Edel Array Putters . 2024 Forum Review

[Bucky CC]

Was able to set up my indoor putting studio tonight and give the new Array F-2 a thorough test.  I mentioned this in a previous post a few pages back, but I bought a 6'x20' roll of carpet from my local home improvement store.  It measures about a 10 or 11 on a makeshift stimpmeter.



I set up a 9 hole game with putts starting at two feet going all the way up to 18 feet (even numbers only).  I then randomized the distance through the Stack putting app.  Here was my first attempt at the course with my new F-2.  Pretty solid on shorter putts, but terrible from 10'+.



Overall I ran through the course 7 times with each putter for a total of 144 putts hit.  The gamer definitely has the advantage this early in the test.  I struggled to make a smooth stroke with the Array on any type of distance putt.

 I have a tee time set for 3:15pm tomorrow to hopefully take things outdoors.  Forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain though so we may have to head back to the garage for round 2 of indoor testing.

[Rob Person]

Nice setup!  Any variation in the slope or angle of the mat?

[Parshooter36]

I walked another 9 after work yesterday and had my worst putting performance with the F-3 to date. Still, I made a 16' and 9' putt and also a 5' comebacker after I ran a 25' putt past the hole. I three putted twice which was a bit of a shock to the system as I have only had a couple of 3 putts in total before yesterday with this putter. The first one was the one that really bothered me, I left a 22' putt 4' short and then tugged that one left. The other three putt was from 50'. My distance was actually good on this one, but I misread the putt and pushed it causing it to end up 5' right of the hole, which I missed. I've been fairly automatic on these shorter putts, but it caught up with me this time.

[Woodrow72]

The F-3 has reduced my 3 putts significantly, I lay much that success to what the fitter told me , he said it would take much less effort to get the putts rolling and it’s accurate though I have missed some 3-5 footers that I firmed right through the break due to too much force 

[Bucky CC]

4 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Nice setup!  Any variation in the slope or angle of the mat?

Unfortunately not in the garage.  There is a 1° slope that I could play with a little bit, but it's probably not enough to make a noticeable difference with anything.

[Woodrow72]

They are efficient as well as good looking 

[Bucky CC]

Was able to get 9 holes in tonight before the rain really picked up.  Overall I'd say the F-2 performed pretty well.  Here are my stats compared to other Arccos 4 handicaps.

Ended up with 2 one putts, 6 two putts, and 1 three putt from 48 feet.  Best putt of the round came on the last hole where I made a 25' uphill, left to right birdie.  Worst putt(s) came from the 6-9' range where I was ice cold.

    

6-9' was also my worst range over the last 50 rounds.  I think I get hung up on trying to play the perfect amount of break and have the putt die at the hole rather than add a little speed to take some break out of the equation.

[buckpillar]

On 4/17/2024 at 10:14 PM, Bucky CC said:

Was able to set up my indoor putting studio tonight and give the new Array F-2 a thorough test.  I mentioned this in a previous post a few pages back, but I bought a 6'x20' roll of carpet from my local home improvement store.  It measures about a 10 or 11 on a makeshift stimpmeter.



I set up a 9 hole game with putts starting at two feet going all the way up to 18 feet (even numbers only).  I then randomized the distance through the Stack putting app.  Here was my first attempt at the course with my new F-2.  Pretty solid on shorter putts, but terrible from 10'+.



Overall I ran through the course 7 times with each putter for a total of 144 putts hit.  The gamer definitely has the advantage this early in the test.  I struggled to make a smooth stroke with the Array on any type of distance putt.

 I have a tee time set for 3:15pm tomorrow to hopefully take things outdoors.  Forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain though so we may have to head back to the garage for round 2 of indoor testing.

Nice setup, I’m finally going to get my putting green setup up very soon. Had been waiting due to all the rain, mine will be 6 x 18, I’ll be able to create breaks with the sand that I’m putting it over.

you can creat break for your indoor practice with paper plates.

this is the turf I got from home depot 

TrafficMaster

Putting Green 6 ft. Wide x Cut to Length Artificial Grass Turf

$2.00

/sq. ft. ($11.98 /linear feet)

Select

Edited April 19 by buckpillar

[Woodrow72]

After a terrible ball striking day the -F3 was a saving grace , I did not 3 putt today , first time in longer than I can recall , I chipped terrible , only had 2 that were inside 5 feet but managed to hole 3 putts over 30 feet for pars and bogey , I made every single putt under  10 feet and turned a high 80’s to low 90’s round into an acceptable 83 - my playing partners kept remarking on how well I was putting , it was remarkable to say the least . The Array alignment is making a believer out of me for sure so far .

[Bucky CC]

Played in a scramble today with my gamer.  The one thing that I haven't fallen in love yet with the Array is distance control.  The milled face doesn't not have the same soft and responsive feel as my White Hot insert, and I just felt much more comfortable on long lag putts using my gamer.

Next round is schedule for Thursday but I hope to get a few indoor sessions in before then.

[GolfSpy AFG]

With few more Stack putting rounds under my belt, I continue to really enjoy the F-1.  I've had a hard time consistently breaking through the 1.19 putts per hole threshold, but I suspect that will come with a little more dedicated practice time.  (I've had an extremely busy couple of weeks professionally.) And interestingly enough, according to this limited sample size Stack Putting says I have a bit of a right miss bias with the 3-dot alignment plate.

The 3-dot alignment plate is what my fitting prompted, based on the notion that the 3-dot can correct for a LEFT aim bias that was identified in my fitting. However, I'm of a mind to further explore that nuance, so tomorrow I'll be changing the alignment plate to the 3-line version and testing to see how it impacts the direction bias.  

Either way, I still think this is a damn good-looking putter...

[Bucky CC]

Adding in the first Array impressions to my main post and also here to bump the thread.  If anyone has any questions please fire away!

The Fitting:

Before I get into my scoring I want to put a huge disclaimer out there.  I was not able to get fit for the Array before it had to be ordered for our testing.  Edel rolled out the Array to all corporate owned Golftec’s along with select other fitting studios a few months ago.  Unfortunately all of the Golftec’s in Wisconsin are franchise locations and did not receive their fitting kits before my order had to be placed.  The Club Champions in Wisconsin also chose not to carry the Array line so I did not have an option to get fit.

If you look at my previous history with putters you can see I’m pretty set on fang style mallet putters.  I ended up matching the specs of my gamer as best as I could for this test: 35" length, face balanced, dot alignment, standard loft and lie.

First Impressions (18 out of 20)

Out of the box I was immediately impressed with the Array F-2 putter.  Very clean lines, weight felt comfortable, and the headcover seemed to be well constructed rather than a throw-in afterthought.

                 

I ended up choosing the F-2 with three dot alignment as it most closely resembles my current Odyssey White Hot OG #7 putter.  The styles are very similar, with the Odyssey coming in slightly larger while the Array is 10 grams heavier (563 vs 573 grams for the F-2).

I'm not sure what alignment plate would have been picked for me through an actual fitting.  While the dots are comfortable to me I wonder how things would have looked with the two line alignment or one of the other 5 options.

Technology-wise Edel really focuses on the customization available through the fitting process. Their website mentions things like aim/path bias, face rotation, optimizing weight to control your speed, and stroke type being key to finding the perfect putter.  Unfortunately most of those are dependent getting professionally fit for the club.

The face has a special milling pattern, but Edel doesn’t seem to explain on their site what exactly the pattern does.  I assume it helps with off center hits and is not just a fancy design for visual enjoyment.

Overall this is hard for me to grade as most of Edel’s claims about the putter are about the customization available through the fitting, and I was not able to be fit.  The putter is unquestionably well made and I have zero reservations about taking it out to the course.  It's familiar yet different enough to be distinguishable from the other five million fang style mallets out there.

Aesthetics (9 out of 10) 

I touched on the style a bit already, but if you’ve ever gamed a winged mallet putter you’ll have no problem feeling comfortable with the Array F-2.

All of the graphics and paint fill are done extremely well with tight tolerances.  You can tell just by looking at it that Edel makes a very high-end putter without being overly flashy about it.  No one in my regular foursome noticed I had a new putter until a few holes into our first round.  Once it was passed around they all remarked on how clean it looked and comfortable hitting a few practice putts.

Feel of the F-2 is hard to explain.  It’s a forged and machine milled face made out of 1025 carbon steel.  The impact feels more harsh than the white hot insert on my Odyssey, but somehow it also comes off at a slower/softer speed.  I found myself having to purposefully swing a bit harder with the F-2 to make sure I didn’t leave putts short.  The white hot insert seems to bounce/spring off the face while the F-2 is more of a concentrated swing effort to get it rolling the correct speed.

Big plus on the aethetic side is being able to pick up a ball with the back of the putter.  It may seem like a small detail but I like that they made sure the wings can pick up the ball even with the alignment plate taking up so much space.

The Numbers (7 out of 10) (indoors only so far)

In preparation for this test I went to my local home improvement store and purchased a 6’ wide by 21’ long strip of thin carpet.  A makeshift stimpmeter showed the mat rolls somewhere in the 10-11 range.

I set up a 9 hole course with a putt locations every two feet all the way up to 18’.  The Stack putting app helped me randomize the putt length and keep track of the head to head putter battle.  After the first 144 shots my gamer is a clear winner over the F-2.  As you can see from the table below I have no problem with straight putts less than 10’ but once you get past that mark I start having issues with the Array.

I’ve taken the F-2 out on the course a few times and so far my on-course experience has mirrored my indoor testing.  I have no doubt the putter has the potential to be great with a proper fitting, but will my off the rack specs show enough on the course to be able to knock the gamer out of my bag?

More to come soon!

 

 

Edited April 21 by Bucky CC

[Big Deal Walsh]

That putter is beautiful to look at. I’m excited to see how it treats you on the course. 
 

Are you happy with your Home Depot turf for the putting green? I’m thinking about making a putting green for my office and heard some good things about the Home Depot turf. 

[Parshooter36]

I've been doing some indoor head-to-head testing between the Edel F-3 and my Bloodline Vale and the results so far have been pretty much even. On the course though I definitely see a difference. My lag putting is much more consistant with the F-3 and I always seem to make a couple of mid-range putts every round. Yesterday was no different as I made one from 12' and another from 15'. I missed a few in the 6'-10' range that I would like to have back, but I honestly feel like I have a chance to make nearly every putt I am standing over which is a great feeling to have.

[GolfSpy BOS]

On 4/20/2024 at 3:33 PM, Bucky CC said:

Played in a scramble today with my gamer.  The one thing that I haven't fallen in love yet with the Array is distance control.  The milled face doesn't not have the same soft and responsive feel as my White Hot insert, and I just felt much more comfortable on long lag putts using my gamer.

Next round is schedule for Thursday but I hope to get a few indoor sessions in before then.

I find that really interesting.  I've always been the exact opposite, feeling much better with my distance control with a milled face versus and insert which starts to feel mushy to me.  Odyssey knows what they're doing with the White Hot though, and the recent versions have felt much better to me on that front.  

Do you feel like you're missing more long or short while dialing in the control?  

[Bucky CC]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy BOS said:

I find that really interesting.  I've always been the exact opposite, feeling much better with my distance control with a milled face versus and insert which starts to feel mushy to me.  Odyssey knows what they're doing with the White Hot though, and the recent versions have felt much better to me on that front.  

Do you feel like you're missing more long or short while dialing in the control?  

Definitely missing more short with the F-2.  Even on the putts that I have been making I've noticed that they are barely rolling.

The white hot insert typically has the speed of a foot or two of rollout past the hole.  Could just be that I'm not used to the different feel of the F-2 and things will get better with more usage.

[Bucky CC]

On 4/21/2024 at 8:07 AM, Big Deal Walsh said:

That putter is beautiful to look at. I’m excited to see how it treats you on the course. 
 

Are you happy with your Home Depot turf for the putting green? I’m thinking about making a putting green for my office and heard some good things about the Home Depot turf. 

It's been great for this round of testing, but I'm not sure it will really hold up over time or anywhere other than my perfectly smooth garage.  It was definitely on the cheaper side of things coming in around $50 for the 6' by 21' roll.

[GolfSpy BOS]

18 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

Definitely missing more short with the F-2.  Even on the putts that I have been making I've noticed that they are barely rolling.

The white hot insert typically has the speed of a foot or two of rollout past the hole.  Could just be that I'm not used to the different feel of the F-2 and things will get better with more usage.

I wonder if the firmer feel is making you feel like your hitting it harder than you are?  Just spit balling, because I'm no swing coach! haha

 

[GolfSpy AFG]

3 hours ago, Bucky CC said:

Definitely missing more short with the F-2.  Even on the putts that I have been making I've noticed that they are barely rolling.

The white hot insert typically has the speed of a foot or two of rollout past the hole.  Could just be that I'm not used to the different feel of the F-2 and things will get better with more usage.

I had a very similar experience.  Like you I switched from an Odyssey, the White Hot OG Double Wide.  I left them short for a while, but I did acclimate and distance control is improving for me.  Going from an insert to milled is not a small change.

[GolfSpy AFG]

Changing the alignment plate was too easy.  Two screws accessed via the longer-than-average Edel wrench is all it took.

 

Now for some Stack putting with the new alignment plate.

[Woodrow72]

Back the last time I was fitted (2014) the fitter told me to always go to a solid metal milled face versus insert as the insert could differ from putter to putter .  I’ve mostly been a solid face putter most of my life anyway  

[Prodigal Duffer]

Traveled this weekend, with return flight getting in around midnight, so took the day off and played golf!

I had three three-putts, and this time, the greens were not to blame. Twice, I hit it too soft causing the ball to break one revolution before the hole. Once, I was just frustrated and didn’t line up the putt. Apparently, the Array can’t fix stupid. Would it be fair to ding the putter a point for that? Lol

I left six putts short (which I define as at least two feet short). Of my remaining misses, all were within two feet or were tap-ins. Here’s an example of one of the misses:

I also tried two putts from the fringe:

Both ended up as tap-ins. So far, I am happy with the putter.

[buckpillar]

On 4/20/2024 at 8:48 PM, Bucky CC said:

Adding in the first Array impressions to my main post and also here to bump the thread.  If anyone has any questions please fire away!

The Fitting:

Before I get into my scoring I want to put a huge disclaimer out there.  I was not able to get fit for the Array before it had to be ordered for our testing.  Edel rolled out the Array to all corporate owned Golftec’s along with select other fitting studios a few months ago.  Unfortunately all of the Golftec’s in Wisconsin are franchise locations and did not receive their fitting kits before my order had to be placed.  The Club Champions in Wisconsin also chose not to carry the Array line so I did not have an option to get fit.

If you look at my previous history with putters you can see I’m pretty set on fang style mallet putters.  I ended up matching the specs of my gamer as best as I could for this test: 35" length, face balanced, dot alignment, standard loft and lie.

First Impressions (18 out of 20)

Out of the box I was immediately impressed with the Array F-2 putter.  Very clean lines, weight felt comfortable, and the headcover seemed to be well constructed rather than a throw-in afterthought.

                 

I ended up choosing the F-2 with three dot alignment as it most closely resembles my current Odyssey White Hot OG #7 putter.  The styles are very similar, with the Odyssey coming in slightly larger while the Array is 10 grams heavier (563 vs 573 grams for the F-2).

I'm not sure what alignment plate would have been picked for me through an actual fitting.  While the dots are comfortable to me I wonder how things would have looked with the two line alignment or one of the other 5 options.

Technology-wise Edel really focuses on the customization available through the fitting process. Their website mentions things like aim/path bias, face rotation, optimizing weight to control your speed, and stroke type being key to finding the perfect putter.  Unfortunately most of those are dependent getting professionally fit for the club.

The face has a special milling pattern, but Edel doesn’t seem to explain on their site what exactly the pattern does.  I assume it helps with off center hits and is not just a fancy design for visual enjoyment.

Overall this is hard for me to grade as most of Edel’s claims about the putter are about the customization available through the fitting, and I was not able to be fit.  The putter is unquestionably well made and I have zero reservations about taking it out to the course.  It's familiar yet different enough to be distinguishable from the other five million fang style mallets out there.

Aesthetics (9 out of 10) 

I touched on the style a bit already, but if you’ve ever gamed a winged mallet putter you’ll have no problem feeling comfortable with the Array F-2.

All of the graphics and paint fill are done extremely well with tight tolerances.  You can tell just by looking at it that Edel makes a very high-end putter without being overly flashy about it.  No one in my regular foursome noticed I had a new putter until a few holes into our first round.  Once it was passed around they all remarked on how clean it looked and comfortable hitting a few practice putts.

Feel of the F-2 is hard to explain.  It’s a forged and machine milled face made out of 1025 carbon steel.  The impact feels more harsh than the white hot insert on my Odyssey, but somehow it also comes off at a slower/softer speed.  I found myself having to purposefully swing a bit harder with the F-2 to make sure I didn’t leave putts short.  The white hot insert seems to bounce/spring off the face while the F-2 is more of a concentrated swing effort to get it rolling the correct speed.

Big plus on the aethetic side is being able to pick up a ball with the back of the putter.  It may seem like a small detail but I like that they made sure the wings can pick up the ball even with the alignment plate taking up so much space.

The Numbers (7 out of 10) (indoors only so far)

In preparation for this test I went to my local home improvement store and purchased a 6’ wide by 21’ long strip of thin carpet.  A makeshift stimpmeter showed the mat rolls somewhere in the 10-11 range.

I set up a 9 hole course with a putt locations every two feet all the way up to 18’.  The Stack putting app helped me randomize the putt length and keep track of the head to head putter battle.  After the first 144 shots my gamer is a clear winner over the F-2.  As you can see from the table below I have no problem with straight putts less than 10’ but once you get past that mark I start having issues with the Array.

I’ve taken the F-2 out on the course a few times and so far my on-course experience has mirrored my indoor testing.  I have no doubt the putter has the potential to be great with a proper fitting, but will my off the rack specs show enough on the course to be able to knock the gamer out of my bag?

More to come soon!

 

 

Do you think a weight change will make you distance control on the longer putts more consistent? 

[Bucky CC]

49 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

Do you think a weight change will make you distance control on the longer putts more consistent? 

A weight change may help with distance control.  It's probably asking too much, but it would be awesome if Edel would include one extra set of weights along with a 2nd alignment plate for those of us that like to tinker.  Yes you can buy them directly from Edel, but $50 for a pair of weights ($175 for the entire weight set) and an extra $45 for a 2nd alignment plate is a bit steep.

[buckpillar]

2 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

A weight change may help with distance control.  It's probably asking too much, but it would be awesome if Edel would include one extra set of weights along with a 2nd alignment plate for those of us that like to tinker.  Yes you can buy them directly from Edel, but $50 for a pair of weights ($175 for the entire weight set) and an extra $45 for a 2nd alignment plate is a bit steep.

I thought that also when I tested the Odyssey AI#1 CH putter a few months ago about the extra weights, but the more I practiced and played it kept growing on me and now I call it Lucille.

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

A weight change may help with distance control.  It's probably asking too much, but it would be awesome if Edel would include one extra set of weights along with a 2nd alignment plate for those of us that like to tinker.  Yes you can buy them directly from Edel, but $50 for a pair of weights ($175 for the entire weight set) and an extra $45 for a 2nd alignment plate is a bit steep.

So here is the dumb question:   The purpose of the Edel fitting is to get the right alignment plate and right weighting for distance control.   Is tinkering really a necessary thing?   Or is the fitting not accurate?   Or third option you believe that you need to alter weight based on green speeds?

 

[Bucky CC]

9 hours ago, cnosil said:

So here is the dumb question:   The purpose of the Edel fitting is to get the right alignment plate and right weighting for distance control.   Is tinkering really a necessary thing?   Or is the fitting not accurate?   Or third option you believe that you need to alter weight based on green speeds?

 

All of the above could be accurate.

In my case it's due to the fact that I wasn't able to go through a fitting.  Edel did not supply any Wisconsin retailers with the Array fitting kits until after all of the orders had to be placed.  We were about 2 months behind the early fitting locations.

[Woodrow72]

7 hours ago, Bucky CC said:

All of the above could be accurate.

In my case it's due to the fact that I wasn't able to go through a fitting.  Edel did not supply any Wisconsin retailers with the Array fitting kits until after all of the orders had to be placed.  We were about 2 months behind the early fitting locations.

During my fitting my alignment was better with the triple track lines which have helped me get the putter squared to the line but it’s probably personal preference. 

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, Woodrow72 said:

During my fitting my alignment was better with the triple track lines which have helped me get the putter squared to the line but it’s probably personal preference. 

If you were fit to a specific alignment system and it helped you aim better, how can it probably be personal preference?   Kind of contradicts itself??

[Woodrow72]

I practiced some today by trying to putt through gates , it really showed how accurate the alignment I was attempting actually was . If a putt had to break to go through the gates it instantly showed how much I was over / under aligned with one putt. I learned to take or add adjustments more consistently, I’m constantly being schooled on the alignment and how to get better with the Edel Array