When I was growing up watching golf, I always looked at Scotty Cameron putters as the Holy Grail of short game equipment, and rightfully so. The list of tour players that use, or have used, Scotty Cameron products is long, and illustrious.
Current customers include Tiger Woods, Camillo Villegas and Ben Curtis. When I was asked to review two putters from the new Studio Select range I, unsurprisingly, jumped at the opportunity.
First, I tried the Newport, which has the “classic” appearance of a Ping Anser. The stainless steel body and cherry dot graphics, which come with any putter from the Studio Select range, are breathtakingly attractive and make me want to slide the Newport under my jacket when I leave the GM office tonight.
One feature of this putter that also aided it aesthetically is the stepless shaft, which meant there were no distractions in my periphery vision, something I’ve struggled with when using some of the more elaborate shafts available.
The lack of a sight dot on the topline also helped me to focus on the ball, although if you feel you can’t putt without one then they can be added in the custom shop.
Every putter in the Studio Select range has a raised toe profile, which helps when addressing the ball, and interchangeable weights, which might be Scotty Cameron’s answer to the new Ping iWi Series.
With the Squareback 1 Mr Cameron takes that technology one step further. Named after its distinctive shape, the Squareback 1 has different weights to the rest of the Studio Select series, because of its wider profile.
That said, I’ve never been a huge fan of large-headed putters, so when I lined up with the Squareback I wasn’t expecting as much as I had from the Newport.
However, when the ball touched the putter-face, something happened. The impact was so smooth that I had to make sure I’d hit the ball further than a few feet.
This is down to the double bend shaft-over-spud setup. The topline is also slightly thicker than the other putters in the range, which contributes to the silky feel.
Of the two putters, I was fully expecting to prefer the Newport, based on my own preference for the “classic” appearance, but after I’d used the Squareback, the Newport seemed cold and unforgiving.
If you were to ask me which one of these putters I would stash under my jacket at the end of today, I would have to go for the Squareback 1, if only for its superior feel.
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