met. I figure that kind of cash should at least buy you the peace of mind to know that any missed putts are the result of user error only. I do believe that Bettinardi has satisfied this requirement – the weighting of the putter allows me to feel the ‘release’ of the putter through the ball, something I struggle with at times. And quite frankly, if I were ever to shell out $400 and not feel like the technicals are up to snuff, that putter would be smashing through the front window of Headquarters in no time.

Wrapping Up – I don’t have much more to say about performance, which I fear will be frustrating to you, the reader . . . again, that’s you. It’s a well-made, 400 dollar-costing putter. It putts great. Know what I mean?

If I tried to get any more detailed than I already have, I’d be doing you a disservice. At some point it becomes about the whole package, and I believe that this putter delivers one hell of a package.*

I would assume that all of the Bettinardi lines offer the same level of quality and badassery, but again, I can’t really glean anything from their website. But judging by the Studio Stock 15 and the fact that all the other Bettinardi putters are in a similar price range, I’d guess it’s tough to go wrong. Bettinardi seems poised to fill that new gap between the Scotty Cameron space, which one could argue to be played-out, and the many boutique putter manufacturers that aren’t quite as battle tested. Feel original without the risk of owning anything less than the best. . . one way to look at it.

You can check out all the Bettinardi putters on the Bettinardi website.

* This package includes a great putter cover and a damn good grip. In fact, this grip makes me wonder if the Super Stroke thing might just be a fad – plasticky rubber in a round shape doesn’t stand a chance against an old-school solid grip like this. Why hasn’t Super Stroke stepped up the quality of materials anyway? Just askin’.

Tell me about your new driver and I’ll ooh and aah about the new paint color and the claims of another 15 yards off the tee. However, what amazes me more is how many people still have the same beat-up putter from high school or bargain basement deal found in the discount bin. Since getting the ball in the hole is where the scoring takes place, it seems like spending a bit of money on a high-quality tool is a pretty darn good idea. In the case of Bettinardi putters, they are the definition of a high-quality instrument!

Bettinardi putters are designed by Robert J. Bettinardi at his state-of-the-art facility in Chicago, IL. Putters are conceived by Bettinardi, computer designed and tested, and finally milled into shape on $350,000 metal lathes from blocks of steel. While that description may lead you the think the Bettinardi putters are generically rolling off the conveyer belt by the bushel-full, the reality is the the process is very exacting and many potential putters don’t make the grade. In fact, by the time they are finished, many putters will go through machining in 6 different lathes before they’re ready for the logo carving and the hand-painting. For my first experience with Bettinardi I was tasked to review the Bettinardi BB32 counterbalance putter which is the latest craze to sweep the putter market.

What is a Counterbalance Putter?

Counterbalance putters aren’t a brand-new idea but with the impending ban on long putters, many guys who make their living rolling the rock are looking for an alternative way to quiet the hands and guarantee a smooth, consistent stroke. As you have probably seen or experienced, belly putters connect the shaft to your core and long putters connect the shaft to your sternum to guarantee a more pendulum-like action. Fundamentally, a counterbalance putter adds weight above and below your hands on the shaft of the club to help stabilize the putter throughout the swing of the putter head. The idea of a counterbalance putter is to give the player all of the advantage of a belly or long putter and to make the transition much easier. In other words, it’s much harder to make a yippy stroke with a counter balance putter. Said another way, the goal is to make the same stroke every time when putting – to square up the putter face to the target line, to get the ball rolling quickly, smoothly and with the right speed. Counterbalance putters are by their size, weight, and center of gravity going to help that happen more easily and with less room for operator error.

The Bettinardi counter balance putter works by adding extra shaft length and a longer grip to add weight above your hand position. To offset the longer shaft, extra weight is added in the head of the putter. This moves the balance point of the putter more towards the middle of the shaft rather than closer to the putter head like conventional putters. The result is a putter that is extremely balanced and solid feeling throughout the swing. The putter I have been using is the mallet-style BB32 counterbalance putter with 38” shaft and 17” Winn grip. Since I normally putt with 33” or 34” putters, this gave me about 5” of shaft and grip above my normal hand position on the grip. The head weight of the BB32 counterbalance is 395 grams which is heavier than most conventional putters. NOTE when ordering I measured from the ground up to my stomach in my normal putting stance to make sure that the 38” shaft wouldn’t contact my body. The shafts go up to 40” so you can get the proper length.

At first glance, the putter is very eye-catching. It’s bold colors make it clear that this is an American product, and everything from the red, white and blue stitching on the white premium-leather head cover to the bold Bettinardi lettering on the red grip and in the carving on the bottom of the putter itself let you know that you have got your hands on a Bettinardi gem. It’s easy to see the care and precision in this putter right through to the hand-painted “B” on their beautiful honeycombed putter face.

I hadn’t seen a Bettinardi putter in person until this review, but was very aware that they are a tour-proven commodity. In fact, PGA Tour star Matt Kuchar even has his own line of Bettinardi putters. Additionally, Freddy Couples, JB Holmes, Bo Van Pelt, Brian Gay and Edoardo Molinari also carry a Bettinardi putter. Knowing that these guys make a living with a putter, I figure there must be something to the Bettinardi name. Kuchar uses a line of putters designed for his arm-clasp method where he holds a longer shaft against his left forearm. Brian Gay uses a traditional blade-style putter and puts with a traditional stroke. Since I putt with the Ballard method which is very core focused, I chose the counterbalance putter that closely resembles the belly putter, without actually touching your body. The counterbalance putter comes in the BB32 mallet design, the BB1 blade or the extremely high MOI BB55 design.

Since this was my first experience with a longer putter I was curious to see how I would be able to adapt to the added length. When I got to the course I instantly knew I was holding a thoroughbred. The 17” slightly-oversized Winn grip felt very comfortable in my hands and because of where the balance of the putter is, I didn’t feel the added weight of the head in a negative way. It simply felt more solid and true all the way through the swing of the stroke. As I used it through my rounds and tried the putter as a ‘Texas wedge’ from off the green, I found that by moving my hands a bit higher on the grip, it was no problem to dial in a bit more distance on my putts.

I was pretty sure the added weight of the putter would be excellent on faster greens but I was concerned that it could be more difficult to use on slower greens. In practice, I actually found that the putter is probably the best I’ve ever used on different green speeds. By slightly varying my hand position to be an inch higher on the grip and making a longer stroke, slow greens were not a problem. Precisely because of the added stability, a longer stroke was more fluid and the putter behaved beautifully.

The mallet-head in the BB32 counterbalance putter is larger than the Odyssey mallet that I have used for years, but it has a very classic look and I was instantly comfortable with its shape and feel through the ball. I have also been using a putter with an insert for years, and was curious as to how the sound would strike me with the ball coming off the metal honeycomb face. Although I first noticed a “clicky-ness,” particularly with cheaper balls, it was minimal with higher quality balls. Plus when the feel is so solid through the strike it soon was a non-issue for me.

We get to review a good number of putters at Three Guys Golf, and there are some great designs that we’ve tested. For me, it’s easy to see why this counterbalance Bettinardi is getting serious looks on Tour, and it should get serious looks from amateurs as well. After several weeks of testing, this putter is in my bag to stay, and I couldn’t be happier.

If you would like to get a Bettinardi putter, you can truly get the putter you want. Their website at Bettinardi.com is well designed and functional, and will take you through the variety of options you can get for the putter that will fit you like a glove. They had our putter out to us to test in a flash, and all the comments I’ve read that say that the folks at Bettinardi have given them excellent customer service and the same attention to detail found in the putters they make. The BB32 counterbalance putter will run you around $350, and there are signature models that can run you up to $500. I heard Bob Bettinardi say that they are expensive because that’s how they are made. They are made by skilled craftsman on top-of-the-line equipment, to the most exacting standards, in the heartland of the USA. This is a putter you can keep for life, and be proud to have in your bag. So, next time you’re trying to decide if that new $400 driver will get you that extra 5 yards over last years model, you may want to take a look at a $350 Bettinardi putter that may do you one better than that, and actually lower your score.

Check out all the Bettinardi putters on the Bettinardi website