Byron 007 Stainless Review

[gticlay]

Have a few winter rounds on it now

OK, I've had a few (well 3) people PM me and ask about a review on the Byron 007. I have the '1st made' putter and as I stated before it's going to get used, not put up on some putter rack to look at. If I ever get a cameron 009, that'll be played too. Anyway, I live halfway between Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. It rains A LOT around here and we've been having some really nasty cold weather so I haven't been playing a lot. What that also means is that the greens are a little spotty and bumpy. So the first couple of rounds were on greens that early on were frozen (hit a 9i in and it'll bounce off the back like a cartpath ball does) and very bumpy then really soggy. Yesterday's round was pretty nice - in the 50's for temperature and unfortunatley in the 50's for wind MPH as well. The greens were OK though.

So, FEEL: It's winter and I'm playing a Laddie Xtreme ball. It's great in the 30-50* temperature range and I actually recorded my personal best score (75) with one I found on the second hole two summers ago. I probably could have picked up a rock in the parking lot because that's what they are. For that reason, I have also been carrying around a ProV1X ball to putt a little bit with because I wanted to write this up. So I said this before in my first impressions post but the putter is very soft feeling. Mine is the stainless steel version and compared to the RedX that I played for about a season and the Cameron Studio Stainless I played the year before that, it has a much softer sound and feel to it. I'm not sure why as they both LOOK like the same basic putter and the RedX has the white stuff around the stainless insert. I believe it may have to do with the moved SS location. Z-man told me that Byron moved the SS to the center, middle of the face where nearly all Anser copies have it a bit heelside. Compared to my 352g tour Scottsdale Anser, the feel is 100% different. The Ping is loud, a bit harsh, and though feedback is very good, it just isn't a soft feeling putter by any stretch of the imagination. Switching back and forth is like going from putting with a marshmellow to putting with a tuning fork or something.

ALIGNMENT: I thought that since it didn't have a sightline or even a sight dot that it would be difficult to line up. I was wrong. From the top, it has very precise machining that gives it two 'ghost lines' and the well designed, square setup allows you to line up the putter with ease. I'm a feel player and I think this has actually helped my putting to some degree because I do not have a sightline to deal with.

LOOKS: Great. I wish it had really smooth round bumpers like the Anser does (or a Scottydale 009) but that's OK. The machining is very clean. You can just barely see the mill marks on the bottom (not the ugly type on the face of many putters but very precise clean cutting ones like the side of an endmill pass as opposed to the tip). The face has that cool 3d effect which I love, and the hosel is a work of art. You can see each operation performed and there isn't any flaws there. Just nicely made.

Hows it performing? Pretty darn good. I've had some 3 putts with it but like I said - we do NOT have summer conditions right now and everyones greens are a bit ugly right now. Yesterday, where it was so windy that the ball sometimes moved on the green while addressing, I had 30 putts. Yup, 30 I even made a 15'er from the fringe to save par which is new for me since I bump and run 99% of the time. I shot 84 and that was a darn good score yesterday!

If you want to see pictures, just do a search - both Z-man and I have posted a bunch of them but maybe these links will work:

[drewspin]

Great review!!

[gticlay]

Thanks for the review and congrats on the awesome acquisition!

 

By any chance do you have a Copper Cush as a comparison? If so, I'd be interesting reading your opinions on that.

 

Sorry man, I (suprisingly) only have the two putters.

[scottyallanb]

Still cant get over the mill marks. Look is just sweet. Thanks for the review.

 

 

Scotty B

[cbae]

There's an interesting (and distinct) transition between a hand polished look and a matte finish at the bottom of the neck. Can you tell if this matte finish is due to some sort of coating or does it look like it's just media blasted?

 

[Z-Man]

It has a medium polished hosel and bottom and bumpers..Satin mist finish on the top . Very nice looking putter.

[gticlay]

It has a medium polished hosel and bottom and bumpers..Satin mist finish on the top . Very nice looking putter.

 

Any idea when the headcover and grip will be ready? :tongue:

[Z-Man]

Grips should be here first part of April.. I will send you a headcover next week.

[DRGJR72]

That is a sweet putter. One of the nicest ones that I have seen. Stampings are quie impressive as are the lines of the putter.

 

I met the fellas from Byron I would say 8 or 9 years ago at the PGA show in Orlando. I purchased one of the dale head putters from them at that time. I was very impressed then and still am impressed with alot of the work that they put out.

 

They have been puting out quality product for a long time now. We had an interesting talk with regard to Scotty and his work. But they did have alot of good things to say about him. I would call it friendly competition talk.

 

Would definitely like to be one of those guys to try a first run prototype, that is for sure. Lucky Guy.