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This French company is selling an $1,100 putter

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Move over Scotty Cameron and your $379 retail offerings… French luxury putter manufacturer, ValGrine, is introducing the $1,100 Caesar mallet.

What’s so special about this flatstick? In passing along key product details, ValGrine emphasized the putter’s alignment lines, which allow a golfer to position the ball centrally with his or her eyes positioned directly over the two lines, claiming such a setup “generates stability” and “manages the kinetics of the swing.”

The company also emphasized the Caesar’s insert, which is backed by a hollow cavity for a precisely honed sound at impact and feel. ValGrine indicates the insert cavity creates a “subwoofer” effect, amplifying the sound at impact so a player knows exactly how a putt was struck.

Yet none of this would seem to justify a price point in excess of $1,000.

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Moving onto the Caesar’s specs

  • 71-degree lie
  • Grip: Neoprene, silver cotton stitching
  • Putter head: Aluminum 2024
  • Micro-pearled finish
  • Polished finish on bottom, sides
  • 270 grams
  • 3.5 degrees of loft
  • Aluminum 2017 insert, cross-engraved
  • Red/black/pink

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And what of this $1,000-putter producing ValGrine golf? As best we can determine from the company website, the ValGrine line, which includes at least five other similarly priced putters, seems to be the brainchild of a Gregory Morea,  a “mechanical engineer” with “a passion for golf” and “beautiful objects.”

Apparently dissatisfied with market offerings, Moreau sought to “mix the utilitarian with the pleasant, and marry elegance with performance.” And the resultant putters are the “answer for golfers looking for refinement, comfort and novelty.”

With inspiration and technology from the aeronautics and marine industries, Formula 1 racing and watchmaking, the company’s putters are presented as “hand-made in France … chiseled like real aerodynamic sculptures.”

“It takes 1,000 operations and 18 to 22 trades to make a single putter, which takes two to three months of work. Each manipulation is thoughtful, precise and controlled, to provide putters of indisputable quality,” the ValGrine website states.

If you’re wondering why the ultra-premium price point, then, it seems the answer has mostly to do with labor costs (“two to three months of work”).

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So, what do you think? Compelled to drop more than a grand on the Caesar?

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26 Comments

26 Comments

  1. Gaby

    Apr 27, 2016 at 8:59 am

    Come on. Try the club first.
    I came from France, I love golf and I’ve got a ValGrine blade model since february. Maybe you hate french people but seriously these putters are worth it !!! I’m a big putting fan, I’ve almost 10 putters at home and yet I’ve never seen that before. It significantly improve performance, technologies are smart, the sweetspot is huge and feeling is amazing. I’m pretty impressed by what french people have done in this company, so I couldn’t allow you to say this without reply. Believe me they’re not putters’ specialists for nothing… Anyway, to each his own!

  2. chris

    Apr 20, 2016 at 11:12 am

    i’ve seen this before……

  3. 8thehardway

    Apr 16, 2016 at 6:08 am

    Well Supersize my Freedom Fries and call me exceptional, but they’d have been better off moving to central Africa and creating a line of Cameroon putters.
    Let’s be franc, it takes two months to build a Rolls Royce Phantom but they need 3 months to stick a hunk of metal on the end of a shaft? That’s some fishy vichyssoise right there. I hear next year’s line of ANGST putters is demo’ing well with focus groups; that figures ’cause these guys are just out to focus.

    Who puts the GRIN in ValGrine putters? Whoever buys one.

  4. Large chris

    Apr 15, 2016 at 8:23 am

    1000 operations… Hahaha
    I tried that sort of line with a customer once and it didn’t fly.

  5. :-p

    Apr 15, 2016 at 3:09 am

    The French are so weird. Why do they want to play golf anyway? It doesn’t suit their personality

    • Ezra

      Apr 16, 2016 at 7:12 am

      Yeah Yeah strangers in general are so weird… Why we Americans should even care of what’s happening outside the US? Our country is obviously the Alpha and Omega of everything 😉

      • :-ppp

        Apr 17, 2016 at 3:50 am

        No, truly, the French are weird and should not be playing golf.

  6. D Louis

    Apr 14, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    If you search, they actually have putters between 13,350 and 30,350 euros…crazy stuff

  7. Scooter McGavin

    Apr 14, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    All of the 65 year-old, pudgy, Asian businessmen will be thrilled. And they’ll try to haggle and buy it for $600 and pay with an envelope of twenties.

    • Jamie

      Apr 17, 2016 at 5:19 pm

      Racist stereotypical comments are not needed.

  8. Mark

    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    Looks like it should be on sale in Walmart. The standard of workmanship looks awful.

  9. eva

    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    If I’m going to spend over $1000 for a putter I rather have one of those gold Majesty putters. $1000+ putters are nothing new, lots of them in Korea and Japan.

  10. Philip

    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    What? No jewels, gold or platinum? Maybe I can get the company to invest in my idea to build a golf course on Venus – after the planet is terraformed, of course.

  11. Nolanski

    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    Just bought one and I got the shaft pured…

    Just kidding. Smiley face.

  12. B Hock

    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    The title is misleading….because I doubt they have actually sold any! 😛

  13. Fug

    Apr 14, 2016 at 11:35 am

    Please make it uglier. Thank you.

  14. steve

    Apr 14, 2016 at 10:55 am

    For his sake I hope they are made to order. Other wise he will be stuck with a lot of inventory. This has zero chance of succeeding.

  15. Richard

    Apr 14, 2016 at 10:54 am

    I wouldn’t pay $10 for that out of a bargain bin.

  16. AllBOdoesisgolf

    Apr 14, 2016 at 10:53 am

    Could be $5 and I wouldn’t buy it or anything French for that matter.

  17. ca1879

    Apr 14, 2016 at 9:20 am

    Someone will but them – we golfers have proven that we’ll fall for just about any half-baked idea.

  18. bill

    Apr 14, 2016 at 8:51 am

    Ridiculous sub-par paint fill from the top view. Have French people fall so far back behind to do this? So lazy but want to make money by calling ridiculous prices.

  19. Weekend Duffer

    Apr 14, 2016 at 8:43 am

    Trash

    $1.1K for a no-name putter that’s not even milled. I’ll stick with my $30 odyssey 2 ball.

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Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

 

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Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

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TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

 

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TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

  • PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
  • PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
  • Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
  • PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
  • PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

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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 Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

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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