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THP TV - Bridgestone True Balance Putters

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I've been thinking a lot about this putter and the unique balance point and the grip issues people have been having. In theory, if you used lead tape to increase the weight of the head, couldn't you use a normal grip without changing the balance point assuming the weight of the tape equaled the change of weight in the new grip? Or am I just saying crazy things?
 
J4U said:
Rolled these yesterday, shocked at the ease of dropping them or just getting close. Can tell when your off the center insert, but still pretty accurate on those mishits.

The longer putts were sick at how easy it was to get it close, dropped a few as well. The grip feels odd, but could get used to it. A bit bigger than my 2.0, but not by much. I think a lot of people will do well with them if they can get over the different feeling of a putter they've used before. Not as easy to set up without the RST, but will be rolling them again.
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Digging your thoughts J4U. I love a putter that's audible on putts that are even slightly off center.

A ton of talk and skepticism about the grip, but that kind of gets me pumped up to get my hands on it to see first hand whether it's tolerable. I've never been a die hard "must play this grip" type of guy, so I think I'll have fun seeing if I become a die hard "refuse to play with this grip" kind of guy haha!
 
Johnny mojo said:
Doug, when we spoke with Bridgestone, they mentioned that there would be two different sizes of the Yellow grip. Do you happen to know if the one you rolled was the larger or smaller of the two?

JM
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They only had the DT-01 and DT-03 at the PGASS when I was there. Rolled both of them, and the 01 was a better feel (don't get along to well with blade type). They seemed to have the same size grip, but honestly didn't pay that much attention. If there are going to be two sizes, not sure which one I was rolling with. Did feel a bit bigger than a SS 2.0 and not as big as a 3, but it wasn't round like the SS either.

Trout Bum said:
That's good info, I like the immediate confidence you gained with it. I wonder how well they'll work if you put a smaller grip on it? is the grip part of the performance and feel?
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The grip is part of the counter/counter and would probably offset some of their tech and set up I would think. One big thing I noticed besides the grip was the shaft...so light with the graphite.


They wanted to stand up by themselves, but the PGASS had security wraps on the shafts so they wouldn't quite stand on their own.


IMO, if someone walks into to a store and grabs one of these off the shelf, they have a high percentage of putting it right back down and walking away. Who does that right? I mean if I'm checking out putters, I will roll it regardless of the first feel. What I meant by that is the shaft weight is so light and that grip so different, then you look at the price tag and double check. A lot of people equate weight with quality, sometimes? The street shopper won't understand what they've done with these. They did have tags that explained them, but hadn't put them on the putters yet. Hopefully they will get noticed and then really have people intrigued to roll it...then watch out.

One other thing I might say, is that if you hold your putter in your lifeline and not in your fingers, I don't think you will get all of the awesome feeling it can provide. I honestly was taken back by how easily it was to find, or get near the hole with these. Really wanting to find the DT-02 and give that a spin, or maybe not...seriously took me by surprise these did.
 
Canadan said:
A ton of talk and skepticism about the grip, but that kind of gets me pumped up to get my hands on it to see first hand whether it's tolerable. I've never been a die hard "must play this grip" type of guy, so I think I'll have fun seeing if I become a die hard "refuse to play with this grip" kind of guy haha!
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When I first grabbed them out of the basket (yep they hadn't even put them on the floor yet), I was almost nervous about crushing the grip. You'll understand when you pick one up...odd is really all I could think of to describe it. Almost a feeling that durability could be a concern going in and out of the bag...but my tennis shoes hold up to me punishing them every day right?
 
Nebgolfer said:
I've been thinking a lot about this putter and the unique balance point and the grip issues people have been having. In theory, if you used lead tape to increase the weight of the head, couldn't you use a normal grip without changing the balance point assuming the weight of the tape equaled the change of weight in the new grip? Or am I just saying crazy things?
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Not sure of the weight, but would think that it would be a lot of tape you would have to add (this grip is almost not even there). It has to do with the total makeup of the putter and I don't think you can really make another putter feel like this one.
 
Contacted the private club that has these today. They are in. The plan is to take my putter and 3 B330RX's out tomorrow after work and do a side by side comparison. If everything goes right I will be coming home with one and it will go with me to FL next week.

Stay Tuned.......

JM
 
Stopped back in to drop some clubs off for re-shafting and had to roll the TrueBalance putter again.

I still can't get my mind to trust that the putter will continue moving through the whole swing without add some extra umpfff. It's truly amazing how light this putter is. In due time we are talking lethal!!!
 
mmaynard11 said:
Stopped back in to drop some clubs off for re-shafting and had to roll the TrueBalance putter again.

I still can't get my mind to trust that the putter will continue moving through the whole swing without add some extra umpfff. It's truly amazing how light this putter is. In due time we are talking lethal!!!
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So does the light weight actually take away from your confidence, or is it just spending more time to become comfortable?
 
IceyShanks said:
So does the light weight actually take away from your confidence, or is it just spending more time to become comfortable?
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Just a different feel, no reduction in confidence. Give me 48 hours rolling this and I won't have any issues.

Note I haven't rolled the steel shaft option yet.
 
Guess what?!

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JM
 
How are ya liking it, Mojo?
 
Which one did you go with Johnny?
 
NOOOOOOICE!

I take it that you approved like I thought you might...
 
nice JM! did you go with mallet or blade? what putter did you game prior and are your thougts?
 
That right Johnny is a JB teaser!!! Details???
 
Nice JM. I went to Austad's hoping they'd have them in (that's where Bridgestone Josh told me would have them) and they didn't have them in yet to try out. Can't wait to hear your thoughts, and like everyone else I'm wondering which model you went with!
 
I can't wait to roll one of these again...I really liked the prototype ones that we got to roll in MB last year.
 
O.k. So here goes. This might take a little time as I'm formulating on the fly, but wanted to get this down. NOTHING IS FINAL HERE. JB from Bridgestone was kind enough to get me in touch with a country club down the street that would have True Balance when they came out. Ridgeway CC is literally about three miles from my front door, and home of 2003 PGA champion Sean Micheel
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I called The pro shop and spoke with Joe on Tuesday and he told me to come on over. I was committed that evening, but I had his number! Today when I left for work, I put my Seemore and a couple of Bridgestone B330RX's in the car with every intention of getting over there before the sun set. I called Joe at about 3:30 and asked if I could head over after work. He told me it would be no problem but they closed at 6:00 and only had the TD-03. In all fairness, I was pretty much interested in that one anyway since I'm currently gaming a Seemore blade style anyway

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Continued.....
 
My plan was to take my Seemore and the TD-03 out to the putting green there at the club and do some side by side testing. I got to do this and have some pics, but time was very limited, so it was not near as in depth as I would have liked. I will have more later though when I can get to my practice facility.

About three thirty this morning, we got all that bad stuff that went through DFW late yesterday. As a result of all the water, the putting green had not been cut or rolled and the grain was really popped, which you can see in the pics below. This contributed to quite a bit of trepidation later when I was deciding to pull the trigger. I'll discuss more in a bit.....

Even in this picture you can see how pronounced the grain was today

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Uphill and into the grain with the Seemore from 15 feet. The TB putter is laying down
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Same put with the TB and the Seemore laying down.
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Now, on the face, these two pictures don't tell the entire story, but the TB putts were closer and more consistent......that time. I ended up getting lost in messing with the putter, so not too many more pics from the course.

Continued....
 
I ended up putting for quite a while and the Seemore stayed on the fringe while I put the TB through its paces. This putter is light! I found myself struggling to get the ball to the hole when into the grain. Down grain and cross grain were no problem and well struck putts rolled very well. I truly believe that the lack of cutting and rolling of the greens was a big factor coupled with my unfamiliarity of this putter when going into the grain.

Lets talk about the feel. This thing feels great. I typically like a heavier putter. While light, I can still feel the head throughout the stroke. It took and will take a little adjustment to my stroke though because while the head can be felt throughout the stroke, muscling through with this putter was no bueno for me. I liken it to the KBS shafts requiring a measured tempo for the best performance. Same thing here.

Sound? There are three different sounds associated with this putter.

1. Tinny click. This is usually from an equator of the ball strike with the bottom portion of the blade (looking up is usually the culprit)

2. Thud. From a muscled stroke that was rushed. It sort of smothers the ball.

3. Muted click that I can only describe as consistent with most insert putters. Maybe closer to a milled face. Think about it like knowing from the sound that the putt was good. You'll know...

Looks? Maybe I should have started there. You already saw the head cover and I will say that it is of high quality and pretty damn bad ass looking! You will likey! The fiberglass shaft has the Bridgestone logo on the back side so as not to distract at address
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Head shape is classic Anser blade style and very clean.
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continued.......
 
It's so cool when they stand up on their own like that.
 
Great read so far JM. While I didn't get any on course action I can relate to what you have described so far.
 
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