Sometimes it really sucks to be a golf blogger. I mean, it is no fun at all to have to test awesome golf gear. It really sucks to have to go play golf round after round, testing and evaluating high end golf gear. I should quit this gig and take up something more enjoyable some day. I hear there’s an opening for photographers at Playboy.
Rife Putters
Rife Putters are very popular these days and winning many tournaments on all of the professional tours, and for good reason. Rife Putters are awesome.
Rife Hybrid Tour Mallet Overview
The Hybrid Tour Mallet fits right into the awesome category. The Hybrid Mallet has two weighted bars behind the club face which aid in two ways. First they provide a great visual feedback of the target line, promoting a straight back and straight through stroke. Second, they physically promote that same line due to the weighting and weight distribution.
Design
The Hybrid Tour Mallet is simple and elegant in it’s design. The body is cast from 304 stainless steel while the face insert is milled from anodized aluminum. The face insert’s grooves promote better roll on the greens.
The putter comes with two sets of milled stainless steel weights for the bars in the head: 15 grams and 22.5 grams each. I’ve had such great results with this putter I haven’t even changed out the default 15 gram weights yet.
Included in the box
The putter comes with a soft Winn AVS grip which feels very nice.
Stepless stainless steel shaft.
The putter comes with a lie bending tool so you can fine tune the putter for your personal setup. This can be a little scary, but it is fun tweaking the putter.
A Putting to win DVD is available if you ask for it.
Head cover which has a zippered pouch for storing extra weights.
Critiques
I have one critique. The head cover on this putter is weak. I’m not a fan of Velcro seals on head covers because they wear out and look shabby. This head cover is no exception. In fact, after only about five rounds of golf the stitching which holds the Velcro on the cover has come undone (see image to right). I got tired of fidgeting with the head cover and replaced it with a generic magnetic one.
On the next revision of the head cover, I suggest magnets instead of Velcro.
Options
Available shaft lengths include 33, 34 and 35 inches.
You can order this putter with a custom lie between 65-75 degrees. Keep in mind you can tweak the lie yourself with the included lie bending tool.
Custom lofts include 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 inches.
Customization charge is $19.95.
Sorry lefties, there’s no left handed version of this putter available.
Conclusion
There’s a reason why so may pro golfers use Rife Putters. This is a great putter. Though I’m not typically a mallet player, I really enjoy putting with the Hybrid Tour Mallet, especially on my bumpy home course greens.
The weighting and MOI of this putter keep the face aligned square during my strokes. This helps out if I lose concentration a little as the putter simply wants to stay square.
Related links
Rife Web Site
HOG Rife Photo Gallery
Finally the snow has melted and I can get back to doing one thing I love to do, GOLF! Now that my golf schedule is up and running (unless it snows again), I’ve got two new pieces of gear I’m currently working on upcoming reviews.
New ProV1x
I’ve played a couple of rounds now with the new Titleist ProV1x. My first round was in Orlando in January, when I was pretty rusty. My 2nd was a couple of days ago when I played solid yet still had my clock cleaned by my pals. So far I like the new ProV1x a lot. It isn’t as hard as previous models so my granny 100mph swing can compress it. The ball’s surface is definitely different than previous models. More to come.
Rife IBF Tour Aussie Black Putter
My pals at Rife Putters have been very cool to sponsor this year’s HOG Space Fantasy league with a putter as a prize. I’ve got two Rife putters in my review queue, the first being the very nice IBF Tour Aussie Black. I played my first round with this one a couple of days ago and when I made the right adjustments in my stance and stroke, I started dropping bombs from all over the place. Stay tuned.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
