Scotty Cameron Red X

The Scotty Cameron Red X is a premium mallet putter. Will it help you make more putts?

front-bottom.jpgI’ve spent over a decade playing with an old Ray Cook M1-X putter. A mallet putter made popular by Nick Price and a few others many moons ago, it has served me well but has felt rather “dead” lately. The grip has become slick and hard and the top of the club had distracting little nicks in the soft metal.

The quest for its replacement began and ended with the Red X mallet from Scotty Cameron (and Titleist).

That’s not wholly true: I briefly looked at every other mallet as well as some of those unusual clubs, like the Futura or the Odyssey 2-Ball that everyone’s got these days.

red_x_ray_cook.jpgMy ol’ Ray Cook M1-X has served me well the past ten years.

Concept to Tour
The Red X started out as a concept putter nearly two years ago. Code named “Cabriolet,” it was introduced to the PGA Tour in 2004. Several Tour players immediately accepted the Red X and it averaged a count of nine in play during most tournaments and six at the Masters. The putter is developing a following among all touring professionals, top college and amateur players as well, and the distinctive red grip often gives it away.

Design
red_x_back.jpgThe Red X is a comprised of a stainless steel body with a premium precision-milled German Stainless Steel (GSS) insert. The insert has an elastomer border to achieve the proper sound. Scotty thinks the Red X models produce some of the best sound of all of his designs. The sole is aluminium, placing the weight higher and towards the edges, to decrease backspin and increase stability. The grip is a slender red baby T grip.

The Red X is available in three lengths and weights: 33″/350g, 34″/340g, 35″/330g.

Sibling: The X2
The Red X has a sister: the Red X2. This center-shafted model has a straight shaft with no offset. Three dots behind the shaft allow the user to get the shaft in the proper position prior to stroking the putt. Both the Red X and the Red X2 have 4° loft.

red_x_milled_face.jpgThe face of the Red X has a milled pattern and an elastomer border around the GSS insert.

Looks and Setup
The Red X is a serious looking putter. Its soft, dull “mist” finish reduces glare and inspires confidence. I use the logo or the printing on my ball to align the putt, and the three white lines on the top of the Red X are much easier to align with my intended line (and the logo on the ball) than the 2-Ball putters. The face of the putter is smoothly milled with curved lines.

Feel and Sound
red_x_top.jpgThe Red X sets up nicely. The gently rounded sole rests solidly on the ground and practically aligns itself. The singly-bent shaft is positioned in such a way that your eyes line up over the ball, allowing for the smoothest pendulum stroke.

Scuffed putts seem to average more distance than with bladed putters, but this putter is just as likely to get caught up in the fringe for those who putt from the edges of the greens. The putter has a consistent feel and balance on putts of all distances. The grip, which is both skinny and deep, encourages less hand action than other grips. It is also rather small which encourages you to grip the club in the fingers to increase feel.

Of course, there’s also the very simple matter of how the Red X putts. In a word: superb. The ball jumps off the clubface on putts, but in a controllable fashion. Distance control is quite easy, and I could concentrate on making a smoother stroke. Long putts, even with the shorter shaft (33″), are consistently easy to judge. In practice rounds, I felt as though I’d left a few short, but the ball rolled smoothly all the way to the hole. Finally, this club has very little “skid” to it – the ball starts rolling within a few inches and on-line.

red_x_bottom.jpg

All is not roses, however: I did find one flaw. The back of the putter is too thick to properly scoop up a ball resting on the green. But it’s no matter: I always thought I looked cooler picking my ball out of the hole than anyone else did giving themselves short putts anyway. 🙂

7 thoughts on “Scotty Cameron Red X”

  1. HEY,I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A RED X 2 LONG 50″ FOR A RH,AND I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE ONE, A DEALER TOLD ME THEY WERE DISCONTINUED, BUT I WOULD TO HAVE A LONG PUTTER,I HAVE A 50 ” ONE MADE FOR ME FROM GOLFSMITH MATERIAL AND I REALLY LIKE IT NOW I’M READY TO MOVE UP AND ITS NOT AVAILABLE,WHERE DO I GO

  2. Just bought this putter used from GolfTown and i was amazed, when you caught the ball on the sweetspot it feels so soft, but you also know that you got all of the ball. To anyone considering buying this, dont think twice. Only problem with my putter is that some idiot tried to remove the screws on the bottom and scratched the putter badly.

  3. I have a redx2 34 and it is by far the best putter I have ever had. I was hitting a TM corzina and the difference was pretty significant. I would compare it to a cast and a forged model. the feeling of the Scotty was just incredible. Love the center shaft as well, though took me a while to get used to it. I had to find the right spot in my stance to place the putter. I was placing in right in the middle and it was causing me to push to the right a bit. I moved the ball closer to my left heel and it straigthened out my putts.

  4. After reading all the positive reveiws in this column, I’ve just bought one of these putters on ebay. I can’t wait to try it. I’ll let you know if it improves my putting (the main part of my game out of my control).

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