I poured my first putt in from ten feet. Fluke? Perhaps. That is, until I buried the next one from two feet further out. So it would be a bit of an understatement to say I was totally sold on the putter making abilities of Slighter Golf. Putters are as individual as a man’s golf swing. The problem is most putters are mass produced. Sure there are options, but nothing beyond style, design, and a few basics like length. That simply won’t do. Not if you’re looking to get the most out of your game.
Slighter Golf has been handcrafting putters since 2002. Not just handcrafted, but custom designed. That means that the putter sitting in my bag is unlike any other out there. On top of what you’d expect from mass marketers, Slighter also lets you choose options like weighting, lie, loft, and all of the subtle touches that makes the putter truly yours. Once you’ve thought up your masterpiece Slighter Golf goes to work making it a reality. Need some inspiration? Here are a few examples of putters they’ve made for others. They even name each design after the person who commissioned it. Curious how they do it? They’re more than happy to show you.
For my own testing, Tom Slighter, Founder and Designer of the Slighter Golf collection, sent me a jet black putter that reminded me more of a SR-71 Blackbird than the usual flatsticks you see out on the course. From the black satin finished head, to the riffled black shaft and hand stitched leather grip (you guess it, black); this proto-type putter was unlike anything I had ever used before. I know what you’re thinking: putters are putters. But keep in mind that the margin for error on the green is almost nil. Why would you use a putter that isn’t spec’ed for you? We don’t think twice about spending big bucks on a driver that you only use 14 times a round (if that), but for a putter that could conceivably rack up half your strokes, we often use whatever we find laying around. It’s time to evolve your golf game and give Slighter Golf a call.
I found the face of my Slighter putter to be extraordinary responsive. I don’t like soft inserts, they leave me feeling like I can’t hit the ball hard enough. By contrast, the Slighter putter almost launched the ball at the hole. Not in an out of control way, but with a smooth yet firm pace. I simply had to rock my shoulders and the ball tracked on its line. Personally, I struggle as the putts get farther from the hole; the longer backswing erodes my form and hinders my consistency. That wasn’t a concern for me with this putter as I didn’t have to use anywhere near as much force to get the ball up to the hole and that kept my swing from overextending itself.
Shorter putts? No problem there either. I was able to play them more inside the hole and take out some of the break that makes short putts so nerve-racking. It felt great not to leave putts short. Even the ones I missed had a chance of going in. And at the end of the round, the difference between a good score and a great score will more than likely comes down to a few key putts.
If you want to be a better golfer and save yourself strokes every round, you need to do two things 1) get a putter that feels like it’s an extension of your arms and 2) practice, practice, practice. Tom Slighter can build you the putter, the rest is up to you.
Cost: Production Putters ($250) | Custom Putters (Varies) | More Information
