Believe it or not, my first real putter was an old Scotty Cameron I bought from a friend in 1998. For eight years I tried to master that club before I finally decided it was either cursed or I was just not skilled enough to use it. Since that time I have primarily owned mallets or some version of an over-sized putter. So, when it came time to review the Rife Iconic Z, I was nervous to say the least. I was, however, determined to give a blade putter another go because, outside of the results, I love the look and the feel of them.

Knowing I was going to have to make an adjustment to a blade putter, I first took the Rife Iconic Z to the practice green for about 20 minutes, where I promptly missed about 80% of my putts. Dejected would be an understatement for my outlook. I mean, holy cow, I have to write a review for a putter that I cannot use to make Country Club gimmies.

What to do? That was my question. My plan was two-fold. First, I decided to replace the standard sized grip with a mid-slim Super Stroke grip. Secondly, I broke out my Putting Alley which I find to be a great aide to breaking in a new putter or finding your lost groove. What resulted was no short of a celebrity makeover. Overnight I was rolling putts that just a day ago I could not make to save my life.

Six weeks and about 15 rounds with the Rife Iconic Z, I now believe I am cured of the blade yips. I give a lot of credit to the super stroke grip which I think helped with my control, but the putter itself has found a place in my bag that I did not expect it to keep. I had always planned to simply review the putter and then go back to my mallet, but so far I have not been able to make the switch. The 350 mg weight seems perfect for greens that are of average speed as it allows me to have the feeling of “tossing” the head toward the hole to get the distance right on long putts. Short putts are equally straight forward where it is easy to make crisp contact that gets the ball rolling on a straight line.

Ideally, you want the ball to start rolling as quickly as possible rather than skidding, which is why Rife developed Roll Groove Technology. You will note the fairly heavy grooves on the face of the blade which creates the traction needed to minimize any skidding.

The Rife Iconic Z is made from stainless steel and comes in three finishes: sterling, phantom, and rose gold. While not super tricked up, the Iconic Z has a pleasing shape with just enough bling to set it apart from the blah putters of the world.

For me, the beauty of a classic blade putter is the simplicity. I love the sharp angles, perpendicular lines and the overall vibe I get. Sure, I like mallets and other shapes of putters, but I am always drawn to the shape that most resembles the original tools of the game.

You learn more about the Rife Iconic Z and their other putters on their website. 

Rife Two Bar Hybrid Putter Review: Ever go to a golf tournament to watch the pros warm up? Guess what, they spend most of their time on the putting green. You know why? Because it’s where they make their living. All those guys can hit the ball, but it’s the ones who are making the putts that are at the top of the leaderboard week in and week out. I remember my father-in-law’s caddy telling me that during a stretch of years when Hale Irwin was pound-for-pound the best golfer on the planet, it wasn’t his ball striking, no it was his putting.

Despite the fact that Rife has only been around since 2004, they have become one of the fastest growing putter companies in the world. They now boast 100 tour players and 40% of the putters that are used on the Champions Tour. Most recently, Matt Kuchar used a Rife putter to win the Player’s Championship and place 3rd at the Masters. So yea, Rife knows what they are doing.

For the past six weeks I have been using the Rife Two Bar putter in various conditions and I can tell you that I have been quite impressed. Believe it or not, my very first putt was a center cup 8 foot birdie putt, so suffice it to say we got off on a good start. Since that time I’ve used the Rife Two Bar Hybrid Putter for roughly 16 rounds and in some friendly putting green competitions. To date, I remain very happy with the Rife and have gotten a number of positive comments from those who have tried it. Actual comments include:

“good looking putter”

“great balance and feel”

“putts come off the face as smooth and clean as anything I’ve ever seen”

“this thing putts really true”

“this thing is so easy to line up”

It’s true, the Rife Two Bar Hybrid putter make getting your eyes over the line of the target a piece of cake with the sighting notch that’s on the top of the putter, and with their LieAline Fitting System, it is a snap to quickly adjust the putter to your height so that the lie is perfect for you.

The other piece of science behind the Rife Two Bar Putter is their Twin In-Line Moment of Inertia (MOI), which basically means they have weighted the putter so that the head resists twisting when you hit offline putts, even on noticeably off-center hits. When you consider the fact that amateurs do not hit the sweet spot every time, this is a huge advantage because it will allow your putts to hold the line even on mis-hits. In other words, it’s hard to hit a yippy putt with this putter; it’s just begging to hit dead-online.

Okay, you are getting the point right? So before we tackle the more technical features, let me just say that I love the AVS Winn Custom grip they’ve put on the club. I would go so far as to say that it is my favorite putting grip that I’ve tried. It has a great, comfortable feel that still allows plenty of sensitivity to the putter head.

Back to the specs: Another great feature of this Rife Two Bar Hybrid putter is that Rife provides interchangeable weights (conveniently stored inside the putter cover). This means you can go from 360 grams for faster greens to 345 grams for slower greens. The logic here is that most pros use different putters for different green speeds… a heavier putter for fast, and a lighter putter for slow. One thing I did notice to that end – I enjoyed the putter immensely on medium and fast greens with their weighting system. During a few rounds on extremely slow greens, I was aware that it’s hard to make a ‘wristy’ stroke, even if you want to… this putter wants you to make a nice smooth move at the ball, and so I might not be as inclined to use it if I was back in the era of the “Big Three” from Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. But thankfully, most of us don’t have to play on shag carpets like that very often, and the interchangeable weights for this putter are a big plus in my book and make the putter very versatile for different conditions.

And along with it’s sharp looks and clean manufacturing, I should mention that Rife’s patented RollGroove insert made of milled anodized aluminum has a pleasing sound on impact, but most importantly gets the ball rolling right off the putter face without skidding or hopping. Many putters contact the ball and put a bit of a knuckle-ball kind of action on the putt after initial contact, that you can only see with a slow motion camera. Unfortunately, this skid creates putts that can move offline like a knuckle-ball, and as the skid transitions to rolling, the putt can lose speed from the friction involved. The grooves on this putter physically grab the ball, and get it rolling almost instantaneously. Practically speaking, this means that people will be remarking to you, as they have to me, about how beautifully you are rolling the ball across the green (and hopefully into the hole).

True story– one of the guys I putted against asked if the insert was legal, because he couldn’t believe how smoothly the ball came off the putter face. I assured him, it is! I’m not going to lie, this putter can’t read the greens for you; however, if you can do your part, this Rife Two Bar Hybrid putter will do it’s part and then some.

So, check out the Rife line on their website  and give a look at the new finish they’re putting out in their tropical series- even more styling than before. Then give one a test on a green near you.

You can see all of the high res images in our Facebook Gallery.

2012 PGA Show:  Having just returned from my first visit to the 2012 PGA Show I am feeling a bit punch drunk. Much like a kid in a candy store, the PGA Show had so many sweets it was easy to go overboard and end up with a sugar high. So without further adieu, lets get to some of the highlights.

PGA Show Driving Range

Equipment:  Yes, all of the big boys had a huge presence at the show but for me it was a great time to learn more about some of the boutique companies. In the putter and wedge niche, I was able check out Edel, Piretti and T.P. Mills putters which are simply stunning (I only wish I had taken pictures). Newer on the scene but also impressive is a line of putters from former player Chris Carnahan who makes both wedges and putters for Carnahan Golf.  Finally, in the putter and wedge area, we visited with Rife putters and Renegar Golf, both of which I really like and look forward to taking out on the course.

While I did not make the demo day, I did get to spend some time with Stephen Boccieri of Boccieri Golf who explained his weighted club design. In short, his clubs, or separately sold grips, are weighted at the butt end to promote greater lag and hence better club speed.

Golf Shoes:  Since Ecco came out with their Fred Couples street shoes, everyone seems to be jumping on the band-wagon. While Ecco is not about to go away, new mid-sized companies will give them a challenge. For example Kikkor added about 4 more lines to their portfolio including, wait for it, a high top. TRUE Linkswear is simply exploding with new styles and even Crocs is jumping into the market. However, the most minimalist shoe I found was Barefoot BERBS which are as close to no shoes as you can get. While each brand has a unique style, consistent among them is a lower profile, closer to the ground feel. Stay tuned as we will be putting these shoes to our 18 hole test in the coming months.

Even Crocs is getting into the golf shoe game

Golf  Apparel: Although am no fashion expert, it seems like the Europeans are having an impact on the fashion industry. Bright colors were everywhere – this was no more evident than at the LoudMouth booth where everyone was decked out in the zany attire.

LoudMouth Golf PGA Booth

While not quite as colorful as LoudMouth, Ian Poulter’s collection is just as unique as you would expect from the man who seems to always be ahead of the fashion curve. As an added bonus Ian made an appearance at the booth and I can honestly say he is a super nice guy.

Ian stops by to sign a few autographs

Speaking of super nice, let me just say that just about everyone at the show was awesome, but a quick shout out to some of the folks were were particularly welcoming to Three Guys Golf Blog:

Kikkor:  Hosted an awesome night golf event.

Sligo:  Great clothing selection plus they had Brian Gay stop in for a while.

Abacus:  A Scandinavian company who will be outfitting the Euros this year.

Cross Golf USA:  Great outerwear and clothing.

Tattoo Golf:  We have already done a product review for Tattoo so it was cool to meet Bill and Greg in person.

Arnie Wear:  Can’t wait for this new line of clothes that was literally designed using real items from Arnold Palmer’s closet.

Other Stuff I liked: There was so much great stuff and hopefully we will get a chance to review much of it in greater detail, but for now this is a quick list of items that caught my attention.

Asher Golf:  Makers of creative golf gloves and part owned by the #2 long distance driver in the world Ben Tua’one.  I was lucky enough to play 9 holes of night golf with Ben and suffice it to say we used all of his drives in the captains choice except when he hit it too far and it went into a lake we did not see 325 yards out.

Jan Craig:  Wonderfully hand made head-covers.

59 Belts:  In the top 3 coolest belts I have ever seen.

Pro Mental Coach:  Computer brain training for us mental disasters. Look for a review in a couple of months when I finish my training.

Jones Bag:  Throw back to the simple days of golf when bags did not have 36 zippered pouches.

Kentwool Socks:  Saved my feet on Saturday.

Optishot:  Affordable indoor golf simulator.

Flavor Flav:  Yes, Flavor Flav was in the house with the Back 9 channel. No idea why but Matt is such a huge fan that I got him a signed hat.

Flavor Flav shouts out to Matt!