Equipment
Bettinardi launches new BB Series putters, unveils Inovai 3.0
“Classic Bettinardi, with a modern flair.”
That’s how Sam Bettinardi describes his company’s new BB Series, which will please golfers looking for something a little different from Bettinardi’s most wide-ranging putter line.
The putters use a Midnight Black PVD finish that flashes subtle rainbow accents. The finish is paired with lime green paintfill, as well as a lime green grip. Connecting those parts is a new Brushed Nickel shaft, which is stepless, glare-free, and of course has a lime green shaft band.
Putter enthusiasts will recognize the BB Series’ BB1, BB1F and BB8 putters, which have undergone small tweaks for 2016. Totally new, however, is the BB40, a low-profile mallet that offers big forgiveness.
The launch also includes a retro-styled putter — Bettinardi’s Studio Stock #6, an ode to the famed 8802 putter. It extends the Studio Stock family to three putters, including the Studio Stock 2 and Studio Stock 16 that were released in late 2014.
Last but not least is the company’s Inovai 3.0, the newest multi-material putter from Bettinardi. Continue reading for more details on the new Bettinardi putters, as well as Sam Bettinardi’s thoughts on each model that will be in stores Jan. 16, 2016.
BB1 ($299)
- Plumber’s Neck
- 1/2 Toe Hang
- 350 grams
- Midnight Black PVD Finish
- Hyper Honeycomb Face
What Sam says: “The BB1 has been in our line since 1999, and it’s a staple of our line. It’s for a player looking for a classic heel-toe style putter. It has more toe hang than last year’s model, because it has a little bit shorter neck.”
BB1F ($299)
- Flow Neck
- 3/4 toe hang
- 350 grams
- Midnight Black PVD Finish
- Hyper Honeycomb Face
What Sam says: “The BB1F is for those players who like an unadulterated view of the golf ball – they don’t want any distractions. The flow neck makes this putter a great option for them. It’s also really cool to be able to see the mill lines on the neck. That kind of precision … that’s what we’re all about.”
BB8 ($299)
- Plumber’s neck
- 1/2 toe hang
- 350 grams
- Midnight Black PVD Finish
- Hyper Honeycomb Face
What Sam says: “The biggest difference between the BB1 and the BB8 is the top line and the bumpers. If you’re looking down at the BB8, you’re going to see a really flat top line and bumpers that are really flat.”
BB40 ($299)
- Spud Neck, Single Bend
- Face Balanced
- 350 grams
- Midnight Black PVD Finish
- Hyper Honeycomb Face
What Sam says: “What I really like about this putter is the low profile of the pocket. It’s kind of like an old muscle car or a racing car. Being a mallet guy, I like how wide the flange is. Instead of a player’s mallet, I would call this a forgiving mallet.”
Studio Stock 6 ($399)
- Flow Neck
- Full toe hang
- 358 grams
- Olympic Bronze Finish
- Super Fly-Mill Face
What Sam says: The last time we made this putter was in 2011, and there’s always a demand for this style. The classic golfers, the guys who are looking for something vintage … we wanted to bring this back for them, and bring it back in a more modern way.
Inovai 3.0 ($299)
- Face Balanced
- Single Bend shaft
- 358 grams (also available in a counter-balanced model)
- 6061 Aluminum (anodized black), Stainless Steel (hand polished)
- FIT Face, Fly Mill
What Sam says: “This is a putter that we’ve literally been working on the last 8 months. It uses our Bi-Metal technology, and blends 6061 aluminum and 303 stainless steel. We mill the two pieces separately, and spent a lot of time making sure they fit together seamlessly. The stainless steel makes up two-thirds of the weight of the putter, which gives it very high outside perimeter weighting.
See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the new putters in our forum.
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Whats in the Bag
Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB: 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
View this post on Instagram
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Pingback: Bettinardi launches new BB Series putters, unveils Inovai
DB
Dec 9, 2015 at 10:39 pm
These are all a swing and a miss. Black finish with rainbow accents? All I see is glare. Plus how is that new honeycomb face better than just flat? Or the popular FIT face?
And the Inova 3.0… cool ideas there, but they should have just made it a #7 clone like everyone wants.
Pumper
Dec 2, 2015 at 3:11 pm
How can the honeycomb surface be more consistent than a flat surface? must be a reason for it??
ISIS
Nov 20, 2015 at 10:58 pm
That Inovai is so ugly. Ugly.
Rwj
Nov 19, 2015 at 4:58 pm
So the smallest putter, with the least amount of milling required, fewest tools need to mill, shortest machine time is the most expensive
NC
Nov 19, 2015 at 4:01 pm
The bb8 has 1/2 toe hang not 3/4…. according to Bettinardi site.
Zak Kozuchowski
Nov 19, 2015 at 4:05 pm
That is correct.Thank you, NC!
golfraven
Nov 19, 2015 at 2:50 pm
Really like the finish and the face. May pic one up on Ebay. Currently looking away from my Scotty. Could see the BB1 in my bag
slider
Nov 19, 2015 at 2:49 pm
nice putters but I think its pretty tough to beat out scotty camerons in tis price range
Golfandpuff
Nov 19, 2015 at 8:26 am
I would like to see one with short flow neck and no sight line! Newport 2.5 style
Michael
Nov 19, 2015 at 8:13 am
I wonder which models will be available left handed. I’m not getting my hopes too high.
Lsf_21
Nov 19, 2015 at 10:26 am
I think all will be but the studio stock.