Zero-torque is the latest and greatest in putter technology and, as it continues to gain traction, I’m starting to see more brands I’ve never heard of come out with their own take on the concept.
Some look interesting. Others look like gimmicks.
To be honest, when I first saw the Technologist RP1 Pro, I thought the same thing. It’s a funky-looking putter from a company most golfers probably don’t know, built around a technology called Hyper Balanced VLT.
There are enough unusual putters hitting the market right now that it would be easy to move right past this one.
But I’ve had the RP1 Pro in play for a few weeks and there’s more of a story here than I expected. More importantly, what Technologist says it is trying to accomplish lines up pretty well with what I’m feeling on the golf course.
My zero-torque experiment changed what I wanted from a putter
I recently wrote about switching from the Scotty Cameron blade I had used for essentially my entire golfing life to the Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7 zero-torque putter.
The biggest adjustment wasn’t the look or even the size of the putter. It was learning that I didn’t need to do as much during the stroke.
I’ve always had some arc in my putting stroke. With my Scotty, I felt responsible for getting the face back to square. With the Odyssey, I described it as the putter “taking my job away.”
That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The Odyssey made it easier to keep the face stable but I also had to learn to stop manipulating the putter the way I had for years.
That’s where the RP1 Pro has been different.
What is the Technologist RP1 Pro doing?
Technologist isn’t claiming the RP1 Pro is another zero-torque putter.
In fact, that’s kind of the point.
The company calls its design Hyper Balanced VLT Technology. Instead of trying to eliminate torque, Technologist says it engineered the putter around a balance between torque and moment of inertia (MOI).
The basic idea is that you still want stability but Technologist believes eliminating too much rotational response can also take away some of the feel and feedback golfers use during the stroke.
So rather than making the putter completely resistant to rotation, the RP1 Pro is designed to allow some while still making the head more stable.
That explanation makes more sense to me after putting with it. The simplest way to put it is I feel like I have my job back.
I still feel the putter opening and closing naturally with my arc. But I don’t have the same sensation that I need to actively manipulate the face back to square that I had with my old blade.
The RP1 Pro also looks better than I expected. It’s certainly different but it’s not overtly obnoxious. The shape is relatively sleek at address and I quickly became comfortable looking down at it.
Nobody is saying this is the solution
I’ve had the RP1 Pro in play for a few weeks. I’ve spent time with it on the practice green but I’ve also made a point of getting it onto the golf course.
It’s easy to roll putt after putt from the same spot on a practice green and convince yourself something is working. I wanted to see how the putter responded when I got one chance at a six-footer for par or had to control speed on a 40-footer I had never seen before.
I can’t tell you the RP1 Pro has created some remarkable change in my putting.
I’m not making everything.
From a stability standpoint, it feels comparable to some of the zero-torque technology I’ve already tried.
What I can tell you is that I’m very comfortable over the ball with this putter.
I think a big part of that is because I feel like I have some of my familiar putting mechanics back. I can make an arcing stroke without feeling like I’m fighting the putter while still getting more help with face stability than I get from my traditional blade.
For golfers who have spent years putting with some arc and find true zero-torque a little too restrictive, the RP1 Pro could be an interesting option.
I went into this thinking it might be another gimmick.
A few weeks later, I’m not ready to tell you it’s the answer. But I’m convinced there’s enough behind the concept that it deserves a closer look.
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