ChiefMikeOfficer

Since it's just unmeasured feel for me so far, there is no science to back this up, but it definitely is a different feel (never thought I'd actually buy into that for a putter, but here I am). My initial reaction after hitting five 4-footers last night was that the TPT is "slightly heavier and more stable", both positives for me (as I noted in the initial impression post, my shady weighing methods might back up the "heavier" feel -- the new one came in consistently ~10g heavier when measuring at multiple angles, but I don't have an official scale).

Putter arrived today after a bit of a joyride close to the Canadian border (originally expected to get here Saturday, but got here this morning). So, first impression post is up! General thought -- super nice looking putter, feels very slightly heavier than the one I've been using. Looking forward to digging into actual performance differences.

Absolutely. Current miss is everywhere but most common seems to be missing on the right side, likely leaving the face open. We'll see if the TPT gets some more consistency (so far, I'm 3/3 on 4 footers, right in the center! But 2/2 with the Accra on that same putt, dead straight in the basement). My actual putting issue is more with lags -- sure, I miss some short ones, but I tend to leave myself longer putts than I should. I'm hoping I can dial it in a bit more with the TPT, but we'll see.

Intro post is up!

Oh, nope, definitely not going to make more. But I'll miss them with a more solid strike.

I'm using the Link with an Accra shaft

Intro Alright everyone, I’m back and pumped for another shaft test! (although hopefully this one doesn’t add as much distance as the last one ). I was hesitant to sign up for this because it’s late in the season here in Madison, WI, and it’s stat-heavy (wasn’t sure if I would have access to the right equipment), but after some post-selection discussion and research, we are good to go. Also, the LAB team has been absolutely on top of things, so where I expected almost this entire test to be indoors (thinking production would be 4 weeks or so), the putter is already on it’s way here – now need to contact my SAM guy and schedule something a lot earlier than we expected. Now, if you’ve read my last reviews / followed my other posts, you might know a lot of this already – but I’m a former semi-competitive golfer (mid-range D-III golf team in the early-mid 00s, now pick my tournaments based on the course rather than the competition), and I can still kinda hold my own from time to time. My handicap is up to a 3.8 this year from my all-time low of 1.5 in 2023, but when it comes to putting… Various sites say that, for my handicap, I should average around 32 putts/round – but I often have 35+. Maybe proximity is also a factor – lots of greens + lots of 2-putts = lots of pars. In the few rounds where I end up sub-30 putting, they’re usually pretty close to +hcp rounds. With those putting struggles come quite a few putter changes (you know, “to change up the feel”), so I have a big stockpile of putters in my basement. Two factors in this test: LAB, and the TPT shaft. LAB: My first go with LAB was just to give it a shot, so I bought a putter “cheap” (relative to a direct order) off of the LAB outlet – picked specs that looked close enough with the Mezz XL, and when it showed up, it was brand new (my theory is it was a cancelled custom order or a proto or something). It performed better than what I was using, but I like the look of a blade, so when it became available, I picked up a Link.1 (to be honest, I’m bitter that I didn’t pull the trigger on the initial Link limited release, but I picked one up as soon as they stocked the now-standard edition) – the Link is what I’m using for the test. Premium Shaft: I have very limited experience with premium shafts. I’ve wanted to try something, but found it hard to justify the cost – can it really be that good? The closest I’ve tried is a Fujikura (thanks to @dlow206) popped into a Toulon Madison head that I bought (specifically for the Madison capitol image); I almost pulled the trigger on a BGT Masters edition shaft a couple years in a row, but decided against it; and then there’s the Accra, which I believe was a premium upcharge (albeit a relatively small one compared to TPT/others). I’m actually really excited to do a legit side-by-side putter shaft test to see if it truly makes a difference. OK OK, so the details of the test: I submitted my fitting video to LAB, and they confirmed the specs on my Link.1 are appropriate – 34.5” length, 69 degree lie, so the two putters will be identical aside from the shaft. I’m a bit jealous of some of the other testers, because they get to pick a different color for their test putter (which also helps differentiate in the test pics/videos), but the Link only has the one color (technically they did release a black version at one point, but I expect it’s the standard color that’s showing up). The fitting video: PXL_20240921_031112174~2.mp4 (does that stroke look as bad to you as it does to me? Maybe that's my problem...or maybe I'm just very deep in my own head) Now, once the putter gets here, I’m planning the following: some on-course play (didn’t expect this, but they built/shipped it fast enough for it to work), lots of sessions on my BirdieBall and PuttOut AirBreak (an excuse to practice more this off-season!), and a couple sessions on SAM to collect some stats (which…will likely also include a lesson – also a great excuse to try to get better!). First Impression (9.75/10) Had hopes of getting the putter on Saturday, but based on FedEx tracking info, it took a bit of a joyride through the backroads of the northern US and showed up two days later than original estimates (scans imply it was cruising down US-2 instead of the Interstates, and likely cruised right past my house yesterday before heading to Chicago and back). As for the actual putter when it arrived -- per usual, the LAB team packed it very securely, so no risk of damage in any way. The putter overall looks awesome. Some quick compare/contrast to the benchmark Accra putter: Head actually looks slightly darker -- I'm guessing that's just the age and nothing more than that. "Accidentally" got the same alignment markings -- picked the new putter's markings while at work, not looking at the older putter. Picked what I thought would work best for me, thinking I was adding a line compared to the one I already had. But...nope, I guess I have a subconscious preference, because I blindly picked the exact same markings. Love the look of the shaft -- great color, cool subtle pattern. I'm actually surprised how much I prefer the look of this one to the straight white Accra (back when I ordered that one, I was all-in on white, but 5 minutes into this test, I think that was a mistake). The build is slightly different, I'm guessing within a certain margin of error. Side-by-side, the lie seems identical, but the length is very slightly different (like 1/8" or less -- the Accra comes up to the bottom of the grip cap of the TPT). The TPT feels slightly heavier -- but I don't have a great way to confirm. From putting it on a flat scale at a few different angles, my guess is that the TPT Link is 10g heavier. The grip -- it's the same. But also different. Looks like LAB went from the standard Garsen to a LAB-branded version with a Black/White/Blue color scheme. The blue/white is a pretty close match to my High School team colors, which is cool (but also, a thing of the wayyy past). So...why dock it 0.25 points? Well there's the build difference, which is minor. But my petty reason is that I think a different color head would look better with this grip/shaft combo (black, blue, or darker gray, maybe gunmetal) -- now, I knew that wasn't an option with the Link, but maybe something LAB could explore in the future? Oh, and first putts with it...lights out. Only flat-ish 4-5 footers on the BirdieBall, but all dead center. The Accra also gave me two dead center putts, so we will see...

I miss the days when they'd send a wrench with every adjustable club -- had racked up like 5 wrenches across 4 brands (the mid-2010s Cobra wrench actually had some style to it). They slowly started disappearing one by one, and I'm not sure how -- I think my dad took a couple of them over the years, and I lost one or two or included one in a sale, etc., so I'm down to just one in my main bag. Standard bits work too, so adjusting at home is no issue, but the size of the OEM-issued wrench is just more convenient to stash in the bag / bring to the course.

This didn't hit me until the dice balls showed up, but I think a decent portion of the $5/dz TaylorMade upcharge is for the packaging. I noticed before that Callaway's special releases just have a standard dozen box with a special sleeve over it, but TM goes all out - the entire box is customized (sometimes a different shape and everything - the pickle balls came in a "jar", the skulls in a coffin shaped box). Reason the dice balls stand out: the box is a Craps table (as shown in that stock pic), and the design within the black section actually feels like table felt - I bet that box cost them a heck of a lot more than the stock TP5 box. Cool? Yes. Unnecessary? Absolutely. Worth an extra $5/dz? Not a chance... But considering the annual golf costs, it's just a drop in the bucket.

I'm gonna say that it's solid so far, but definitely some pros and cons. I have an 18ft Birdieball green set up along the back wall of my basement at all times, so that's a good comparison, but it also influences what I think about the AirBreak. Actually setting the break is awesome - really easy to just give it some pumps on a few of the bags, and it's a completely different putt. I like that way better than Birdieball's "stuff some foam strips under the green" system. It's hard to read the putt , but cool to hit something that's not straight and also kinda calculated. You can make it uphill or downhill too, which is really cool. The length is both a positive and negative. You max out at 6.5-7 feet, but at the same time, that's a good practice length, and it allows out to fit in smaller spaces. Negative: because of the airbags, it's very elevated. You need to stand on a platform to make it useful, and that platform seems fairly large (platform comes with it). Moving it is easy, but annoying (like if you want to hit 4 footers, need to move it a few feet). With Birdieball, I just stand right on it and hit anything from a tap in to a 16 footer. Also negative: the storage footprint. if I rolled up and stored the 18ft Birdieball, it would probably take up about half the space of the ~7ft AirBreak. The reason is the multiple platforms (main one folds up, but still large; standing platform is just... there), plus the mat that lays on top. We have the space, so no big deal (although I haven't actually decided where to stash it yet...). This gives an idea of how much space it takes (the three components stacked on top of each other, not including the risers for the platform): So, in short, seems like a great practice tool, but needs more space than you might think.

Totally fair -- the Stripe only added $2, but the specials are $5. I scrounge a couple dollars back each time because of their rewards, but doesn't make up the difference. But, the Callaway models either haven't been as frequent or just haven't caught my eye nearly as well as the TaylorMade -- exceptions are the Hot Dog Chrome Tours (which I bought), and the German Shepherd and Fireworks models (which I missed/skipped). Especially since they expanded beyond just the TP5 and started including the TP5x with every special release, I've been buying (and using) quite a few.

We are officially back in business! Got my hands on the new driver shaft. As a "thanks" for the replacement, decided to pick up another for the Mini (which is interchangeable with the 3w). Because I normally go heavier with the fairways/long irons and I had a couple swings match it at the fitting, I ordered the Red -- but in an awesome moment of customer service, Colin from TF e-mailed me almost immediately after the order went in (late Friday night) to make sure it matched what they were seeing and how the test was going (which he said he was following pretty closely). Instead, we settled on another Yellow for the Mini, but tipped an extra inch, playing length 43.75". It showed up really quickly, which was also nice considering the upcoming rounds. Performance of the new stuff? Driver is back to my questionable start -- my driver swing has just felt a bit off / inconsistent, and I also adjusted a couple other settings on the driver head in my few Accra rounds, so I think I need to (1) readjust things again to get back to where things were, and (2) just figure out my driver swing in general. It's not like it's that bad -- we just did a French Lick weekend, it felt a bit off for 2-3 rounds but not too bad, on fire for part of another (front 9 was mediocre with a couple really bad fans tot he right; back 9 was on fire despite a cold top off the 10th tee that required hitting 3 off the tee - even with that, still shot 79 from the Black tees at French Lick Dye with very good driver stats, which is my best round in quite some time considering it's 7200+ yds, 76.2/139), and then the back 9 in the last round was the worst I think I've hit driver all year (all over the place- hooks, block slices, only 2/6 even findable, but it was also holes 82-90 for the weekend, and we were all exhausted). Then, there's the Mini -- with the extra-inch-tipped TF, it's phenomenal. It gets out there really well, like 270-280 off the tee. It's accurate (my only FW on those last 9 holes was with the Mini, and I think I only missed one fairway in probably 6 tee shots with it over the weekend). It...makes me wonder why I even have a real-sized driver. I can even hit it off the deck! Prior to TF, my first couple attempts off the deck went horribly, then finally caught one, then mixed. With TF, all off-the-deck attempts went quite well - most notably one just long-right from 260, one just short of pin high right from 280, and then a hit green from 270 (landed just short and bounced up). Some of that might just be figuring out how to hit this thing off turf, but the distance/accuracy combo has to have something to do with the shaft.

Well, I guess I'm a big TP5x pix guy now... been playing a lot of their limited designs, and just got back from a buddies' trip to French Lick to find this new ball advertised (and yes, we played a fair amount of Craps while there - not a lot of money, but definitely a lot of time): Between my stock-up on the US Open Adirondack chair design, Pac Man, the new Stripe, and now this, I'll probably need to use TP5x all season in 2025 to work down the stash.

Did you contact them about it? I haven't bought from them in years, but have always had good experiences, and this seems like an error that they'd make right. My only customer service experience with them was when I got a club with mediocre grip condition, and they immediately refunded $15 to cover the cost of a new grip.