Review: Bettinardi BB37 Putter

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"

We’ve all heard that wedding phrase before. It goes back to the Victorian age of weddings and has a great deal of symbolism. It is the blending together of many things into one beautiful new family. In golf you’ve heard about people being married to their putter, they just love it so much and feel so comfortable with it, they have no desire to change. I thought it really described the Bettinardi BB37 putter. Robert Bettinardi married something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue into this beautiful new BB37 putter. It might just be time to marry a new putter.

The “something old” of this putter is the honeycomb milled face. Bob Bettinardi has been using this technique on his putters for many years. It is very distinct in its look, but most importantly it creates the perfectly flat face of the putter. I’ve never had a putt come off the face of a Bettinardi putter that had me questioning the putter itself. You can examine it under a microscope, you can look at it as closely as you like and you will find as flat of a face as you can find on any putter. On the BB37 putter the honeycomb is slightly different than previous versions with what Bettinardi calls hyper-honeycomb, essentially it is larger honeycombs yet maintaining a smooth face. On my 2010 BB Putter it is 4 honeycombs tall, the 2013 BB putters are only 2 honeycombs tall. It is said to offer just a slightly crisper feel than previous BB faces, but honestly I can’t tell. They both have a soft yet crisp feel.

The “something new” is the new headshape of the Bettinardi BB37 Putter. There aren’t too many new headshapes out there that still look traditional. This one is probably one of my favorite blends of anser and mallet into a hybrid sort of putter without looking strange. From the top looking down over the putter, it has a slightly stretched flange. It is also moon-shaped just a touch. All of this is to create a great look and feel with a little extra MOI for added forgiveness. The other new part of the head shape is the shorter face. It is designed to create a visual appearance of a taller ball thus sub-consciously creating a middle of the ball strike. I found that it works on the new ’13 Bettinardi putters. I didn’t think about it while putting, but noticed after a number of rounds that I hadn’t stubbed one.

The “something borrowed” is the stunning looks and function of this putter. Every time I pulled it out of the bag on the course it got “oohs” and “aahs” about how great it looked. Then after using it for a number of holes, I got the regular comment, “Hey, can I give it a roll?” I’ve used many Bettinardi Putters over the last couple years and I always seem to enjoy how great they look. It is actually difficult to pick out my favorite. They all look great and produce a great results.

The “something blue” is the headcover, grip and paintfill. This putter is done up in a very patriotic theme with its red, white and blue paintfill as well as the headcover and grip colors. There is a strong emphasis on the blue in this headcover as the base color. The paintfill of this putter too is strong on the blue with the large B on the face being mostly blue. I think the paint fill along with the Pewter PVD finish is both stylish, classy and just plain stunning to look at. The contrast between the colors looks as good as any putter you can buy. The blue grip is also something that has excellent feel and looks super cool. The standard blue Lamkin is customized for Bettinardi with honeycomb grooves. I really like how it feels in my hands. It has just enough texture to feel like it won’t twist, but is smooth enough for a gentle touch when putting.

All those features married together make for a great looking putter and it simply works. I used this for my 10 rounds I recently played in FL. While my game overall isn’t exactly where I would have liked it to be, my putting had never been better. I saved par, rolled in a number of birdies and kept the big numbers off my scorecard because of this putter. While I tend to be a plumbers neck guy, this slant neck caused no difficulty at all. The single alignment line on the flange made this putter so easy to set down, step up and drop putts. I think the hybrid head shape really helped my rusty game. It moved the weight just back a little from the face and yet felt comfortable like an anser putter. The slightly shorter face also helped with a smooth stroke, seemingly eliminating those stubs. I liked the 4:00 toe hang which seemed to fit my arched stroke well. The slant neck too offers just a slight off-set which helped with visual alignment and returning the putter head to the ball squarely. I only took one putter to FL and it was this brand new Bettinardi BB37. It worked out perfectly.

Golfers often talk about being married to their putter. Maybe it is time for you to get married to a Bettinardi putter. The Bettinardi BB37 putter has something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

For more information: www.bettinardi.com

Quick Hits
+New putter headshape
+Great finish and feel
+Works on the course
+Looks amazing

–Getting married to a new putter isn’t cheap