Review Indi Golf Putters Review
The mail lady was nice enough to bring me a package today. I’ll give you guys a quick teaser for tonight and edit this post with a full “first thoughts” review in the morning before I leave for the course. I will say it’s nice and the ball roll is great. But for now, here are some pictures.
- Staff
- #53
100% truth, I didn’t want to give this one away. It’s a weapon. Enjoy it! Excited for the feedback!
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Rolled about another 100 eight foot putts with the Allison between yesterday and this morning. The ease of aim and the roll the head putts on the ball is simply intoxicating.
Some setup notes that I neglected to include in my initial review. These include what I thought may be major obstacles to my success with this putter that have turned out to be anything but that. The primarily thing is the grip installed on the putter. It is a Two Thumb Original which is quite wide and weighs in at a very hefty 190 grams. I have always used a standard pistol grip so we are talking that this is literally triple the size and 120 grams heavier. The swing weights of my putters generally check in around the low D range at 33". This one checked in around the low B range at 34.25". Huge differences all over the place! And I quickly learned that neither a conventional reverse overlap grip nor a left hand low grip (the two I typically use) were going to work with this monstrosity of a grip. So, after watching a video on the Two Thumb website, I learned how to grip the putter in a "prayer" style with my thumbs next to each other on the front of the grip and my index fingers running down each side of the grip.
Despite all of the aforementioned potential obstacles to success, the putter feels and rolls like a dream. I have experienced no issues with losing control or feel of the 350 gram head (pretty average by today's standards) during the stroke and, in fact, I believe this setup (putter weight distribution and/or putting grip) may actually be helping me make a more consistent stroke.
Some setup notes that I neglected to include in my initial review. These include what I thought may be major obstacles to my success with this putter that have turned out to be anything but that. The primarily thing is the grip installed on the putter. It is a Two Thumb Original which is quite wide and weighs in at a very hefty 190 grams. I have always used a standard pistol grip so we are talking that this is literally triple the size and 120 grams heavier. The swing weights of my putters generally check in around the low D range at 33". This one checked in around the low B range at 34.25". Huge differences all over the place! And I quickly learned that neither a conventional reverse overlap grip nor a left hand low grip (the two I typically use) were going to work with this monstrosity of a grip. So, after watching a video on the Two Thumb website, I learned how to grip the putter in a "prayer" style with my thumbs next to each other on the front of the grip and my index fingers running down each side of the grip.
Despite all of the aforementioned potential obstacles to success, the putter feels and rolls like a dream. I have experienced no issues with losing control or feel of the 350 gram head (pretty average by today's standards) during the stroke and, in fact, I believe this setup (putter weight distribution and/or putting grip) may actually be helping me make a more consistent stroke.
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Great stuff so far!
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For those that may be wondering about the glare given off by the Allison Mallet with satin chrome finish in the direct sunlight, I do not see it as an issue. I just took the putter outside in the direct sunlight and turned it to all different angles and didn't see anything that I would consider distracting. I am pretty sensitive to glare and have a few in my collection that I don't game because of it.
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That's the one thing I've wondered about and should have asked. It seems like they went shinier than a person might like with the putter but it's good to hear you don't see an issue.
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This thing looks outstanding. Only thing it's missing is a Panthers logo on the bottom!
OK, I'm going to leave my other post up and not edit it. So, read below for my first thoughts, and on course playability on the Indi Ramone. A little background on me, my putting skills (or lack there of), and previous putters I've used will give you a better idea of where this review is coming from. I am a very high handicap golfer who is on the hunt to break 100. Before this putter, I was gaming a Wilson Staff Infinite Michigan Ave putter at 35 inches. I've only gamed two other putters that were a Two Ball knock off, and an old Ben Hogan blade made by Bettinardi. Three putts are not uncommon in my game and can sometimes be regular. With that said, I'm also cheap when it comes to equipment. I'm not opposed to buying previous generations of clubs or used clubs, and I play currently play set wedges that match my irons. Again, I'm your average weekly hacker on a muni that probably wouldn't give this putter a look if it wasn't for a site like this. So, on to the review.
For starters, my four year old son thinks it's awesome that I have a Chamone golf club from the movie Cars (Ramone is a character in the Disney Cars franchise that my son loves). First thoughts, the putter looks pretty good in black, and the different color end caps show it's more than a run of the mill(ed) Anser clone putter. Looking at it from the rear, the bumpers definitely have a beefy shoulder. The logo's are not over bearing but if you're going to paint the bumper logos why not paint the Indi Golf logo in the middle. Onto the face, the milling is crisp and reminiscent of great cross checkering on a classic wooden rifle stock. Good job there Indi, I like it. Moving to the top and looking down, the dull black mutes the bumpers really well and isn't too distracting. The sight lines are a different from what I'm used to and I wasn't the biggest fan of them to start with, and time will tell if I will get used to them. I typically line the sight line of the ball to the line I want to putt and use the center sight line on the putter to square it with the ball. You can't do that with this putter for two reasons; One, it has two blue sight lines that are the width of a ball. Two, they are on the base of the putter and do not go all the way to the face. Again, time will tell if this is something I can/will get used to. So for aesthetics I give the putter a solid 4/5. The biggest gripe that I have is the head cover. For a stick that retails for $450 it should come with a better cover than my $100 made in china putter did. I left the cover in the car and used a THP cover.
I started by rolling about 100 putts with it last night in the house on a cheap eight foot matt. I hit as many types of balls I could find with it three at a time and tried to take notes as I was doing it. Balls consisted of Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft X, Super Soft, Hex Soft, ProV1, ProV1X, Tour Soft, NXT Tour, Qstar, Zstar, Volvik Vivid, and Oncore Elixir. They all seemed to have the exact same rock thud feeling and it was baffling me as to why. After fighting with a 4 year old son with playing his Hotwheel cars on my putting mat I figured out what the problem was. I was pretty much hitting the top of every ball (getting used to the Two Thumb Grip). While doing this, I will say the roll was absolutely amazing and stupid consistent. Like @Sox_Fan I watched the video to correct my grip/swing and tried again. Hitting the ball in the center of the putter face netted a slightly softer ball feel but I was still surprised with how dull the sound was. I was thinking with the aluminum it was going to be a lot louder and "tink"ier. I can get VERY used to this sound and it was a pleasant but firm knock. The best way to describe it would be a flushed blade but a whole lot quitter. Again, there really wasn't much difference in balls as far as sound goes with this putter. There might have been a slightly different feel/sound but with the wife cooking dinner and two kids wanting to play with me I couldn't tell. I lined up a couple shots for toe and heel contact and again was pleasantly surprised with the distance, feel, and straightness of each shot. Next up was seeing if I could putt two balls at the same time off the toe and heel and compare them to a center hit putt. Using the Elixir's from Oncore I lined up the shots and went for it. Seeing how individual heel and toe shots were I was not surprised that the two balls hit at the same time had the exact same roll out and distance as a center hit putt. All three balls were side by side.
Now, on course. For starters, the course was packed and I wasn't able to take as much time on the putting green as I wanted to. I had about ten putts with it there and then my cart was ready. On course, the alignment aids were hard to pick up when my shadow was over the ball. I was playing Titleist Tour Softs and noticed the same results as indoors. The putter was very easy to keep square. I was playing really well today and was flirting with the 100 mark today with not many three putts. I would love to put all the praise on the putter, but I'm not confident if I can call it on that. Again, the course was very busy and I wasn't keeping any stats other than score. What I can tell you is that Tuesday I shot well over a 120 without a single putt hole and most greens saw three putts. Today there were two holes with single putts. I'm going to take it out again next week on my goat track with the wife and have her keep track of putts.
With all that said, there are only two things I would change so far with this putter. I would add a center alignment aid on the top line of the face. Keeping with the color theme I would make it white. The other thing would be to offer a better head cover. If a customer is going to pay that much for a putter, offer an upgraded cover for it. I'm sure if they're going to pay $25 more for a SuperStroke grip, you will have equally as many pay for a better head cover. Would I buy it? Right now, I'm on a no, but I can see that changing the more I play with it.
For starters, my four year old son thinks it's awesome that I have a Chamone golf club from the movie Cars (Ramone is a character in the Disney Cars franchise that my son loves). First thoughts, the putter looks pretty good in black, and the different color end caps show it's more than a run of the mill(ed) Anser clone putter. Looking at it from the rear, the bumpers definitely have a beefy shoulder. The logo's are not over bearing but if you're going to paint the bumper logos why not paint the Indi Golf logo in the middle. Onto the face, the milling is crisp and reminiscent of great cross checkering on a classic wooden rifle stock. Good job there Indi, I like it. Moving to the top and looking down, the dull black mutes the bumpers really well and isn't too distracting. The sight lines are a different from what I'm used to and I wasn't the biggest fan of them to start with, and time will tell if I will get used to them. I typically line the sight line of the ball to the line I want to putt and use the center sight line on the putter to square it with the ball. You can't do that with this putter for two reasons; One, it has two blue sight lines that are the width of a ball. Two, they are on the base of the putter and do not go all the way to the face. Again, time will tell if this is something I can/will get used to. So for aesthetics I give the putter a solid 4/5. The biggest gripe that I have is the head cover. For a stick that retails for $450 it should come with a better cover than my $100 made in china putter did. I left the cover in the car and used a THP cover.
I started by rolling about 100 putts with it last night in the house on a cheap eight foot matt. I hit as many types of balls I could find with it three at a time and tried to take notes as I was doing it. Balls consisted of Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft X, Super Soft, Hex Soft, ProV1, ProV1X, Tour Soft, NXT Tour, Qstar, Zstar, Volvik Vivid, and Oncore Elixir. They all seemed to have the exact same rock thud feeling and it was baffling me as to why. After fighting with a 4 year old son with playing his Hotwheel cars on my putting mat I figured out what the problem was. I was pretty much hitting the top of every ball (getting used to the Two Thumb Grip). While doing this, I will say the roll was absolutely amazing and stupid consistent. Like @Sox_Fan I watched the video to correct my grip/swing and tried again. Hitting the ball in the center of the putter face netted a slightly softer ball feel but I was still surprised with how dull the sound was. I was thinking with the aluminum it was going to be a lot louder and "tink"ier. I can get VERY used to this sound and it was a pleasant but firm knock. The best way to describe it would be a flushed blade but a whole lot quitter. Again, there really wasn't much difference in balls as far as sound goes with this putter. There might have been a slightly different feel/sound but with the wife cooking dinner and two kids wanting to play with me I couldn't tell. I lined up a couple shots for toe and heel contact and again was pleasantly surprised with the distance, feel, and straightness of each shot. Next up was seeing if I could putt two balls at the same time off the toe and heel and compare them to a center hit putt. Using the Elixir's from Oncore I lined up the shots and went for it. Seeing how individual heel and toe shots were I was not surprised that the two balls hit at the same time had the exact same roll out and distance as a center hit putt. All three balls were side by side.
Now, on course. For starters, the course was packed and I wasn't able to take as much time on the putting green as I wanted to. I had about ten putts with it there and then my cart was ready. On course, the alignment aids were hard to pick up when my shadow was over the ball. I was playing Titleist Tour Softs and noticed the same results as indoors. The putter was very easy to keep square. I was playing really well today and was flirting with the 100 mark today with not many three putts. I would love to put all the praise on the putter, but I'm not confident if I can call it on that. Again, the course was very busy and I wasn't keeping any stats other than score. What I can tell you is that Tuesday I shot well over a 120 without a single putt hole and most greens saw three putts. Today there were two holes with single putts. I'm going to take it out again next week on my goat track with the wife and have her keep track of putts.
With all that said, there are only two things I would change so far with this putter. I would add a center alignment aid on the top line of the face. Keeping with the color theme I would make it white. The other thing would be to offer a better head cover. If a customer is going to pay that much for a putter, offer an upgraded cover for it. I'm sure if they're going to pay $25 more for a SuperStroke grip, you will have equally as many pay for a better head cover. Would I buy it? Right now, I'm on a no, but I can see that changing the more I play with it.
- Admin
- #63
I like the idea of naming the putters with real names. Reminds me of the old Billy Barou. That being said I like both shapes, I like the Allison a lot more in the black finish with the blue alignment lines. Price wise I think its a bit much, $349 still says high quality without being too cheap in my personal opinion. For those testing keep it coming, show us some pics of the grip you are talking about too!
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Pics are in the Two Thumb grip thread. It is not a stock grip or even an optional grip with these putters. Killing two birds with one stone with these reviews.
Here is a pic of the one I am testing. Think very wide and very heavy.
- Staff
- #65
I don’t disagree on the price. But as we know it’s damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Nice thing is they seem to run a lot of sales.
- Staff
- #67
As well as the official review in the original post
- Staff
- #69
Thanks buddy. I thought this was a perfect one to get these into the hands for some more traction. Well worth it for me!
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I know I touched on it before in one of my posts, but the line and speed retention from putts struck out towards the toe and in towards the heel is quite impressive to give credence to Indi's Colossal Sweet Spot claim. They claim this is attributable to the tungsten weighting in the toe and heel to help increase the stability of the putter head through the impact zone and I have seen nothing to dispute this claim.
The solid feel/sound of a putted ball with the aluminum face is still pretty mid blowing even after stroking a few hundred putts with it.
The solid feel/sound of a putted ball with the aluminum face is still pretty mid blowing even after stroking a few hundred putts with it.
- Staff
- #71
Yupppppp, these are unlike any other aluminum putter, maybe ever.
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I agree based on my experience. A buddy of mine has an aluminum headed Scotty Cameron mallet putter and the sound of that thing makes me cringe everytime he hits a putt with it.
Took the Ramone out on the course today and hit a bunch of different balls on the putting green with it before I teed off. I was surprised with sound I was getting from some Qstar’s. They are the only ball I’ve his so far (about at least a dozen different types) that did not make a dull knock like I’ve been getting. They were actually loud and clicky of the Ramone.
On the course today it was stupid windy and I decided to play some cheap nitro three piece balls. I was rushing a lot of putts today and hitting a lot of toe and heel shots. While there is a slight difference in feel with these shots, performance is not affected much if any at all. It acts like a SGI iron but in the body of a blade.
Before the round today I was in the pro shop talking with an employee. I mentioned the putter and grip and he asked if he could see it. He rolled a couple balls across the floor and was more impressed with the grip than the putter. I mentioned to him that it was aluminum and he was taken back a bit. He made a comment on how many putters he’s played with in the 40+ years of playing golf and would have never guessed it. His exact comment was “That sure as hell doesn’t sound like an aluminum putter!” I’m glad I got a good surprise out of him.
On the course today it was stupid windy and I decided to play some cheap nitro three piece balls. I was rushing a lot of putts today and hitting a lot of toe and heel shots. While there is a slight difference in feel with these shots, performance is not affected much if any at all. It acts like a SGI iron but in the body of a blade.
Before the round today I was in the pro shop talking with an employee. I mentioned the putter and grip and he asked if he could see it. He rolled a couple balls across the floor and was more impressed with the grip than the putter. I mentioned to him that it was aluminum and he was taken back a bit. He made a comment on how many putters he’s played with in the 40+ years of playing golf and would have never guessed it. His exact comment was “That sure as hell doesn’t sound like an aluminum putter!” I’m glad I got a good surprise out of him.
- Staff
- #74
#Itoldyouall
I was able to take the Ramone out again today on a drizzly morning. I've been struggling with hitting the ball on the up stroke of my swing causing me to hit the top of the ball low on the putter face. I don't know if it was getting used to the grip or not but I moved the ball back in my stance and noticed a big difference in ball striking off the putter. One would think that roll and distance would change but it really didn't. The only change was feel and sound going from a hard knock to a very crisp version of the same sound. I played Q-Star's on the front nine and they are the only balls that are remotely clicky sounding. NXT Tours on the back were smooth as butter on dead center hits.
After four rounds with the Ramone the ONLY negative I have is the lack of center alignment aid. On an overcast day the darker blue alignment aids on the rear of the black putter are a little hard to pick up. Today I was able to make one putts on four holes and one coming from about sixteen feet. I'm still trying to justify a $449 price tag on it and think that what @jdtox said $349 would be more reasonable. To be honest, I'm probably not the target market for this putter, and with no top center alignment aid, I'm out at $449.
I'd like to see if any other THP'ers east of Raleigh in NC would like to roll this putter for a round. I'm game to travel a bit to put this in some other forum members hands. I'm looking at you @J.B. Cobb III and some others in the area.
After four rounds with the Ramone the ONLY negative I have is the lack of center alignment aid. On an overcast day the darker blue alignment aids on the rear of the black putter are a little hard to pick up. Today I was able to make one putts on four holes and one coming from about sixteen feet. I'm still trying to justify a $449 price tag on it and think that what @jdtox said $349 would be more reasonable. To be honest, I'm probably not the target market for this putter, and with no top center alignment aid, I'm out at $449.
I'd like to see if any other THP'ers east of Raleigh in NC would like to roll this putter for a round. I'm game to travel a bit to put this in some other forum members hands. I'm looking at you @J.B. Cobb III and some others in the area.