More and more consumers are expanding their searches when they look for their next putter past the large equipment companies to the smaller brands that we like to call “boutique brands” here at THP. Recently our testers heard about a fairly new company out of WI that was making some very nice equipment and we just had to see about giving them a try. THP had a chance to get to the bottom of how this brand came to be recently.
THP – When did you start the company?
CM – About 2 years ago.
THP – What made you get into the putter business?
CM – About 15 years ago my father made putters, but really never did anything with them, so as avid golfers I thought lets give this another shot. We come from many generations of machinist and golfers, we are a specialty machine shop, and known through Milwaukee as very detailed and known for quality work.
THP – How many styles are available right now?
CM – Even though we have only 2 putters out, we have many on the drawing table, ready to be produced.
THP – What separates Crissmill from other brands?
CM – Golf and machining is our passion and we will only produce quality merchandise. We also work hard to keep the cost down on our putters, we want to make a high quality putter that’s still affordable.
comparatively speaking.
First Impressions
When we first laid our eyes on the Crissmill line, we were pretty excited. Both putters have a rustic almost garage like look, yet refined in all the right places. Subtle changes in texture and shape set it apart in appearance from just about anything we have seen to date. The thick vertical milling on the face brings on a touch of class that many putters are lacking on the market right now and the people here really enjoyed. One of the putters has the Crissmill name engraved in the cavity on the back, while the other had the logo on a separate slim piece of metal almost “bolted” on. The testers definitely preferred the looks of the piece with the engraving. Both putters have a hefty weight to them coming in at close to 380 grams, but once you got a few strokes in with them, it bothered nobody and in fact many really enjoyed the extra weight.
Putter Thoughts
THP and its testers spent considerable time with the Crissmill putters both on the course and the putting green and we came away extremely impressed. We spoke about the looks above, but the real area where the Crissmill putters shine is in the performance. Both putters offer a crisp and smooth impact strike that is quite thick and hearty. If you are a fan of natural milled faces and anything far away from a soft insert, this could be the one for you. The extra weight really assisted most with stabilization through the stroke and the classic looking shape and style inspire confidence as you setup to the ball. The bumpers and backside of the putters have quite a few areas of “cutouts” and to us this means that it opens so many doors for customization. We would have definitely liked to have seen a little more splash of color or something eye catching in there, but that is merely personal preference and we do know that Crissmill offers some different color options which is always a plus. Back to the feel and the performance, what we found is that the smooth and crisp impact strike works extremely well with the weighting of the putters and helps you roll your putts extremely true.
Overall
This relatively new company is on to something with their first line. Both putters performed as good or better than they advertised and the classic good looks with a modern twist on styling is destined to be a big hit. Going in we thought that the extra weight would cause issues for many of our testers, but coming out, most felt as though it helped them stabilize and get through the ball after impact. Finding a boutique putter company with this kind of equipment and craftsmanship coming in at prices under $250 is a rare gem, and with the performance we are seeing, we expect this small Wisconsin company to make a pretty big splash throughout the next few years. For more information on the Crissmill Putter brand or to check out some of the putters they have available, head over to their website at www.crissmillputters.com.
Till Next Time
Josh B.
