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WRX Spotlight: Ricky Johnson Putters Wide Body Series No. 3

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Ricky Johnson is a man who loves the game of golf and has incredible skills working with metal. Johnson is a machinist and welder by trade and built his first putter in his machine shop for himself. He got requests from friends and soon a small hobby has now turned into a business. Johnson is proud to make all of his putters from the finest 303 stainless steel stock and machined right in the USA, Texas, to be exact. He takes pride in combining great materials, extreme precision, and attention to detail to make sure that every putter that leaves the shop is the best it can be for its new owner.

We got our hands on the Five-O-Six Wide Body No. 3 putter for our review. The Five-O-Six Wide Body No. 3 looks similar to a traditional Anser shape, but with a longer flange and double-stepped bumpers. When ordering your own Ricky Johnson putter you have a bunch of options, from finish to style of neck, as well as the standard loft, lie, and length you would expect. I went with the double bend neck so the putter would be face balanced, similar style to what I have been using for years.

Out of the box, you can tell that this is a quality putter with a great satin finish and minimal milling lines. Even without those milling marks, you can tell the putter is milled from the sharp, crisp lines and perfectly beveled edges. The face contains their “RJ” logo, a built-in Texas symbol, and their own GameFace technology milling. GameFace uses a combination of loft and geometry to help get the ball rolling immediately without the skidding and hopping of traditional putters. Keeping the alignment simple is what I like and Johnson nailed it with a single, thick site line on the elongated flange.

If you desire something different for alignment, or nothing at all, Johnson can customize a putter with pretty much anything you’re eye desires. The shape of the Wide Body No. 3 is very square with sharper corners and bumpers but for you who like a little softer shape, the Wide Body No. 2 is available as well. This putter came with the Pure Big Dog oversized putter grip and for me, it is a little too round and soft. Not a big issue at all since Johnson offers many other grip options when you order.

On the course, the Five-O-Six Wide Body No. 3 really performs well. I didn’t think much of the GameFace technology, but it performed as described and got the ball rolling smoothly right away. Even on these rougher fall greens, the GameFace created a smooth, consistent roll that was easy to dial in. Sometimes these technologies that help roll can make distance control a little more of a guessing game, but not with the Wide Body. Putts were very consistent and you never had one come off the face hot and roll past the hole more than expected. Alignment for me was point and shoot simple with the longer site line and the thicker top line. The combination of those two made it easy to line up the ball on my intended line, giving me more confidence that I could make the putt I was looking at.

The Five-O-Six Wide Body No. 3 is a really well-balanced putter, even for being on the slightly heavier side. Johnson’s putters are between 350 and 360 grams depending on options but it never felt too heavy, like you were having to control the putter during the stroke. Simply pull the putter back and let the well-balanced head do the work on its way through the ball. The feel on this putter is Goldilocks porridge perfect, not to firm and not too soft. Impact will give your ears a slight audible click while your hands feel the solid impact and the ball leave the face. This 303 stainless putter gives great responsiveness on all your putts, hit on center or not. Heel contact is actually pretty soft, just slightly more harsh than center, but the rollout and accuracy is close to spot on. Toe contact will give you a little more harsh vibration, letting you know you missed, and coming up just a bit short of your intended target.

Overall, the Ricky Johnson Putters Wide Body Series No. 3 is a great putter from a brand you probably haven’t heard of yet. I think they are really high-quality flatsticks, with lots of custom options, that you can tailor to fit your needs and wants. Make sure to check them out at rickyjohnsonputters.com.

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I have been an employee at GolfWRX since 2016. In that time I have been helping create content on GolfWRX Radio, GolfWRX YouTube, as well as writing for the front page. Self-proclaimed gear junkie who loves all sorts of golf equipment as well as building golf clubs!

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  1. Joe

    Nov 16, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    It’s astonishing to me how many makers still just copy the same old routine (Ping Anser).

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

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Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

 

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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