Bettinardi Hive/Custom Putter review

I had the chance to meet Sam Bettinardi at the 2016 Social at Rich Harvest Farms. I've ordered 5 customs and/or Tour putters through their authorized distributors or at the social previously, and it was time I designed something I was truly in love with and could putt with for years.

I reached out to Sam in the last week of May with an idea I had. Normally I'd reach out to the Hive Concierge, but my new idea for a custom involved putting Sam's name on the putter, so I knew I'd need his approval. I asked if he'd work with me on a custom, he obliged, and we were off.

I designed some ideas in Adobe Illustrator coming up with what I knew I wanted. The next day, Sam stated he loved it, and made small tweak (as they don't currently offer the Posion logo on customs), and sent me formal rendering.

I got in touch with Leonard Sales (their Studio Manager) put down my deposit, and they began the process.

They sent me progress pic's along the way, asked if I had any special requests for grips and a headcover, and what shaft color we wanted to go with.

I received my putter well before the timeline they quoted me (4-6 weeks) and swear I was F5'ing the tracking information daily. I was so pumped to see it was on the way.

Upon opening the package, it was a religious experience.

The company I work for does 3.2 Billion in revenue per yer, and is rated #1 in customer service in our industry (special focus in the high service industry)...So having this experience, I really look at the whole ordering process with a different eye than most people. From the pre-ordering process, to the unboxing experience, and any customer service issues before and after.

Receiving the package almost the moment I got home from work...I opened the package. The clean white box was outstanding. I believe the box/packaging tells a lot about the company. It's the first impression of a Brand and the quality they put into their product and the care they feel is warranted.

The magnetic feature upon opening the box was a nice added touch. The simple black and white concept wit their branding was classy. The box and packaging was sturdy and top notch.

Now for what everyone is waiting for:

Inside was the putter I've been salivating for over the last 3-4 weeks.

I ended up going with a red and white theme on a BB0, Flymlll face milling, Tour Blast finish, a custom Bucket Hat Kool Aid logo that Sam and I co-designed, a welded and torched slant neck, flange line, dancing Bettinardi in the pocket, and on the sole, the first ever putter to depict Sam's name. The Sammy Special First Run!

The putter was packaged nicely between two inserts, and also included my Certificate of Authenticity, and a pack of 4 Bridgestone Tour BXS balls with their Skull and Bones logo with T Hive eyes!

I immediately took the cover off, the shrink wrap off the head and grip, and went to go roll some putts!

Everything was perfect. The lines, the color, the finish, the neck (I've been wanting a slant neck forever), the weight, the feel and the sound. It just felt "right"...something I've been searching for for 3 years.

Rolling some putts, the line on the ball rolled end over end on every single stroke. The feel and sound off the face was a nice crispy pop that still provided nice feedback. Not too firm, but not too soft....just right.

I can't wait to get this out on the course this week and play some rounds. I have some events coming up, and some special trips as well. Definitely excited to put this into play.

I could not recommend the Bettinardi team any higher. Working with Sam was an A+ experience. Progress pictures along the way, good communication, verification of specs and preferences, etc. I talked with Leo a couple of times as well, and he was even calling me working from home with w 104º temp. These guys don't stop! They truly care about the customer and making their experience a great one, whatever it takes...

I think very highly of the Bettinardi brand, Bob and his whole team, and know it's in good hands for the years to come whenever RJB decides to hand the reigns fully over to Sam.

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What an incredible putter. How many face milling options did they offer? And how did you decide which milling pattern to use? Thanks for sharing!

> @Dcjhawk said:

> What an incredible putter. How many face milling options did they offer? And how did you decide which milling pattern to use? Thanks for sharing!

They offer quite a bit through the custom program. Fit face (I’ve had 2 before), flymill (my 3rd), honeycomb, an assortment of “fancy fancies”, and now a ghost face.

I’ve rolled all of them to know I like flymill the most.

Nice putter! I love my custom Betti.

3.2 billion, really?

Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

Very nice. I agree they do great work and working with them on a custom putter is amazing. I had the same with Mike Biviano there. Went I visited last year, I also met Rob and Sam. Great people.

> @j-rob said:

> Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

> I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

The company I work for does 3.2 billion. I have no idea what Bettinardi pulls in.

> @YoungJedi said:

> > @j-rob said:

> > Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

> > I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

>

> The company I work for does 3.2 billion. I have no idea what Bettinardi pulls in.

Gotcha, I was so ready to get to the pictures that I guess I glossed that over. Reading comprehension goes out of the window when there are putters to gawk at.

> @j-rob said:

> Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

> I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

I wonder the same thing. No idea but guessing based on The Hive prices I'm sure custom putters are at least $1200.

> @nova6868 said:

> > @j-rob said:

> > Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

> > I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

>

> I wonder the same thing. No idea but guessing based on The Hive prices I'm sure custom putters are at least $1200.

>

>

Try more than $1500 but they are not as expensive as like a 009 Scotty which I don’t get. I’ve only seen another custom Bettinardi in my area golf courses.

> @YoungJedi said:

> > @j-rob said:

> > Sweet flatstick! That wild that they are at 3.2 Bil in revenue, I would have never imagined that.

> > I wonder what the ballpark price on something like this would cost? But I guess if you have to ask, then you can't afford it haha

>

> The company I work for does 3.2 billion. I have no idea what Bettinardi pulls in.

My bad. I misunderstood what you were saying.

I paid I think $2800 5 years ago for my custom. The price was a little more because of the copper plugs I had added.

$2100 on this one

Congrats - wonderful looking putter - roll it well!! Love the bucket hat Kool Aid logo - so nicely done!! Great that you had a chance to work with Sam on it and have the first putter with his name on it. Thanks for posting on your experience - good for people to understand what Bettinardi is doing and how they are blowing away their competition with quality, creativity and customer service.

I haven’t done a custom yet (probably later this year), but I will strongly second your sentiment on working with the Bettinardi team - they are flat our terrific. For anyone thinking about visiting for a fitting or ordering a custom - do it!! For $1500-2000 Bettinardi makes a product that equals or even exceeds the quality and creativity of what Cameron is now doing at $8-10,000 and blows away the basic (and repetitive design) Circle T Cameron’s for $2500-4500.

Between visiting the studio 6-7 times in the last year and going to the social, I’ve had a chance to interact with Mike, Leonard and Nick frequently as well as Bob and Sam a few times and every time been so impressed with their focus on their customers, what their customers need/want in their products and producing the highest quality putters and other items that they can produce.

If you could have this for 2gs...why would anyone want a custom scotty (or some others) for double or triple? It blows my mind!

Beauty stick.

First round out today. -3

Felt like I made everything I looked at. Didn’t hit the ball the best, but minimized the mistakes by being hot with the new putter. Don’t let the honeymoon end baby! Lol

Gorgeous putter!

Love that bucket hat kool aid. What a kool stick!

Update for my first two rounds:

Have shot 69 and 71 making all sorts of putts. My friends claim I have some sort of Cheat code on with this putter. Another referred to my putting like Buggs Bunny with the magnet under the green in Space Jam ?

Wow! Gorgeous putter!

Echoing all, especially the bucket hat addition! Cover is sick too.. Glad it's working as well as it looks..

Such a cool putter! How is the feel?

> @themule08 said:

> Such a cool putter! How is the feel?

Couldn’t be better. It’s a perfect amount of solid without feeling clicky. If that makes sense. It still is soft enough to feel good, but not pillow soft

You get feedback where you hit it on the face, but also feels extremely good when you hit the sweet spot.

I’d relate it to hitting a blade iron (but not as punishing, as it’s not hard to hit the sweet spot on a putter). Lol

Cool write up. I like Bettinardi's brand. For some reason Ive got a small collection of OTR Scotty's and a Bettinardi Queen B still in the package. While I dont make big money I have a small love for putters that might put an expensive one in my hands one day. Very sharp design and I literally laughed out loud at how cool the Kool Aid Bucket man is.

Beautiful putter.

I've been looking at adding a Bettinardi to my collection and after reading your experience I definitely will be soon.

Very beautiful putter, I love it, and have some slight putter envy!

Very nice putter. I love the story and the flexibility in the build. Really blows anything in this price range out of the water.

One change i would make? I dont love the alternating paintfill in the cavity. Makes it hard to read! Small beans really.

Amazing stuff.

Always interesting to hear other peoples experiences with the custom process at Bettinardi. Customer service seems to vary widely person to person. Glad the stick turned out well!