Equipment
Thinking of buying a new putter? Why you might want to try refinishing instead
As you know, a new Scotty Cameron Studio Select or Phantom X is gonna run you $430-plus. Want something more? The new Jet Set series going to run $650 retail (if you can find one) and likely almost double that on secondary markets. Not prepared to spend that kind of money? Not in love with the Studio or Phantom X lines? Here are some ideas on finding a gamer that will not only impress your playing partners but be easier on the wallet.
Head to Facebook for something to refinish
On Facebook there are a plethora of forums which sell used golf equipment. People post a variety of equipment including a lot of putters. For this piece, I found Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless 2.5 (2002) for the amazing price of $150. The putter had some heavy wear and may or may not also previously been used as a hammer.
I then enlisted my friend Josh at LabWorx in Waco, Texas, to “refinish the putter.” For $135, the team at LabWorx allows you to pick from 12 proprietary finishes which I have found to be executional durable, give your input, and transform the putter into something like this:
Josh, the founder at LabWorx notes, “At the heart of our business is the Armor Technology. The Gen X has been developed over the last two years and is trusted by over 10 OEMs (one of the big four) as well as 800 putters and 2,000 shafts on tour.” In my own experience, I have a putter from three years ago that Josh refinished and I often get people asking me if it’s new.
I am not sure the pictures do this putter justice; the crew at LabWorx transformed it into what looks like new.
Breakdown
- Putter: $150
- Refinish: $135
- Black KBS putter shaft: $40
- Golf Pride grip: $10
Total cost: $335
Trade in/trade up
Recently I noticed that several online retailers were offering a 50 percent bonus on trade-ins. This included golf balls. As a world-class ball hawk, I went into the garage, found a couple hundred balls, a smorgasbord of wedges with heavy hosel wear and a Ping G30. In total I got about $200 that I used to buy a Scotty Cameron Detour for $250 ($50 out of pocket).
I again sent the club to Josh and had him add a custom weld neck. In this process a new hosel is added. These style of putter have grown in popularity and offer a distinct look which is sure to grab the attention of your playing partners. Then added a KBS putter shaft, selling the shaft and grip.
Breakdown:
- $50 putter
- $165 weld neck
- $40 KBS putter shaft
- $125 insert
- $10 grip
- -$30 from selling the grip/shaft
Total cost: $340
Bettinardi
While a lot of people are obsessed with Scotty, I have a deep passion for Bettinardi. Bob Bettinardi invented the one piece milled technology that changed the game of golf in 1991. This process has been adopted by all of the major putter manufacturers as well as most boutique putter companies that popped up in the last five years.
On the secondary market, it is not impossible to find a 2018 BB Series putter with a milled face for $150 or less with 2022 models not more than $200. These putters feel fantastic because they are made from one block of 303 stainless steel and have milled faces. They also come in a variety of head shapes.
When looking at putters, keep in mind Bettinardi offers three stock face millings that range from the very soft feel of patented Roll Control face milling, the Aggressive Flymill, which is a medium feeling face, to their original Honeycomb face, which comes off the face faster.
Breakdown:
- Putter: $120
- Sold the shaft with label: $40
- Head cover: $40
- Added an all-back KBS putter shaft: $40
- Regripped: $10
For a reasonable price, I got a very solid gamer than has become a favorite among my rotation.
I have used KBS putter shafts because I think that, bang for the buck, they are hard to beat. You can find them for about $29.99 and I think they are a tremendous value with outstanding technology. The black ones look amazing too!
In the secondary market, my guess is that these putters are worth about $400 to $650 respectively, making them great investments. They are also sure to get me tons of compliments from my playing partners. Now the tough choice is which to game? And when I hit 15 greens and shoot 79, at least I will look lit.
What have you done? What are you gaming on the greens these days?
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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