The success of Dana Quigley was very evident last season if you are a fan of the Champions Tour. Winning 2005 Player of the Year honors, the “ironman” of senior golf wielded a flatstick that was like nothing I had seen before. In 2006, Chad Campbell has had success on the PGA Tour, including a win, with a new putter as well. By now, you may have heard of Guerin Rife. Their commercials have been running on cable golf channels for a while now. Being the skeptic I am, I’ve never tried any of the clubs advertised on television. But the success Dana Quigley enjoyed last year really got me interested in trying one of the 2-Bar putters. I wanted to see how an “infomercial” putter stacked up to the competition. Well, my title of “World’s Biggest Cynic” may now be in jeopardy!
First of all, I can say with all certainty, that the Guerin Rife 2 Bar offers more technology and customization ability than any putter I’ve tried. The lie angle can be adjusted. The weight can be adjusted. The face has “Roll Groove Technology” to get the ball rolling smoothly. There is 4 point stability weighting. This thing has it all. All of these features add up to the most technologically advanced putter I have tried to date. The adjustability alone is worth the price of admission. Add to that their “Roll Groove Technology,” and it’s really tough to beat. There are so many things to talk about with this putter. Let me try to break them down. There are two versions available, a mallet and a blade style. Mine is the blade.
The “Roll Groove Technology” is not a new concept. The competition has this feature as well, and similar “roll grooves” can even be seen on putters that are decades old. What Guerin Rife’s Roll Groove Technology does so well is get the ball rolling smoothly, AND offers about the softest feel off the face I’ve experienced. Not only do the grooves do their job in imparting an immediate roll on the ball, but also the reduced face contact of the ball against the head makes for a great soft feel. The head is milled aluminum, which is soft to begin with. I’ve tried other milled aluminum putters, and often the face can be really hot and send the ball shooting off at contact. This phenomenon was blissfully absent with the 2-Bar putter. The distance control came easily and immediately for me. If you like a soft feel, but you’re not too hot on the thought of inserts, this is a winner.
Another great feature of the 2-Bar is the lie adjustment system. The hosel of the putter is also aluminum, and allows it to be bent to a person’s specs. A hard plastic bending guide slides over the head, and you can safely bend the lie angle by hand up to 5º upright or flat. To help you determine the best lie angle, a “notch” in the back of the putter head lines up with a white sight line. If you ever used an old “Slotline” putter back in the day, the concept is very similar. This is a unique feature to the 2-Bar. You can attempt this with other putters, but you might just snap the shaft or hosel in attempting to bend other putters to your desired lie angle. The 2-Bar lets you safely play the role of clubfitter, and is a thoughtful feature. Lining up the sight line with the “notch” is also a great way to set up the same way to the ball every time for greater consistency. Pre-shot routines can really help you get in a groove, and I found myself really developing a routine with this putter.
Next, we have the weighting. The 2-Bar, as you may be aware, comes with a weight kit that allows you to customize the weight, and subsequent feel, of your putter. Kudos to Guerin Rife for including a simple allen key for removal and tightening of their weights. No extra “wrenches” to purchase! The weight kit includes 3 pairs of differently weighted “tubes” if you will, that slide into the bars on the back of the head and are threaded to tighten them. The nice thing about the bars being a little further apart is that it allows you to put weights of different size into each bar. I ended up finding the best results with a “medium” weight in the heel-side bar, and a “light” weight in the toe-side bar. You can spend as little or as much time as you want finding the right combo for you. I found the results very good right out of the box with the two “medium” weights that come installed, but had fun tinkering until I got my baby bear “just right” setting. The two bars also act as one of the best visual guides to the hole that I’ve seen. About the width of the golf ball, the bars look like a train track pointing to the hole. You’re not going to find anything easier to aim, that’s for sure. The two bars, along with 2 weight plugs in the face of the putter, located heel and toe, all combine for a totally stable stroke across a wide portion of the face.
A DVD also accompanied the 2-Bar with instructions on how to adjust the lie angle and weighting, and a few useful putting tips as well. Hosted by Jim McLean and Ian-Baker Finch, it is well produced and informative. It had enough instruction and tips to be useful without being overwhelming. A nice added feature included with the cost of the putter.
All right, I can’t gush all over this putter without handing out a couple small demerits. First, pet peeve number one when I first look at a putter: A crooked grip. The 2 Bar was guilty as charged. I’m sure I could have sent it back for a replacement, but I didn’t care to bother doing that and just ended up re-gripping it myself. For what it’s worth, the grip that the 2-Bar comes with is a nice Winn V-17 AVS style and offers good feel. Also, one of the weights in the weight kit had a defective thread on it, and didn’t want to “catch” and tighten into the weight bar. A call to the service number printed on the shaft band had that resolved in a couple days’ time. The benefits of this putter were too great to let these two things spoil my overall impressions of this putter.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Guerin Rife 2-Bar blade. It’s easy to aim. It puts a true roll on the ball. The myriad of adjustments that can be made to suite a person’s personal specs and “feel” requirements are really unmatched by the competition. It has a soft feel off the face, and the speed and distance control came naturally. For all of the technology built into this putter, it’s a good value. It’s stable on mis-hits, and has a sweet spot the size of Texas. I’m not usually very good with center-shafted designs or non-offset designs, but the 2 Bar just works for me. You won’t find a putter with more adjustability, that’s for certain. It left me impressed enough that it may have worked it’s way into my starting lineup for this season. I think I’m still a cynic, but the 2-Bar has passed the test. It feels so good, and feels so right. Happy rock rolling!
Michael White (a.k.a. “Mr_Divots”)
Forums Moderator/Independent Equipment Consultant
Golf-Gear-Review.com
