Last year, SeeMore unveiled a step outside of their box with the introduction of the Giant FGP. After a year of feedback, they have returned with three new heads including the Giant FGPt, the Mini Giant FGP, and the Giant M1t. This review will highlight experiences with the Giant M1t along with providing some information direct from Ted Gallina of SeeMore Putters regarding their new line.
From SeeMore
According to Ted Gallina, SeeMore Director of Tour Operations, “the GIANT FGP putter has been amazingly well received at all levels, and with acceptance comes even more interest in line extensions, and of course special needs and desires driven by the tour and by avid players. The new GIANT series putters have an expanded range of visual appeal to all golfers and provide the variety that serious golfers want when being custom fit for a new putter.”
Cody Hale, SeeMore Tour Representative and SAM PuttLab technician, added that “extensive player and SAM PuttLab testing over the past year, with all of the SeeMore GIANT series models, has clearly proven that golfers find it easier to align the GIANT putter face to the target line and to hit putt after putt with greater directional and distance consistency, leading to measurably improved putting statistics”.
The GIANT putters are more forgiving than any of the leading blades or mallets on the market, with a significantly higher moment of inertia based on the size of the blade and the extreme heel/toe weighting, providing stability and feel that is beyond anything SeeMore or any other putter brand has ever offered.
New GIANT m1t: The length is 5.3 inches, flange depth is 1.6 inches, and face height is 1.2 inches. This new option provides a more classic heel toe shape to appeal to a wider range of personal preferences in terms of confidence at set up. Milled Aluminum head weight is 355 grams including 2 copper sole weights, which may be adjusted after market to stainless or tungsten for weight adjustments. Retail price is $295.
The entire Giant Series will be available beginning in February 2016. Any member of the GIANT series may be special ordered by any golfer from any golf pro shop, as with any SeeMore putter. Grundberg added “the expanded line of GIANT series putters takes the concept of a game improvement putter to an entirely new level. The GIANT putters offer golfers of all skill levels incredible feel, forgiveness, alignment, and an improved putting stroke. The only way to believe the benefits of a SeeMore GIANT putter is to try one”.
In Hand Thoughts
It is very important to get the obvious concern out in the open. The design of the Giant M1t is intended to be a magnified version of the fairly standard looking M1 putter, leaving first impressions surrounding size regardless of who seemed to get their hands on the putter. Despite the oversized look, the black finish does a nice job of masking some of the longer lines, and limits the imagination on size unless the Giant M1t happens to be near another putter at the time.
Large and visible RST lines contrast well against the slightly oversized shaft, and the alignment line running along the top line of the Giant M1t really helps to confirm alignment and positioning when addressing the ball. Unlike the original Giant FGP, the size by comparison to the ball is not nearly as obvious, especially after twenty or thirty minutes pass in a session without changing putters. As the brain gets comfortable with the size, it seems to help make sense of the overall profile in a hurry.
Performance Benefits of Giant Putters
For anyone familiar with the design of putters and the progression from bladed putter heads, it seems quite obvious that a head of this size, with the weight spread towards the heel and toe evenly, should improve the ability for a golfer to provide a decent strike on a ball. By building the head out of 100% aluminum, it allows them to control the rather normal 355g of weighting by screwing in copper weights in the toe and heel sections. Sending weight out towards the perimeter in theory should improve the stability of the face, and avoid some of the unwanted twisting by increasing overall MOI. What is great about the Giant M1t is the ability to replace the copper weights (totaling 40 grams) with either stainless weights (totaling 30 grams) or tungsten weights (totaling 55 grams and currently in development).
Unlike the Z series, the current weight structure on the Giant M1 is manipulated using a typical star wrench, whereas the Z has what would seem to be a longer lasting screw system. At one point during testing, a weight started to come loose and required tightening, which lead to a very marginal fray of the screwing mechanism which could cause trouble for someone regularly modifying their Giant M1t weight.
What seemed surprising about this design and unlike a lot of other higher MOI efforts, was the relatively traditional 355g weighting that was present. Despite being such a sizable head, SeeMore is allowing the weight to range anywhere from 345g to 385g based on feedback from the tour, with players preferring the lighter head. The flexibility will undoubtedly be a major asset for fitting and personal preference.
When making a stroke with the Giant M1t, there was not a great deal of concern about perfect gating, or much putter instability back and then through the ball. The extra size does offer a modicum of confidence that fractions off center would still impart a decent stroke on the ball, and for the most part this proved consistent putt after putt. Extreme toe or heel strikes would naturally reduce some of the total distance expected and make the face of the Giant M1t shudder, but this is well outside the normal ‘missed’ contact by a golfer.
Sound
The premium on sound, considering how many rely on it to define how much they like a club or putter, should be at the top of the priorities list for putter makers, at least in the opinion of this reviewer. Fortunately for SeeMore and the Giant M1t, the sound off the face is remarkably close to their more traditional milled offerings, which was a welcoming surprise considering the difference of the overall build. When asked how much time was spent perfecting the sound of the Giant M1t, Ted Gallina confirmed the importance of sound and feel in a putter build, and confirmed SeeMore’s overall satisfaction with the overall sound coming off the face. For a larger, potentially heavy, high MOI offering, this is a huge benefit to have; traditional sound out of a non-traditional design.
Where SeeMore is Headed with Giant
When asked about the strategy behind reducing the Giant size for 2016, and where they are headed, Ted Gallina provided the following thoughts; Last year we took the Original Giant FGP to the extreme – so from standard FGP (which was already an o/s blade head) to the Giant FGP. Big GAP in between and we knew this when first Giant was produced last year. After going on TOUR and getting feedback from many players and our SPi staff we reduced the Giant FGP head and came out with the Giant FGPt as well as a more traditional looking head the Giant m1t. At this time we have a few models on the drawing board. We had unbelievable feedback from the show on the m1t. Both the FGPt, m1t and mini Giant (Tour Giant FGP) were loved by all at the show. We are looking to see the response and then go from there.
It is clear the company is focused on what works for consumers, and that feedback is welcomed as they continue to build on the Giant platform. Whether that means they start driving into other “M” series offerings remains to be seen, but it is worth a bit of optimism.
Parting Thoughts
As golfers develop their stroke, seeking ways to improve on some of the harder-to-fix putting mechanics that plague amateurs, companies like SeeMore are finding ways to bridge the gap between a perfect stroke, and a perfect putt. The Giant M1t alongside the Giant FGPt and Mini Giant FGP provide a series of options in higher MOI offerings than their non-Giant counterparts, and this will be great to bridge the gap between a truly revolutionary FGP design, and a more traditional looking M1 head shape. For more information on the Giant M1t, visit www.SeeMore.com.
