Gear: Bettinardi Antidote Series putters
Price: $430 each
Specs: Milled 303 stainless steel head with 6061 aluminum
Available: Nov. 29
Who It’s For: Golfers who struggle to start putts on their intended target line and players who struggle to square the face at impact.
What You Should Know: The Antidote putters are Bettinardi’s first “zero torque” putters and are designed to keep the face square to your stroke’s path and help golfers get putts started on their intended target line more easily.
The Deep Dive: You would be hard-pressed to find a golf equipment maker more associated with traditional clubs and designs than Bettinardi, the boutique putter maker based in Tinley Park, Illinois. For decades, the milled blades and mallets the company released have looked like they should be sold in jewelry stores, but putters like the BB Series and the Queen B series were made to be used and enjoyed. With the release of the two new Antidote putters, the SB1 blade and the SB2 mallet, Bettinardi joins a growing number of putter makers that now offer zero-torque putters.
Bettinardi refers to the balance and weighting of the Antidote putters as Simply Balanced. It works by inserting the shaft directly into the putter at the center of gravity (CG). This results in two things. First, instead of the putter being either face balanced or having toe hang, the toe of the Antidote putters goes up when you balance the club. The second, and more important feature, is the face is not weighted or balanced in a way that encourages it to either open or close as you make your stroke.
If you don’t manipulate your hands or wrists, the face of the putter should stay square to the path of your putting stroke, regardless of whether it is straight, has a slight arc, or makes a significant arc. For golfers who struggle to start putts on their intended line or who have trouble squaring the face consistently at impact, this zero-torque design could be helpful.
Both Antidote putters are center-shafted, and the shaft goes into the heads behind the face, creating reverse offset, or onset, which for some golfers can appear odd when they look down in the address position. A benefit of the onset design is golfers can see the ball very clearly when they set up to make a putt because there is no part of the shaft or hosel to obstruct the view.
To shift weight and create the balance needed to produce a zero-torque design, Bettinardi used silver-toned 303 stainless steel in the front, heel and toe areas of the Antidote putters, but the blue portions of the heads are diamond-blasted finished 6061 aluminum. The aluminum weighs significantly less than the steel, so more weight could be shifted toward the face.
The grooves in the hitting area are designed to soften the feel of impact.
SB1 – This blade weighs 360 grams and comes standard with three degrees of loft and a 70-degree lie angle. Bettinardi designed it with a dark blue alignment line on the topline and another on the back flange to make aiming the face easier. A 400-gram counterbalanced version designed to help golfers quiet their hands and wrists during the stroke is also available.
SB2 – This square-shaped mallet weighs 360 grams and also comes standard with three degrees of loft and a 70-degree lie angle. It has a short blue alignment line on the topline and a pair of blue lines that extend back from the topline. The SB2 is also available in a 400-gram counterbalanced version.
Here are several close-up images of the Bettinardi Antidote putters: