Rife Vs Yes!

I'm looking for a new putter and have been changing my mind on a daily basis. I have narrowed it down to 3. Rife Mr.Beasley, Yes! Marilyn or Taylor made Rossa Suzuka. I tried the rife out on the course today (my club pro stocks them) and liked it. I have only been able to demo the Yes and TM on the astro turf at the stores though. Opinions very welcome.

I love the feel of a Yes! putter. I've used my high school captains before. It's silky smooth.

From one of my previous posts.

I had a Yes!. It putted great in the store. It hit GREAT when you hit it perfect. For me an "off" hit would mangle the shot pretty badly. Also, I just could not get the distance right with the club. I *think* it has to do with the way the C Grooves are positioned. It could also be that I had been hitting a Odyssey XG Rossie and was used to the insert. But, I'm just a knucklehead 22 HCP so it's hard to say for sure. I do know that I ended up returning the club and taking a %10 hit at Golfsmith to do so.

I'm not saying the Yes! is crap, it just wasn't a good putter for me. For a lot of others it is working great.

That said, hitting it "right" really made me a believer in the groove technology, so I went and tested a Rife 2 bar hybrid. It has a grooved insert where the grooves run uniformly accross the entire face. I am putting MUCH better with the Rife. Better than I did with the Rossie I used for two years.

All *that* said, I just bought a used Rossa Spider to fool around with too.. And it *seems* to be hitting as good or better than the Rife, but I've only had it for a day...

I'm thinking of changing my board name to "Putter Ho".

I have been leaving putts quite a way short recently, do you think the better roll from the grooves on the rife and Yes would help getting the ball to the hole better? I am leaning towards the yes putter at the moment.

Absolutely. The roll of the ball off the face is pretty incredible. I found another post I did on my Rife

I have one and like it so far. It hits straight and is pretty forgiving. The center shaft isn't fully centered so you can line it up without distraction. It's got adjustable weights but I find I like the consistency of one weight.

The roll is amazing and true, but can actually throw you off a little. I've been using a white hot Rossie for the past few years. Between the softer feel of the Rossie insert and the better roll of the Rife I'm totally blowing through breaks... Without hitting very hard. So, I'll blow through a break and then get scared and miss the 2nd short. It's taking some getting used to, but I think when I do, it will be fun.

As always, YMMV. It should also be said that I was using the Tiffany. The grooved area is much smaller than on some of the other yes putters whcih may also account for my trouble with it...

Putters are such a personal thing but here is my take on the two brands in question.

I've been a putter ho recently too, although the Cameron is my staple at the moment I have been in the market for a cheap alternate blade putter as well as mallet. I did try the rife out and while by playing partner who is a junior pro swears by his 2 bar blade rife, I just could not get into the feel or look of it. I found the glare and situation of the two bars on the putter to be an unhelpful and odd alignment aid that I personally did not like. The face and the size of the putter (the blade style) in comparison to other blades was also slightly larger and I felt this cheapened the feel and thus distance control.

On the other hand the putter I was most confident with and wish I had never given away was my Yes! Sophia blade. It was small, so not much MOI or forgiveness but is had incredible touch and feel and the C-grooves were the selling point for me. I don't necessary buy into the claim that they get the ball rolling better/faster but I definitely liked them as a medium to the inserts and milled faces. Lost of feedback but soft and smooth as well. If you like the Sohia, the Nicky is another model to look into. Good luck!

I was a putter Ho and had many putters: Rife 2 Bar Blade and Mallet, Yes! Marilyn, Nike Oz t130, Scotty Cameron Newport 2 and Bullseye blade

I didn't like the feel of the Rife.

Marilyn is great since she is forgiving. However, if you are not a solid putter, your good and bad shots go just as far & you don't develop the proper mechanics/feel. I ended up switching to the most basic putter after Marilyn.

A local course had clearance at end of the season last year. The pro shop had both the Rife Mr Beasly and Barbados. Just to add another option for you, I'd say try the Barbados. I chose it over the Beasly. It sits square at address and it's milled (no insert compared to the hybrid). The alignment aid is great and it has a groove to make sure you have the proper address. I like the idea of the grooves on the face. It got a very favorable review in Golf magazine beating out Ping and Odyessy.

http://rifeputters.com/media/articles/2007/02/

I have a Yes! Callie and while I love it, I also dislike it (sometimes).

When I'm putting good it's great, but it seems like for me anyway that if my stroke gets off by just a centimeter, I lose all feel with the putter. I don't know if anyone else with a Yes experiences this same thing but for me, it feels like the sweet spot on the putter is more toward the heel. If I line the ball up in the middle of the putter face and make contact there it feels like a toe impact. Just weird.

I'm also looking into a Rife myself. 2 Bar Hybrid or the Itsy Bitsy Spyder

Rife Barbados for me... I've never owned a Yes, but have had a Barbados for a while now - actually since they first came out....

The roll groove seems to give me a feel between the Mizuno C-04 and BC-3 that I own. It sets up very well for me...

As someone else said though, and I concur, that putters are so personal you've got to try them yourself and decide...

There's a good deal on a Rife in the FS section. I have no connection to the poster.

I have a Yes Callie, which I like ... on fast greens.

Here in the Pacific NW, we get often lush, slow greens.

Both the Yes and Rife putters have a very low loft, 2* or 1.5*.
I think that's not enough on somewhat shaggy greens, and you leave putts short all day...