Equipment

Soft, Medium or Firm? Sentio’s floating-face putters give golfers a choice in feel

Published

8 years ago

Sep 20, 2016

Sentio Golf, which made its debut at the 2016 PGA Merchandise Show, announced today that its Sierra 101 line of putters are available for purchase on the company’s website, as well as in select retail shops.

The Acton, Massachusetts-based company’s patented floating face technology offers golfers a stainless steel putter face, which is separate from the rest of the head with a vibration-dampening thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) core, constructed through a process called insert molding.

Jim Varney, President of Sentio Golf, says the insert-molding process demands extremely tight manufacturing tolerances. Thus, Sentio’s putters are constructed at some of the highest dimensional standards in the industry. Varney also says that the TPE formulation process bonds the metal components while keeping them separate (thanks to the insert), softening the feel at impact.

The Sierra line includes three models, each with a color-coded translucent core. The cores each have a different durometer—or relative hardness—to the elastomer, affecting energy transfer, and thus feel.

Sentio-3

101-Soft (green core): For players who usually prefer inserts or who regularly play on fast greens.
101-Medium (red core): For all-around conditions.
101-Firm (blue core): For fans of all-milled putters or those who play on slower greens.

Specs

Price: $299
Length: 33, 34 and 35 inches
Loft: 2 degrees
Lie: 72 degrees
Head Weight: 350 grams
Toe Hang: 4 o’clock
Offset: Full plumber hosel
Construction: 304 stainless steel face and body, TPE core
Finish: Satin Silver PVD
Stock grip: PURE midsize

Also of interest for WRXers: Sentio will be releasing a limited run of 100 Tour prototype putters on September 27. Called the Century Edition, these flatsticks will feature a unique black bronze PVD finish.

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16 Comments

tlmck

Sep 26, 2016 at 4:52 am

It would have been more interesting to offer one putter with interchangeable faces/inserts. That way you could adjust the putter for changing weather/temps, faster/slower greens, or just for a change of feel if desired.

Reply Report comment
- richard patten
  
  Oct 1, 2016 at 1:36 am
  
  There are putters with interchangeable inserts, e.g., Fisher, and less costly putters with soft to hard inserts. Straightaim insert putters have putters with several degrees of impact reduction for fast or slower greens. Callaway has one Odyssey model with a ‘floating’ face that will reduce impact. There is an added property of impact-reducing inserts that these companies are not aware of. It is better for putt control than softer feel. Softer feel, itself, does not increase accuracy.
  
  Reply Report comment
rymail00

Sep 22, 2016 at 5:19 pm

Personally I think the idea is pretty cool. Everybody has a different perception of what they like to feel at impact and this is a way to give people those options.

And man, the unbelievable negative comments in all these articles is ridiculous (all articles). If you don’t like something fine, but why sh!t on the authors or whatever equipment, training aids etc.? Constructive criticism is one thing, but why the rest? It sucks to see this site heading down this road. Hell the guy was even nice enough to respond to people’s questions. Doubt most people would say this stuff some in a store, shop, merchandise show etc.

Reply Report comment
RP Jacobs II

Sep 21, 2016 at 7:15 pm

Seems a bit gimicky though I am sure that they are very nice putters. For the price point, they’d better be, lol. “Independently Verified to provide positive strokes gained???” Bro, last I looked it was the Player’s name next to a stroke gained number, not a putter model or brand, lmao.

Be that as it may, they look sharp and I wish you the very Best!! Nice article Ben. Nicely Played Bro 🙂

Fairways & Greens 4ever My Friends,
RP

Reply Report comment
- Sentio Golf
  
  Sep 25, 2016 at 9:20 am
  
  RP Jacobs II, thanks for the thoughtful comment! I’m sure people probably thought insert-faced putters were gimmicky when they came out. From a technical standpoint, molding the polymer in the middle as we have done allows us to do things with COR, basically how much energy is transferred to the ball, that you can’t do with an insert face or a solid body putter. Inserts have been trying to add more “pop” and better sound response (look at the proliferation of metal sheets over polymer inserts), and companies that make solid milled putters use “softer” metals like carbon steel, GSS, and copper to take the edge off the feel at impact. What golfers want is that middle ground between the two extremes, and that is exactly what our technology does. AND we provide multiple options within this range to give people a choice.
  
  Our putters were part of a test that used Strokes Gained as a measure of relative accuracy. Yes, it is the SG of each tester using each putter that is measured. Read about it here: http://bit.ly/2cTrGUD
  
  Reply Report comment
  - richard patten
    
    Oct 1, 2016 at 2:09 am
    
    I found that damping inserts can increase accuracy, but I used a putting machine, rather than human putters. It is not the feel (a putting machine has no feel) that does it. It is a surprising principle of physics tyhat does it. I have used ‘floating’ inserts , for slow to fast greens, in my straightaim putters for over 10 yrs. You have a good looking product. Put it in a mallet, too. With good technically sound advertising you will succeed in this tight market.
    
    Reply Report comment
Mark

Sep 21, 2016 at 8:13 am

2

Reply Report comment
BSGolf

Sep 20, 2016 at 12:05 pm

More junk…stop with the junk

Reply Report comment
- Sentio Golf
  
  Sep 20, 2016 at 8:57 pm
  
  I understand that it seems unusual, but I assure you that it is not junk. Our tech produces a great feel and has been independently verified to provide positive strokes gained. I suggest you try it and see for yourself.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - foo
    
    Sep 21, 2016 at 12:36 pm
    
    Where do you suggest we try this?
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Sentio Golf
      
      Sep 25, 2016 at 9:27 am
      
      Foo – We have a list of current retail partner locations on our website: http://www.sentiogolf.com/retailers/ I realize this is very limited now, but we are a start-up company so things are just getting started. Ask the pro-shop at your home course to contact us about becoming part of our Fit By Feel program – we will get them set up and in a week you will have all three to try for yourself.
      
      Reply Report comment
  - JOEL GOODMAN
    
    Sep 21, 2016 at 7:57 pm
    
    If I want great feel I’ll take a woman . In golf I want to score low.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - richard patten
    
    Oct 7, 2016 at 3:38 pm
    
    Sentio, I suggest you confirm the accuracy-improving function of your floating inserts objectively by using a putting machine. This will work; I have done this. Good luck.
    
    Reply Report comment
- JOEL GOODMAN
  
  Sep 21, 2016 at 7:56 pm
  
  barnum was right then and still is.. more suckers now than ever. any putter more than $125 is a joke and a rip off.
  
  Reply Report comment
Charlie

Sep 20, 2016 at 9:13 am

Very Nike-esque. The insert, the lines, the font, everything. Not too shabby.

Reply Report comment
- Rob
  
  Sep 20, 2016 at 12:36 pm
  
  Not too shabby? Nike-esque? Oh you mean that company that just stopped making clubs? I’m sure club makers are modeling their product of the nike swoosh!
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

8 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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