BETTINARDI LIVE FROM THE HIVE! February 13! Follow along here!

[oldhamer25]

Looks like an amazing trip. Nice choice on the bb0.

[BForrester]

I really hate you right now, ESP!

[JStang]

I'm speechless.

[ESP]

I did manage to leave with a couple of souvenirs today! The marker will be released on the Hive this Thursday.

[LeviScot5]

Awesome photos! Enjoy

[ESP]

Dang...I'm 183rd and Harlem by B-Dubs...would have bought you dinner and drinks!

 

I would have taken you up on a beer last night. We were at Side Street American Tavern for dinner and beverages.

[DavePelz4]

Dang...I'm 183rd and Harlem by B-Dubs...would have bought you dinner and drinks!

 

I would have taken you up on a beer last night. We were at Side Street American Tavern for dinner and beverages.

 

Side Street is literally behind my building...so sorry to have missed you.

[TWshoot67]

Congrats on the best trip ever IMHO. Hope to make it there some day myself!

 

Too bad I'm at work when all these live trips are happening or I would have been follwing for sure.

[Torrey4Life]

So jealous my head hurts. =)

[Mr. Grumpy]

Love it man! Quality...

[ESP]

After playing catch up at the office all day yesterday I've finally had a chance to sit down and think about a recap of the experience. It was awesome!

 

We scheduled the date about a week ago. As I got closer to the weekend I realized Chicago was about to get hammered with snow and was worried the trip would get rescheduled. Luckily, I was able to fly in on Monday without any problem. I landed about 4:50 and grabbed an Uber and started making the trek to Tinley Park during rush hour. My driver asked if it was okay if he talked to his wife on the phone and proceeded to put in his earbuds and talk in a foreign language the entire car trip. It was about 50 miles and took an hour and half. He stayed on the phone the entire time and drove in the right lane the entire 50 miles with his left turn signal on! Traffic was pretty heavy and I didn't want to startle him so I just ignored the the blinking light thinking he would eventually realize it. He finally did as he exited the highway to go to the hotel. I was glad to finally get to the hotel. I'd been texting with Sam Bettinardi, Robert's son, from the Uber and he was on his way to pick me up from the hotel to grab some dinner. Aaron and Andrew from WRX were at the same hotel and we met in the lobby and then walked across the street to grab dinner and a couple of beers. Sam, Aaron and Andrew were great to hang out with. We talked all things golf and Sam gave us a quick history of the company and talked about their current staff players. It was getting late and Sam had to get back to his family after dinner. Aaron, Andrew and I stayed at the restaurant and hung out a little bit longer.

 

The next morning we made our way to Bettinardi and met Sam there. He gave us a tour of the place and we spent a fair amount of time going through the shop as he showed us all phases of the manufacturing process. It was very cool to see what all goes into making the putters and it is quite impressive. We saw everything from the raw steel beams that they cut into billets in house that then go into the milling machines, all the way to the polishing stations, and finishing room where the putters are hand painted and then put together to be shipped out. Later in the day Robert explained that they are the only major golf manufacturer that makes their clubs from start to finish on site. It was cool to see the level of technology, sophistication, expertise and skill that goes into making each putter from what is essentially a small family owned business. This alone has made me a huge fan of Bettinardi and you can't help but admire what they have built and been able to achieve. We also were able to see some limited run items that will be released soon that are really cool looking, but we had to take an oath to keep it under wraps for now!

 

After the tour of the shop we went upstairs and toured the Hive. I also met Brad Hommes there who would be doing the fitting for me. The Hive is a special place and they don't allow any pictures so you will have to use your imagination, but know it has some of the coolest putters and covers I've ever seen. After ogling all the different putters Brad started asking me about what I was looking for and had me start grabbing putters from the Hive to try out. I picked every model I could think of that I thought I would be interested in and started rolling a few puts to see what I liked. As a frame of reference my current putter is a Cameron Select Newport 2 and I have typically used Answer/Newport style heads in the past. With that being said I wanted to try everything to make sure I ended up with the best possible putter for my game. My goal in this process was to come away with a putter that I plan to use, not just a cool looking putter. After trying several different putters I zeroed in on the BB8, BB0 and a halfmoon mallet. I tried to like the full mallets but they just don't fit my eye or stroke.

 

After narrowing it down Brad grabbed a couple of extra putters in the same models with different head material, millings and finishes to get a sense of the different feel for each. From there he put me on the monitor with the high speed cameras and had me hit a few putts with each putter. After watching a few putts I think Brad expected a face balance putter like the half moon would be a good fit, but after analyzing my stroke the BB0 with a plumbers neck was giving me the best results. I liked the looks and feel of the BB0 and we agreed that the BB0 was the best fit and then moved on to the next variable.

 

Next, our focus was on the lie, length and loft. The monitor showed that my toe was a little up. Brad adjusted the lie to 68* and that put the club head in a good position at impact. Next we worked on the length. I'm 6'1" but like to let my arms hang as much as possible and was choking up quite a bit on the the 35" putters and needed something shorter. My current putter is 34" but I still choke up a little on it. Brad thought 33" would be a minimum length to try so we settled on 33.5" as a starting point. Without hesitation Brad grabs one of the putters we were testing and cut it down to 33.5" and threw a new grip on it. I was a little surprised he cut down a custom putter instead of trying to find a putter they had in 33.5" but Brad replied they had lots of shafts and could just swap it out. The 33.5" turned out to be spot on and we moved to the next variable. I hit a few more puts with the camera focused on the dynamic loft at impact. The cameras showed that I have a forward press at setup and I maintain the press through impact. I've never thought of myself as someone with a forward press but the cameras don't lie. After adjusting the loft it turns out that 5* of loft was better for me and after the adjustment there was little skid and the ball was rolling better off the face.

 

After dialing in the specs we went back to the different millings and head materials to decide which felt the best to me. I tried everything from a carbon head with F.I.T.Face milling, which was on the softer end of the spectrum, all the way to the Honeycomb DASS with sound slot on firmer end of the spectrum. The FitFace wasn't for me and neither was the honeycomb with sound slot. I did like the micro honeycomb milling in both the carbon and DASS, which is somewhere in the middle of the feel spectrum feel. One of the hardest decisions was choosing between carbon or DASS. Both felt great, but at the end of the day I went with the DASS for durability and to get the finish I liked.

 

After we figured out the head and specs we went off to the conference room to meet Robert Bettinardi and talk design. First Robert talked about the history of the company and told some great stories about some of the tour players they have worked with over the years. They were excited about the upcoming Genesis Open at Riveria because they have several Bettinardi players in the field. Robert was great and I would have been happy to just sit and listen to him tell stories all day. Sam joined us in the conference room along with Takashi Toshii who would help with the design. We ate lunch and continued to talk all things golf and then Robert, Takashi and I worked on the design. At this point my head was swimming with all of the possibilities and I had a hard time deciding on a design. Ultimately, Robert and Takashi helped me come up with a few design ideas. After we completed the mock up we took a few pictures and Sam took me back to the Hive to look at covers. I could pick anything I wanted, which was another tough decision. Sam told me I should wait because they were receiving a new batch of covers that I could choose from. At the end of the day I picked one that I liked from the Hive to hold back and they will send me pics of the new ones to also choose from. We wrapped things up and I headed out to the airport.

 

I was back in my office yesterday morning and received an email from Brad with a mock up the putter. I was a little surprised to receive it so quickly! Brad and I traded emails and I had a couple of changes I wanted to make after giving it some thought. They are to send me photos as the putter progresses and I will post them as I get them.

 

I want to thank Bettinardi and WRX for the opportunity to participate in this experience. It was an awesome experience for obvious reasons but even better because everyone I met was great and a lot of fun to be around. Special thanks to Aaron and Andrew from WRX, Robert and Sam Bettinardi for their hospitality, Brad Hommes for the fitting and Takashi Yoshii for the design help.

 

I'm truly impressed with Bettinardi as a company, their people and their putters. I can't wait to get the putter and put it in play!

[RonSwanson]

That flask tho...

[cvhookem63]

Nice write-up ESP! Sounds like a great experience!

[MillerLowLife]

Awesome write up ESP. I can pretty much visualize the experience, or at least try.

 

One question I have, coming from a fellow NP2 user at 35 in and 2.5* loft (just how I bought it off BST), did you feel the fitted options were far better and felt more natural?

 

Definitely follow up in this thread when you get several rounds in with the new stick.

[DavePelz4]

Your timing was perfect for the trip as we just ended 9 straight days of snow! It sounds like and amazing experience and it will be wonderful to hear how things go with your custom putter once you get it out on the slopes. Thanks for sharing your experience and next time you're in Tinley Park, let me know!

[AzSuperHack76]

Awesome Experience!! I'm guessing those wide blade putters are going to be the 2018 Studio Stock 28's?? Hopefully a plumbers neck will be an option!

[gprubes]

Great write-up!! Can't wait to see pics!!

[pdaero]

ESP, thanks for your great post! How was The Hive and customizability options? Sounded absolutely amazing, and love the idea of the BB0. Help me with this.. what is the sound and feel of the tour Bettinardi putters relative to the standard lines, or standard blade-style putters on the market? Thanks - would love to see if it's worth it to get a tour-like putter from them one of these days versus my standard putter.

[hurricanes7]

Oh baby...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

great pics, thanks alot. love my queen bee

[ESP]

Awesome write up ESP. I can pretty much visualize the experience, or at least try.

 

One question I have, coming from a fellow NP2 user at 35 in and 2.5* loft (just how I bought it off BST), did you feel the fitted options were far better and felt more natural?

 

Definitely follow up in this thread when you get several rounds in with the new stick.

 

I think the length and lie were the most noticeable change from my current putter. Getting the right length and lie helped me get set up better. The loft was less noticeable during the fitting. We're talking about the difference between the ball starting to roll an inch off the putter face versus 1.5-2 inches off the putter face, if I remember correctly. Hopefully the right loft will translate to better speed control and keeping putts on my intended line but I'll have to get it on the course and play with it to see if there is a noticeable difference.

[ESP]

ESP, thanks for your great post! How was The Hive and customizability options? Sounded absolutely amazing, and love the idea of the BB0. Help me with this.. what is the sound and feel of the tour Bettinardi putters relative to the standard lines, or standard blade-style putters on the market? Thanks - would love to see if it's worth it to get a tour-like putter from them one of these days versus my standard putter.

 

The options seem to be endless when you factor in the design options. To me the face milling patterns and sound slot (or lack there of) had the most impact on feel and the head material had a lesser effect, but still noticeable. I think the main advantage of The Hive is getting the correct fit and being able to try different combinations of head material and face milling option. Whereas, your possible combinations with off the rack putters may be limited. You still can't go wrong with a properly fit off the rack Bettinardi because it will still have the same production quality and materials as the the custom tour models, you just don't have as many design options. However, if you have the opportunity to go The Hive then do it, you won't be disappointed.

[Cwing]

Nice!

[getair23]

Did you see any wedges?

[ESP]

Did you see any wedges?

 

I did and looked great but I didn’t really get to spend much time looking at them.

[Dcoop86]

Would this process be a normal fitting you could book (minus talkingbto the heads of the company) or is this above and beyond what you would get if you scheduled a fitting via their website? Seems like more than what others would offer especially regarding the choice of material/milling but looks awesome.

[ESP]

Would this process be a normal fitting you could book (minus talkingbto the heads of the company) or is this above and beyond what you would get if you scheduled a fitting via their website? Seems like more than what others would offer especially regarding the choice of material/milling but looks awesome.

 

I'm not sure and should have asked.

[ZAP]

Would this process be a normal fitting you could book (minus talkingbto the heads of the company) or is this above and beyond what you would get if you scheduled a fitting via their website? Seems like more than what others would offer especially regarding the choice of material/milling but looks awesome.

 

I'm not sure and should have asked.

 

Sounds nearly exactly like the fitting I had with Brad. Great guy and very knowledgeable without being over the top techy if you catch my drift.

I didn't speak with Bob or Sam so that's different! And awesome.

 

Well worth the trip if you're considering it. Top notch people and a top notch product.

 

Can't wait to see the pics!

[ESP]

I've been told my putter has been engraved. I should have some pics to share later today or tomorrow.

[drbonesvt]

I've been told my putter has been engraved. I should have some pics to share later today or tomorrow.

 

By chance roll a BB8 classic?

[ESP]

Yes, the final two models that I narrowed it down to were the BB8 and the BB0. I've played Cameron Newport 2s for several years and am comfortable with the head shape. At the end of the day, I liked the rounder edges of the BB0 and I was able to keep the BB0 more on line than the BB8 for some reason. I believe the neck on the BB0 is a little longer than the BB8 (or at least looks like it to my eye), which may be the reason it worked better for me.