revkev

Sacks Parente Putter Official Review RevKev Intro As my screen name suggests I am the Senior Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and School in St. Petersburg, FL. Besides that wonderful vocation I’m a husband, the father of four including a disabled young adult daughter, grandfather of nine, two of whom attend my Day School and former foster parent to a cast of thousands (well 20 or so.) Now in my mid 60’s I’ve been playing golf since I was young, maintaining a single digit handicap throughout the various stages of life that included children, seminary and moves to several different northern states, and most recently, for the past seventeen years, Florida. When I was young, I thrived on being able to hit the ball a long way (for persimmon, blades and balata.) As I moved into my mid 30’s those attributes gave way to consistency and the ability to save strokes with a solid short game. I still move the ball out there fairly well for my age and since I play an appropriate set of tees scoring comes down to approach shots and short game most rounds. Over time I’ve lost some of my consistency and so the handicap has risen to the higher single digits 8.8 at my last revision 4 or 5 a side in a nine-hole Tuesday night league. (I'm spoiled to play on great greens almost all year round) I primarily play two courses. My home club, the Bayou, is private with fast/firm tiff eagle greens, distinct tiers and then subtle breaks around the cup. Mangrove, where I play in league, is a Muni but always in great shape. So, though the greens are slower they still roll true. Chipping on Bermuda is often treacherous, so putter has become my go to club off the green. I need my putter to be an effective weapon off the green as well as on it. Golf is always in season in Florida. I read a suggestion in our group chat about finding an indoor putting place for the testers who live up North. That won’t be necessary for me, the only clowns or monsters that I will need to contend with are my playing partners and the wildlife that we occasionally encounter. (And you expected a gator - ha!) My league play will be over as our test period starts. I will play some Friday games at the club to get a feel for how the putter performs under pressure. Primarily though I will put the putter head to head against my current gamer (see my signature) in some skills challenges, 3 feet, 10 feet, 30 feet and from the practice green fringe. Like many I don’t know much about the Sacks Parente company. I’ve looked at their website and they have lots of exciting putter choices at typical premium costs. I’m most excited to see which putter gets selected for me. I’ve been live fit for putter once, had a phone fitting and virtual fitting for the three putters that I’ve gamed over the past 15 years. In each case though I selected the model myself. This will be my first ever from scratch putter fitting. Thanks Sacks Parente and My Golf Spy for this great opportunity and for making me part of a remarkable team of testers. If there is something in particular that a reader would like to know please let us read about it in the comment section below and we will do our best to test it out. Sacks Parente claims that they have; “The only putter that naturally improves your stroke.” Let’s go find out…… First Impressions Here’s the link to my first impression and also numerous pictures for the aesthetics part of this review: Initial Impressions and Unboxing Post! I’m giving first impressions 18/20 I love the look and feel of the putter. I took some points off because I just don’t’ like the cover plain and simple. To me it looks cheap, far too cheap for a $300 plus putter. I’m also concerned that it will fall off during play (a concern that has been borne out through time - we've had to make a few trips back to recover the putter head during on course play.) Overall, first impressions are great and the putter cover is functional in that it protects the club. Aesthetics There are numerous pictures of the putter above. Outside the cover it is a beautiful club. It has a great feel and sound even on off center hits although it is easy enough to teel where you are making contact with the ball. It’s a great looking and feeling putter. Others love its look and feel as well. To me it just looks as if the ball will go wherever I aim it. The aimpoint on its top is understated but very easy to line up with my desired starting point. All of this means that once I pull putter, I’m able to focus on reading my line or if I’m off the green my line and the terrain that I will be covering. 10/10 The Numbers Because I had cataract surgery on each eye throughout the month of November, I spent a great deal of time on the practice green. My fitter, Aki, had two contentions: One was that the Sacks Parente putter design would enable me to lose the slight loop that I had in my stroke – we will examine that result in the good, bad, in-between section below. The other was that a single digit handicapper like me who has a relatively good stroke (Aki praised my stroke during the fitting process) playing consistently on good greens at a private club would be better than 50/50 holing putts from the tour 50/50 range of 8 feet. So, I tried it out. Over the test period I hit 100 8 footers and holed 61 of them. In that time, I only left one short which is remarkable for me, my normal misses with putter for years have been left and short. Honestly many of the misses from 8 feet were because the ball hit some sort of imperfection (even “perfect” greens have them). I had intended to try the same test with my gamer. However, the overall weight and feel of the Sacks Parente Duke makes it very difficult to switch putters. My other two putters feel very weird to me at this point, and it would be unfair to test them side by side in this manner. I do know that for years my 50/50 mark has been between 6 and 7 feet and that I struggle getting the ball to the hole on longer putts. My accuracy with this putter is outstanding. It’s point and shoot, distance control is great, forgiveness is spot on, I almost always get the ball to the hole even on longer putts. That has not necessarily translated into a lot of made midrange putts, as yet, but it has significantly reduced the number of three putts. I only had two in the test period of December and January (I didn’t play golf in November due to those eye surgeries.) Of note those three putts came on a strange course and the greens were running exceptionally fast – they were both downhill putts. Even the club members playing with me were unable to keep the ball close to the hole on downhill putts that day. I’m particularly impressed by my ability to get the ball through the fringe and close to the hole from off the green. We redid our fringes two seasons ago and they still aren’t great. My past two rounds playing partners have commented on how good my speed is from off the green. 10/10 On-Course This one is a bit more difficult to assess. It is always golf season in Florida for certain. However, October through January is a shoulder season. Summer leagues are finished, I played my last league round a couple of weeks before my putter arrived and the in-season tournaments don’t start until the middle/end of January just after this review is being written. Still, I’ve played a good deal of golf particularly since Christmas and there is always a bit of pressure when playing with other people. None of these rounds has been as a single and they have been with a variety of different people. It’s easy enough to quantify that I am holing my short putts and that my speed is great – see above on the lack of three putts – I’ve only 2 over the past 5 rounds. I also get up and down from off the green right around 70 percent of the time. To be fair some of those attempts are fairly easy ones but others, not so much having to go across three different surfaces. 18/20 I had to dock two points simply because I have yet to putt with my Sacks – Parente under tournament pressure – I’ve made the putts I should have made and even a couple that I should not have when playing for a few dollars. All signs are promising. The Good, the bad, the in-between The good: The fitting was great, thorough, fun, the result unexpected which means the process looked at my stroke and my putting needs. Below please see two videos that are after shots from the fitting: The club looks and feels great. It’s moved my 50/50 spot back 18 inches. My distance control has improved. The bad: I’ve already mentioned that I don’t like the cover, so I won’t bang Sacks Parente on that one a second time. It is however necessary to stick with their proprietary components. They do have a nice selection of grips but the thought of having to go back to them and paying a premium when this one wears out is a negative for me. This is a putter design where you can’t mess with it once you receive it or you will destroy the ultra-low balance point that is its signature feature. It cracked me up that in a recent round my playing partner said, “My putter balances where yours does, too.” He had the cover still on his. The in-between Cost is always an issue, isn’t it. These putters retail between $300 and $500. Only you know if that’s in your budget. I would suggest that if you are spending over $500 probably closer to $700 on driver and over $1,000 for irons that it makes sense to invest that sort of money on putter, too. 18/20 Play it or Trade it? It’s in the bag to stay for this upcoming season. The look of this putter instills confidence for me every time I’m over the ball. 20/20 Conclusion There is much to like about the Sacks Parente putter that I tested. The fitting process was unique, a pre session questionnaire, virtual process, indoors under the eyes of a skilled and experienced fitter, Aki did a great job of describing his product and the benefits of the ultra-low balance point. He also clearly identified the type of putter that would fit my stroke and putter usage. The negative was that you could not touch one of their putters because the fitting was virtual. The product arrived in a reasonable amount of time. I know that some of our other testers had delays but that wasn’t the case for me. Certainly, wait times for many products have increased since five years ago, but on the other hand they are nowhere near as long as they were two to three years ago. The putter was well packaged and had a rich appearance right out of the box. The one exception was the putter cover but some of that is subjective. What I feared might happen has, it is a loose fit and it does have a tendency to fall off the putter if I’m not very careful with how I put it back on after use. Regardless the putter itself is good looking, has a great feel and it is very easy to align. Putts roll smoothly, online and the proper distance. There is very little loss of speed on mishits. I have no trouble getting the ball to roll across fairway length grass, fringes and even out of light rough. I’m thinking that my Sacks Parente series 91 “The Duke” putter will remain in my bag for a long, long time. Final Score: 94/100 Thanks, one last time to Sacks Parente Golf and My Golf Spy for this testing opportunity and also for any of you who are reading this review. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions that weren’t answered.

This is so easy - I missed a 3 footer to loose in sudden death in a championship flight semi final of the Ithaca City Championship when I was a college student there. I vowed that I would never do that again. I'd just have my opponent pick the birdie putt up and be done with it! Actually, knowing the outcome ahead of time is kind of unfair. I'd rather lose to the opponent's good putt than to a mistake of my own although honestly at my level, at least at my level at my best, low single digit handicap, most matches are won or lost by mistakes. My most recent swore into match play was like that, there was some good play but generally speaking we won the matches where our opponents made more mistakes than we did.

That will be my next step or first step although I'm going to throw the D7 forged's back in the bag for the time being prior to trying that experiment. Golf for the remainder of the year is likely to be problematic for me. I have my surgical consult on the cataract thing on Monday - I'm hoping to get those procedures done in November (before the action heats up in December). My eyesight is really deteriorating at this point seemingly by the day. I appreciated the song quote - and this thread is about any sort of golf regret for certain not just equipment related - could be I wish I had joined that club before they started a buy in (a friend of mine left a club a few years ago and just got back in because he bought a home on the course - there was no buy in when he left - it's 10K now.)

I was fit for and purchased a set of Srixon ZX 5 2's this past summer. The shafts are 65 grams which would be a similar weight to what I have in my Wilson D7 forged. I'm sure that this is why the fitter went for that weight. However, the swing weight is C9 verses D3 in the D7 forged. I love the turf interaction, look at address and feel, at impact, of the Srixon's. However, I think that the swing weight is too light for me. I have trouble flighting the ball down or even feeling where the clubhead is with my short irons, especially. I'm going to go to a different fitter to address the issue (after my cataract surgery.) It's a classic example of how one fitting session is not always enough - I think the guy was trying to save me some money - I would have needed to pay a significant upcharge to move in the steel fibers that would have gotten me the additional swing weight that I need. That's my guess - while you never want to tell someone who is trying to sell you something that money is not an object I would not have objected to the additional cost to get this one right. So in this case I wish I had opened my mouth because now it's going to cost me more latter. The other big one is that I wish I had not traded in my Ping G 400 for the 410 - I really lost out on that one. What's something golf related that you wish you had or hadn't done?

My season never ends so it's hard to say - in fact normally October high point of it. I've played in a couple of tournaments this year including my clubs member/guest with some success - no wins but won some money. It looks like I'm going to finish in second place in the B flight in my summer golf league - A and B flights are single digit handicappers so I've stayed in that category and played to my handicap. Personally it was a very hard summer with a very difficult family issue so I didn't play as much as I would have liked. But I'm hoping to remedy that - November/December are great golf months in Florida.

Did play 9 yesterday afternoon and shot 39 - felt much better - cooler weather plus two more days removed from COVID really helped - I felt as if I could have gotten another 9 in.

Played 9 yesterday and dutifully posted my 39 -

Just saw this thread for the first time. I have an SC 4 and had extensive experience with the Rapsodo though not the newest one. I had a huge issue with the Rapsodo - it would often over heat in the summer in Florida - I tried lots of different remedies but none ever worked. It was accurate for distances, inflated for swing speed but deflated for smash factor so that was a wash. The lack of spin rates was a bummer. For my purposes the SC 4 is much more useful - I've never had it overheat even in July/August. I've had a couple of trackman sessions in the past 6 months and found that the numbers that I get on the SC 4 are very much in line with what I get there. Of course I'm stuck with range balls so spin rates on those aren't great - however it's such a simple set up/take down that I have used it on the course with my gamer balls a few times. I think the spin rates are spot on there. I struggle with too much spin on driver all the time - I really like the ability to spot check that - since going to my new driver in the late spring I've gotten that rate down to around 2,800 (from the low 3,000.) I get into the 3,000's with range balls but have stayed in the 2700 to 2900 range on the course with my gamer ball, definitely gained distance and accuracy even in the summer months when the ball doesn't go as far. As I've also found that my gapping with my wedges is off - I have some decisions to make there in the coming months as well as in determining golf balls. I've been gaming the Chrome Soft x LS this summer - that has really helped bring the spin rate down. I've playing with the Pro V1 as I want some more green side spin - it seems to be a better compromise in that regard although I do loose a little launch angle, total height with it off of driver - same total distance though.

Thanks - I’m going to give 9 holes a try after church this afternoon. We had an old front move through so it’s uncharacteristically cool today.

It would be the best of both worlds - I’d more likely do Wisconsin/Florida I don’t have that option but that would be ideal.

First range session after my first bout with COVID. Hit it well but 30 minutes was all that I could handle and my irregular heartbeat got triggered at the end. This virus may not have the teeth that it had at the start but it's still nothing to laugh about - symptoms were mild fluid but the after kick is noticeable. I hit a lot of wedges - the last two full shots that I hit were a great drive followed by a beautiful 8 iron. When the heart started racing my thought was - well if that was my last shot ever I went out with the bang.

Exactly - if you play 9 you need to post the 9 and many people only have time for 9. I'm often one of those. Most of my "rounds" this summer have been 9 holes. Try playing 18 in 110 degree heat index. I double dog dare you!

@Sixcat I don’t know what a reasonable threshold of pay would be for the Ryder Cup because I don’t know what revenues or profits are. I also disagree with OBs statement. There has been pay for play in sports since Gladiator days. I also respect your opinion and I find the Euro team more like able than the US one. I still rooted for tte US but if you threw these 24 guys in a tournament field I’d be rooting for Shane Lowry. I can’t recall who said that Spieth shot 63 on Sunday - sorry not buying that one unless there were tons of give me’s involved. Every professional sport has gone the numbers route. How could golf not? This course is used for a DP world tour event, they know that the average from the right tough is .46 strokes higher than the left on hole x, that you go for the pin if it’s on the back right on 12 and middle of the green if front right, etc Plus Europe did a detailed analysis of how to set the course up to its advantage. Again this is nothing new in sports just more precise. Where do you think the term Baltimore chop came from? I don’t fault them for doing that. I applaud them. If they want to change it up let the visiting team set the course up. Home team picks it, visiting team sets it up.

Did anyone catch the story about Xander’s dad? I would reiterate that I don’t think it’s fair that people are making 100’s of millions of dollars for this event and the players get nothing. I’m all in on covering the expenses (which means reasonable salaries for organizers) and give the rest to mutually agreed upon charities. Then we’d have an event that was truly for the love of the game. Any bets on that happening?

Completely agree - I don’t see anyway that the top 3 US players played as well as the top 3 Euros. And I’m not saying that US would have won had they not taken 5 weeks off. Euro earned that victory, they were the better team. From the get go I thought these teams would be even on a neutral course everyone playing well.

I think it mattered but not enough. I agree that JT played fairly well. Let's face it Ricky and Jordan were absolute flame outs. In regards to the US (they can't control how well the Euro's played) I will continue to maintain that not playing for 5 weeks was a huge mistake. We will never know if that would have made enough difference. I've heard about people being sick. Okay, it's not fun to be sick and play golf in 85 degree heat. But let's remember that Phil Simms won a Super Bowl MVP with the flu and a 103 degree fever. So I will try it again, would players take 5 weeks off before a major? This year and many years the Euro's approach the Ryder Cup like a major, the US team never seems to. The best players on the European Team seem to have the ability to get the most out of their partners, the US top players, never seem to - even when they win. On a side note, I got so sick of those commercials that I'm wondering if they weren't the cause of my COViD. I honestly can't remember what was being advertised and they were the same ones - ad nauseum. There was one that was incredibly offensive to me - it featured Tony Finau and Annika. It started by saying they were giants of the game - I love Tony Finau but he does not belong in the same breath as Annika, consider that he could not even make the US Ryder Cup team. Calling him a "giant" along side of her - that was insulting!

I always root for the US because I'm an American. In tournaments there are Euro players that I will root for over US players but not in the Ryder Cup. (BTW Luke Donald was always a guy that I would root for so I'm very happy for him.) One of the things that I admire about the Euro team is how their stair players coach up their teammates. It lets them split up Hovland, Rahm and Rory and multiple those talents in the four ball and best ball portion of play. It's remarkable. I can't remember when the top US players were able to do that on a consistent basis. It's been going on since the 80's.

It was an attempt at sarcasm on my part. I don't think he should have given that putt at all. I'm not sure how you adjudge the criteria for that award. It's pretty hard for us or the press to know which player had the greatest impact as a teammate inside the locker room. I'd suggest they consider giving two of these award, one for each team and have the captain's determine the winner. That would make the most sense. Regardless great win by the Euro's, well earned and deserved.

I guess Ricky really wanted to win that Jacklin/Nicklaus award.

What a par!!! Given his week I'm happy for him that he didn't have to deal with that monkey on his back.

Up to the captains Just a ridiculous ball in the water on 16 by Homa. I can't even - all he had to do was hit 5 wood or driving iron short right of the green after Fitz hit that ball in the water. That's twice that the US had brain farts on that hole. Let's see if he can hole one out here to keep this thing going.

You must be kidding me

Don't let Zach Johnson talk to Homa at this moment.

Having sent articles to the press and been covered by them this is how they spin things. You could hear the roar of the crowd while waiting to see Scottie's chip on 18. The announcers then made it sound as if Rose holed his putt after that chip, as if Rahm's win was the impetus for that make. Bull crap Just always remember whenever you are hearing news whether unimportant like the Ryder Cup or significant like a war or some other world shaping event that you are hearing and even seeing it through someone else's lens. It is what it is but you need to read/watch/observe interpretively. The who will make the wining point watch is on.

That shot by Rahm was sick.