WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: With its new Allan putter, PXG becomes the latest putter maker to see if the right tool for putting isn’t something that just makes the ball roll better, but perhaps more importantly makes the putting stroke more efficient. The idea is that through internal weighting and a special S-shaped hosel, the head of the putter is balanced with respect to the shaft and thus the swing path. This is designed to increase in-stroke stability so the face consistently stays square, requiring little to no hand manipulation to get the face on target at impact.

PRICE: $450, 1 model 360-395 grams, 5 degrees of loft, 33-38 inches.

3 COOL THINGS 1. Stroke saver. Putter technologies often talk about elements like improving roll through face technologies, or using internal and external weighting to improve off-center hit performance, or designing a better aim and alignment system. But only in a fairly recent stretch has there been talk of putter designs that target making your stroke better. We’ve seen it with what is known as “toe-up”, “low-torque” or “torque-balanced” designs, most notably the putters from L.A.B. Golf, although there have been previous putters like the Odyssey Backstryke or Toe-Up models, the Edel E.A.S. 2.0 and several SeeMore models.

PXG enters the discussion with the Allan, which is designed with internal weighting and the positioning of an S-shaped hosel to keep the shaft in line with the center of gravity. The effect is that face requires less or no manipulation with your hands to remain square to the swing path.

“We’ve had tour players want to put this in the bag when it was just a prototype, but it also works amazingly well for beginners,” said Brad Schweigert, PXG’s chief product officer. “It’s pretty cool because the same type of putter works for a beginner all the way to the most elite players in the world.”

Compare it to tradition putters where the shaft is more toward the heel side, which requires more of a closing of the face during the forward swing. It’s what the company is calling “zero torque,” and Schweigert believes the weighting is unique on the Allan, which was named by PXG founder Bob Parsons for his younger brother and fine golfer who passed away in 2020.

“The CG on this putter is directly below the shaft, but just a little more toward the toe side to create more stability,” he said, noting that the combination of an aluminum piece on top with steel wrapping into the front is how the weighting stays low and forward. “With a heel-shafted putter, you’ll see there’s no way you can take your hands out of the stroke and keep your face square. But with what we’re doing here, you’re just making the stroke with the shoulders and the head stays on line. It’s just so much easier. It’s like you have to untrain yourself from manipulating the face.”

While the head’s internal weighting engenders that feel and positioning, another key component is the distinctive S-shaped hosel to align the shaft axis over the center of gravity without it being a distraction at address.

“This is more flexible from a design perspective as you look down at it and you can see your full sightline,” Schweigert said. “It looks kind of funny from this side view, but from above, it doesn’t. The shaft just kind of disappears, and you have your full alignment line that you can see.”

2. More filling. PXG’s hollow irons have long been known for the use of a mixture of urethanes and polymer blends that fill the inside of the head, support the ultra-thin face and provide a softer, but responsive feel. The function is similar on the Allan, which used the company’s S-COR material, a lightweight polymer blend which is injection molded into the head. That allows better weight distribution, but it also, like on the irons, supports a very thin face. It’s just 0.055 inches thick up front, less than the thickness of two credit cards, and what PXG says is the thinnest putter face in the game.

The idea with the thin face isn’t to create more speed, but instead more feel through the S-COR material. Through its lighter weight, it also has the added benefit of creating more potential for perimeter weighting and an increased benefit for off-center impacts, i.e. a higher moment of inertia.

3. Bonus features. Like the rest of the PXG Battle Ready putters, the Allan will feature a multi-thickness face design through rows of pyramid shapes across the impact area. The pattern’s intensity is designed to create consistent contact for better speed and roll across the face. The putter also employs heel and toe weights in the front part of the sole that can be adjusted to match up the ideal head weight for each shaft length. Finally, as an add-on not involving a particular technology, the sole area includes an opening that allows the putter to pick the ball off the turf cleanly.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com