RUNNER Golf Putters! 2024 Forum Review

[TJ Hall]

Not sure how much time is left in this test, but are any testers planning on keeping these in their bag?  Or will it be a surprise with the final review?

[Northern Monkey]

The test is running to the middle of May and you’ll just have to wait and see

[bama no 1]

7 hours ago, Bobbers said:

My putter has a KBS putter shaft, 120 grams, looks good and performs even  better.  I get no sense of bend or deflection on even the longest putts.  It's a quality component as are the rest of the elements of the putter.

maybe it is just me or the putters i have purchased but i dont think that i have ever felt the shaft bend or deflect while putting.  possibly another factor to consider is that i dont usually play on greens that are 30 yards long either which would required a harder stroke at the ball.

[Bobbers]

3 hours ago, bama no 1 said:

maybe it is just me or the putters i have purchased but i dont think that i have ever felt the shaft bend or deflect while putting.  possibly another factor to consider is that i dont usually play on greens that are 30 yards long either which would required a harder stroke at the ball.

Long lag putts, for me anyway, have a tendency to miss right pretty consistently and it's not my inability to pick a line.  I'm convinced that a forceful stroke causes a bit of shaft deflection that contributes to the putter head "fanning" a bit open due to the deflection.  Perhaps that's just me. 

[Bobbers]

9 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

Not sure how much time is left in this test, but are any testers planning on keeping these in their bag?  Or will it be a surprise with the final review?

Yeah, that's sort of like a television show where they "tease" something significant and then cut to a commercial...

[SDunne]

16 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Would love to hear all the testers thoughts on the shaft and how you feel it performs in the putter?

It took a bit of getting used to for me - mainly as current putter has a steel shaft so the weight and balance has been quite different. There was part of me that worried about the stability of such a light shaft but have been very impressed - certainly haven't spotted any torsion/twisting and the way it's coming off for me, I don't think I'm going to need to test it out over my knee (or similar) any time soon!

 

If I'm nitpicking, and it is a small thing.... the fact that the shaft and neck of the putter are two different blacks is a bit off for me. The shaft is a lovely matte black but the neck and putter are glossy which while isn't distracting while you line up etc, I do notice when I spend lonely hours admiring how pretty the putter is 

[Northern Monkey]

It’s unlikely that I will get out with the Runner until the weekend due to work but I’m planning on seeing what difference moving the weights on the putter has then. I’ll get some video of how different weight positions affect the path of the ball so I’ll be interested to see how this plays out. Especially as this is one of the unique points about the Runner. Let’s just hope the weather cooperates, as well as the boss, and I get out 

[jabbahut]

Congrats testers. Will follow with great interest as lovely looking putters that kinda “intrigue” me. 

[RTH1]

On 4/23/2024 at 1:54 PM, bama no 1 said:

maybe it is just me or the putters i have purchased but i dont think that i have ever felt the shaft bend or deflect while putting.  possibly another factor to consider is that i dont usually play on greens that are 30 yards long either which would required a harder stroke at the ball.

Agree never really gave the shaft a second thought, the KBS shaft featured in the runner putter looks good and has a grip on one end, the putter head on the other, pretty much job well done.

The KBS website has this to say ",,, to ensure stability, and accuracy on the greens. Designed as a high balance performance shaft that results in minimizing deflection bend commonly found in traditional steel putter shafts on longer putts, along with better distance control and ensuring the ball starts on its desired line. KBS GPS Graphite Putter Shaft incorporates a material that produces the unique and superior feel only felt in KBS Golf Shafts. Stiff without adding increased weight, graphite putter shafts can help the face from “turning” when a putt is struck toward the heel/toe. That will increase any putter’s moment of inertia (MOI) making your putting more controlled on mis-hits." 

Well, okay then, still not sure it's necessary but I've got it, so all's good. 

[RTH1]

Trying some different weight settings for testing proposes, Had to of course try it with all weights removed, don't recommend, way to light naturally and unstable feeling from anything struck away from the shaft area.

Turned into a heel hang putter.

More to follow, stay tuned.

[SDunne]

So, first proper round with the RUNNER putter today and one of my better ones. My handicap on my local course comes down to 14 as it’s a short course and not the toughest to get around.

I shot +11 which gave me 39 points for the day and definitely happy with how I played. I left a few shots out there – some dodgy lies cost me a few but overall very happy with how I played in general but especially from short. Ended up with 3 birdies for the round and showed my game in general is improving as I work on my swing.

 

As for the putter, the length of my putts and getting a feel for the greens was really easy with the RUNNER. Big thing for me was no 3 putts. I left myself a couple of second putts that were a bit longer than I would have liked but always felt confident with the putter. I’m certainly pleased with the work put in to get the feel of the putter and acclimatise to the change in weight and style from my previous putter. As I have mentioned before, the large sweet spot was great out on the course and got me a fair few mentions from the rest of the group on how well the ball was rolling and looking across the green. I sunk two long putts – one from about 12ft and another from off the green which is always fun to see and pull off. All in all, 28 putts in total for the round which I’m very happy with. It’s 3 less than when I played a few weeks back and was chuffed with the putting then so shows that it seems to have made a solid difference. I felt consistently the putts were going where I wanted but a few misreads didn’t help me out. I definitely came away thinking while I putted well, I can keep getting better and easily.

 

A few of the group were asking about the putter and had a go with it – feedback was positive from all and comments included how easy it was to line up and the nice feel of the solidity while also being relatively light. Perhaps a few converts after today!

[Northern Monkey]

@SDunne Great that you feel the Runner is improving your game and inspiring more confidence in your putting.
Did you find that the putter makes your lag putts easier to judge? Do you feel that the alignment aid being 3D was more beneficial than the typical 2D alignment aid on a putter?

Im interesting to hear your comments on these to be able to compare to my experience of the Runner

[SDunne]

3 minutes ago, Northern Monkey said:

@SDunne Great that you feel the Runner is improving your game and inspiring more confidence in your putting.
Did you find that the putter makes your lag putts easier to judge? Do you feel that the alignment aid being 3D was more beneficial than the typical 2D alignment aid on a putter?

Im interesting to hear your comments on these to be able to compare to my experience of the Runner

@Northern Monkey while it took a bit to figure out how much force to use, I feel I can replicate it well and gaining a true understanding of what I'm doing has been good with it. I was consistently putting it a foot or two past the hole when going for it. I think I only left two short all day and both were me being scared of the down slope.

 

For true lag putts where I was just aiming for there or there about today was a bad round to judge on as smallish greens and as you'll see from my GIR I was missing a few which meant chipping onto the green and thankfully that part of my game is improving as well! 

I definitely love the 3d alignment aid. My old.putter was a 2ball Odyssey so I feel having a bold line is helping me. I use the alignment aids on my balls and bringing the two together works well for my eye and how my process works. Having it so prominent helps my focus I'm finding.

 

[Northern Monkey]

@SDunne that’s great to hear. I found the alignment aid much more beneficial than the traditional 2D. I also had an Odyssey 2 ball previously and find it a lot easier to line up putts with the Runner 

The Runner, to me, seems to be far more consistent when judging distance and is definitely meaning less 3 putts. It seems to be a similar experience for you with managing no 3 putts! Let’s hope it continues 

[RTH1]

 

Update on Runner Blade Style Putter, From the 10–15-foot range.
Made putts dropped significantly to around 30%. Really just a malfunctioning operator.
Had trouble making a smooth transition, still developing a feel for this putter.
Longer range lag putts, 20–30-foot range, were consistently within the acceptable range.
This test was conducted with the weight settings adjusted to maximize the sweet spot according to the manufacturer. Any putts struck on or near the center of the club resulted in a consistent distance and feel. This setting also has a bit of heel hang.
 

 

[Rob Person]

39 minutes ago, RTH1 said:

 

Update on Runner Blade Style Putter, From the 10–15-foot range.
Made putts dropped significantly to around 30%. Really just a malfunctioning operator.
Had trouble making a smooth transition, still developing a feel for this putter.
Longer range lag putts, 20–30-foot range, were consistently within the acceptable range.
This test was conducted with the weight settings adjusted to maximize the sweet spot according to the manufacturer. Any putts struck on or near the center of the club resulted in a consistent distance and feel. This setting also has a bit of heel hang.
 

 

Will you be resetting the weights to find a better suited feel and impact? 

 

for the testers: With such a small point of contact, have any of you felt that it has made it easier or more difficult to maintain consistency?

[Northern Monkey]

33 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Will you be resetting the weights to find a better suited feel and impact? 

 

for the testers: With such a small point of contact, have any of you felt that it has made it easier or more difficult to maintain consistency?

I find this a very consistent putter. Even off centre hits hold the line you set the ball on but you lose a little distance

[RTH1]

1 hour ago, Rob Person said:

Will you be resetting the weights to find a better suited feel and impact? 

 

for the testers: With such a small point of contact, have any of you felt that it has made it easier or more difficult to maintain consistency?

Will be moving both weights to center next, "For experienced golfers looking for enhanced feel, smash factor and distance control." That from the manufacturer. Lots of options with this putter, finding what works best will take some time, but it does produce a very consistent roll.

[bama no 1]

10 hours ago, RTH1 said:

 

Update on Runner Blade Style Putter, From the 10–15-foot range.
Made putts dropped significantly to around 30%. Really just a malfunctioning operator.
Had trouble making a smooth transition, still developing a feel for this putter.
Longer range lag putts, 20–30-foot range, were consistently within the acceptable range.
This test was conducted with the weight settings adjusted to maximize the sweet spot according to the manufacturer. Any putts struck on or near the center of the club resulted in a consistent distance and feel. This setting also has a bit of heel hang.
 

 

Glad to read about the experimentation concerning this putter.

[SDunne]

Took the RUNNER out at lunchtime for a bit of work especially on lag putting and dialing it in a bit more. I've also brought the weights in a bit from the edges - keeping this evenly balanced but shifted them in slightly to see how this goes. The balance is that you lose some forgiveness on the perimeter but suggests that you get more feel & control. I only brought them in two lines/slots/rungs to see how it felt and played.

You certainly can feel the mishits more (and it sounds very different) but given I've been feeling more confident and more accurate with the RUNNER I felt this was a better feel in the putter for me. This showed in some of my long putting (below was from 12 yards) giving me a lot of confidence for the first round of the Match play comp on Saturday 

After this I went and did a bit of work from 3 feet around the circle and ensuring I have this dialled in. Aim is to keep going around the circle until you miss one and got to 10 in a row at one point so feeling like this has been good for me and my game.

I can imagine using the weights a bit like a training aid and bringing them into the middle for practice and making it tougher for me to then moving back a bit for gaming. Something for me to look at and play with. 

[Northern Monkey]

@SDunne looks like you’re getting it dialled in nicely Sean. Got to say that I’ve found it really good with lag putts and it’s definitely reduced my 3 putts

[GolfSpy_APH]

Sorry if you have all answered this and I have yet to do so because it's been working, but have you messed around trying the weights in different spots?

[SDunne]

10 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Sorry if you have all answered this and I have yet to do so because it's been working, but have you messed around trying the weights in different spots?

@GolfSpy_APH First time adjusting the weights myself - found it easy to do with the tool but as I've been enjoying the feel, I haven't changed the balance yet. I kept them evenly spaced but brought them in a bit more. Doesn't change the feel during takeaway/follow through but can tell in striking there is a difference. 

 

21 minutes ago, Northern Monkey said:

@SDunne looks like you’re getting it dialled in nicely Sean. Got to say that I’ve found it really good with lag putts and it’s definitely reduced my 3 putts

@Northern Monkey definitely. I've been saying throughout, the roll off the face and how more repeatable/consistent it has been has been great for me

[Northern Monkey]

17 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Sorry if you have all answered this and I have yet to do so because it's been working, but have you messed around trying the weights in different spots?

I was planning to do this and video it at the weekend but unfortunately the weather put paid to it. I will try and do it this week

[Northern Monkey]

I eventually managed to get out and play today for the first time in over a week due to a combination of work and weather. I was pushed for time so only played 9 and didn’t get chance to experiment with the weights. I’ve got a 4 day weekend after tomorrow though so will sort that then. 
The Runner performed well again and I’m really enjoying using it. 
The figures are a little misleading at first glance but when you look closer you will see that I only had 3 putts between 3 and 12 feet and sank 2 of these. So a 66% success rate. Everything within 3 feet (7 putts) I sank and this thing is awesome at close range. It’s so easy to line up with the 3D alignment aid and goes exactly where you aim. 
My short game was on fire which made the putting a hell of a lot easier. 
Fingers crossed the weather holds and I can get out over the weekend although we have a severe weather warning for thunderstorms overnight

[SDunne]

Nice @Northern Monkey - I think I said at the start of this, if you can find a putter that can almost guarantee you something from 3-4 feet in, I'd take it. Certainly be interested to see how you go with the weights - how do you have them set up currently?

 

Hope the weather clears for you - similar thing here in Sydney for Saturday but I'm hoping that the lightning stays away to get me out. I'll play in the rain but not daft enough to attempt a Caddyshack round...

 

 

 

[Northern Monkey]

7 hours ago, SDunne said:

Nice @Northern Monkey - I think I said at the start of this, if you can find a putter that can almost guarantee you something from 3-4 feet in, I'd take it. Certainly be interested to see how you go with the weights - how do you have them set up currently?

 

Hope the weather clears for you - similar thing here in Sydney for Saturday but I'm hoping that the lightning stays away to get me out. I'll play in the rain but not daft enough to attempt a Caddyshack round...

 

 

 

At the moment I have both weights set together directly in the centre of the head and it works for me.

Initially I had it set up differently as recommended by Simon at Runner to compensate for me missing left

The more I’ve used the Runner the less arc I have had on my stroke due to it just wanting to stay straight so adjusted the weights and it suits me. 
Im hoping to experiment with the weights over the weekend and see what effect they have

[GolfSpy_APH]

While I was at Vice I went to HIO (TXG for Germany) and we did a putter fitting/analysis with the Runner putter. Rather than explain it all I am just going to drop the results. 

Two recommendations came of it. 

1. I should be trying the heavier weights to help stabilize the head and hopefully strike location. 

2. I need to work on strike location.

For all the data nerds like me have fun!
I will bring up one key part though. 

The black lines above the forward swing text is where impact happens. What the fitter was surprised at is the before and after. There are large separation gaps which while not massive, for some is considered the yips. What surprised him was the fact I was able to always get it back to the proper placement at impact Those lines should be overlappying more right through impact like earlier in the path/pattern. Just really interesting and not something I ever feel or do on purpose. 

All in all the Runner is a great fit for my putting and the confidence on course has translated to good results. 

 

[SDunne]

Really cool insight @GolfSpy_APH impressive you get the face back like that!

 

Did you get additional weights? I only got the basic ones and would be interested in how you can add/change weights.

[Northern Monkey]

@GolfSpy_APH great insight! They are brilliant putters and as you identified very confidence inspiring