Congratulations to Christopher Chin of NY, the winner of the Cleveland Golf T-Frame Mallet Putter!

Sandbox8.com and Cleveland Golf have teamed up to give away the new Cleveland Golf T-Frame Mallet Putter to one lucky reader.

Cleveland Golf T-Frame Mallet Putter

Cleveland® Golf introduced the new Cleveland® Golf T-Frame™ Mallet putter, engineered by Never Compromise® at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show. With over 70 grams of weight redistributed to the rear of the putter, the T-Frame™ Mallet is engineered with high MOI, which increases forgiveness on off-center hits.

Available in both RH and LH models, the T-Frame™ Mallet incorporates a dominant “T” feature which facilitates proper alignment. Designed from 17-4 Stainless Steel, the precision milled face provides a soft yet solid feel. The satin polish minimizes glare and provides a long-lasting finish. The T-Frame™ Mallet putter, which carries a street price of $119, is offered with three different lie angle options (68°/ 70°/ 72°) and features a unique head cover which includes a silver dollar-sized ball marker.

Prize: (1) Cleveland Golf T-Frame Mallet Putter  (70* Lie, 3* Loft, Right Handed, 35″) will be awarded to a randomly selected contestant.

All entries must be recieved by Noon PST on April 29th,  2010!

Contest Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.
All winners must be 18 years of age or older.
Eligibility is limited to residents of the United States.
Only One Email Entry Per Household Daily.
Read full contest rules.

Sorry the Contest is over!

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Good Luck!

Scotty Cameron is known for making some of the best putters on the market today and when I got the opportunity to try out the new Studio Select Kombi mallet putter, I was really curious to see what all the hype is about. A putter is just a putter? Right?

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Look and Feel
The Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi is part technical, three-point-weighted mallet and part free-flowing, melt-into-the-ground putting machine with its smooth curves and sleek styling. The Kombi has a futuristic look and feel, that the most discerning golfer would appreciate. The player-preferred shape milled from 6061 aircraft aluminum flows into the ground from the topline to the rear, and when you address the ball. The sole of the putter has three stainless steel sole weights that give the putter head the proper weight. This combination of of weight and aesthetics work in harmony to create a mallet putter with amazing balance and form.

The topline features a high-contrast T-shaped sightline which reduces visual thickness and makes face alignment very easy. I found myself marveling at superior craftsmanship and beginning to understand why people love Scotty Cameron putters so much. Additionally, the Kombi has a clean, double-bend stepless shaft with full offset for an unobstructed view at address, coupled with a red Scotty Cameron Golf Pride cord grip.

Performance
The Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi features a three point weighting system that lowers the center of gravity deep into the rear of the putter to stabilize the face throughout the stroke for a great roll, forgiveness on off-center hits, and superior sound and feel. I found the Kombi to be extremely responsive, you knew immeadiately if your putt was hit poorly. The ball would roll straight and effortlessly across the green when struck on the sweet spot of the milled 6061 aircraft aluminum face. I was simply amazed at the responsiveness and sound of the Kombi. You’ll definitely be able to tell a properly struck putt from a poorly struck putt not just by how your ball responds but by the amount of feel.  A well struck putt will feel effortless and buttery like, while a poorly hit putt will not feel nearly as good and more dull like.

Does it mean your putts will go straight even if the putter face is not square at impact? No. On putts where I didn’t square the face at impact, the ball would still roll smoothly and my misses were not as bad due to the low center of gravity. You have to understand that all the technology in the world is not going to correct bad putting mechanics. Technology can only do so much.

The Studio Select weighting system allows the weight of the putter head to be perfectly matched with the player’s preferred shaft length by have the heel and toe circular weight adjusted at the factory. Only on the Kombi can you adjust the third weight on the rear of the Kombi can be adjusted at the factory as well. This is great for players who are looking to tweak the Kombi’s setup, but I was perfectly content with the stock factory setup.

The topline on the Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi is t-shaped and uses a high contrast red sightliness to make aligning the face so easy and effortless. I thought the high contrast red color of the sight lines would be a distraction, but I found it to be more helpful on both short and long putts. I also really liked the how the sight line along the rear edge of the misted topline reduces visual thickness of the Kombi.

Advanced technology and superior craftsmanship give the Kombi the performance attributes you expect from a Scotty Cameron putter. I now understand why Tiger Woods hasn’t stopped using a Scotty Cameron putter. The Studio Select Kombi is no exception.

If you haven’t tried a Scotty Cameron Putter or your looking for a new mallet putter, you need to checkout the Studio Select Kombi.

The Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi™ putters are avaialable in Standard (33″, 34″ (model tested), 35″), Mid (42″, 43″, 44″) and Long (48″, 50″)

Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi retails for $299

Over the last couple of years I’ve discovered that reading the greens is just as important as the mechanics of your putting stroke. But one area that I’ve been looking to improve on is my alignment of the putter face. It’s really easy when your looking at the hole straight on, but the minute your setup over the ball to putt, everything looks completely different. You then start to question, if the putter is aligned at the hole and if you’ll hit the sweet spot of the putter, etc. Sweet Spot Golf has introduced a series of putters for men called the AX and Pink line for women, to help with aligning your putts and finding the sweet spot of the ball.

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Look and Feel
The unique triangle shape of the mallet style Sweet Spot AX and Pink Putters, is designed to help you with aligning the putter and finding the sweet spot of the ball indicated by the diamond on the crown of the putter. Behind the sweet spot diamond you’ll find the Performance Positioning System(PPS) which are arrows that are designed to help with aiming and aligning your putts. Both the AX and the Sweet Spot Pink putter’s feature a 4 inch wide face (which is the exact width of the green’s cup) and heal and toe perimeter weighting promoting a high MOI by dispersing the weight from away fro the center of the putter. 

The face on the AX is milled, while on the Sweet Spot Golf Pink putter features a polymer insert in pink. Both the AX and Pink putters are available in milled or polymer insert, if you prefer one over the stock setup. The black (body) and red (sweet spot diamond and PPS) color scheme of the Scratch Red AX give the putter a very stealthy appearance, that you don’t normally see in putters. If you don’t like this color scheme, the Ax is also available in Ript Blue, Krushd Grape, and Earl Gray.

The women’s Pink putter features a white body with pink sweet spot diamond, pink PPS, pink polymer face, and black and pink custom Winn grip . The reason for the white and pink color scheme isn’t because Sweet Spot Golf is trying to stereotype women’s golf equipment, it because Sweet Spot Golf is a proud sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. When you purchase this putter or any of their clubs in Pink line, Sweet Spot Golf will make a donation to help fight breast cancer. 

Performance
Both the AX and Pink putters weigh 362 grams, which is designed to help you make that smooth pendulum stroke with your upper body and not your hands.The weight of the putter does contribute to its high MOI, because of the heel and toe perimeter weighting that help with preventing the face from twisting and keeping your putts on line. During my tests of the AX, I didn’t find the head weight to make a significant difference in my putting stroke or keep the face straight at impact, like the Heavy Putter I recently reviewed. 

The 3-degree’s of loft of the AX and Pink putters is designed to roll the ball pure to the hole, with little skipping or jumping of the ball. Most of the putts I rolled with the AX seemed to roll very pure and straight on a consistent basis, with little or no wobbling. Part of the top spin imparted on the ball is contributed to the high center of gravity of both the AX and Pink putters.

Aligning the putter face and the sweet spot of the ball with the putter could not be any easier with the AX and Pink putters. The sweet spot diamond and alignment arrows of the PPS, made lining up my putts really easy at address. I was able to make adjustments with ease and stop second guessing if my putter was aligned at the hole. I found this extremely helpful in the 3-5 foot range of putts and also on the longer 10+ foot putts. This in my opinion is where the Sweet Spot AX and Pink putters excel.

The one area where I felt that the AX was lacking in, is feel and responsiveness. For me putting is all about feel, and without it’s hard to tell if you hit the putt well or missed the sweet spot of the ball. No matter what type of putt I made with the AX, I always got the same ping sound of the ball hitting the putter face.  I think part of the problem is the steel material the AX is constructed out of that give it very little feel and responsiveness that I’ve come to expect in  putters with or without an elastomer insert. This made it difficult at times to judge how well or poorly I struck the ball and distance control.

As mentioned before the women’s Pink putter does feature a polymer insert, that my wife did find to be very responsive. My wife did note that she had  to get used to the ping sound the Pink putter would make. Overall, she did notice her putting improve by using the Sweet Spot Pink putter, compared to her blade putter. 

The other drawback of the AX is its $149 price tag, which is pricey in my opinion for this type of putter. In this price range I would expect the putter to have some sort of insert for feel and responsiveness. The women’s Sweet Spot Pink putter also retails for $149, but Sweet Spot Golf will make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. So, the price for the women’s version is easier to accept, because you know that part of the proceeds is going to a good cause.

Overall, the Sweet Spot Golf AX is a great putter for helping you align your putts, but could use some improvements by milling the face of the putter out of a softer material or adding an insert to make it more responsive. If your looking for a putter to help you with aim and alignment, you might want to look into the Sweet Spot Golf AX or Pink putters.

Sweet Spot Golf AX and Pink Putter Retails for $149

For quite sometime now you could adjust the location of the  center of gravity of your driver by moving the weight to the toe or heel of the club, making it easier for you to hit that draw or fade. Now you can enjoy the same kind of customization with the new line of Ping putters called the iWi Series (Interchangeable Weight Inserts), that puts customization in your hands. 

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Look and Feel
The new iWi Series Craz-E putter is a face balanced mallet putter constructed of cast 17-4 stainless steel body, with a head weight of 370 grams. The  Craz-E putter also features a two-piece stainless steel face insert with an elastomer backing, which according to Ping “provide steel-face performance and response with a softer feel.” All the putters in the iWi line come with a standard two 12-gram stainless steel sole weights, but they can be swapped out with the optional (sold separately) weight kit with two 20-gram or two 28-gram tungsten weights included in the kit, which can give you up to nine possible weight combinations.

The raised Optigraphic aligment system which is outlined in with two yellow lines and one white alignment stripe, making it very easy to line up your putts. The non-glare champagne finish on the putter head, give the Craz-E a traditional appearance that you expect from Ping, while the yellow and black Winn grip reminded me a lot like a bumble bee. No need to worry, you can always order a different grip if you don’t like the stock offering.

Performance
I was really excited to try out the Ping iWi Craz-E because I wanted to see if I the two piece stainless steel face insert with the elastomer backing, could really provide a softer and responsive face. When I went to line up my first putt of about 10 feet, I immediately noticed how easy it was to line up the putt with the raised Optigraphic alignment system. And on subsequent putts of varying lengths, the alignment system worked incredibly well.

The feel of the Ping iWi Craz-E putter was surprisingly soft and very responsive. I couldn’t believe how responsive the two-piece steel/elastomer insert performed on my putts. The ball would role true and smooth every time with every putt I attempted with the Craz-E putter. I have to admit, I was bit skeptical that a dual insert could be so responsive. 

Another key feature of the Ping iWi Series of putters is the ability to change out standard 12 gram stainless steel weights with the optional weight kit. The iWi Series of putters have high MOI, because the weights are located on the heel and toe the putter, by being to adjust the weight distribution you can change the feel of putter. The weight kit allows you to switch out the standard 12-gram weights, with two 20-gram or two 28-gram tungsten weights, which increase the headweight by 16 grams or 32 grams. Changing out the weights is very easy to do, just use the included wrench to unscrew and replace the weights.

During my tests I used the 12-gram inserts the most, but when I started noticing that I was missing too many putts to the right, I simply swapped out the 12-gram weight with a 20-gram tungsten insert on the toe of putter to keep the face square. 

The only drawback with the Ping iWi Craz-E putter, is the fact that the weight kit is sold separately for $70. I think that the weight kit should be included in the price of the putter and not as a separate accessory. 

Overall, the Ping iWi Craz-E putter is great mallet putter that provides great feel with a stainless steel/elastomer face insert, easy to aim alignment system, and on the fly customization with the optional iWi weight kit. 

Ping iWi Craz-E Putter retails for $200; Optional Weight Kit $70

Heavy Putter’s are known for being heavy for a reason. It’s to help golfers take advantage of the laws of physics to help improve your putting stroke. The new Matte Series from Heavy Putter was developed as an alternative to the Original Series. The concept behind the Matte Series was to develop a putter with limited non-reflective surfaces. Heavy Putter received a lot of feedback from Tour players to design a putter that would eliminate the possibility of a glare, which could cause them to lose concentration. 

 
Look and Feel
A CNC milled putter casted from 303 Stainless Steel with a non-reflective gray matte finish and a True Temper satin shaft. This is a mallet putter that is face balanced and has an Aluminum Plumber’s Neck hosel configuration with a full shaft of off-set. The head weighs 475 grams which is comprised of a 430 gram head with two stainless steel tip weights of 22.5 grams each pre-installed. The tip weight kit contains two copper-tungsten weights of 35 grams each, and two aluminum weights of 10 grams each, raises or lowers the head weight by 25 grams (up to 500g or down to 450). Couple that with a 250 gram weight in the grip end of the shaft that creates a balance point that is 75% higher up the shaft than a conventional putter. The overall weight is 900 grams. This putter comes with a new WINN custom green and grey designed grip with a mid-sized under-listing for a slightly larger and firmer feel.The minute you pick up the Heavy Putter B2-M, you immediately understand why they chose the name Heavy Putter. Part of the unique design is to take advantage of the laws of physics to create a putter that will naturally improve your stroke.

Performance
We all know that one of the keys to a good pendulum putting stroke is an even tempo and maintaining your shaft/arm relationship throughout the stroke. Any wrist breakdown during your stroke will result in a putting stroke that is in no longer a pendulum motion. The Heavy Putter Matte Series B2-M is packed with a lot of innovative technology that will help you in developing a more consistent pendulum putting stroke and hopefully result in lower scores. The heavy mass of the B2-M putter helps promote a pendulum stroke with a consistent path and slower even tempo. With the total weight of the putter weighing 900 grams, you’ll find that your putting stroke is much slower and gives you more control, especially on fast greens. It took a little bit of getting used to the weight of the B2-M putter, but you can always adjust the weight with supplied weight kit to suit your needs. The other weight feature that’s not visible, is the Weight Management System (WMS) in the grip end of the shaft. A 250 gram counter weight raises the center of gravity of the putter and promotes the use of the larger muscles in your upper body. You can be fairly certain that you have a hard time having your wrists breakdown while attempting a putt, due to the WMS.

The center of gravity on conventional putters are normally lower in the club and closer to the putting head, which can sometimes cause you to use your hands and wrists. And we know that using your hands and wrists can ruin your putt and kill any pendulum stroke.  So Heavy Putter, moved the center of gravity higher up the club to take the hit out of the stroke and reduce the amount of force on your wrists and hands. This allows your wrists and hands to remain passive throughout your stroke. Another key feature of a higher center of gravity in the putter is that it reduces the distance between your core center of gravity for a more balanced and stable putting stroke. I can’t say that I was able to notice a difference in terms of my body being more balanced and stable during my putting stroke, but I can tell you that I felt like I was using more of shoulders in my putting stroke. 

If you own a Heavy Putter you know that all of their putters are face balanced and that hasn’t changed with the Matte Series either. The advantages of having a face balanced putter are a larger sweet spot, more forgiveness, and produce better feel at impact. I did find the B2-M to be very forgiving, even on miss hit puts. The one area which I thought was lacking was the amount of feel. I never felt the B2-M to be very responsive at impact when putting, like I’m used to with polymer insert faced putters. The new deep face design of the B2-M putter produces a higher center of gravity which aligns better with the equator of the golf ball. The result is a golf ball that rolls better and has a consistent transfer of energy at impact improving your distance and control. The golf ball would roll quite true during my tests and I really liked how easily it was to get the ball rolling, especially on long lag putts, this is where the deep face design and heavy mass of the putter head shine. 

The Channel Alignment System of the B2-M putter creates a visual track to the target, making it easier to square the face at impact. I found it to be a little difficult to align my longer 10 feet and longer putts with the Channel Alignment System, because there is no alignment stripe. Instead it consists of a semicircle behind the face and a full circle for a 2 ball design. As it turns out there is a reason for the semicircle behind the face of the putter, and it’s called Surround Sight. Surround Sight is the semicircle cutout, which encourages better sweet spot contact with the golf ball. How you do this is by visualizing hitting the golf ball in the cup/semicircle when you impact the golf ball. If you hit the golf ball in the sweet spot your going to have a ball that will roll very smoothly. I found it to be a lot easier to see if you hit the ball in the sweet spot, then if you only had the typical alignment/aim line on your putter.

Overall, the Heavy Putter Matt Series B2-M is packed with a ton of unique design features, that will definitely help with promoting a more natural pendulum stroke. 

The Heavy Putter Matte Series B2-M retails for $199.95 http://www.heavyputter.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=32

Can a C-Groove putter truly improve your golf game? That is a claim that Yes! Golf makes about all its putters and I wanted to find out if the Yes! Sandy putter lives up to the hype of making the golf ball roll sooner, straighter, and more consistently.

Look and Feel
Over the past month or so I’ve been testing out the Yes! Sandy putter, one of its new compact mallet designed putters, featuring a double delta back for quick alignment and high MOI. The face balanced Sandy putter is a nice compact size with a head weight of 355 grams, made from one-piece cast construction with chrome-plated 304 steel, and blast finish. The C-Grooves and sole of the putter are a nice bright chrome that contrast nicely against the champagne finish. The classic cavity-back design, squared off shape, and double bend shaft of the putter make it quite easy to align your putts.

Performance
I often wondered why my putts would skip before they started rolling smoothly, I used to chalk it up to a not properly struck putt or bumpy green. It turns out that traditional putters cause the golf ball to skip, skid, and backspin before the ball can begin rolling forward. So the golf ball is more greatly affected by minor imperfections in the green and results in missed putts, even on perfectly struck putts. That’s why the C-Groove on every Yes! putter solves this problem.

How does C-Groove work?
The C-Grooves on Sandy putter lift the back of the ball and get the ball smoothly rolling forward more quickly (within the 3″-4″) than traditional putters (14″-18″). The secret is the 20-degree upward slant of the C-Groove’s concentric edges. Upon contact, these edges grip the ball surface and apply physical forces that lift the ball out of its resting position and impart and over-the-top rolling motion. The result is less deflection, straighter lines, and more sunk putts. Yes! Golf has done a lot of research and independent testing on the C-Groove technology and even submitted a paper to the World Scientific Congress of Golf to prove that C-Grooves do work better, than traditional putter faces. Perhaps the best endorsement is the fact that over 200 touring pros now use Yes! putters, without receiving any endorsement dollars.

During my tests of the putter, I did notice that my putts did roll very effortlessly across the green and without much effort on my part. The head weight of the Sandy putter made the clubface very stable, so you don’t have to worry about the clubface twisting. The head weight also helps you keep a steady and true pendulum stroke as well. The C-Grooves from what I could tell, did seem to make quite a difference in my putting. I was able to lag some 25 – 30 foot putts quite easily, and without having to lengthened my follow through stroke as much. One thing is for certain, the ball did appear to roll smoothly and consistently across the green. Even on some of my miss hit putts, the ball seemed to roll much more smoothly.  The one thing that I had to get used to is the lack of feedback from the C-Grooves of the Sandy putter. Since the Sandy is made from steel, you don’t get the kind of feedback that you get from a softer material and did take me sometime to get used to. None the less, I was really impressed by my putting when I used the Sandy putter and I think you will too.

If your looking for a putter that will help you consistently get the ball rolling smoothly and straighter, then checkout the Yes! Sandy putter.

Specifications:
Head Weight : 355 Grams
Loft: 2.5 degrees; Lie: 72 degrees std. (2 degrees flat or 2 degrees upright also available)
Available in 33″,34″,35″ & Custom Lengths up to 37″ (34″ Tested)

Yes! Sandy Mallet Putter retails for $199

The four keys to great putting are 1) Setup/alignment, 2) consistent stroke, 3) good aim, and 4) being able to read the green. The latest SeeMore SB1 putter can help you with the first three points, good setup/alignment, consistent stroke, and aim. For the past month, I’ve been testing the SeeMore SB1 mallet putter with its patented RifleScope Technology(RST) alignment system, and the results have been quite promising.

Look and Feel

The SB1 putter has a beautiful black satin finish, in both the putter head and lower portion of the shaft. The reason for the black finish on the shaft and head is to make it easy to use the RifleScope Technology alignment system. I found it quite refreshing, to see a different color being used for putter, as opposed to the traditional bronze or silver finish. While many putters are made from stainless steel, SeeMore Putters has continued its tradition of making their putters from 100% milled 6061 aerospace aluminum, to produce a putter that has a nice solid feel. Like the other SeeMore putters, a red dot sits in between two thin white lines on top of the SB1, adjacent to the True Temper center-shafted shaft, and prominent alignment stripe. The half moon shape of the SB1 head weighs 334 grams, giving the putter a nice weight. Overall, the SB1 putter has a very stealthy and sleek look about it, thanks to the black satin finish and head shape.

Performance
What makes SeeMore putters, stand apart from the competition is its use of the patented RifleScope Technology alignment system. The patented RST, known by a visible gun sight on the top line, allows the golfer to set up the putter perfectly each and every time in relation to the intended target line. This is accomplished by lining up the black bottom portion of the shaft between two white lines and covering a signature red dot on the heel of the top line. The process is like locking radar onto a target. The two parallel white sight lines frame the shaft and serve as an indicator that the golfer is in perfect position to make a consistent and reliable stroke. The RST helps golfers favoring every type of putting stroke improve their performance on the greens. So for example, if your aiming right of the target, the red dot would be visible to the left of the shaft. This is what makes using the SB1 so easy to line up your putts. You have instant feedback before you even begin your putting stroke, it’s as simple as that. The same goes for your putting stroke. SeeMore putters with RST have an extra benefit of perfectly promoting and enhancing the popular pendulum-style (inside to square to inside) putting stroke. The key is to have the red dot hidden during your entire stroke. At any point, during your putting stroke, you see the red dot, you know that there was break down in your form. This is really invaluable for perfecting your putting stroke when you practice and teaching aid for continuous improvement.

Since the SB1 is a mallet style putter, you get the benefit of less twisting and more forgiveness on your putting because of the head weight. The head weight also makes it very easy to get the ball rolling on long  putts across the green. The amount of feedback on you get is going to be a crisp and solid feeling because of the aluminum head, with a nice ping sound at contact. From a performance standpoint, the SB1 putter delivers in terms of improving your aim and putting stroke. The only downside to the SB1 maybe its price, but its a small price to pay, when it comes to lowering your score. Like all SeeMore Putters, the SB1 series is made in the USA.

If you need a putter that’s going to help you setup your putts accurately and improve your stroke, than checkout the SeeMore SB1 putter.

Specifications:
Head Weight: 334 grams
Loft: 3.5 degree loft
Lie Anlge: 70 degrees
Shaft: True Temper shaft
Grip: Golf Pride grip

SeeMore SB1 Putter retails for $225