Bettinardi Putter Review – And Giveaway!

Here we go again kids! Last month’s Cleveland Golf CG15 Wedge Giveaway was such a success that we wanted to do another contest. Last month’s winner Steve got two brand new Cleveland CG15 wedges, so I was wondering how we could top that. We are very excited about the new Bettinardi putter line for 2010, and thanks to the fantastic folks at Bettinardi Putters, we are going to give away 2 of their beautiful new flat sticks right on time for their debut at the PGA Merchandise Show! What better way to do a contest than by having two winners? Give away something that nobody else has even seen yet!

Robert Bettinardi has been making milled putters for some of the world’s best players since the late 90s, and he quickly became known as one of the game’s finest craftsmen. He has made putters under contract for Ben Hogan Golf and more recently, Mizuno Golf. Now back on his own in his shop in Tinley Park Illinois, his new line of one-piece milled putters are designed with total creative freedom, and he’s come up with a line that will certainly turn heads, just as it did last week with my test unit on the practice green!

The fine folks at Bettinardi sent me two putters to try out from the 2010 BB line – a BB1 and BB8. The BB1 is the reoccurring heel and toe cavity back design that was created by Karsten Soleheim with the original Anser putter, and has now been updated by Bettinardi by applying his trademark honeycomb face milling and one piece technology to insure accuracy and perfect combination of feel and touch. It’s not too soft and not too harsh, but just right. The ball pops off the face with a muted click. With the BB8, we see the two-tiered heel and toe weighted cavity back design being squared off for a sharper look, accompanied with the plumber’s neck for a nice combination of modern design and classic lines. The top line is visibly thinner and squared off lines make the putter appear slightly larger than it is, and in my eyes that square look makes it easier to line up. The feel is almost identical to the BB1, with the BB8 feeling a bit lighter at impact. The difference however is hardly noticeable.

The new line also includes other models – the BB25 is a modern blade style with slightly tapered body and a single flange and milled flow neck. The BB26 is a center shafted heel-toe weighted design that is similar to the BB1, but with a spud style neck and slightly thicker appearance. The BB32 is the classic face balanced mallet with a pear shape and spud neck with a double bend shaft. All the putters have a single sight line and the standard Bettinardi pistol grip made by Lamkin. This grip is rather thin, and reminds me a bit of the classic pingman grip that is so popular on tour. All the putters have 3 degrees of loft and head weights of 348 grams.

You won’t find any new Bettinardi putters in your favorite retail shops like Edwin Watts, Golf Galaxy and Golfsmith. Bettinardi’s new putters are only being sold through green grass accounts – golf course pro shops and select club fitting shops. This will be sure to make them harder to find, but also serves to make them more unique. Check your local pro shop this spring for these beauties. Bettinardi also is offering the new Country Club series, which is a BB1 style in a satin nickel finish, with your club’s logo on the bottom. Clubs in the top 100 in the US will also feature a “Top 100” stamp, making the putters even more exclusive and collectible.

Ok, so how can I get my free putter?!?!

It’s easy – to enter the contest and have a chance to take home one of the two Bettinardi putters we have to give away, simply enter your email address in the box below! By giving us your email address, you’ll be subscribing to our email updates, so that every time a new article is posted at intothegrain.com you’ll get it delivered right to your inbox. It’s pretty painless. If you are already an email subscriber, you are automatically entered – another benefit of subscription!

You’ll have plenty of time to enter this contest – the entry deadline is Febuary 28,2010. Two winners will be chosen at random on March 1,2010 and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter. We are giving you a $275 putter, so the least you can do is send us a picture of you owning your playing partners with it! We’ll post the picture on our Facebook Fan Page for people to see. You’ll want to join the Facebook page anyway, because you’ll see outtakes and videos you won’t see here, and in the future we will run a contest that only our Facebook fans will be eligible to win, so join us today!

Concerned with your privacy? So are we. We promise we will NOT use your email address to do ANYTHING other than deliver the latest content to you, and contact you if you are chosen as a winner. We will not sell your email address or spam you, so enter with confidence! Only email subscribers will be eligible to win the putters, and only if you subscribe by Feb 28, 2010 can you win. Enter your email address below, and good luck!!