Tour Issued Putters

Good morning or afternoon fellow WRX’ers. Been on the site for a long time and just recently started posting more and asking more questions to try and gain experience and to be more involved. I’ve started to see more and more Tour Issued Putters on the BST as well as other online places for purchase. Now I understand what a Tour Issued Driver is- Core tested, exact specs, sometimes hotter faces or hot melt for sound feel or even ball flight changes. So I can see the benefits for those. Some may say they don’t need it and some do but at least there is benefit to those drivers.

however I don’t understand the benefits of a Tour Issued putter? Most just say it’s Tour Issued and when I ask, they usually come back with it has a Tour shaft band. Is that all there is for benefits for a Tour Issued putter? Or is there something more to them? Sometimes I can see that they might have a insert that is Tour only and ok, I u defat and that. But what benefit does a Tour Issued shaft band do for the putter besides driving up the price? A steel shaft is a steel shaft in most cases in putters. They are not made of high end material like the driver shafts. I’m not saying some don’t want that band or even myself have been active in trying to secure Tour issued gear. Just never understood the whole Tour Issued benefits on a putter if the insert is just a standard insert we can get off the rack.

thanks in advance and Happy 4th to everyone.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tour players have won with custom putters milled from a solid block of German Stainless steel with a $600 head over and others have won with $40 putters bought off the bargain bin. A putter is only as good as the person using it.

Understood. Just trying to find info if they have any special benefits besides the tour band. I know some may have special site lines, inserts, etc but most just have the tour shaft band or the indention mark at the bottom of the shaft. Is there any benefits to those shafts that I don’t know about? Weight, stability, etc. or is something done to the putter heads themselves?

It should be tour rejected as in no one there took the one in your hands.

Sounds like you’re speaking about Odyssey/Toulon putters with the “tour band ID and Indention on the shaft”. Usually those are different inserts or in Toulon case, Different milling, site lines, finish and/or grip options. No obvious special qualities but for some they are sought after due to the rarity of them.

Yes. I’m seeing a lot but most just have the Tour band. Nothing else that I can see compared to the retail ones. I suspected they might just be normal putters but with the special tour band but wanted to ask as I don’t have enough knowledge and thought I would ask. I know a lot here know way more than I do about clubs.

For me? They’re just cool. They make me feel “elite,” despite the fact that I’m a 16 handicapper with a crazy driver slice. It’s just a nice feeling to know that you have something that nobody else on the course has.

I was gifted a Odyssey V-Line Tour from a Callaway Staff player (caddied for him at the Sony Open) it has the "tour band" on it, I compared it to the retail one and it "looks" identical (aside from the tour band), they even felt almost the same, the "tour" version was a bit firmer (insert), still soft, the retail felt a bit mushy sort of speak...just like mentioned above, Pros have won with cheap used putters off the rack (Jim Furyk won with a used Yes putter), I don't use it as much since my kids bought me a Scotty for father's day 2018, so it is the bag and I don't see it going anywhere (I got fitted and love it)...

In my 2 cents, tour band is stretching tour only concept a little bit since a band can be easily replaceable.

There’s no definitive answer to what constitutes as a tour only putter. In my humble view, it usually means a putter has some elements that are not available for retail. For example, tour only head shape, tour only stamps, etc.

Calcavecchio won with a retail putter he bought in store.

In most cases it's something you cannot get at retail. So for Odyssey/Toulon it can be a neck option like their 'Crank Neck', a different insert, or special alignment. With TaylorMade the Spider it's usually a neck or alignment, some guys get the aluminum face but you can do the insert through the MySpider shop but I believe most Spider putters are the same as retail just with a tour badge. Can also look at DJ and his Truss putter, the truss was smaller to get him a bit more toe hang. This is kind of the same for almost all Tour putters, there is nothing really special about them, maybe a few tour players putted with them on the practice green but they are usually the "rejects" that no one really wanted.

To me, most of the tour putters are insanely priced. You can get almost everything done in the custom shops at Scotty Cameron, TaylorMade and through your fitter for many other brands.. Apart from a “tour stamp”. That doesn’t make it worth that much more to me personally.

So it comes down to supply&demand, what the perceived value is of the putter in question. And somehow there’s mole supply, you can find just bout every putter you’d want in a tour version when you look for Scotty or Bettinardi for example. Still you’ll have to pay at least three times the retail value. At this price point I’m looking at them from another perspective: speculation and investment. You might want to seek a specific head that’s not that easily found, hoping for a good price so you can sell it (much) later on for more.

I’d rather invest my money in real-estate ;)

It's all about how it makes you feel and you're buying the confidence. My friend went to the scotty store in SD, got fit, ended up with a $3500 putter, it's unique, kinda plain looking really because he really likes it plan without many stamps. Obviously, we give him tons of crap when he misses a putt and he says to us, that's why you get $3500 putter when he sinks a good putt. He uses a plain club glove cover since you don't want to be a target to golf thiefs. If you can afford it, why not. I don't like blade putters and don't like any scotty mallets but if I didn't I'd probably get a custom scotty, just for bragging rights and cool factor. Maybe, get the low end ones you see for $1500...haha

I cannot speak to the Toulon, although I did own a Garage Portland for a spell. The garage putters are assembled by the Callway tour builders, and come in finishes that are not available in a retail store. Add in the custom alignment options and you could dial in what you want for about $700 bucks. Scotty Cameron Circle T are a different beast all together, minimum price of admission new is $2500, and go up to $20K and more. The previous posters are mostly correct in that the Circle T's either get sold by a tour player or they are a gallery purchase. Unless you can go to the gallery you can no longer custom order one as a mere mortal, so you are literally buying something was made for someone else. Differences can be major like the material steel, but mostly cosmetic like speical finsihes or sightlines. In some cases they are truly rare, but in most cases many are made and just painted or stamped differently. I would say blade wise the putters can be truly different, but the mallets I'm told are the same exact clubhead other than possible unique finsihes or Circle T engraving. I have owned 4 circle T's over the years and ultimately couldn't stomache keeping them not playing them. They literally cost 10X the price of their retail sibling and do not help you make make putts. In many cases they do not even appreciate in value, but I do not judge those who buy them. I would absolutely buy another one, but I have learned to wait for the right one, owning one just to one brought me no joy.

I believe any golfer will putt better with a properly fitted putter and a style that matches their stroke. To putt well a golfer's stroke must be sound and repeating. I have a set of these putting aids that with practice does help to develop a repeating stroke.

Then add to a good and repeating stroke a putter that is fitted properly and any golfer should putt better. Simply getting a tour putter isn't going to guarantee good putting. Some want something a tour player had his hands on. Some people are satisfied with a putter (or style) that states it is a tour made putter. Some people don't care. My putter was custom made to my stroke and fit for me. It has been in my bag now nearly 6 years and I have never putted better than I have with it,

I don’t see the need for any putter that doesn’t fit me and will “hunt” or run out well. I have Wilson 8802s that hunt a couple that don’t. I have one Anser 2 that hunts and one that doesn’t. And I’m restoring a Titleist tour model offset that really hunts. You never know until you use it.

Where are you getting this $3500 real estate purchases? That buys like 3 sq.ft where I'm at.

I’m slowly paying off mortgages ;)

Ah ok, yeah that's smarter than putters.

I believe there was a time that "Tour" infers that it was played on the tour. Kind of like a game wore jersey or caught home run ball has more value. To have a putter or other piece of equipment that was used by a pro in a tournament is rare. Players seem to change equipment to often than years past.

The rare or uniqueness was represented by the Tour Dot, shaft band or CT stamp but money changes everything and it is more likely done for a larger profit margin. Still cool to play what you see played on TV done to the small detail.

"Weather you think it is a performance advantage or think it isn't-you're right" (Henry Ford quote bastardized)

These conversations always seem to get to this point. If you don’t see the value in a tour issued putter that’s ok. It’s probably more normal than those of us who do covet them, because honestly they do not roll the ball better. One example of a tour putter that has value to me is the flow neck Futura 5 shape. Combines the fang style mallet I want with toe flow that my stroke needs. Justin Thomas was the genesis of this model, so until it comes to retail a Circle T is the only way to get one. Owning a circle T or something similar is all in the eye of the beholder, once you get the itch you can’t shake it. I will say the tour versions do feel different... whether that is what you want or not is up to you. Putting is probably the only part of this game we can share with the pros.

Sometimes it goes goes the other way. I own a Wilson 8802 that was used by three different pros on tour in the seventies. I wouldn’t sell it but since it wasn’t the 8802 I was using successfully I let two of the tour pros from our club use it. And a friend from California I met playing in state opens in the west.

i still own it. Optically it is the best looking 8802 style putter I’ve ever seen.

pretty much sums up my gamer (and my buddies). I have very few extravagances in life. No watch, no fancy car - I drive a Subaru. The wife and I generally .... save. We are pretty cheap. Didn’t do anything last year when I turned 40. Had a career year in 2019. Etc.

so - I rolled down to Encinitas in Feb and did the fitting, and bought my own 009 to my specs. It makes me happy. It hides under a non-descript cover.

it’s absolutely a toy / luxury good / status thing for me.... and it makes me happy

Wish I could make the trip to the gallery myself, but I took the fitting info from my pro tried and failed with a few purchases from eBay Mostly due to feel or head weight. Finally woke up yesterday to a brand new listing for a T5W weld neck, literally jumped on it immediately.

These probably don't fit me, but hey, why not! The select is deep milled which, when they were released, was a pretty hot commodity to have on a tour putter. The 009 just looks great. Nothing special, just good looking. You can also get different necks, alignment aides or other things not offered at retail. The big benefit is, if you don't overpay, you can use them a few years then make money on them when you are done with them.

Tour issued putter is a way to sell a putter for 1k or more.

Yep, Cameron’s made millions doing so.

Looking at your signature you have some good classics there-- And the Ping putter fished out of a lake cracked me up--- Exactly what I do. My Scotty in my signature was literally fished out of the scrap pile

Seems to me that there are a couple of different categories here. There are "tour issue" putters (some brands apparently add a shaft band) which were specifically made for a tour player or tour van to dispense (but which may never have actually been used in a tour event or by a tour player) and there are tour used putters which may or may not have special features, but which have confirmed provenance of having been used on tour.

I collect Ping tour putters, for the fun of tracking them down, and the genuine 1 of 1 uniqueness of them. Ping have confirmed the names of the players and the year and specs of each of the putters I own. They are easily identifiable by the Jim Wells serial up until 2010/11 when Mr Wells retired- but some JWs were made for private clients, so it's always worth checking. I also have a couple of tour used putters from the 90s which look identical to retail, but which I have solid provenance for.

Mine were owned/played by Colin Montgomerie, MA Jimenez, Matt Baldwin, and Chris diMarco. They are all very cool to have and I regularly use one of Monty's old Zing 5KSs which has a 380g weighted head and a straight hosel rather than the usual offset on that model.