Garsen Putter Grip - Ultimate - 2023 Forum Review

[Mr. Mushball]

Had an opportunity to shirk duties and play a round at Heron Lakes Greenback.  It's  the least difficult of the two courses, but plenty of challenge and fun.  My score was not great, but it never usually is.  Took quite a few swings to get something that resembled contact.  

The only warm up I did was on the putting green so I could spend more time with the Ultimate grip.  It was back to feeling comfortable and not foreign as it had the last round.  The greens were rolling fast, so I was happy to have a grip that let me really feel confident about the line.  I do really like the sensory aspects of this grip, just the right amount of tack, thumb alignment, ease of seeing my putter face as square to the grip looking down the shaft, and the seam in the back to give my fingers a data point to check against my thumbs.  

As the greens at Heron Lakes don't have much break to them at all and are relatively flat, this was a good place to check out my alignment and speed control.  After 10 minutes of practice before the round I had a pretty good feel of where 10, 15 and 25 foot putts were, and it showed.  I shot a fantastic (for me) 35 putts.  I did have a few three putts and one lucky chip in, but  all of the errors were mine in rushing or poor setup to the ball.  I would keep this grip without a doubt.

 

[golfinnut]

One more round in tomorrow then final thoughts 

[heavygolffeels]

Got back from Scotland last night. Played an array of courses that really tested the putter. Here's a couple pics at the Old Course as well as the longest putt of my life! Score 82 at the Old, shot a 78 at the New Course where the putter really made the round. I was lights out inside 8 feet. A day later I never felt comfortable standing over any putt in super windy conditions at Carnoustie where I made 0 memorable putts and shot an 85. That's golf. Overall, more good than bad and still impressed with my ability to get the ball online with the Ultimate. Getting my thoughts together for a final write up.

 

Hard to get pictures of yourself putting, but had the caddie snag the drive on 17. 

 

[BobBC78]

As of a few weeks ago, I am gaming the Garsen Ultimate (mine is the green and black "Finau Foundation" version) which I had installed on my "2023" and "Redwood" Anser putters.  Previously, I had used the Quad TOUR non-taper and while I liked the quality and feel, I felt that it forced my hands into a position that wasn't quite right for me. Also used various standard Ping grips, which allowed my hands to become too active. I'm really liking the "Ultimate" so far because (i) the larger size takes my hands out of the swing and (ii) I feel that the shape allows for more flexibility in how I grip the putter.

Looking forward to reading the views of the testers!

[golfinnut]

You do want us to just continue to edit our first & original post, correct?  Following the template as best we can.  I just don't want to do it if there is another real "official" thread that has a link to our final review. 

[golfinnut]

2 hours ago, golfinnut said:

You do want us to just continue to edit our first & original post, correct?  Following the template as best we can.  I just don't want to do it if there is another real "official" thread that has a link to our final review. 

My final review is up here.  If you want it moved, by all means, move it where need be 

[heavygolffeels]

Reviews are in on the Ultimate, so check Page 1

I've switched to the Max for this past weekends round at Dinosaur Mountain and We Ko Pa Saguaro. Pretty average putting rounds by the numbers, but both courses have some wicked greens. But really felt good on straight putts and getting the ball on line. I've been interested in the Max from the beginning and have an easier time finding my natural grip on it if that makes sense. There's less thought to it. Hopefully we can harness something here, but excited to see the next stage of reviews.  

[revkev]

My plan is to air install the Max on my back up putter in a couple of weeks.  I'm playing a lot of golf right now and want to focus on my A set - 

[Christof]

Ultimate Black – Garson Golf

 

The Review

I did The Intro with THE QUAD TOUR, because that was my 1st choice, but THE QUAD TOUR Non Tapper was not delivered, I'll do the Ultimate as 1st. I received the Ultimate and Max on 08.06.23 I am a man of few words and I do a lot by feeling. I tell it like it is, the more I have to read the more easily I get distracted, I prefer clear text that isn't long-winded. Hope my review is the same.

First Impressions (9 out of 10)

When I unwrapped the grips and they were still in the plastic/protection the Ultimate already feel good. The 3 flat sides feel very good and suit me very well especially as I put with a Pen/pencil grip. Right is my low hand the flat sides fitted very well for my grip. With the original G-Pro desigen feels very natural and comfortable, left wrist and thumb have for me a natural pleasant feeling you have the grip immediately right and with the letters you quickly have a recognition point so you can grip in the same way. The soft high-tech PU material of the grip also makes it feel very comfortable and pleasant to hold. I do like sticky feel it was not very sticky more slightly moderately sticky and still gives a stable putter stroke, in very hot weather or rain it still maintains grip and control on the stroke. The Non tapper grips is the advantage of having the same feel from bottom and top and gives more control stability and confidence in the putter stroke/swing. Colour black on my Taylormade putter doesn't match the red would be better but black doesn't see dirt as easily and is easier to keep clean.  I was so impressed with the grip I mounted directly on my competition putter the Taylormade, wanted 1st on the Ping to see what that gave. Felt so good on the Taylormade have fitted, I did it with air and went pretty smooth. I fitted Ultimate on 09.06.23 and played a match on 10.06.23, how it felt during the match will be covered in the next few points, I played in a temperature of +31° at the hottest moments the golf swing went all wrong but putting remained constant as I smiled on the green I always needed 2 puts to finish. As a 1st impression still a 9.

Aesthetics (9 out of 10

The grip has 3 flat sides front and side sides and the back is round and does give a good feel. Ultimate letters and Garson are clear and simple, the Ultimate letters have good size so you have easy recognition point for constant hand placement, the grip is black and the letters white and the is simple and nicely done, I do like that. Grip material is slightly sticky and the 6 angular textures in it are pleasant though. The grip length is 28.5cm will make a difference for 1 golfer against other golfer, on me 1 or 2cm too long in my opinion thickness at not too bad there are narrower and wider grips, Ultimate are in between in my opinion. I like the simple and easy things and the look and hold of the Ultimate is pleasant to very pleasant for me. For me a 9.

The Fit and Feel (19 out of 20)

The 3 flat sides and round back feel comfortable gives confidence for a steady swing, for me feels better than the Pistol grips, I already have them different sizes and shapes. Grip diameter: 1.15 Inches is good, I have small hands to my feeling should the grip be a bit narrower it might go over 5mm the grip more ordinary that might not be a problem anymore. The Material: High-Tech PU Material is good sticky but not too sticky the 6 angular textures in it also feel very pleasant, the grip is soft a pleasant to hold so it feels good to me. On my putter mat I tried different grips, I am not an expert all felt good anyway. I give 19 I don't know if it could be even better?

On The Course (18 out of 20)

Putter TaylorMade Redline monte Carlo, Ball TP5. As I said at First Impressions, I fitted the grips on 09.06.23 and played match with them on 10.06.23, was immediately the Ultimate test. I tested with and without gloves on does not make much difference to me, without glove slightly more control and feel, where I played with have always kept their glove on. What I noticed during the match, I found the grips a bit too soft on the long puts, the feeling is missing the contact with ball and club head and on the long puts my ball was often too short or a bit too far, but maybe it was also the hot weather at +31° that made the grip material a bit softer, on my putter mat I didn't feel that, grip could have been a bit narrower for my hands but it's not really a problem. Of the 18 holes I putted 1x and 1x 3puts and the others were 2puts, against the previous grip did not really improve my putting but did give me a better more pleasant relaxed feeling for putting. Fellow players 1 player liked the grip also more athletically built, the other found the grip too heavy more was also finest of the 3. Score is difficult in the hot weather the grip did lose its hardness went from soft to very soft to my feeling and found grips a bit too long could be 1-2cm shorter. Some small -points is my feeling is 18 score.

The Good, the bad, the inbetween (12 out of 20)

The bad: Have to wait more than 1 month for the grips and end up having to pay for them myself and there were only 2 then 2 that I hadn't signed up for, then it's all no fun. Material testing and have to pay for it myself then it may be even cheaper is basically not right. After so many mails from Bpost and superspeedgolf I paid 28.74€ otherwise the grips will be sent back to sender and if I did not test the grips I was not allowed by Golfspy to test any other material therefore I paid the grips size. Packaging was a Standard postal packaging envelope which was torn when package came out of the mailbox but there is nothing the sender can do about that. There was only a card in it from superspeedwave. I guess if you want to promote a product and it could all be better anyway.

About the Grip; Should have been 1-2cm shorter and slightly narrower/thinner in my opinion.

In between: Told me they were going to refund me the grips until today nothing seen of it, the QUAD TOUR non tapperd they are going to deliver maybe mid July, Pay or non pay?

Grip, in the very hot weather I still found the grip softened.

Good; the 3 flat sides and round back feel very comfortable on the hands, the textures and material also feel good. The look black with white letters succeeded the Ultimate letters are of good size for faster recognition, I do like simple and simple look of the Ultimate

It is great that you get to test and keep 3 grips and test 3 different models, only for me 2 grips are the 3rd? Never thought I was allowed to experience something like this than sure it goes an American brand and live in Belgium myself.

Points: for easy I did 20 divided by 3 and come up with the following is 12 the bad was too bad.

Play it or Trade it? (18 out of 20)

The price $34.99 = 32.50 Euro is hard for me to judge, I don't know the price in Europe, there are much more expensive grips and also cheaper ones, I think the price is right.

Ultimate grips I am going to keep feels good and the best of what I have already had. For my small hands the grip is also very good just maybe the grips are a bit narrower and shorter. The 3 flat sides and round back and Grip diameter: 1.15 Inches give a comfortable feel and easy hand placement for a more constant swing and will almost fit any player. Maybe just the weight 55 Grams some players find too heavy depending on what kind of putters they play it with, I am no expert it might make a difference the grip would not take. I putt fairly straight, as the grip feels comfortable I think for slightly curved or strongly curved putters swings and different grips positions will also fit, with the 3 flat sides you have a lot of options. I play it during casual play and matches. Don't go along with using 2 different grips anyway I don't see the advantage. The minus points the grip is a bit too heavy and too thick and long for smaller hands I give 18.

Conclusion

the ULTIMATE with the three flat sides with the original G-Pro desigen can put your hands in a comfortable position giving a relaxed feeling for a constant putter swing in different grip positions, only players who are used to light putter grips may find the grip too heavy, player with very small or fine hands may find the Ultimation a bit too thick if the player is not used to it and the length may be an obstacle, I myself have small hands and not a wide hand either and it fits me fine. The material is soft and not too sticky and the non tapperd profile gives an even feel in upper and lower hand. For a neutral hand position, the Ultimate is a very good choice.

Final Score (85 out of 100)

Christof Verbert

[Blueberry_Squishie]

Sounds like a terrible time getting the grips. Hopefully you get refunded for your costs as that is entirely unfair to get you to pay to participate in what is a marketing exercise.

[golfinnut]

Played in my usual Tues league & the putter performed well.  What I really like about the grip is that I can really be comfortable holding the putter without having to squeeze the hell out of it.  My hands feel like they are barely on the grip, which is great, because it enhances my feel of the putt.  I finally got the speed down on the greens & didn't have a 3-putt.  (I heard they are going to roll them by next week, so that may not last long)  I did miss a few short ones, but that was user error & not the putters fault.  My aim is off a bit but the grip can't help with that.    I'm not getting the tear marks at the end of the grip like some, but I still don't like the end of the grip with the cap.  Guess the cap was put there to protect the end of the grip itself from tearing while going in & out of the bag, but it does cut into my hand a bit.  So I just choke down ... still works.  

 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Now that my review for the MAX has posted, I have moved on to testing the Ultimate. Coincidentally, I picked up an Odyssey Tour Line Eleven and decided to add it into the rotation of putters I’m using for the putting mat portion of the testing.

After using it for a couple of sessions, I came to the conclusion that the OEM grip had to go. Not the least of the reasons was that it was installed crookedly.

So given that I’m on to the Ultimate, the logical next step was to…

…Add an ultimate grip. 

This will also allow me to do some comparative testing between the mid-mallet Rossie and the full mallet Tour Line Eleven. Stay tuned…

[revkev]

Wow you guys are fast moving from your original review to the ultimate.  My issue is that I don't change putters quickly, at all. In fact I only have three putters and one is a L.A.B. that I tested for MGS.  I'm not seeing that as an appropriate regrip choice because it's entire schtick is that everything is perfectly balanced up to and including the grip that it comes with.

 

So I only have two to use and I'm not anxious to be monkeying with my gamer as I'm playing some competitive golf at this time.  

 

On that note my putting was terrible on Tuesday.  The Ultimate grip was not to blame - I have a tendency to get too far away from the ball now and again - when I do, I start pulling my putts.  That's exactly what I was doing.  Right out of the shoot I took three from the fringe on number 1 (technically not a 3 putt but my miss was from 3 feet  )  I finally did three putt on number 8 for my first one since installing the Ultimate over a month ago.  Not bad!  I also made up for it but rolling in a 25 foot birdie putt on 9.  I'm will be heading to the practice green today to work on getting closer to the ball. I putt best when I've got my eyes right over it and it's almost hitting my toe on take away.

 

I will try the Max on my old putter in a couple of weeks and write a brief review of it over in that thread.  Need to work this issue out first and have a minor medical procedure in the near future that will disrupt golf for a week.  

[GolfSpy_BEN]

14 minutes ago, revkev said:

Wow you guys are fast moving from your original review to the ultimate.  

For me, a couple of factors are at play here. When we received the grips, I picked 3 putters I would be comfortable gaming, so that I could roll one into the next. This decision was facilitated by the fact that I’m not playing competitively this summer and my rounds are exclusively for pleasure, camaraderie, and improving. Also, by doing it this way I’ve created what will amount to a summer long shootout for a spot in the bag among multiple putters. At the end, it would be my hope that a clear winner emerges and the by product will be better putting when I am playing competitively again.

[Christof]

On 6/15/2023 at 12:05 AM, Blueberry_Squishie said:

Sounds like a terrible time getting the grips. Hopefully you get refunded for your costs as that is entirely unfair to get you to pay to participate in what is a marketing exercise.

Good day Blueberry_Squishie

Meanwhile, my contact Liz Masters has refunded the shipping costs and is going to send the Quad Tour in mid-July. The grips were sent via England and if the papers are not in order it is quite a hassle, In the end I am glad I paid for the grips, now I have been able to feel and test the difference with existing grips and got my money back. But has been a whole hassle, wasn't fun. Of the Max I have also done in the meantime, there it says by the group max.

[Blueberry_Squishie]

1 hour ago, Christof said:

Good day Blueberry_Squishie

Meanwhile, my contact Liz Masters has refunded the shipping costs and is going to send the Quad Tour in mid-July. The grips were sent via England and if the papers are not in order it is quite a hassle, In the end I am glad I paid for the grips, now I have been able to feel and test the difference with existing grips and got my money back. But has been a whole hassle, wasn't fun. Of the Max I have also done in the meantime, there it says by the group max.

Good Old Brexit is now affecting MGS Forum testing!

[Mr. Mushball]

Played a tournament round with the Ultimate yesterday and it was amazing.  Best putting I've done in a while, even with getting sloppy on the back 9.  The grip continues to be a reinforcement of using a good setup.  By the way that I hold it I can tell if I'm square to my target better than just using my eyes.  This is by using the seam in the back to feel a line that is parallel to my putter face, which helps me see my starting line better.  The grip feels like it's part of my hands, so I can easily just swing without feeling wristy.  I ended up with 15 on the front 9 and 22 on the back.  A total of 37, compared to my normal 42-46.  The back 9 is easily explained by my aiming fluid reservoir being overfilled by the beverage cart.  They shouldn't be allowed to pour doubles, it leads to triples. 
 

 

I do want to get to testing the other two grips that Garsen sent each of us, but only have one putter to use currently.  I do want to try some additional grip styles with this putter first before moving on.  I have only played with a standard grip so haven't put any into my play rotation yet.  I'll have more time the next few months to be able to get practice area time and try some things out.  And, I'll have a better comparison for the other grips that way as well.

 

 

[revkev]

I played yesterday afternoon - as suspected my putting issues had nothing to do with the grip and everything to do with the gripee!  Got my eyes over the hall and rolled it much much better. Did have a 3 putt but my club’s greens will do that to anyone. There were sone stupid pins on the back nine and the greens were super fast to go along with. 

[Mike939]

I want to try the max or the ultimate ,i will see what is availlable at my golf store,they are not cheap.

[Christof]

22 hours ago, Blueberry_Squishie said:

Good Old Brexit is now affecting MGS Forum testing!

 yes, now they are going to send the Quad Tour via France, if it is in stock but normally it is, see what that will give. I have bought pretty much everything on https://www.clubhousegolf.co.uk/ and never had any problems with it also sent something back twice already also no problems with it, only the shipping costs to the UK are not so nice. What went wrong I don't know, if it is a gift and costs less than 45€ then you don't have to pay anything it says on Bpost's site and yet I had to pay and had phoned before and said I didn't have to pay anything. Could be something has changed and hasn't been updated yet or not everyone was aware.

[golfinnut]

On 6/19/2023 at 8:25 AM, Mike939 said:

I want to try the max or the ultimate ,i will see what is availlable at my golf store,they are not cheap.

They are comparable to other OEM's grips in cost .... SuperStroke 

[revkev]

On 6/19/2023 at 8:25 AM, Mike939 said:

I want to try the max or the ultimate ,i will see what is availlable at my golf store,they are not cheap.

As others have said already they are comparably priced to those of other OEMs.  If you buy them online you could get all three, keep the max and the ultimate and sell the other one to a friend at a bargain price for him and pay less for the max and ultimate than you would for any other premium grip.  

 

I did get to the putting green a couple of times this week and worked through my issues - it doesn't help that when I watch on TV the guys seem to be standing much farther away from the ball than I do when I putt.  I need to remember that regardless of what I see I need to feel as if my eyes are directly over the ball to putt well and I do best with a slightly open stance, like I'm shooting a free throw or playing darts.  May not be the ideal technique but I don't have the time to change at this point and it works well enough for me.  

[golfinnut]

Had another good putting round with the Ultimate over the weekend.  Only 27 putts, which anything below 30, I'm extremely happy about.     Helped that my short game was on point, so a lot of close pitches & chips for one putts.  Just wish I can hit more greens & be closer to the hole because my "Proximity to hole" is what is keeping me from scoring better.  Odds aren't good of making birdie when you're leaving yourself 20+ feet every time.  Also, it rained for a good bit of the round, not a downpour, but a constant rain.  Add that to my "sweating like a ***** in church" perspiration & I usually have a slick putter grip.  That's why I add Tourna Grip to most of my putters.  Haven't had to do that as of yet with the Ultimate .... the tackiness has stayed intact, even though it has been really wet.  Yet another +++ for these grips.   

[revkev]

1 hour ago, golfinnut said:

Had another good putting round with the Ultimate over the weekend.  Only 27 putts, which anything below 30, I'm extremely happy about.     Helped that my short game was on point, so a lot of close pitches & chips for one putts.  Just wish I can hit more greens & be closer to the hole because my "Proximity to hole" is what is keeping me from scoring better.  Odds aren't good of making birdie when you're leaving yourself 20+ feet every time.  Also, it rained for a good bit of the round, not a downpour, but a constant rain.  Add that to my "sweating like a ***** in church" perspiration & I usually have a slick putter grip.  That's why I add Tourna Grip to most of my putters.  Haven't had to do that as of yet with the Ultimate .... the tackiness has stayed intact, even though it has been really wet.  Yet another +++ for these grips.   

I've noticed that the tackiness has remained as well.  That's important here, too.  It does not have to rain to be wet in Florida in the summer time. 

[Caddie1966]

11 hours ago, revkev said:

I've noticed that the tackiness has remained as well.  That's important here, too.  It does not have to rain to be wet in Florida in the summer time. 

Ditto on the tackiness.  It’s very humid here and the Garsen PUI is holding up well.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

The nightly putting mat contest is progressing nicely and the Ultimate grips have made a strong showing. I have a round scheduled for tomorrow to go along with the few from last week. Should have all the data together for my Ultimate review in the next week or two. Stay tuned.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

My Ultimate review will be up this weekend. One tidbit teaser: The marketing info for the Ultimate on the Garsen site claims that the Ultimate is ideal for those that use a claw  grip. Not being bent to extremism, I haven’t strayed to far away from my trusty traditional grip. In the interest of science and because there are only so many tests you can put a putter grip through, I devised a mini competition using the Odyssey Rossie that I have the Ultimate on. I took 10 putts for each style grip from 3’, 4’, 5’, 6’, 7’, 8’, & 9’ for a total 70 putts. The results were, well… interesting… Check out the review this weekend to find out.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Garsen Ultimate Putter Grip – Supplemental MGS Forum Review by Ben Joest

Introduction

My screen name is @ben joest, but back home folks call me… Ben Joest. Yeah, I know… Not very original or clever but, I use my actual name for the following reason: Personal Accountability. All too often on the interwebs I see people say and post things under the cover of anonymity that they would presumably never tie to their actual identity. Admittedly, there are examples that can be made, of this anonymity allowing introverted, painfully shy folks the wherewithal to open up and be a more forward, social version of themselves. I applaud that and understand the need for it, but for myself, I never want to post or say anything I wouldn’t want tied to me, so full transparency is the path I have chosen.

I was selected to be a tester for the Garsen putter grip. In my application, I gave the Ultimate as my preferred grip to test, and until @GolfSpy_APH asked for volunteers to switch to the MAX, I was prepared to do so. As has been mentioned in other reviews, and my own MAX review, Garsen sent us the MAX, Ultimate, and Quad Tour in the color and/or configuration of our choosing. I went Red/Black for the MAX, tapered for the Quad Tour, and neon green for the Ultimate (Spoiler! I absolutely love that color!) Our mandate was clear: Focus on your assigned main grip for the official review. Afterwards, if you could do a write-up for the one of the others, it would be appreciated. So here I am. For the purposes of this review, I have modified my testing protocol slightly. Testing for the Ultimate ran from 6/10/23 through 7/7/23, it included:  a new putting mat contest between the Evnroll with the MAX grip, the Rossie with the Ultimate grip, and a combined effort from an Odyssey Tour Line Eleven with a blue Ultimate grip I purchased out of pocket and an Odyssey White Hot Versa Double Wide I outfitted with a red/black MAX that I purchased as well and 4 rounds. 3 for the Tour Line Eleven and 1 for the Rossie. Without any further ado, let’s get after it!

 

First Impressions (10 out of 10)

The grip has a simple symmetry and visual appeal. One of my primary complaints with the MAX was the lack of bold colors available. The Ultimate does not have this problem, as the grip comes in solid colors of black, red, blue, & neon green.

Garsen Claims and Specs

"Versatility"

The Garsen Ultimate grip brings the innovation of side facing thumb position to a full size, comfortable, and slightly less exaggerated feel. This grip is a great way to gain all the biomechanical advantages to your putting stroke while maintaining a more traditional overall feel to the grip.

Unlike a traditional putter grip, the ULTIMATE has three flat sides. Like the original G-Pro design it allows you to place your hands in a position so the palms face each other and the wrists are in a neutral position.

It also allows you to place hands into many other positions creating your desired grip. It works extremely well with the claw grip. This grip was developed with input from players on the PGA Tour.

 

GRIP SPECS:

Grip diameter: 1.15 Inches

Length: 11 1/2″

Weight: 55 Grams (+ 1 – 3 g)

Core Size: .600

Firmness: Soft

Shock Absorption: High

Material: High-Tech PU Material

Feel: Semi-tacky

Profile: Non-Tapered

The big claim to be tested regarding their marketing is whether this grip, does in fact, work extremely well with the claw grip. Using the perfect practice putting mat, I took 10 putts from each distance 3’ through 9’ for a total of 70 putts. I did the first round with my conventional grip and the second round using a claw grip. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a fan of the claw grip. That being said, the results were interesting:

I may have to rethink my stance on the claw grip…

Aesthetics (9 out of 10)

The Ultimate’s shape in a geometric sense is a semi-circle with 3 flat spots on the face. Holding the Ultimate gives a similar feel as the MAX, in that there is a softness underpinned by a solid core, that doesn’t come off as spongy. It is similar in size to a super stroke 2.0, though it’s unique shape is unlike many or any other grips currently on the market.

 

The “G” repeating pattern within the material of the grip is a nice touch and helps with traction. The only quibble I have with the aesthetic of the grip deals with the end cap. The placement and design of the end cap feels like an afterthought. Some of the other reviewers had issues with the cap causing irritation while putting, I did not encounter this, but due to the design I could easily see how if it isn’t glued on properly, it could create an issue. For that, I have deducted a point.

The Fit and Feel (20 out of 20)

Going into this test, the amount of time and consideration I have given to the way I grip a putter and, for that matter, the grip on the putter itself might charitably be called lovingly neglectful. Because my putting has always been on the plus side of adequate, my focus during practice sessions has always been directed toward more pressing areas. In part, I was excited to test these grips because it forced me to give more consideration to this area of my game. During my initial testing with each of these grips, I rolled putts with each, using 3 of the 4 common grips.

I didn’t try any with the wrist anchor, as none of 3 putters I selected for these tests were long enough to try this comfortably. The Rossie, ER7v, Tour Line Eleven, and Versa Double Wide are all 34”. I have always used the traditional, or a slightly modified version, but I was interested to try the other variations. I found that the Claw grip works fairly well with the Ultimate, as the 45° planes on each side of the flat strip on the face makes for a comfortable surface to rest the hand as it points down without impacting one’s ability to keep their elbows tucked in. The cross-hand experiment bore similar results, in that beyond the initial awkwardness of holding a putter in that manner, a few putts in, the grip began to feel more natural. I could see with either variation, that the Ultimate would not hinder an individual’s choice of grip.

On the Course (18 out of 20)

 

The "On the Course" portion is broken down into 2 sections:

1)Putting mat competition.

2) Actual rounds played.

Putting mat competition:

For this competition, I had 2 of the putters return from the MAX review shoot-out. The Evnroll ERv7 with a MAX grip and our returning champion, The Rossie with a Ultimate grip. Joining them was an Odyssey Tour Line Eleven with an Ultimate grip, which unfortunately was relegated from my stable of putters and replaced mid-competition by an Odyssey White Versa Double Wide, that I outfitted with a MAX grip.

I gave each putter 5 putts from 3’, 6’, & 9’ toward the regulation sized cup. If the putter made all 5 putts, it was given an opportunity to make a bonus putt from that distance into the smaller opening. Each standard make was worth a point and the bonus putts were worth 3 points. On any given night, a putter could earn a total of 24 points. During the initial competition, a perfect score proved to be rather elusive, as it only transpired 5 times out of a possible 84 rounds. For this edition of the competition, flawless runs occurred more frequently, leading me to believe that all this relentless practice in the name of competition is making me a better putter. Here is the final tally from the shootout and your grand champion:

Congratulations to the newcomer, MAX Versa Double Wide! This putter/grip combination stepped into the competition late and dominated. It produced flawless runs 6 out of 10 tries, including the last 4 in a row to close out the shootout. As much as I like the Ultimate grip on the Rossie putter, I have to admit the MAX just feels natural on a blade putter. For comparison sake, the Rossie won the putting mat competition in the MAX review, with a score of 514. That score would have placed a distant 4th place in this iteration. The Ultimate gets dinged 2 points for not winning its own putting mat competition.

Actual Rounds Played

My average putts per round prior to installing the Garsen gripw for this season have been:

For the rounds that I used the Ultimate, I had:

 

31 putts for 18 holes at Harmon Golf Club. This was the round that I took my 2 oldest with me for Father’s Day. Harmon is a 9-hole local muni that has a few different tee boxes for the “back” nine, but otherwise you are playing the same set of greens twice. My one-putts for this round ranged from 3’ to 12’ and as always, 0 three-putts will be considered a win.

30 putts for 18 holes at Shaker Run Golf Club. The back nine was played in a fairly steady rain, so having 2 more putts than the front isn’t surprising. Given the conditions, I was quite pleased overall with the Ultimate’s performance in the rain. At no point did the grip feel slimy or slippery.  7 one-putts good, 1 three-putt bad.

30 putts for 18 holes at the Grizzly Course. The 3-hole stretch of one-putts to finish out the front 9 was awesome. Overall, a solid effort from the putter, with 6 one-putts and the always welcome, 0 three-putts.

32 putts for 18 holes at Bel-Wood Country Club. On the face of it, this was an average putting round and the lack of three-putts is always encouraged. If we look deeper for context, we discover that this course finishes with 4 par fours. That is significant in this case, because my approach game was firing on all cylinders over this stretch of holes, and I had birdie putts on all 4 holes inside of 10 feet. As the score card indicates, I two-putted for par on all 4 holes. The ensuing aggravation that this caused me, led to what some might call a rash decision on my part. I took the offending putter, my Odyssey Tour Line Eleven with me the next day to Golf Galaxy and traded it in on the Odyssey White Hot Versa Double Wide. The silver lining to the ugly incident, on display in the putting mat challenge results, is that I putt exceedingly well with the Double Wide, leaving the Tour Line Eleven as nothing more than fading bad memory.

As the graphic below indicates, during my testing sessions for these Garsen grips I have brought my average putts per round down by a whopping 3 strokes.

The Good, The Bad, The In-between (18 out of 20)

 

The Good is Garsen putter grips. Period. End of story.

The Bad for this grip is limited to an end cap that doesn’t do the grip justice.

The In-between is the dilemma that these grips have created in which putter keeps a spot in my bag. At this moment, I can confidently put either the Rossie or the Versa Double Wide in my bag and never look back. It is an equal parts good/bad problem to have. Truly In-between… So for that the Ultimate loses 2 points. It may be a bit punitive, but them’s the rules. That Garsen is responsible for the dilemma by producing such darn good grips is, frankly, awesome and it is my earnest hope that the forum members reading this review, take this endorsement and try one for themselves. I truly believe they will not be disappointed. In fact I feel so strongly about this product, that the first forum member to quote this review and post GARSEN! will receive the Garsen grip of their choosing on me. I guess we’ll see if anyone reads putter grip reviews.

Play It or Trade It (20 out of 20)

Play it, forever and ever amen. I love the feel, look, and performance of this grip. I can offer no stronger endorsement of the quality of this product than I was willing and did spend my own money on an Ultimate grip for the Odyssey Tour Line Eleven putter I bought at the beginning of this testing period, even though my love for the putter faded quickly and I traded it off before the end of the test, that should not, in any way, be seen as a reflection on the Ultimate grip it had on it. I initially considered removing it prior to trade in, but “ultimately” decided to gift it forward to the next recipient, long may they enjoy it. As for the Rossie that currently has the Ultimate, I received for testing, that putter or the grip on it isn’t going anywhere.

 

Conclusion

It can’t be said enough, so I’ll say it one more time for you folks in the back. Garsen makes exceptional putter grips of the highest quality! That they come in multiple shapes, sizes and colors means that almost everyone should find a grip that will work for them and their games. I invite you to give them a try, you can thank me later.

Final Score (95 out of 100)

[ACalling]

Hey Spies,

Checking in here after some time with the Ultimate grip. Have to say that I am really enjoying it so far! This is my second of the 3 Garsen grips that I am testing. For more on my Official Quad Tour review, please check it out here.

I have placed the Ultimate on my Mizuno / Bettinardi A02 Mallet putter. I like the overall size of this grip a lot, its big without being too big. And the softness of the feel is great in your hands. There is a flat top-line as a part of the design, and it is meant to help with the versatility that this grip is being marketed with. In my experience so far I have not really felt the distinction between the round and flat parts of the grip with the club in my hand. Not nearly as much as the Quad Tour at least. There was some additional challenge in grading this grip vs the last one as I had to adjust to a new putter head as well. Planning on continuing with this one for a little while longer before moving on to the MAX grip. 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by ACalling

[golfinnut]

I've been putting really well since the install of the Ultimate.  Consistent & accurate.  It all comes down to feel & confidence for me.  The putter grip just feels good in my hands for one.