As one of the few sites on the internet that publishes a new review each and every day, The Hackers Paradise has seen its share of odd ball products. However this club may take the cake for the craziest looking item we have come across in our time of reviewing products. At first glance the Axis 1 Eagle putter is something extremely unique. It looks kind of like a putter, but more like a really nice looking household or gardening tool. I will say this though, we were all kind of eager to try it out.
Here is what the company has to say about it:
Axis 1 Golf founder and CEO Luis Pedraza has announced the introduction of golf’s first perfectly balanced putter- the Axis 1 Eagle.
Innovative club designers have understood for decades that traditional designs left putters poorly balanced and prone to twisting in the golfer’s hand, making it difficult to maintain the perfect pendulum swing required to hit straight putts. Now, with the emergence of new materials and techniques – including the latest versions of Computer Aided Design software technology – experienced and innovative designer Luis Pedraza has realized the goal – the Axis 1 Eagle, the golf industry’s first perfectly balanced putter. The Axis 1 Eagle is a revolutionary patented innovation destined to change the landscape of contemporary putter designs.
The Eagle’s design shifts the heel weight forward of the striking face and places the center of gravity of the putter exactly in line with the axis of the shaft and right on the sweet spot of the club. The result is the only putter to be both shaft and face balanced. This unique combination promotes a true pendulum swing that eliminates the torque inherent in the major brand putters, which all have a tendency to rotate open throughout the putting stroke.
Obviously when you get an item like this one to test out, it does not take long to round up some testers for some trial on the putting green. Before we even got started I noticed something a little different with this one, and I do not mean the looks. Do you ever spin your putter in your hand before a shot? If you do, you will notice that most spin in an oblong type of direction. Spin this one a couple of times and it brings back memories to the old Bulls Eye putters of years ago the way they are perfectly balanced in the middle. The putter just spins like a top. In the media reports they speak of the perfect balance, but a simple drill like this really showcased it well.
Four of us took turns hitting the ball on the putting green and what we found were really kind of different. The first thing I want to say is that the first time you set the putter down to putt it sets up EXTREMELY closed. But once you get used to setting up after a few putts you get used to making sure that the putter is square. Because of this little tweak, I found myself really setting up and putting the ball where I wanted to. Far less pushes or pulls. The other three guys all felt the exact same way. The milled face is quite soft as well, not the softest we have felt, but it does have very good feel. Feel with good alignment equal less putts per round. We putted around the practice green for about an hour and we came away with a couple of thoughts.
1. The aesthetics of this putter can really turn off traditionalists, but once you got used to it after a few putts, it is quite nice.
2. Quite a conversation piece. So many people stopped to ask what we were using.
3. The putter has great feel and the copper insert adds some nice touch to it (looks only).
However not everybody liked the Axis 1 Eagle. Some of the people that were able to walk up in try it, really just could not get over the looks. But if you can get past the craziness, you will realize that this is a tremendous putter.
There are a couple of steel counter weights in the head of the Axis 1 Eagle which allow you to alter the weighting. There’s one weight in the toe and one in the heel. I can assure you that you will not be tweaking these one bit. I put the putter in my bag for a few weeks and played 7 rounds with it. A couple of things are recurring for me with it. It is a serious conversation piece, every single person I played with just had to try it out. Again, not everybody liked it, but they all wanted to try it. The other thing that stands out after gaming this flat stick is that I putted really well with it. The ball rolls extremely true and the feel is very good.
Overall we found that the Axis 1 Eagle is a very good putter. Is it magical and will drop every 10 footer in the hole? Of course not, but when you get used to the looks and setup properly, the weighting and feel take over and it really works as described. In our testing all four of the people that tried it said they would put it in their bag full time “despite the looks”. That is something to really remember is that aesthetics in a putter, can really bring confidence and if you are not happy looking down at your equipment, you may not hit it well no matter how good it is. I enjoyed the look of the Axis 1 Eagle, but some did not not. But I truly believe that if people got to practice with it briefly they would really enjoy the results. The Axis 1 Eagle has a street price of around $300 and is something that people should definitely try if they are looking for a new flat stick. It may be exactly what you are looking for. For more information on Axis Golf products, check out their website at www.axis1golf.com.
Till Next Time
Josh B.
