Putters and Price. Why so expensive?

[Heisenberg]

Ok guys give me the skinny.

Why in the world are there putters that are $300+ and some that are $30?

I needed to pick up a putter since I've been using my fathers. So on a nice Saturday I go by Sports Authority and my local golf shop.

I used/tried over 20 putters varying in price and brand. Lots of Pings and Odysseys.

I left the store with a $30 putter of which I had never seen the name before. I felt just as comfortable with it comparing it to an Odyssey 2ball model.

I just don't get it. What on earth could possibly be done differently as far as a putter goes? The one I chose felt pretty similar to some of the expensive ones.

Is this merely a marketing thing? People thinking if they get an expensive one they'll somehow be better?

[Wisguy]

There is no way on earth you can possibly putt as well with a $30 putter as you could with any $200 or $300 putter - only a total clown forgets the proven fact that the equipment makes the golfer. I have this on good authority from the marketing departments of a number of high end club manufacturers. And from the people who bought $300 putters who don't want to admit they may have paid too much for their equipment, based on the fact that their PPG average this year is no different than it was last year playing a $30 putter. I wasted some time at a Dick's Sporting Goods practice putting green this spring while my wife was shopping at the mall, discovered I could make a ton of putts with Ping Half Wack-E putter on sale for $89 and declared that should be my Father's Day present this year. Funny thing is that while I'm pretty sure I'm 3-putting less, I'm not actually making any more (maybe even fewer) long and medium putts than I did with my old putter and, as has been the case with every single latest-greatest-guaranteed-to-shave-strokes new club I've ever bought, it does not actually seem to have lowered my scores at all.

[rkim291968]

Yeah, for putter, I think it is 90% marketing and 10% other.    It is the club that is least impacted by brand, price.  E.g, gold plating a putter does not make it go straighter.

[Heisenberg]

ya. I feel its more of a talent and mind set but what do I know?

I'm going to go try it out at my driving range's practice area. loved the feel of it though, heavier weight to it.

[David in FL]

Same reason there are $10,000 cars and $100,000+ cars......and each gets you back and forth to the grocery store.

[Heisenberg]

mind=blown

told my coworker, " oh well.. guess its the same reason people buy Ferraris when a 93 Civic can get you to work just as well. "

lol

[iacas]

Also, from a purely economical standpoint, the answer to the question "why so expensive?" is "because people pay that much."

[GaijinGolfer]

A lot of it is that youre paying for a name.  Some people think that a Cameron is worth the extra money because of the man who designed it.  Theres a lot of really nice putters out there in the $150 range though.

Part of it too is the process.  You can go out and buy a cheap no-name cast stainless putter for $50 but it wont sound or feel like a more expensive putter that is milled (cut from a solid block of metal) or has an insert (stainless steel body with some kind of a softer insert, be it metal, rubber or plastic).  Obviously, the milled and insert putters have more time invested in their construction, so youd expect them to cost more.

Of course, whether or not they are worth the extra money is a matter of personal opinion.  My fiance has some cheap Trakker putter that I picked up new for about $20 at Farm and Fleet and its fine.  Ive used it a few times and once you get used to the aluminum baseball bat, "tink" at impact, its fine.  I could use it and putt pretty well with it.

[Dave2512]

Putters and drivers tend to be the most discussed clubs on the course, in my experience. I've heard everything from sentimental stuff to this is the putter my fave pro uses. As awkward as the guys I see are, the set up to the ball and the way they line up putts I doubt it matters more than it's what they believe works for them. But I see more beaters than high end stuff out there. In fact I'm usually surprised how many people let their putter bang around without a cover. I've paid as little as $10 as much as $99 and have considered spending much more. My putting is as good as my nerves and health are, playing with a hangover tends to be the biggest factor.

[Wisguy]

I think I bought this same putter about six years ago at Farm & Fleet on clearance for $12 while wandering around the store waiting for an oil change - does it look a bit like a Federation starship, with a white insert that doesn't actually soften the impact much? I think I made some longer putts with it, did worse with mid and shorter putts, took it out of my bag in favor of my old putter after a few uses, and it has disappeared to that same place that single socks go when you put a pair of them in the washer and dryer. I was looking for it earlier this year to give to a friend and have no idea what I did with it.

[FooFader]

Originally Posted by iacas

Also, from a purely economical standpoint, the answer to the question "why so expensive?" is "because people pay that much."

simply demand=supply

In most cases you're paying only for the name on the back rather then the cost of making the club

[mvmac]

The material it's made out of, time/construction to produce the putter, tour presence and it's proven people will pay $300 for a putter.  In the case of a company like Edel, high level of custom fitting, a putter designed to fit your eye (literally) and you'll potentially never need to buy another one.

[Mulligan Jeff]

Know-how and technology adds up to a pretty price tag...

[Strandly]

My putter was $100 and the guy at the store tried to steer me into a $265 one, I was like get the hell outta here clown I'm already throwing you a bone on this one...

[Mr Smell Good]

If it makes a difference of one stroke over an entire round that alone would make it very worth it for professional players in tournaments and such.  And everyone wants what the pros have

[Pretzel]

A lot of it is just the name and marketing that they come up with. However, I would be interested in testing the materials portion of this with a simple test. I have access to a CNC mill at school for two hours daily, as well as Solidworks and Mastercam, and I thought it would be an interesting idea to try to mill a putter for myself as a "final project" of sorts. I'd have to work out details with the teacher, but if I can make my own putter it would be an interesting thing to see whether the differing materials and milling techniques make as much of a difference as they are purported to.

[Shorty]

Same reason there are $10,000 cars and $100,000+ cars......and each gets you back and forth to the grocery store.

Yes - but you can see where the money has been spent in  the above examples.

A milled 100 dollar putter is no different from a milled 500 dollar putter.

Mr Smellgood wrote:

If it makes a difference of one stroke over an entire round that alone would make it very worth it for professional players in tournaments and such.  And everyone wants what the pros have.

But the majority of pros have what the average solvent golfer has. ATM, typically, an Odyssey Versa or similar. No fancy BS, just a good, honest putter that works.

A lot of players have gone from "high end" milled putters to examples like what I just mentioned. Look how many you see with Odyssey #7s, for example.

Nothing too exotic there.  Look at Snedeker's putter. A beat up Rossie.

[GaijinGolfer]

I think I bought this same putter about six years ago at Farm & Fleet on clearance for $12 while wandering around the store waiting for an oil change - does it look a bit like a Federation starship, with a white insert that doesn't actually soften the impact much? I think I made some longer putts with it, did worse with mid and shorter putts, took it out of my bag in favor of my old putter after a few uses, and it has disappeared to that same place that single socks go when you put a pair of them in the washer and dryer. I was looking for it earlier this year to give to a friend and have no idea what I did with it.

No, this one looks like a Ping Anser.  I do recall seeing the one you are talking about though.