Edel Array Putters . 2024 Forum Review

[Bucky CC]

30 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

Love reading all the reviews.

I might have missed it given how much great info everyone is sharing, but I am wondering about everyone's thoughts on the face milling on the Edel. It looks to be a similar concept to the Evnroll or the Cleveland HB SOFT that I use. Have you found it helpful with speed control or keeping the ball on the start line? These are the claims that Evnroll shares on there site.

Keep up the great testing everyone!

I mentioned a few pages ago that I couldn't find anything on the Edel website about their face milling technology or reason behind the specific pattern.  There is a blurb about sound and feel, but nothing about speed of off-center strikes.  I haven't really noticed a difference based on where I strike the ball so I suppose that's a good thing?

"Machined to the tightest tolerances for exacting precision, the F-2 features a striking surface forged and machine milled from 1025 carbon steel which is known for its superior sound and softer feel."

[ejgaudette]

59 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

I mentioned a few pages ago that I couldn't find anything on the Edel website about their face milling technology or reason behind the specific pattern.  There is a blurb about sound and feel, but nothing about speed of off-center strikes.  I haven't really noticed a difference based on where I strike the ball so I suppose that's a good thing?

"Machined to the tightest tolerances for exacting precision, the F-2 features a striking surface forged and machine milled from 1025 carbon steel which is known for its superior sound and softer feel."

Interesting, yes a deeper milling tend to deliver a softer feel and sound, I am bet it does that too looking at the milling pattern. Just seems like it would have some Evnroll type properties given there is less milling the further it moves from the center of the putter.

[Woodrow72]

I like the feeling on intermediate putts , still getting the hang of the really long ones ( had several over 70 feet yesterday ) but the consistency on the score savers 4-11 feet has been extremely  encouraging .The only downside has been playing on freshly top dressed greens and the cavities will get grains of sand in them ,I  carry a small soft brush to elevate that issue. The face gives good feedback .

[Prodigal Duffer]

2 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

Love reading all the reviews.

I might have missed it given how much great info everyone is sharing, but I am wondering about everyone's thoughts on the face milling on the Edel. It looks to be a similar concept to the Evnroll or the Cleveland HB SOFT that I use. Have you found it helpful with speed control or keeping the ball on the start line? These are the claims that Evnroll shares on there site.

Keep up the great testing everyone!

In my testing, I have intentionally hit putts from the toe and the heel, high and low, and found that the ball kept the line I was trying to hit. I don't have the technical knowledge to attribute the forgiveness to the milling, but I bet that it is a factor. At the same time, I can tell when I hit the sweet spot and when I miss it.

[Parshooter36]

Just now, Prodigal Duffer said:

In my testing, I have intentionally hit putts from the toe and the heel, high and low, and found that the ball kept the line I was trying to hit. I don't have the technical knowledge to attribute the forgiveness to the milling, but I bet that it is a factor. At the same time, I can tell when I hit the sweet spot and when I miss it.

Interesting, I am seeing pulls on toe hits with the F-3. I think it's mainly me still getting use to a toe hang putter and over rotating. I definitely get feedback on heel and toe hits. It is not the softest feeling milled putter I have used, but it has a great feel and sound.

[GolfSpy AFG]

2 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

Love reading all the reviews.

I might have missed it given how much great info everyone is sharing, but I am wondering about everyone's thoughts on the face milling on the Edel. It looks to be a similar concept to the Evnroll or the Cleveland HB SOFT that I use. Have you found it helpful with speed control or keeping the ball on the start line? These are the claims that Evnroll shares on there site.

Keep up the great testing everyone!

Purely anecdotal, but I find that there is a discernible difference in feel if you get too much out on the heel or toe. I suspect Edel would argue that their fit is superior to the point that you ought to be hitting the sweet spot more often, and maybe that's true.  I've grown to like the face, and the feel, but it was a big adjustment for me after gaming Odyssey inserts for so long.

[ejgaudette]

Love the feedback everyone and I do agree with the Cleveland you can feel the mis-hit given the difference in milling.

@GolfSpy AFG I can only imagine that moving to a milled face from the Odyssey must be quite the change.

[PMookie]

On 4/20/2024 at 7:48 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!

 

 

Awe, man, that’s tough about not being able to be fitted because that’s the whole deal behind Edel clubs. Dang! Any chance for retro-fitting and adjustments? The fitting isn’t just about the dots, lines, or no lines or dots, but also about the weight of the head, weight amount and location added in the shaft near the hands, etc. and that’s done by watching you roll putts to a line the get a consistent roll from the weight adjustments. Ugh. Hopefully there’s a chance to get you through a true fitting and make any adjustments so you have the full experience, otherwise you’re almost using “off the rack”. Man, sucks, I feel for you because the fitting is the whole point in the clubs they make. Best of luck!

[Bucky CC]

21 hours ago, PMookie said:

Awe, man, that’s tough about not being able to be fitted because that’s the whole deal behind Edel clubs. Dang! Any chance for retro-fitting and adjustments? The fitting isn’t just about the dots, lines, or no lines or dots, but also about the weight of the head, weight amount and location added in the shaft near the hands, etc. and that’s done by watching you roll putts to a line the get a consistent roll from the weight adjustments. Ugh. Hopefully there’s a chance to get you through a true fitting and make any adjustments so you have the full experience, otherwise you’re almost using “off the rack”. Man, sucks, I feel for you because the fitting is the whole point in the clubs they make. Best of luck!

Possibly, but honestly I don't think they would change much with the Array F-2.  I went through a SAM PuttLab fitting with my gamer at Club Champion a while ago.  Shockingly they said it was a perfect fit for me and they wouldn't change anything.  I tried to match the Array F-2 specs as close to that as possible.

I switched back to my gamer last night for another comparison to the Array.  I'm working on a few swing changes so my iron game and overall score were nothing to write home about.  The putting was a different story.

I ended up with 28 putts and gaining +2.4 strokes versus a scratch index.  8 one putts (mostly because I missed A LOT of greens in regulation), no three putts, and a 39 foot bomb to save par on the 17th hole.  I really like the F-2, but it's going to have to step up it's game if it wants to knock my Odyssey out of the bag.

      

It was this kind of day.  Shanked an 8 iron off the tee (free drop from the cart path!).  Hit a wedge on to the lower left side of the green.  Made a 39' putt for par.

[Parshooter36]

I had another great nigh with the F-3 on our Thursday night league last night. I made putts from 6', 12' and 15' and lagged a couple of 30' putts to about a foot. I did have a 3-putt where I had 20' downhill putt that I left short and then the 2nd putt just leaked off at the end. 

[Prodigal Duffer]

Wow, @Bucky CCand @Parshooter36, very nice putting performances!

I won’t make it out this weekend for a variety of reasons, but I have put in several practice sessions on my mat. I’ve been extremely pleased with the results and am seeing enough improvement such that I am going to make a bold prediction: My next test rounds yield the best putting stats I’ve had this year.

I welcome all roasts if my prediction turns out to be stupid.

Edited May 4 by Prodigal Duffer

[Woodrow72]

Another day of Edel work , I missed a couple putts early that I fully expected to make 3-6 feet , but also made a couple nice 10 footers sidehill and downhill . Realizing it was operator error on my misses I focused much better on the back nine , holing 4 putts of 6 feet or more , a nice 2 putt from off the green from 60’ plus , then dropped a lovely 38 foot downhill putt for a birdie on 17 . The alignment system has convinced  me  of its effectiveness , I’m making more putts  when I’m properly set up and  making the correct read . I find the more I develop feel for distance  , the more confident i become !

[buckpillar]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:21 AM, Bucky CC said:

Possibly, but honestly I don't think they would change much with the Array F-2.  I went through a SAM PuttLab fitting with my gamer at Club Champion a while ago.  Shockingly they said it was a perfect fit for me and they wouldn't change anything.  I tried to match the Array F-2 specs as close to that as possible.

I switched back to my gamer last night for another comparison to the Array.  I'm working on a few swing changes so my iron game and overall score were nothing to write home about.  The putting was a different story.

I ended up with 28 putts and gaining +2.4 strokes versus a scratch index.  8 one putts (mostly because I missed A LOT of greens in regulation), no three putts, and a 39 foot bomb to save par on the 17th hole.  I really like the F-2, but it's going to have to step up it's game if it wants to knock my Odyssey out of the bag.

      

It was this kind of day.  Shanked an 8 iron off the tee (free drop from the cart path!).  Hit a wedge on to the lower left side of the green.  Made a 39' putt for par.

I'd call that a great up and down! 

[buckpillar]

From what I'm reading and comments from the testers these EDEL putters are top performers. Wonder if EDEL just dropped (brock) from EDELBROCK  since they are definitely high performance. 

VROOOM!

[GolfSpy AFG]

After 8 rounds of Stack putting with the 3-line alignment plate, I'm confident Edel is on to something with regards to the fitting.

First, my overall putting performance was worse as compared to the 3 dot plate.

That entry right on the "12" line is my first with the 3-line plate.  It went alright the first time out, but then the scores ballooned.  Here's the direction bias:

So here's where I have to apologize for not being terribly scientific, but I do believe this demonstrates a left bias (negative numbers in the graph) emerging.  I know the first few entries are wildly to the right, but I think I was guilty of steering things and trying to correct for a bias I was told I had with the 3-line.  Once I put that aside and just started rolling some putts, the make rate got much better but then a left bias emerged.  Again, not terribly scientific of me, and I know I could wash this out with a better sample size, but frankly I want to get back to the 3-dot.  So, so ends the 3-line experiment.

[GolfSpy AFG]

After putting the 3 dot alignment plate back on, I instantly brought my Stack putting performance back down to "normal" and closer to peak historical performance.  I continue to believe in the fitting.

[Bucky CC]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

After putting the 3 dot alignment plate back on, I instantly brought my Stack putting performance back down to "normal" and closer to peak historical performance.  I continue to believe in the fitting.

Am I reading that correct that you finished your entire putting session in 57 seconds?  Was that for one attempt at each station or the entire 27 putt session?  Either way that's fast!

[GolfSpy AFG]

12 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

Am I reading that correct that you finished your entire putting session in 57 seconds?  Was that for one attempt at each station or the entire 27 putt session?  Either way that's fast!

Ha ha, no.  I know the sequence by heart so I sometimes rip through the holes and then go enter the info in the app in one shot.

[Bucky CC]

Another solid round from the Array F-2 over 9 holes last night.  No three putts and I made two over 20 feet; a 30 footer for birdie and a 20 footer to save double bogey (don't ask).

   

[Shrek74]

On 5/6/2024 at 12:04 PM, Bucky CC said:

Am I reading that correct that you finished your entire putting session in 57 seconds?  Was that for one attempt at each station or the entire 27 putt session?  Either way that's fast!

I'm guessing 57 minutes is what it means.

Can you imagine trying to putt all those putts in less than a minute?! Talk about exhausted.

[GolfSpy BOS]

7 hours ago, Bucky CC said:

Another solid round from the Array F-2 over 9 holes last night.  No three putts and I made two over 20 feet; a 30 footer for birdie and a 20 footer to save double bogey (don't ask).

   

love to see that sort of performance!

Seems like you've made some adjustments, or are getting used to the F-2.  Anything you are doing differently, or is it just having time with the putter? (sorry if you mentioned this and I missed it).

 

[Parshooter36]

I had another good night with the F-3 last night. I made 4 of the 6 putts I had in the 4-6 foot range and made a 10 footer as well. One of my short misses was a 5 foot downhill slider that I didn't play enough break on. I hit my line, so I was ok with that one. The other was 5 foot uphill putt that I just pushed right. That one hurt and led to my only 3 putt of the night. 

[Bucky CC]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy BOS said:

love to see that sort of performance!

Seems like you've made some adjustments, or are getting used to the F-2.  Anything you are doing differently, or is it just having time with the putter? (sorry if you mentioned this and I missed it).

 

Mostly time spent with the putter.  I'm still struggling with speed control a bit but there are zero issues getting the ball rolling on my intended line.

[GolfSpy AFG]

Always fun when you can test two products at the same time!

I really like the Tour B XS off the putter face, and green side...used to game it for a while.  I'm not sold on Mindset graphics for putting, at all, but maybe that's another conversation for another thread. 

I really really like the Edel!

[Prodigal Duffer]

Unusually wet weather plus a crazy week at work has meant I've been able to do very little. I have a hearing at 11:00, a thing at my kid's school at lunch, and then I'm hitting the links for one last round before writing the final review.

Is there anything I can look for today that folks haven't heard about and want to know? For whatever it's worth, I'm feeling very bullish about the round (thus guaranteeing it stinks!).

[Parshooter36]

I made a 12 ft birdie putt with the F-3 to pull ahead in our league match last night. I then proceded to park one OB on the next hole to blow the match. The point is being able to stand over what I felt like was a must make putt and having the confidence that you can hole it is huge. 

[Prodigal Duffer]

18 minutes ago, Parshooter36 said:

I made a 12 ft birdie putt with the F-3 to pull ahead in our league match last night. I then proceded to park one OB on the next hole to blow the match. The point is being able to stand over what I felt like was a must make putt and having the confidence that you can hole it is huge. 

Great job on the putt. Concerning the next hole, golf is stupid . . .

[Parshooter36]

I could never do it, but the F-3 looks so good in my bag that it kind of makes me want to leave the headcover off.

[Bucky CC]

Finished my review for the Edel Array F-2.  How did it go?  You'll have to read my main post to find out!


 

 

[Prodigal Duffer]

Unlike @Bucky CC, I have not finished my review, but I did get in another testing round yesterday. I previously declared that I was feeling bullish about my next round (at least putting-wise). I think those feelings were justified!

I had zero three putts, made 100% of my putts from six feet or less (this is an improvement for me), and my lag putting was decent enough to give me a chance on the second putt.

Strokes gained were still negative, but were the highest they’ve been in a while. I think this is largely a function of me not being a good putter, but the condition of the greens was no help:

Taking the kids out to a par 3 today, so will get just a tiny bit more data, and then it’ll be on to drafting the final review.