Yes! putters - which were the best? Who’s playing one?

[MattUtah]

I got back into golf after Yes! went extinct but discovered them late last year after picking up a Tracy 2. I now have cheaply acquired:

 

Tracy 2 flange line 

Tracy 2 top line 

Tracy 3 plumber neck 

Callie 

Allie Tour Forged 

Ann 

 

 

I know there were a bunch of -f forged and -fc forged carbon models too. Anything great I haven’t tried yet? As for which of the above I prefer, I think it’s still the Tracy 2 for feel but the toe hang is a little much some  days. 

[jbrunk]

Hi @MattUtah, I’ve got two Yes! putters in my stable, both center shafted.

Pippi-12 Black: like a Newport 2.6 but with rounded bumpers

Sally-12M: cut down broomstick, Kombi knock-off

They made the best feeling insert putters before or since, and the c-groove tech puts a nice roll on the ball. So easy to start online.

 

Fortunately for me, neither of these putters has made it to the course this year. I’ve been putting very well with a SeeMore Mini Giant DF I acquired from a member here. …but, you wouldn’t know anything about that putter, lol.

[MattUtah]

10 minutes ago, jbrunk said:

 

 

Fortunately for me, neither of these putters has made it to the course this year. I’ve been putting very well with a SeeMore Mini Giant DF I acquired from a member here. …but, you wouldn’t know anything about that putter, lol.

Haha, glad you like it. I picked up another Mini Giant DF recently because I needed at least one modern Seemore around for when my alignment goes to hell. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by MattUtah

[jbrunk]

17 minutes ago, MattUtah said:

Haha, glad you like it. I picked up another Mini Giant DF recently because I needed at least one modern Seemore around for when my alignment goes to hell. 

Not surprised at all, it’s a great putter.

 

The other Yes! I’d love to pick up is the Olivia MB, flanged bullseye in manganese bronze. There were other heads in the MB line, but they don’t show up on the secondary market very often. Just something else unique to keep an eye out for along with the f.

[mukster]

Just dragged a Yes! Nicky out of the basement 

[MattUtah]

5 minutes ago, mukster said:

Just dragged a Yes! Nicky out of the basement 

I hadn’t seen that one before. Bet it feels great. These old Yes putters just feel great and put such a good roll on the ball. Makes me wonder why I have all these other expensive putters sitting around. 

[mukster]

I actually took it out to try it tomorrow, haven’t used on the course for at least 7 or 8 years

Edited July 4, 2021 by mukster

[RogerinNewZealand]

Glad one if you mentioned manganese bronze, i traded for a yes blade that was mb,soft to use, real nice.It was Lefty and im not so onsold it.I owned 3 yes putters,didnt see any value in the true roll semi circles! Had a Rossie 11 that was old and accurate as my comparison baseline putter.

[JungleJimbo]

3 hours ago, MattUtah said:

I got back into golf after Yes! went extinct but discovered them late last year after picking up a Tracy 2. I now have cheaply acquired:

 

Tracy 2 flange line 

Tracy 2 top line 

Tracy 3 plumber neck 

Callie 

Allie Tour Forged 

Ann 

 

 

I know there were a bunch of -f forged and -fc forged carbon models too. Anything great I haven’t tried yet? As for which of the above I prefer, I think it’s still the Tracy 2 for feel but the toe hang is a little much some  days. 

@MattUtah You may want to search for the “Ryo Design Yes!Putters” reincarnation (Japan 🇯🇵 /KoreaDM 🇰🇷, some =forged/milled? ). 😬
 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by JungleJimbo

[MattUtah]

7 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

@MattUtah You may want to search for the “Ryo Design Yes!Putters” reincarnation (Japan 🇯🇵 /KoreaDM 🇰🇷, some =forged/milled? ). 😬
 

 

I would love a 7 with a Yes face. I’ll keep a look out. 

[MattUtah]

8 hours ago, RogerinNewZealand said:

Glad one if you mentioned manganese bronze, i traded for a yes blade that was mb,soft to use, real nice.It was Lefty and im not so onsold it.I owned 3 yes putters,didnt see any value in the true roll semi circles! Had a Rossie 11 that was old and accurate as my comparison baseline putter.

 

You know, I’m not sure if the grooves do anything special either but I think the putters have a good feel to them. I hate how Evnrolls feel and Bettinardi FIT isn’t my favorite either. But these Yes c grooves feel great to me. I think the ball rolls well off the face too. I’ve compared them quite a bit to some carbon Swag and Scottys I have here and they hold their own. 

[nsxguy]

I don't think I've ever read anything about what the semi-circle grooves were supposed to do but the only thing I can think of is,,,,,,

 

if you hit the putt slightly off center the groove(s) would compensate for the ever-so-slight opening/closing of the face cause by the off center strike and then start the ball (back) on the line you intended.

[MattUtah]

5 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

I don't think I've ever read anything about what the semi-circle grooves were supposed to do but the only thing I can think of is,,,,,,

 

if you hit the putt slightly off center the groove(s) would compensate for the ever-so-slight opening/closing of the face cause by the off center strike and then start the ball (back) on the line you intended.

Did Yes ever make any wild Evnroll claims back in the day? All I see is they claim the ball rolls earlier like Odyssey does with micro hinge. 

[lefthack]

The Sophia looks great, I keep an eye out for one, but lefties get pricey. 

[nsxguy]

On 7/4/2021 at 10:32 AM, MattUtah said:

Did Yes ever make any wild Evnroll claims back in the day? All I see is they claim the ball rolls earlier like Odyssey does with micro hinge. 

 

Getting ball rolling as quickly as possible is one of the main challenges of making a putter. The sooner it starts rolling the less the "air time" and/or skidding it does.

 

I don't recall "Yes" advertising very much as it's a while ago. So the effect of the circular grooves I came up with is only a "best guess".

 

But certainly the grooves, circular as in Yes putters or horizontal in Evnrolls or "microhinge" are meant to do the same thing - get the ball rolling asap.

 

Even putting strokes are meant to do that. Some putting gurus insist the putter should have some upward angle of attack through the ball.

 

Others suggest a forward press (if you don't already) so that the first impact between putter and ball is slightly above the equator of the ball giving it almost immediate topspin/roll.

 

Which then brings us to putter loft. In the "olden days", when it was difficult to get the greens very fast, putter had a lot of loft; in the 4-5* area. This was so the putter could "lift" the ball above the grass rather than have the ball "fight through" the grass before being able to achieve a true roll. Remember all those old videos of putting in the 60's ?

 

Nowadays the greens are much faster. Grass is much lower so not as much loft is needed. But most(?) golfer do some sort of forward press so the a question is, do they get to a point where they produce negative loft ? i.e. "Pinching" the ball against the ground ? That leads to the ball "squirting" off the face and taking longer to get a true roll.

 

Then you have the Sik putters, a take off on the older round-ish faced putters. According to Sik, whether you forward press, putt with the shaft dead vertical or even lean the butt slightly to the read you will present the same loft at impact.

 

I know, I know, TMI. Nothing better to do today.

 

 

 

 

 

[MattM97]

I think Harold Swash was way ahead of his time, Yes has a near endless selection of heads. I'm sure if Yes came out in the past decade with the options they had they would be a lot more popular. They still are with that cult like following but many have no idea who they are or were. 

[MattUtah]

5 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

I think Harold Swash was way ahead of his time, Yes has a near endless selection of heads. I'm sure if Yes came out in the past decade with the options they had they would be a lot more popular. They still are with that cult like following but many have no idea who they are or were. 

I had heard of them and seen them but I figured they felt like an Evnroll or FIT face so I was never really interested. Everyone should grab a cheap one off eBay and give it a try. 

[dbleag]

I use a Victoria II and absolutely love it.  

 

The greens I play in Florida are medium-speed, grainy Bermuda grass and require a firm stroke.  The Victoria II is a heavier head and gives me the roll required.

 

I noticed Troy Merritt using a Yes! heel shafted putter in The Rocket Mortgage tourney.  He did very well with it.

[kcfromva]

You should try and find an original "donna". Double wide anser style  putter. I own 2 because they feel sooo good. I also have a callie and callie-f. Callie was my first I bought new at golf galaxy because every time I went I would putt with it and couldn't miss. They are great putters if you like the styles. But the donna is my gamer for about 10 years now. 

[MattUtah]

1 hour ago, dbleag said:

I use a Victoria II and absolutely love it.  

 

The greens I play in Florida are medium-speed, grainy Bermuda grass and require a firm stroke.  The Victoria II is a heavier head and gives me the roll required.

 

I noticed Troy Merritt using a Yes! heel shafted putter in The Rocket Mortgage tourney.  He did very well with it.

Is the Victoria II face balanced like a Rossie? I like the look of it. 

[MattUtah]

1 hour ago, kcfromva said:

You should try and find an original "donna". Double wide anser style  putter. I own 2 because they feel sooo good. I also have a callie and callie-f. Callie was my first I bought new at golf galaxy because every time I went I would putt with it and couldn't miss. They are great putters if you like the styles. But the donna is my gamer for about 10 years now. 

Man, that Donna looks exactly like the stroke lab double wides, even down to the color scheme. 
 

Which of your two Callie’s do you prefer? I think the regular Callie I have feels pretty good. Do you like the -f any more? 

[steventoo]

I used a Yes! Tiffany CS I bought new years ago right up until I bought my Evnroll earlier this year. It was a great putter but I wanted something a bit more forgiving and more suitable for a mild swing arc.

[dbleag]

16 hours ago, MattUtah said:

Is the Victoria II face balanced like a Rossie? I like the look of it. 

Yes, the Victoria II is face balanced, and is a little bigger than a Rossie. 

 

The sightline in the cavity is long and thin - pretty simple. 

 

It is super easy to aim.  I think it complements SBST stroke types.

 

Specs:

 

The Victoria II model is a mallet-style putter made of 304 stainless steel.
...
FEATURES:

• C-Groove Technology.
• Recommended Player Fit: Moderate Arc.
• 370 gram head weight.
• 304 Soft Stainless Steel Head.
• Heel Shafted.
• Double bend stainless steel shaft.
• Face balanced, cavity back mallet.
• Titanium Carbon finish.

[kcfromva]

18 hours ago, MattUtah said:

Man, that Donna looks exactly like the stroke lab double wides, even down to the color scheme. 
 

Which of your two Callie’s do you prefer? I think the regular Callie I have feels pretty good. Do you like the -f any more? 

I liked the callie better. for some reason never got along with the F. Maybe too soft for my liking. The Donna is way above both of them for me. The other 2 just sit in my second bag. maybe I should take them out for a spin again..

[RB Golfer]

I have a Callie I4 tech.  I love the feel off the c grooves, also this is a heavy putter that feels good.  I’ve been thinking about getting a Rachel which has more toe hang but don’t know if that would work with my stroke or not.

[JungleJimbo]

On 7/4/2021 at 10:32 PM, MattUtah said:

Did Yes ever make any wild Evnroll claims back in the day? All I see is they claim the ball rolls earlier like Odyssey does with micro hinge. 

@MattUtah I saw these Pyramid Putter claims & thought back to your question wrt Yes Putters concentric C-Grooves ... thought you might be interested! (albeit i thought someone else on the golfwrx forum said they didn't rate these Pyramid putters as much as Yes! putters ... didn't feel as high-quality, etc etc )
 

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by JungleJimbo

[kwhite9239]

My favorite putter of all time and the one I keep going back to is the Yes! Dianna. It’s variable weighting and such a beautiful 009 style putter. Puts an amazing roll on the ball and great weight to the head.

[rorykoepka]

Does anyone know what the head weight is on a Tracy 2 putter?

 

nevermind found it with simple search

Edited July 21, 2021 by rorykoepka
Found answer with search

[MattUtah]

2 hours ago, kwhite9239 said:

My favorite putter of all time and the one I keep going back to is the Yes! Dianna. It’s variable weighting and such a beautiful 009 style putter. Puts an amazing roll on the ball and great weight to the head.

I’ve been looking for one of these in good condition and haven’t found one yet. They look great though. 
 

3 minutes ago, rorykoepka said:

Does anyone know what the head weight is on a Tracy 2 putter?

I’ve seen mixed numbers online, everything from 340 to 355. I will say they have a good weight, don’t feel light at all. The Tracy 2 is my favorite of all the Yes putters I’ve managed to collect. I have it in both top line and flange line. I love that they made it in both versions too so you can find what fits your eye. 

[JRL2]

I have two Olivia mallet putters, they made me a lot of money back in the day.  I still use them as backup when the Spider needs a time out.