A few months ago, Bettinardi released the BB1 Fitz Flow putter alongside the BB48 FITZ as offerings that were built to the standards of what Matthew Fitzpatrick has in the bag.
Fitzpatrick’s normal gamer, the BB1 FF, has been holding strong for “Team Blade” out there on Tour, and the BB48 model is a great offering for players looking for Fitz’s preferred face milling in a more forgiving mallet shape.
Yesterday though, Bettinardi re-released the retail versions of both models, and we’ve got the links conditions of the Open to thank for that.
Fitzpatrick’s usual BB1 FF putter had a smooth sole on it. When he traveled over for the Open, he started to realize that the putter was slipping on the firm and wispy greens overseas. This slipping in place caused an unreliable start to the putting stroke and led to a lack of overall confidence on the greens. The good news? The Bettinardi team had a simple fix.
What they did was add a milled honeycomb pattern to the bottom of the putter. This milling helped the putter interact with the putting surface and lock the putter in place once Fitzpatrick sets it down behind the ball. His putter of course is produced from the Bettinardi HIVE and includes his own custom bumper stamping as well as the Bettinardi Wizard on the sole as well.
What’s really cool about this change for Fitzpatrick is that Bettinardi has already brought it into the retail offerings. Since there is no harm to including the milled honeycomb pattern on the sole, they’ve actually changed the retail offering to come stock with the milling. The retail milling is slightly different than what Fitz has out on Tour. It’s a bit more like the honeycomb pattern that you might seen on Bettinardi’s Queen Bee series of putters.
It’s a very niche detail, but, as Fitzpatrick proved, one that can save a player from any discomfort on the putting surface no matter where their golf travels take them.
View Product
