Rife vs. Scotty

[woodzie264]

For those of you who have experience with both , which do you prefer? why?

[iacas]

Hate to tell you but it's irrelevant what other people think. It's what you like and prefer. Every putter out there (within reason) is a good putter these days.

[Big_M]

Hate to tell you but it's irrelevant what other people think. It's what you like and prefer. Every putter out there (within reason) is a good putter these days.

100% my sentiments exactly!

but, if you must have an opinion... go with Rife, they are less trendy... therefore, you will be your own person, not just another tool with a Scotty simply for the name. Not saying anyone who plays a Scotty is a tool... they have some real nice putters... just saying some people buy them just because of the name, not because they like the fit... they are tools.

[woodzie264]

i'll buy that... I ended up getting my G5's, but I went into my fitting totally wanting Mizuno's...I just liked the way the Pings felt and perfromed in my hands; no doubt putters would be the same. Thanks

[DavidFehertysBike]

Ive always thought rife putters felt a little harsh off the face. Not much feedback, either. They do roll the ball well though. I prefer the looks and feel of the scotty.

[DefLord]

I have the Rife and I love it - I have putted with the Scotty, but both are very close to each other. But to save the $ in your pocket the Rife was the one for me and I dont regret that decision one bit.

[Danattherock]

Without question Rife. But good points made before me here. Putter preference is a very subjective thing to say the least. I had two Scotty Camerons. Great putters for sure. They look nice in my closet too and I plan on keeping them. Got a Bettinardi I am fond of as well. She too looks nice in the closet. Then there is the Ody 2 Ball, yep, looks good in the.. You get the point. I got a Rife Antigua back in the spring and have never putted so well. The "roll groove" face is what makes it so special. Puts a top spin on the ball and what happens next is magic. Every putt is exactly the same and tracts true. No bouncing and skidding. Just takes off with topspin exactly the same each time. It is not the way it looks. My buddies don't have one. I love this putter because I make more putts with it. There is an Aruba coming out in Feb (I hear) that is essentially the Rife Antigua with a plumber's neck. A few new models coming out very soon. For $150, I would get the Rife Antigua and be done with it. I sent mine to Kevin Colbert of www.putterplating.com and it will be shipped back to me Wed. I had him put a high polish on the stainless 304 head, engrave a "V" line on top, red paint fill everything except the sole which I had him just do the high polish to. I sent him a UST frequency filtered shaft and a black Iomic midsize grip to put on the putter while he had it. I also had him sand down the lip a bit so I could more easily scoop my ball up. Why not, custom work is for whatever I figured. Total price for the custom work, shaft/grip, and shipping is about $150. So for $300 I will have (to me) one bad a$* putter for sure. That is what an off the rack Scotty would cost and I could join the ranks of millions. I would prefer a customized Rife any day of the week. Food for thought at any rate. I will post pics here when my Rife come in. Feel free to PM if you want any info. Go to the Rife website and read up on the putters, the company, the "roll groove" face technology, etc.. That is the best place to order from as well as you can get the putter in custom loft/lie/length when you order for only $19. Also, if you don't like the blue/white headcover that is on the Island Series, get the black/grey Rife headcover in the accesories section. They have black/silver Winn grips as well with the Rife logo. I preferred the Iomic after reading about them and ordering one. Best place to get Iomic grips is www.regripit.com All they sell is Iomic grips and fast shipping too. The UST shaft and Iomic grip should offer even better feel so I am pretty pumped about getting this thing back in my hands. Been three weeks. Starting to go through withdrawals. Ha ha...

[woodzie264]

Without question Rife. But good points made before me here. Putter preference is a very subjective thing to say the least. I had two Scotty Camerons. Great putters for sure. They look nice in my closet too and I plan on keeping them. Got a Bettinardi I am fond of as well. She too looks nice in the closet. Then there is the Ody 2 Ball, yep, looks good in the.. You get the point. I got a Rife Antigua back in the spring and have never putted so well. The "roll groove" face is what makes it so special. Puts a top spin on the ball and what happens next is magic. Every putt is exactly the same and tracts true. No bouncing and skidding. Just takes off with topspin exactly the same each time. It is not the way it looks. My buddies don't have one. I love this putter because I make more putts with it. There is an Aruba coming out in Feb (I hear) that is essentially the Rife Antigua with a plumber's neck. A few new models coming out very soon. For $150, I would get the Rife Antigua and be done with it. I sent mine to Kevin Colbert of

thanks Dana! thanks for the sites as well - that was helpful

[Golfaway]

I don't know about you guys but I tried Scotties and I did not like them. I tried the Newport anser style, the Santa Fe and the Detour, didn't like any of them. I tried the Rife, liked it a lot, but I think nothing surpasses a PING putter. I am a PING man when it comes to putters, all the way.

[Danattherock]

Got my Rife Antigua back from Kevin at Putterplating.com today. Totally impressed with his work and will put some proper pics up soon. Here are a few images from my iPhone. The stainless head got a high polish, V line engraved on top, red paint, etc.. and I had a UST ff shaft installed and an Iomic midsize. Kevin is THE MAN!

[andef]

I've tried a Rife and loved it but I'm unfortunately left-handed and have limited options, otherwise I'd be gaming the Antigua. I also tried the Scotty Cameron Kombi (very different to the bladed Antigua) but liked the Odyssery Sabertooth just as much so I decided to save 120$.

[andef]

Got my Rife Antigua back from Kevin at Putterplating.com today. Totally impressed with his work and will put some proper pics up soon. Here are a few images from my iPhone. The stainless head got a high polish, V line engraved on top, red paint, etc.. and I had a UST ff shaft installed and an Iomic midsize. Kevin is THE MAN!

Looks great but if it was my putter I would stay away from a V line...just different taste

[McIlroy_man]

i totally agree with danattherock, Kevin does a fantastic job! i bought an old banged up scotty from ebay for £55 (about $100 at the time) and sent it off to him for a refinish,paint job and engraving!

on the subject of rife vs scotty, ive just given up using a rife barbados and gone back to scotty because i thought the rife had no feel to it, i never managed to get the same distance control that i get with the scotty. One area where the rife is unbelievable though is the roll of the ball. lots of companies say they get it rolling best but the rifes are just phenomenal at it!

[bogeyhitter25]

I've compared my putter to my friend's Mr. Beasley putter from Rife. All in all, I'm glad that when I was in the putter market I didn't get a Rife. Zero feedback, dull, and I liked the overall weighting in mine a whole lot more. I'm a Scotty man for life.

[mrt10x]

Personally I think this is a bit like asking which flavor of ice cream is best.. totally personal. I have owned several Rifes and several Scotty Camerons so I will take a stab. I will admit that I am a schizophrenic putter.. I switch putters pretty regularly. I am not a bad putter, I rarely three put and make the occasional 15 footer for birdie.. i am a pretty consistent two putter from outside that range though. I do on occasion pull the three footer. I switch between Rifes and Scottys depending on how mechanical I am feeling at the point in time. The Rifes I own are mallet and blade style center shafted that lend them, in my feeble mind at least, to a square to square/mechanical stroke. When I get yippee with my SC blades I will use the Rifes for a while. Eventually, however, i always come back to the Scottys. I prefer a feel putter. I prefer to stand behind my ball, read the line, align the putter to that line and make my stroke. No practice strokes, no mechanical thoughts, concentrating on line and letting my natural instincts take care of pace. Putting like this results in my hottest putting streaks. Recently I bought a Scotty California series Del Mar and I have been putting the lights out. Whether Scottys are worth the price.. totally dependant on your definition of worth and how much a dollar means to you. I can tell you that the roll face is nothing magical if you have a decent putting stroke.

[Crey23]

Without question Rife. But good points made before me here. Putter preference is a very subjective thing to say the least. I had two Scotty Camerons. Great putters for sure. They look nice in my closet too and I plan on keeping them. Got a Bettinardi I am fond of as well. She too looks nice in the closet. Then there is the Ody 2 Ball, yep, looks good in the.. You get the point. I got a Rife Antigua back in the spring and have never putted so well. The "roll groove" face is what makes it so special. Puts a top spin on the ball and what happens next is magic. Every putt is exactly the same and tracts true. No bouncing and skidding. Just takes off with topspin exactly the same each time. It is not the way it looks. My buddies don't have one. I love this putter because I make more putts with it. There is an Aruba coming out in Feb (I hear) that is essentially the Rife Antigua with a plumber's neck. A few new models coming out very soon. For $150, I would get the Rife Antigua and be done with it. I sent mine to Kevin Colbert of

I saw all the stuff that Colber does and it seem pretty good.....but it got me thinking....what does that do to the balance and weight of the putter???? I mean you are adding paint coats (plating), or taking off material (engraving)... I know you are just polishing your head (sorry that sounds bad...) but what effect if any does that have on the putter? Seem to me that the putter is the last piece of equipment that I want to mess with (unless otherwise intended ie Rife with movable weights).

Also what with IOMIC grips? I have seen them lately, and people rant about them, but I still don't know why....what gives?

[Danattherock]

I've compared my putter to my friend's Mr. Beasley putter from Rife. All in all, I'm glad that when I was in the putter market I didn't get a Rife. Zero feedback, dull, and I liked the overall weighting in mine a whole lot more. I'm a Scotty man for life.

Yeah, that Beasely sells for $59 online. Ha ha... Don't compare your Scotty to a $60 putter and write off a whole company. Reminds me of an episode on Oprah where this panel of african american lawyers and politicians were argueing racism with some trailer park trash white folks from Alabama. Nice fair balanced conversation that was too. Ha ha...

[Danattherock]

I saw all the stuff that Colber does and it seem pretty good.....but it got me thinking....what does that do to the balance and weight of the putter???? I mean you are adding paint coats (plating), or taking off material (engraving)... I know you are just polishing your head (sorry that sounds bad...) but what effect if any does that have on the putter? Seem to me that the putter is the last piece of equipment that I want to mess with (unless otherwise intended ie Rife with movable weights).

Seriously, paint adding weight?? No sir. The red paint weighs exactly the same as the white paint which was removed when the putterhead was polished. As for engraving a V line up top, can't imagine it took much off the 345 gm weight either. The Iomic grips are very popular. I read about them and got curious enough to try one. I have only putted once with my new putter since the practice green here on Nantucket (where I work) is frozen solid. I love the feel so far and am sure I am going to like it. But sadly, I can't offer much insight at this point. These are very nice grips though, not a fad, I can say that much. Very smooth, yet firm, rubber. Just different feeling than most I have used. They do run small, so anyone reading this, remember that. I got midsize and they feel like regular size putter grips. Iomic is made in Japan and those folks have small hands apparently. Their jumbo is not the same as American "jumbo", that is for sure. The jumbo Iomic is like a midsize normal grip from what I read, but the material is a lighter and softer rubber. I have heard it gives less feedback than the Iomic standard and midsize so I stayed away from it. Afterall, it was improved feedback and distance control that made me purchase the Iomic in the first place. www.regripit.com is the place to buy Iomic grips. They have everything in stock and ship fast.