Bettinardi launched The Antidote putters at the end of 2024 with the SB1 & SB2 models. It was their first jump into zero-torque putters and brought that solid Bettinardi feel to the hottest trend in putters. So at the end of 2025, Bettinardi expanded the line with two more models, the SB3 and SB5 putters, in order to appeal to more golfers. I have gotten to roll both models and think they are great in their own ways.

You can listen to the full review on the Club Junkie podcast, streaming on YouTube or any podcast platform — and be sure to follow on Instagram.

Both Antidote putters have faces milled from 303 stainless steel for a soft, solid feel. The faces feature Bettinardi’s signature F.I.T. Face milling, which removes 55 percent of the face material for a soft, responsive feel. Bettinardi then uses its Diamond Blast to finish the face, reducing glare and creating a durable, great-looking finish. The shafts are installed into the center of gravity of the putter head and feature a small amount of forward shaft lean. This gives each Antidote putter Simply Balanced Zero Torque to keep the face square to the target during the stroke.

The Antidote SB3

When I got the box with both putters, this was the one I was most excited for. Being a long-time fan of “fang” style putters, this one just jumped out to me as the one I need to try. Personally, the silver face and Sapphire Blue as the contrast between the two is another way to make sure the putter is aligned towards the target. This putter frames the ball really well between the fangs, or wings, on the back of the putter and the twin white sight lines that run down them. Getting this SB3 lined up to your target is easy and quick, so you can feel more confident as you are about to get that putt rolling.

The feel of the F.I.T. Face is nice and soft with just enough click to let you know the quality of your contact. While it isn’t something Bettinardi claims, I feel like the F.I.T. Face puts a nice roll on the ball, and you don’t ever encounter hopping or skipping as the ball starts out. My favorite way of explaining the feel of a zero torque putter going through the stroke is the feeling of the face pulling itself through impact. To me, the SB3 has a really stable feel, and it doesn’t want to be manipulated through the stroke. The SB1 might be the most stable feeling, to me, out of all The Antidote putters but the SB3 would be a very close 2nd place. If, and when, you strike the ball out on the toe or in the heel, you will have a feeling of the SB3 not wanting to twist and keeping the ball on line. If you are looking for a zero torque, high-MOI mallet, with great feel and sound, then The Antidote SB3 could be a great option to try.

The Antidote SB5

There are a lot of golfers who would love to try a ZT putter but just don’t love mallet putters. Thankfully, there are some really cool options out there, like The Antidote SB5 putter. To me, this is a really classic-looking putter from address with clean lines and a familiar look that should appeal to the more traditional golfer. Just like the SB3, you get a phenomenal-feeling putter, with both pieces precisely milled from 303 stainless steel. The triple site lines, one on the topline and two on the flange, again work better than I expected with this head shape, and I got comfortable with them fairly quickly.

I typically like ZT putters that feel super stable, but this SB5 seemed to fit my stroke right out of the gate. Players with more arc in their stroke might find the SB5 as something that feels more natural to them, as it will allow you to rotate it just a little more than you can with a traditional blade putter. Even with that, I feel the SB5 was really easy to square up, and I was never searching to find consistency in that. Miss hits with the SB5 were also pretty good. Shots off the heel stayed very straight and had a good, soft feel, while shots struck on the toe felt a little more vibration. Interestingly, when I did miss putts, I noticed that I missed more putts left with the SB3 and more right with the SB5. As I have spent more time with each putter, I have fallen more in love with the SB5, which is a little surprising to me. It has just become a comfortable option to use after a few years of gaming.

Bettinardi continues to excel in its ability to engineer and mill some of the finest putters you can get your hands on. With the SB3 & SB5 additions to the zero torque line, I think they have really widened who can and will play these style putters. If you have tried ZT putters in the past but haven’t found the right one due to the fact that they don’t live up to expectations, then maybe one of these Bettinardi putters can be The Antodote!

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Titan Black 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (44-10F, 50-12F, 54-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (44), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset

MCKINNEY, TEXAS – MAY 24: Wyndham Clark of the United States lines up a putt on the ninth green during the final round of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2026 at TPC Craig Ranch on May 24, 2026 in McKinney, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord, Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

For Korean golfers, we always look forward to the last of the kkot-saem-chu-I for the true start of a new golf season. The term refers to a cold snap, but literally translates as “winter being jealous of the flowers beginning to bloom, thus lashing out one final time before surrendering to spring”.

A rather poetic mouthful packed into a short expression.

Koreans can be like that. Understated, yet oddly expressive at the same time. And nowhere is this more true on the golf course and in our golf bags. In fact, I suspect many Korean golfers look forward to new apparel and accessory drops more than they do actual equipment launches each year.

At this point, Korean golf fashion may exist on its own timeline. (courtesy of @seonbi_golfer)

There is ample evidence to support that suspicion. Korea is the world’s third-largest golf market behind the United States and Japan, yet its appetite for golf apparel exceeds that of both countries combined. Recent estimates suggest that Korea accounts for nearly 40 percent of the global golf apparel market, placing it among the world’s most influential golf fashion markets and punching well above its size.

Simply, we care deeply about how new golf clubs look and feel, but enjoy looking good while swinging them even more.

Golfers in the West may laugh and say that golf is played on a course, not a fashion runway. Perhaps. But what’s the harm in trying to look and feel good, if the added self-confidence can help actual performance? It certainly seems to have worked for Jason Day, who may have unlocked a new stats category: dormant strokes gained. Coincidence?

During the COVID-era, estimates placed the market near $9 billion, an astonishing figure for a single country.

As a proud member of Gen X, I’ve witnessed the highs and lows of golf fashion firsthand. The pleated trousers and wing-tipped shoes of Jack Nicklaus, the stylish plus-fours and knickers of Payne Stewart, the baggy black trousers and fitted mock-necks of Tiger Woods, and the thigh-hugging athletic tailoring of Rory McIlroy. Golf fashion, like the golf swing itself, has rarely stood still.

But nowhere have those trends shifted, evolved, and been scrutinized quite as relentlessly as in Korea. Here, golf fashion moves faster than fairway gossip, and consumers dissect brands with a level of discernment that can be both impressive and mildly terrifying. New brands are studied, judged, embraced, or dismissed with startling efficiency.

The result is a consumer base with one of the sharpest eyes for quality and authenticity anywhere in the world. It is difficult to quantify, but easy to recognize. Clean lines without trying too hard. Luxury mixed with utility. Trend awareness balanced by restraint and purpose.

It’s golf fashion shaped by one of the world’s most style-literate cities, something I like to call Seoul Sensibilities, referring to the taste level forged by a uniquely competitive environment.

And increasingly, global brands have noticed.

Many golf brands in Korea have their own flagship shops dedicated to apparel only

Titleist understood this years ago, when its apparel business in Korea took on a life of its own under new ownership and local direction. What had once been a straightforward extension of an iconic equipment giant became something sharper and more premium. By going all in on the serious Tour-player look (I couldn’t even fit into their XL sizes), Titleist struck the right chord with Korean consumers and helped its fledgling apparel business break into the mainstream. Titleist became a household name even for non-golfers who wore its caps, shirts, and windbreakers in daily life. In many ways, it proved that even heritage golf brands could carry real fashion credibility when viewed through a Korean lens.

Several years later, PXG took a page out of Titleist’s playbook and followed suit. Korean consumers helped transform the brand from one known largely for irons and loud commercials into something broader and more stylish. PXG apparel’s growth in Korea was explosive, where it found an early audience and turned the category into something more than mere logo merchandise. It is still hard to walk anywhere in Seoul without seeing its palindrome logo.

Malbon’s meteoric rise in the United States was genuine, but its ascent into a global golf lifestyle brand owes much to Korea, where it was elevated by a market already fluent in modern golf style. Korea did not simply embrace Malbon. It pressure-tested the concept, refined its appeal, and helped push it into the global spotlight.

As such, new brands may arrive from abroad, but more often than not, their sharpest evolution happens here. If a brand can earn credibility in Seoul, it’s deemed to have passed one of the toughest style audits in the game.

That is why the next meaningful chapter may not come from outside, but from a Korean brand moving in the opposite direction, carrying those Seoul Sensibilities outward as K-pop once did.

Play young Stay dope.

From Seoul, With Intent

Khalhon is a label that feels less like a trend-chasing newcomer and more like the product of a market that has already seen everything. Golfers here have long been surrounded by luxury logos, technical fabrics, and tour uniforms disguised as lifestyle wear and vice-versa. In other words, novelty alone rarely lasts here, and the Koreans seems to understand that instinctively.

Its style language leans into clean silhouettes, relaxed but tailored proportions, muted palettes, and premium materials that speak quietly but confidently. There is a modern city aesthetic running through it all, with strong layering pieces, thoughtful textures, and subtle branding that suggests sophistication rather than demanding attention.

“Built for the course. Designed beyond it.”

Most importantly, the garments seem designed to blur the line between golfwear and everyday style. Shirts, trousers, knitwear, and outer layers move comfortably between a game of screen golf, a lunch reservation, an airport gate, or an afternoon coffee in Gangnam with friends.

It raises the question of whether this is golfwear that happens to look good off the course, or everyday clothing that performs beautifully on the fairways.

Personally, I have long appreciated Nike Golf for its clean, athletic modernization of golf attire. It also has the useful side effect of making me look like a more serious golfer than I probably am. But off the course, there are times when being instantly identified as the golf guy in a crowd of non-golfers can feel a touch self-conscious.

“Built for the course. Designed beyond it.”

That is part of what drew me to Khalhon, which seemed to blend golf and everyday wear naturally. While some of the outfits may be slightly beyond my personal confidence level, the brand also offers tasteful options for older guys like me who still want to express a little personality without regretting the decision later.

These are not simply flashy outfits worn on the course and then banished to the closet until the next tee time. They work surprisingly well off the course too, and I suspect many of the pieces will still look right a couple of years from now, which would certainly be kinder to my wallet than most golf fashion trends tend to be.

And perhaps that broader lifestyle positioning also helps explain why someone like Sean Wotherspoon would find Khalhon creatively interesting in the first place.

“Built for the course. Designed beyond it.”

“Korea is not only one of the most fashion-forward golf markets in the world, but one of the most fashion-forward markets globally. Korea is ahead, and I love to watch and try to catch up.” – Sean Wotherspoon, Creative Director at Khalhon

Seoul and Beyond

If Khalhon’s rise says something about where Korean golf fashion is today, its relationship with Sean Wotherspoon says even more about where it is heading.

For readers less familiar with Sean Wotherspoon, his arrival at Khalhon is not some routine celebrity endorsement or influencer collaboration. In design and streetwear circles, Wotherspoon is regarded as one of the more influential creative voices of his generation, particularly when it comes to blending nostalgia, storytelling, and contemporary culture into products that people can connect with.

He first gained widespread attention through his now-famous Nike sneaker collaborations, where his vintage-inspired designs and instinct for color helped turn him into one of the defining artists of the late-2010s sneaker era. His work gradually expanded beyond footwear into apparel, automotive collaborations, collectibles, and broader lifestyle design.

Modern golf style now extends well beyond the fairways, where performance and functionality are largely expected by default. And while plenty of brands already make technically competent golfwear, Khalhon seems more focused on designing clothes people would genuinely want to wear even after the round ends.

And when guys at Wotherspoon’s level show genuine interest in working with a Korean golf brand as its new Creative Director, fashion circles tend to sit up and pay attention. There’s already a huge buzz among the fashion-conscious here about upcoming collabs with iconic sports stars and brands.

“My creative direction for Khalhon is disruptive, colorful, nostalgic, and modern. My goal is to blend these avenues seamlessly within each collection.” – Sean Wotherspoon

In chatting with Sean, what stood out most to me was how genuinely energized he sounded about the project itself. Despite having already worked across and countless other creative spaces, he described golf as a completely fresh category for him, saying that Khalhon “will be an amazing vehicle for my design work.”

At the same time, his enthusiasm seemed tied just as much to Korea itself. He spoke openly about admiring Korea’s fashion culture while repeatedly insisting he is still a terrible golfer.

There was something oddly refreshing about that humility. Rather than sounding like a celebrity parachuting into golf simply because the category suddenly became fashionable, Sean sounded genuinely curious about what Korea might do with the category next.

And perhaps that is what makes Khalhon feel interesting right now. The brand feels less like a trend-chaser and more like the natural result of a market now confident enough to export its own point of view.

For years, global brands came to Korea to sharpen their image against one of the most discerning audiences anywhere. Now, a Korean label appears ready to send those Seoul Sensibilities outward instead.

Which brings us back to kkot-saem-chu-i.

That final cold snap before spring always arrives with a reminder that seasons are changing, whether we notice it immediately or not. Golf fashion feels a little like that right now as well, as the old boundaries between sport, streetwear, luxury, and everyday style continue to soften.

And somewhere in Seoul, a Korean golf label already seems prepared for whatever season comes next. I just hope they have everything in my size.