Bettinardi's new face technology promises fewer 3-putt disasters. I checked it out

With the release of Bettinardi's BB family of putters, Bettinardi introduced the new Variable Depth Flymill face technology that creates nine different grinding areas on the face to support outside strikes. The heel and toe have extra support to keep up speed and launch lines, and the top and bottom of the face are milled to ensure good forward rolling even if you're not controlling your dynamic loft.

But the real question is – does it really help you on the golf course? That's what I decided to find out.

Short putts

We headed out to the Crosby Club just outside of San Diego to check out the Bettinardi BB. I chose the BB28 because I like the balanced blade shape on the face, and the wide field looks good behind the ball. Starting with quick 12-foot putts, things felt good. You can really feel the difference when you hit the putter off-center, but the support provided by the milling worked well. The main thing I noticed was the control of the first line. One of the biggest problems you can have with a putter is off-center hits (toe to heel) kicking the ball off-line on short putts. If it's a birdie putt or a second putt from a long layup, you want to make sure these putts have the best chance of landing in the hole, and a BB with a VDF grinder keeps things on track. Acceleration is not an issue at this distance, so making sure the putter helps stabilize your first lines is key.

You'll also see that at the end of the video below, I did some “cleanup” work on a bunch of lag putts we hit, and the benefits were obvious. I know I don't always bring the top of the putter on every strike, and that's where the high and low grinds on the face come in handy. Every putt had a large forward roll that kept its line and had a hole at the top. I was hitting putts so far off-center it was actually funny but I ended up making 7 of the 8 putts on the green.

Mid-range putts

As we moved back about 25 meters, speed became critical. Making sure the putts hit the hole, especially the hike, was important. I recently learned the truth about the really cool pace on the PGA Tour from putting guru Stephen Sweeney. He said that a putt that misses low (not enough speed) will have more than 30% more negative impact than a putt (high speed) that misses on the high side. So in the case of our mid-range, uphill, uphill putt at The Crosby, speed was very important. No amount of technology will allow a milled object to roll at exactly the same speed everywhere on the surface, but what we can do is make the bad ones as close to the good ones as possible.

The toe is often the slowest part of the putter, and I was impressed with the support the VDF face provided for these off-center strikes. Also, if you watch the video, I wasn't always bringing the putter either, and I never skipped the ball or hit the face. The grind pattern was responsive to my consistent strike and providing a clean roll. Will it turn bad putts into hole-in-the-hole putts? No. But it certainly helped to get rid of the embarrassing three putts.

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Long distance putts

From long distances, speed becomes less of a factor. Since you know you have to hit the putt hard anyway, putts that go up a little won't really be a big deal. However, how the putt initially rolls will affect how far the ball reaches the hole. So even though it's not really fast, we're still concerned about the ball rolling all the way to the hole. This is also my putting nightmare: lag putts.

What we need to focus on is how the ball starts its initial roll, making sure it gives a clean and efficient topspin while creating a good two putt. With eight putts I ended up with a set of putts that I was so confident in that I ended up hitting them all again to prove a point, and the last 7 of 8 putts ended up in the two putt hole from about 65 feet. To me? That is close to a miracle.

Grinding technology is difficult

Technology and grind in putters rarely go hand in hand. The whole purpose of a milled putter is to feel milled. It is not intended to provide tons of roll skills. Milled putters, like Bettinardi's BB series, are designed to look good, feel good and provide feedback. Recently companies have started to use roll technology in their milling offering. The tricky part is making sure that this milling technology doesn't change the solid feel that players want from a milled putter offering.

I think Bettinardi has done a great job here of staying true to his US heritage, and giving milled-putter fans an offering that really helps the ball roll more cleanly, especially if you're a player who tends to miss up and down (like me).

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