Golfers notoriously love a new gadget that promises to enhance their game and a new range of putters is claiming to do just that.The new Zen RDE technology putters will be launched in the forthcoming months with the aim of improving accuracy and your putting stroke through ‘micro ridges’ on the putter face.
In theory, this is very exciting for players of all standards.
But golfers are often superstitious about the putter they have in their bag and are somewhat reluctant to change something they trust and are comfortable with. After all, it’s probably the most important part of a golfer’s armoury.
So is it actually good enough to make those golfers trade in their beloved putters?
Professional golfer and captain-elect of the PGA Eddie Bullock felt and saw the benefits of the Zen RDE technology putter for himself when testing the product.
“The gold Midas touch putter felt so comfortable throughout my stroke, allowing me to keep the putter face on line more consistently, therefore significantly reducing club-head rotation.
“This gave me more confidence with my optical alignment and enabled me to execute my stroke consistently and positively from the sweet spot of the putter,” Eddie explained.
One key feature of the Zen RDE technology is that it actually helps improve your putting stroke. Furthermore founder Nicholas Middleton and his team at Zen have successfully produced ‘the world's first USGA and R&A conforming tour putter with a proven built-in training system to reduce your score’ and are convinced that their product has ‘the most accurate putter face in golf’.
The potentially new improvements to golfers putting stroke and accuracy will also be aided by the Zen F-360 frequency tuned putter shaft. This specifically designed shaft ‘enhances feel and impact stability, with pinpoint accuracy guaranteed through the combination of graphite and interlaced copper alloy’.
And it seemingly does not disappoint.
As Eddie explains: “It is generally accepted that you must ingrain good mechanics into a fundamentally sound putting stroke.”
“And this was made easier by the Zen putter”.
However, the most impressive element of the Zen RDE technology is its ability to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your own putting technique.
The ‘Flow Motion’ training method helps minimize body movement through a circular fitting, which has an ‘I’ placed on the end, that is attached to the front on the putter. Focusing your eyes on the ‘I’ on the front of the putter helps your putting rhythm as well as the ability to hit the ball in the centre of the putter face, leading to greater accuracy and distance control.
The benefits of this training method became immediately apparent to Eddie.
“Coupled with the unique design features you have the opportunity to use the putter as an excellent training tool as the aperture used correctly allows you immediate feedback,” the former European Tour competitor said. “The advanced opportunities to use the putter as a way to improve your whole technique are great, and the website also has a comprehensive video to explain the crucial benefits of the four drills available, only with the Zen Putting technology.”
Meanwhile PGA Tour professional Chris Fitt, who has spent the summer teaching golf on the west coast of America, agrees that the Zen training methods are very effective but insists that the Zen RDE technology putter will only be able to truly benefit golfers at the higher echelons of the game.
“Having tested the previous Zen Oracle mallet design putter, I can safely say that it is highly effective in carving a more consistent and confident stroke over short puts and so I would advocate it as a training aid,” the 22-year-old explained.
“But amateur golfers with poor and inconsistent putting strokes (which comprises the majority of golfers in the world) will not benefit from the micro ridges on the putter face because the putter has been designed in such a way that the ball is struck out of the sweet spot every time, which is clearly not the case even for the best golfers in the world!”
“Furthermore, from a teaching point of view 90% of the battle, when it comes to improving amateurs putting stroke, is getting them to bring the putter face back square at impact. Once this can be achieved the ball will roll true and not a lot else matters,” the University of Birmingham graduate said.
So the ability of the Zen RDE technology putter to benefit all golfers is debatable, and ultimately unrealistic, despite its impressive design and training aids.
However, the real issue for Zen is whether or not golfers, particularly the elite professionals, believe in the technology and decide to jump on the Zen Oracle bandwagon.
Some signs are positive in this respect, especially with the success Nike have had with their ‘Method’ putter which is currently used by Englishman Paul Casey, who is ranked 7th in the world.
The technology adopted by Nike is similar to that used in the Zen RDE Technology putter, as it’s multi-material face dampens impact vibrations for soft feel whilst also maintaining proper distance control by providing a faster positive forward roll on impact with the ball, resulting in greater accuracy and a truer putting stroke.
Yet, only time will tell if some of the game’s top players opt to use the Zen RDE Technology putter, but for the time being more traditional putters, like Titleist’s Scotty Cameron range, will continue to be in the bags of the world’s top players like Ryder Cup rivals Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler and regarded as the Rolls Royce of putters.
Scotty Cameron putters are entirely produced from a block of 303 Stainless Steel. Design features include a high toe set up to help players address the ball with the putter square to the target line, a factory interchangeable heel, and specific toe weights that allow for multiple length and weight options in each model in their range.
As a result, Titleist continue to maintain that a Scotty Cameron putter is ‘the finest for technical performance and the best for aesthetic appeal and overall feel’.
So competition will be fierce when the Zen RDE technology putter becomes available in the coming months.
However, Zen and founder Nicholas Middleton have designed a putter so impressive that it could well become the most trusted club in many golfers bag.
This article is also available at www.asktheexperts.org.uk under the Innovations and Invention tab.
Images from zenoracle.co.uk
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