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 The Shadow
There’s more to putters than meets the eye.
When you set out to design a putter you have to ask yourself ‘what do golfers want and what are they looking for the putter to do. This is the process I used when designing the Reality Balanced range. A putter that is perfectly balanced in the swing plane that allows zero twist for the straight back straight through stroke.
Many touring pros and putting guru’s are telling us the swinging gate method is a better and a more repeatable stroke. With the swinging gate system you start with putter square to the target line. As you take the putter back it should come inside the line giving the effect of the face opening slightly. The return stroke follows the same path coming from inside to strike the ball in the square position. The longer you can hold this square position the better. As the ball is struck the putter should follow the same arc coming inside the line once more. This gives the appearance of the face closing. Basically it is a mini golf swing.
Now this is where I step in, how can I make a putter balanced in such a way to maximize this type of putting stroke? Blade putters are too toeing heavy and require a lot of hand action to get the face back to square. Face balanced putters are better but still tend to open a little too much particularly with a light grip. Also the sweet spot and pivotal point is usually dead centre of the face which acts like a hair trigger that can cause the face to close very quickly. The longer you can hold the face square then the better the result; it’s the same with the normal golf swing.
I’m not saying that one stroke is better than the other that is for the golfer to decide. What I’m about is making putters that are balanced is such away to fit and enhance the type of stroke you want to use. You wouldn’t use a screwdriver on a nail would you?
So here is Drop Putters latest and greatest. I call it the Shadow™. It has been designed specifically for the gate style of stroke.
Some of the interesting features and benefits are:
I’ve moved the sweet spot and pivot point towards the toe to eliminate the hair trigger effect. This also keeps the face square for much longer.
The shadow from which the putter is named is the black alignment plate extending back from the face. When lining up with the ball it gives the visual effect of the shadow of the ball extending back through the putter. The perfect line.
I have made this alignment plate adjustable by a couple of degrees left or right. About 30% of golfers over 50 have some sort of sight deficiency that can result in alignment problems. A golfer afflicted with this problem can eliminate it with the necessary adjustment. This is an absolute first in the industry for which patents are pending. ( The factory setting is set at 90° to the face of the putter)
Variable weights. 4 head weights are available, 310, 320, 330 & 340 grams.
The points I’ve mentioned above are those that are obvious to the eye. What the eye can’t see I’ve kept secret. Suffice to say that the shape of the head and the positioning of weight and the shaft is what make the Shadow™ work.
At present only limited supplies are available and only in the wood and brass configuration. Drop Putters is a small company with some great ideas but limited capital. All of our putters are hand made from start to finish so they can take a bit of time to produce. We can usually turn orders around in 12 days. If you appreciate fine craftsmanship and a quality product then a Drop™ putter could be for you.
How much does the Shadow™ cost, $180 plus shipping charges.
 Price : US$ 180.00
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Delivery charges throughout the world are only US$ 14.50.
For the Aussie market please contact the factory direct on 03 9555 7846
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