 The Accolades…
The 2009 Summer issue of Golfing Magazine was released in the USA last month. This edition historically represents a significant peak in sales and readership, owing to the inclusion of the annual putter review.
This year Yes! Golf shone once again, earning plaudits in both blade and mallet categories.
The striking Dawn – with her classic purist’s lines and contemporary look – won the Gold Players’ Choice Award, with both appearance and distance control being cited as clinching criteria.
In the Mallet section, meanwhile, the jaw-dropping Lizzy – with her interchangeable hosel capability – won the Best Overall Gold Medal in the ‘mid-mallet’ section. Once again, best appearance and distance control received specific mention, with Best Impact Feel also wining high praise.
One judge commented: “Lizzy Plus take (sic.) putter customization to a whole new level with being able to match style of hosel with head … Face really grips the ball and (it) rolls smoothly off the face. The ball rolls quicker off the club face and I get a much truer roll than previously”.
The Thinking…
If club golf is the Main Event for Yes! Putters, where they go to achieve popular acclaim, then the PGA Tour is the gymnasium where the putters sweat and grind away at getting match fit.
Blair Philip (Director of Research and Development for Yes! Golf USA) says the latest Yes! Putters were the result of Tour player feedback and a directive from leading panel judges that selection criteria were becoming heavily weighted towards “fitting innovation”.
For the adjustable hosel models (Tracy III and Lizzy+) the concept was to take the two most popular putter-head shapes in history and combine them with 5 different hosel designs that served to fit the eye, aiming, and stroke dynamics of the largest demographic possible. The combination of length, lie, loft, hosel style, head style and toe hang-value now makes it very easy for a fitter to satisfy a customer's needs.
In addition, the technical golfer who is highly putter-focused, readily understands the principles behind the interchangeable hosels and can derive maximum benefit. This represents a small group of people, concedes Mr Philip, but they are out there.
On Tour, it also allows Yes! Tour reps to snap together a putter for the best players in the world in jig time. |
