Two of Titleist master putter maker Scotty Cameron’s more popular models and shapes – Select Newport 2 and GoLo 7 – will be available May 30 with Dual Balance technology that is touted to stabilize a player’s putter stoke. Suggested retail price for each putter will be $399.
The popular Scotty Cameron-designed Select Newport 2 putter
Titleist parent The Acushnet Company says Cameron and his team, through two decades of high-speed video research with tour players, have found that the best putters in the world keep the butt end of the putter pointed to the same one- to two-inch circle in their midsection throughout the stroke. Dual Balance putters, with a 50-gram heavier head weight (400 grams total) and a 50-gram counterweight in the butt of the putter shaft, are specifically designed to help golfers replicate that stroke, without anchoring the club to the body.
The act of “anchoring’’ any part of the putter to the body will be banned, according to USGA rules, in 2016. Adam Scott is the most high-profile Titleist staff player who currently uses an anchored stoke. Scott plays with a long-shafted Cameron Futura X putter.
“The purpose of anchoring a putter is to stop the butt end of the club from moving. Now that anchoring will be against the rules, we’ve determined the best way to help golfers regain that stability and control is through Dual Balance, by adding 50 grams to the shaft and balancing that with 50 grams in the head,” Cameron said. “It eliminates that tendency for many players to flip, push or lead the putter with their hands.
“Instead of stopping the butt end, we’re able to slow everything down. The counterweight in the shaft helps keep the butt stable and pointed at your belly. The additional head weight makes the putter slower and more lethargic without it feeling too heavy. If you only add shaft weight, you actually end up robbing head weight, which makes the head quicker. So you need to balance that out. We have found through our experiments that 50 grams in the shaft and head is ideal for weight, feel and performance. But you have to be careful to maintain the proper shaft flex. It took a lot of testing to make sure we got everything just right with these new models.”
The proper length of a Dual Balance putter, Cameron said, is three inches longer than a golfer’s conventional putter length. (Accordingly, the standard length of a Dual Balance putter is 38 inches, three inches longer than the standard length of a conventional 35-inch Scotty Cameron putter.) The additional three inches provides stability while keeping the putter unanchored.
The larger diameter, 15-inch long Dual Balance Flat Front Winn grip is designed so golfers can grip down to place the shaft weight above the hands for a smoother, more stable stroke. The grip has a colored section at the top that indicates proper hand placement (at 35 inches for standard models), keeping the 50-gram counterweight above the hands for maximum effect.
The combination of the heavier head, shaft weight and larger grip stabilize the stroke by reducing the common faults of flipping, pushing or dragging with the hands.
The Dual Balance lineup now includes a shape from each of Cameron’s three tour-validated putter families: Select, GoLo and Futura X.
“Putting is such a personal experience. That’s why we have three different putter families, with putters that are doing and saying different things,” Cameron said. “The shape of the putter may be something you like to look at, or it could be more about alignment. Either way, it’s all about finding what helps you and gives you confidence. That’s why it was important for us to bring Dual Balance technology to each of our families.”
