For all the mud golf enthusiasts like to sling at the major manufacturers for producing what, in our eyes anyway, are way too many drivers, it’s really the putter market that’s insanely saturated.  Most manufacturers’ offerings number in the dozens – and why not – the putter is by far the most important club in the bag (why someone would spend $400 on a driver and only $30 on a putter is beyond me).  It’s also the most individualized, and as many a golfer will attest; the putter is the club most likely to, without warning, simply stop working.

In addition to guys like Scotty Cameron, Bob Bettinardi, and  Kia Ma, who’ve made names for themselves making clubs for the Titleists, Mizuno, and TaylorMades of the golf world, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of guys whose names you may not know, who toil away in tireless pursuit of the perfect putter.

Greg Goode is one of those guys.  Greg is one of the Alabama-based craftsmen and innovators behind the Goode Putter brand.  I first found out about Greg and his Goode Putters while researching products for my 2009 Golf Gear Guide.  It’s fairly rare that the average golfer has access to real equipment customization, which is why I thought the Goode Putter (and fitting system) sounded really cool.  Greg and I exchanged a few emails, and before too long, he agreed to send me one of his putters for review.

About the Goode Putter

Every Goode Putter is CNC milled from cold drawn stainless or carbon steel, and hand finished to ensure consistent quality.  What sets the Goode Putter apart from most other putters on the market is a comprehensive custom fitting system and a clever little hosel design that allows the head of the Goode Putter to be changed at the turn of a screw.

I’ve been fit for a driver, and for my irons, but I never really gave much thought to a proper putter fitting.  Many retailers do offer putter fitting for a charge, but I’ve admittedly never gone through the process myself.  Instead, I’ve relied mostly on a mix of what feels good, and what looks good.  I’ve never given any thought to something as basic as hosel offset.  I know plenty of golfers who, for example, like the look of a plumber’s neck.  Personally, I’ve always preferred a relatively straight hosel.  It’s just what looks right to me, but does what looks right truly fit my eye?  That’s where the Goode Putter fitting system comes in.

Proper fitting of the Goode Putter begins with the DEO (dominant eye offset chart).  Here’s how it works:

1. While looking at the DEO chart below
2. Move back about 4 feet from the DEO chart.
3. Extend your arm and make a fist with your thumb pointing up.
4. With both eyes open, cover the black square with your thumb.
5. Close your right eye.
   • If your thumb moves to the green bar, the offset you need is Half Offset
   • If your thumb moves to the orange bar, you will need a Full Offset.

If your thumb stayed on the black square proceed to the next step.

With your thumb on the square, close your left eye. Your thumb will either remain on the square or move to the Yellow Bar. If this is true for you, the correct offset you need is Neutral.

Once you’ve got the offset stuff figured out, you’ll need to work through the length and lie charts to find your recommended specifications.  Through the fitting process I learned that I needed a 33″ inch putter with neutral offset (whatever “normal” is, that’s what I always end up getting fit for.  I must be the most average guy on the planet).  With that out of the way, it was time to choose a putter head.

The Goode Putter collection features 3 heads, available in 2 different finishes.  All Goode Putters have heel and toe weighting for increased MOI.  As a fan of flange style putters, the Series 3 with a Black Carbon finish was an easy choice for me.

Goode Putters are current available in 3 models and 2 finishes. I chose the Series 3 in Black Carbon (bottom right).

First Impressions

The first thing that caught my attention when I took the Goode Putter out of the box was its weight.  While it’s not quite in the same league as a Heavy Putter, it definitely has more mass than average.  Since my personal preference leans towards putters with bit of added heft behind them, finding that the Goode Putter carries a little extra bulk is a good thing.

Hosel

An inspection of the hosel did turn up a minor issue.  One of the edges of the hosel had a small burr (about a quarter of an inch long), no doubt left over from the milling process.  It’s not sharp, and most definitely won’t impact performance, but it’s an imperfection you’re unlikely to encounter in mass-produced club from one of the larger manufactures.  Minor imperfection aside, everything looks solid.

Head & Face

The head itself is smooth and burr-free.  Under the right lighting, however, some tool marks are visible on the top of the flange, and well as in the logo area of the club (faint lines likely left over from the CNC mill).  Neither has any impact on anything other than esthetics, but with a bit more buffing and polishing they could have been eliminated.  Again, minor blemishes aside, I like the simple no nonsense look of the Goode Putter.  If you like flashy colors and some bling on your short stick look elsewhere, but for those who prefer a putter with no distracting colors, and without any sort of futuristic spaceship-inspired shape, it’s hard to argue with the design of the Goode Putter.  Overall I like the very simple, yet good looking appearance of the Series 3.

The face of the Goode Putter is textured (as are most quality putters these days).    There’s no special pattern (Bob Bettinardi), and no insert like you’d find on any Odyssey.  Finally, there’s no special groove design like a Yes! or Rife putter.  Instead the Goode Putter relies on 0° of loft to help get the ball rolling quickly without skipping.

With the screw loosened, and the hosel lifted a bit, you can see how the interchangeable head system fits together.

The head attaches to the hosel with a single allen screw.  I gave it good yank and a twist and can attest that it holds the head on just fine.  It’s also easy enough to detach the head from the hosel should you want to switch heads from time to time.

The view of the sole shows the allen screw which holds the interchangeable head securely to the hosel.

Grip

The Goode Putter, like many off the rack putter, comes with a Winn AVS grip.  I’m not a Winn guy myself.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the soft feel, but a little bit of moisture and you might as well be holding on to Teflon.  My Bettinardi BC-1 came with a Winn AVS grip, and since I didn’t complain about that, I’m not going to complain too much about it here.  It’s not my first choice, for sure, but it does the job.

Head Cover

While I like the look of the head cover (it reminds me a bit of a horse’s head), the one-size fits all, Velcro design does have it’s issues.  Specifically, with the Series 3 model (I can’t speak to the other designs), the heel of the club has a tendency to wiggle it

s way through the gap above the Velcro, which has led to a few dings and scuffs.  There’s definitely room for improvement here.  If keeping your equipment looking pristine is your thing, you might want to play it safe and pick up a 3rd party head cover.

The problem with the Goode Putter cover is that the heal of the putter always manages to escape.

On The Course (and in my living room)

Feel

For me, the three most important characteristics of a putter are feel, feel, and feel.  Of course, what feels good to me, I’ve learned, very often feels too soft to someone else.  Imagine hitting a nerf ball with a warm stick of butter; that’s how I like my putter to feel.  Of course, I don’t like inserts either, so my options are always limited.  So with that said, I have to acknowledge that the Goode Putter is a bit firm for my tastes.  Of course, it’s nowhere near the firmest putter I’ve ever hit, and in fact is noticeably softer at impact than some of the putters I’ve owned in the past.  I’m working off memory here, but I think a fair comparison of the feel at impact would be to an Odyssey Black Series, or perhaps even a Scotty Cameron.  I’m not saying the feel is identical, I’m simply saying that all 3 provide a solid, firm, click at impact.  My Bettinardi, by contrast, is much more muted, almost mushy.

It’s also worth pointing out that feel is consistent across the face (not surprising for a putter milled from a single block of steel).  If anything, the putter plays a little softer in the toe, and a little firmer in the heal, but these differences aren’t substantial.  The differences are distinct enough to provide feedback, but still subtle enough to not dramatically impact distance or control.

Roll

One of the biggest advantages to inserts (TaylorMade’s AGSI+) for example, or milled grooves (Yes! C-Grooves), is that they help get the ball rolling quickly with less skipping and bouncing.  I was a bit concerned that the Goode Putter, without the benefit of any special face technology, wouldn’t release the ball cleanly.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, as advertised, the ball comes of the face of the Goode Putter very smoothly.  No skipping, no bouncing, just pure roll.  The only time I ran into any skipping at all was on the 14th hole at Kingswood (my home course).  As is so often the case on the 14th, I found myself putting uphill, against the grain.  Every putter I’ve ever played on that hole has encountered the same turbulence; so needless to say, I was neither surprised, nor disappointed.

Surprisingly, for a putter that feels dramatically different from what I play on a daily basis, I found distance control to be relatively easy (although switching back did take some getting used to).  I honestly don’t have any concrete explanation other than to say that I’ve always found that the heavier the putter, the easier it is to control.  I’ve also found that a bit of extra weight can help compensate for those times when my putting stroke is a little off (hitting with the putter instead of swinging it).  Whether or not this is true for others…well, you tell me.

Aligment and Lie

It’s somewhat difficult to quantify how well the Goode Putter fitting system works. My current putter (along with every putter I’ve ever owned) has a neutral offset, so moving to the custom fit Goode Putter didn’t offer up any dramatic changes in that respect.  Of course, as I said at the beginning, plumber’s necks, and other offset hosels, have never suited my eye, so I suppose it’s possible that, quite by accident, I have been fitting myself properly; at least in terms of the dominant eye offset chart.

The Goode Putter lie and loft chart does leave some room for interpretation.  I definitely have a crouched putting style.  I also have a tendency to choke up a bit on the putter.  My every day putter is 33″, which is shorter than most.  It also has a 71 lie (one degree more than the Goode Putter), both sit relatively flat for me, although I do wonder if perhaps I should have ordered the Goode Putter to match, as the toe sits ever so slightly off the ground.

I haven’t run into any problems mishitting or snagging the club on the turf, so all things considered, the fit seems just fine.  From an accuracy perspective, the Goode Putter isn’t a miracle worker (it doesn’t claim to be).  If I stand too close to the ball I have a tendency to yank it.  Too far away and I’ll push it.  If your putting problems stem from a poor setup, you might be better off looking at one of the handful of putters that provide visual cues to help you set up properly.

I do like the way the club sets up behind the ball, and for lack of a more meaningful description, I’ll simply say that the alignment looks right to me.  As a guy who tries to sense or feel a putt rather than plumb bob or measure his way through it; it’s imperative that everything just looks right.  With the Goode Putter  it does.  More definitively, what I can say is that more often than not the Goode Putter rolls the ball where I want it to go (inside of 3 feet), and in the end, that’s what is most important.

Final Thoughts

Any problems I have with the Goode Putter are cosmetic. The heads (at least the one I received) could stand a bit more finish work (buffing/polishing), and overall, the shape isn’t quite as refined as what you’d find from the multi-million dollar manufacturers.  As I stated above, the headcover is also a bit of a liability since, for the most part, it fails to completely protect the head.   Those issues aside, I must admit that the more I use the Goode Putter, the more I like it.  I’m coming around to the comparatively firmer feel, and as I’ve said a couple of times, I have absolutely no problems getting the ball to roll where I want it to.  From strictly a performance perspective, I have nothing but good things to say.

During my email exchange with Greg Goode he helped me feel at ease about writing this review by explaining that he completely understands that his putter might not make into to my bag.  No single putter is right for everyone, and the Goode Putter is no exception.  So no, the Goode Putter won’t be going into the bag (at least not every day), but this is coming from a guy who is absolutely in love with his putter.  It’s an obsession that borders on the unnatural.  Quite frankly, there are days when I love my putter more than my wife (don’t tell her I said that).  In spite of all that, however; I won’t hesitate to reach for the Goode Putter the next time my beloved putter starts acting up (as all putters do from time to time).

As golfers we’ve pretty much been conditioned by the industry to limit our equipment focus to what they tell us is best.  The prevailing wisdom is that golf equipment that isn’t produced by one of the industry big boys, probably isn’t any good.  We’re further conditioned to want to play what the pros play.  You want a Scotty Cameron because that’s what Tiger plays, or an Odyssey because that what Phil plays.  Heck, you might even want a Bettinardi because that’s what that Qwowi Golf guys plays (according to oobgolf statistics, I am a better than average putter).  So while all of you none of you might want to be more like me, it’s important to fight any preconceptions you may have as very often they can get in the way of finding the best equipment for you.

Now don’t misunderstand me, there is plenty of junk on the market (I have a couple of buddies playing $30 dollar Wal-Mart putters that I wouldn’t use to fend off a bear attack), but I can assure you there are plenty of smaller companies, like Good Putter, making excellent golf equipment.  You’re doing yourself a great disservice by not checking out some of the lesser-known alternatives to a $350 Scotty Cameron.

Goode Putters are available from GoodePutter.com.  A fully customized Black Carbon Series putter will run you $199.00.  The same putters are available in the Stainless Series for $249.00.  All Goode Putters are milled, finished, and assembled in the USA, which in these economic times is really important.  Additional heads retail for $129.00 (Black Carbon) and $179.00 (Stainless).  Additional shaft/hosel pairings will run you $70.00.

More information, including videos showing how Goode Putters are made, is available at www.goodeputter.com.