Why are putter faces milled and not just smooth flat

Why are putter faces milled and not just smooth flat..... is it to ensure its truly flat? They both exist obviously...any advantages of either?

Milling the face whether a cast head or an entirely milled putter ensures consistency across the face. This consistency can be achieved whether it's milled smooth or some type of pattern is left.

All other things being equal, a deeper pattern, to the ears of some, has a more muted sound at impact compared to a smooth face. This might translate to a softer feel.

Personally, I can't really tell a difference although milled faces do typically look cool.

For me they have a completely different "feel". The milled face "feels" softer.

I would guess there's some research in the marketing of the word Milled and a price jump or sales increase

Not a fan of the pattern. Most of them look like stucco to me.

I always thought the milling or some other type of pattern on the face of a putter served two purposes. The first is to introduce some friction to the surface and try and add 'more grab' to the putter face so it would impart some spin and start the ball rolling sooner rather than skipping. Second is that the ball has several 'flat spots' and 'ridges' due to the dimples (ie - it's NOT perfectly round), so the milling or pattern on the face of the putter would minimize the chance of a 'ridge' or 'flat spot' hitting the dimple on the ball in a way that would throw it offline.

Deep milled is definitely softer!!

Evolution, progress, identity. I have several flat faced and plated examples Cameron hand made for Pros in the late '90's. They are smooth faced and any ultra fine milling disappears with the finish. Directly opposite from same era putters and the trend today.

I thought it was because a perfectly flat/smooth surface was not possible with modern materials on metal so it was better to mill the face to achieve a consistent surface?

Most of it is marketing. Speak to any real machinist, and they would be embarrassed at the milling chatter found on putters. It's was put there by design to prove to the public that the putter was milled compared to the flat, cast Pings of the time.

Now the logic is being extended to feel with the removal of metal.

The audible sound that is made when a club strikes a ball has a HUGE influence on what we perceive as "feel". If you could put your head into a vacuum and block out all sound, then and only then would you be able to "feel" the club hit the ball. Not to mention that "feel" is an individual preference.

I thought it was because a perfectly flat/smooth surface was not possible with modern materials on metal so it was better to mill the face to achieve a consistent surface?

If they cant get things perfectly flat or at least within a few thousandths these days I would say they never could before. Metal hasnt changed much if at all. Im going with marketing and the fact that its the "style" now. I putt best with an old carbon Macgregor JN271 thats rusted and pitted. All this stuff with inserts and milled faces and "german stainless" doesnt really help if you cant read a putt and produce the proper stroke.

Perfectly flat face? To hit a ball with dimples?

Marketing.

I read that Scotty Cameron said it was purely for sound. No other reason.

Most of it is marketing. Speak to any real machinist, and they would be embarrassed at the milling chatter found on putters. It's was put there by design to prove to the public that the putter was milled compared to the flat, cast Pings of the time.

 

Now the logic is being extended to feel with the removal of metal.

+1 to this. Having run a machine shop that made parts with extremely low tolerances, it is 100% possible to make these cuts without the mill pattern that so many putters have. But the milled pattern is more appealing to the general golfer, and so it is what's prevailed. Additionally, I think that flat polished faces would show wear much easier/sooner than even a shallow mill pattern.

It is funny how they try to say they are precision milled and make it sound like some high tech prcedure, actually the milling i usually see on the putters would be considered a bad mill job in a machine shop. Lol

I read that Scotty Cameron said it was purely for sound. No other reason.

It is funny how they try to say they are precision milled and make it sound like some high tech prcedure, actually the milling i usually see on the putters would be considered a bad mill job in a machine shop. Lol

Agree. Our machine shop holds some pretty crazy tolerances and works with various types of metal and alloys. The milling we see on putters is purely for marketing. It's a gimmick really, other than ensuring the face is as straight as possible. I'm sure it changes the sound a touch, but what makes more of a difference would be if the putter head is from a casting, or if it's forged/milled entirely.

I was chatting with a mate who is an aerospace machinist about milling and we set a OTR scotty up his his vice and tested how flat the face was. According to him it was slightly concave. We tried another and that was exactly the same. These were putters with fine milling as well. So when they say they are flat well they aren't. The piece of equipment used could probably buy a brand new golf gti!

It is funny how they try to say they are precision milled and make it sound like some high tech prcedure, actually the milling i usually see on the putters would be considered a bad mill job in a machine shop. Lol

Agree. Our machine shop holds some pretty crazy tolerances and works with various types of metal and alloys. The milling we see on putters is purely for marketing. It's a gimmick really, other than ensuring the face is as straight as possible. I'm sure it changes the sound a touch, but what makes more of a difference would be if the putter head is from a casting, or if it's forged/milled entirely.

Wonder if anyone has heat treated the head/face of a carbon steel putter? What would Rockwell 60 sound like?

I was chatting with a mate who is an aerospace machinist about milling and we set a OTR scotty up his his vice and tested how flat the face was. According to him it was slightly concave. We tried another and that was exactly the same. These were putters with fine milling as well. So when they say they are flat well they aren't. The piece of equipment used could probably buy a brand new golf gti!

That was the purpose and marketing supposedly of Bettinardi's Honeycomb milling. That is produced a putting surface that was 200% flatter than conventional milling. I would assume the Twilight Zone/Spiral milling of Byron and Lajosi provides a similar result as they are produced in a similar fashion using an end mill coming down perpendicular to the face.

Ironically, Bettinardi has gone back to fly milling "due to customer demand." :rolleyes:

I was chatting with a mate who is an aerospace machinist about milling and we set a OTR scotty up his his vice and tested how flat the face was. According to him it was slightly concave. We tried another and that was exactly the same. These were putters with fine milling as well. So when they say they are flat well they aren't. The piece of equipment used could probably buy a brand new golf gti!

 

That was the purpose and marketing supposedly of Bettinardi's Honeycomb milling. That is produced a putting surface that was 200% flatter than conventional milling. I would assume the Twilight Zone/Spiral milling of Byron and Lajosi provides a similar result as they are produced in a similar fashion using an end mill coming down perpendicular to the face.

 

Ironically, Bettinardi has gone back to fly milling "due to customer demand." :rolleyes:

Byron's Twilight Zone is my absolute favorite face milling. Too bad he no longer uses it.