Sticks N Stuff: Putters

by Vic Williams

REDEYE GOLF i330

$179.95 | www.redeyegolf.com

Get In Line: “Check your alignment” is the golf version of “eat your spinach” — not too glamorous but it’ll keep you strong on the straight and narrow. And nowhere is that reminder more vital than on the putting green. The ingenious laser-equipped RedEye Putter and its companion “Smart Target” turn practice into an eye-opening lesson in alignment, and can have you watching those strokes hit bottom, time after time, in just minutes.

Light ’Em Up: The RedEye comes with two heel plates, one for laser-equipped practice, the other for USGA-approved play. Set up the target on a carpet or secure it to the practice green turf  with a couple of tees (even on top of an actual hole, if you’d like), hit the ON button, tap the putter to engage the laser, and start with, say, a few eight-footers. Intuitively  you’ll start aiming the laser so it hits the target’s sensor (you’ll hear a beep), and with some repetition, eye- and body-memory will kick in. Switch out the sole plate, head for the course and see if you don’t recall that laser in your mind’s eye, which translates to truer putts. (Reading the greens is up to you). And it’s a good putter in its own right, with a 2-inch insert and heel-toe weighting. It’s a bit on the light side, but a $19.95 weighting kit will increase the head weight from 345 to 380 grams.

The Verdict: In testing we discovered a pesky open putterface, but a few minutes in laser land put everything at the right angles and we started hitting the target, time after time.  Catching this RedEye will wake up your stroke.

 

BOB BURNS Roll-In

$100 | www.bobburnsgolf.com
Beyond Bananas: This small custom club company from Appleton, WI, is known chiefly for its line of slice-slaughtering “No Bananas” clubs, and we’ve reviewed them all — a couple of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons. PGA Master Professional Bob Burns and his son, Chris, run the company on a slim margin but with a knack for keeping in direct touch with their growing customer base, and giving folks what they want: A better game. But it’s not all about the long ball; the  Burns realize there’s progress to be made on the greens, too.

Son Shines: With this new putter, Chris Burns steps to the fore with his first major club design, a center-shafted stick with adjustable weights at the heel and toe and smaller ones at the rear of the shield-shaped head. Those two smaller screws can be easily move to affect the putter’s center of gravity, adjust its stability to fit a player’s stance and style and add weight to fit various green speeds. Even with no tinkering, the club performed admirably during FG testing on widely varying putting surfaces, including late-afternoon Pebble Beach poa annua. If you tend to push or pull your putts, you can also bias the weight towards the heel or the toe to correct dial in those direct hits.

Hot Out of the Box: We suggest giving the Roll-In a try without moving stuff around; with its milled face and rear-weighting, it’s got great feel from the get-go.

The Verdict: It’s tough for a small company like Bob Burns to compete with the Odysseys and Scotty Camerons of the world, but with this wand, the Wisconsins are Roll-In in the right under-the-radar direction.