I was wondering if a Center shafted putter automatically has a higher Moment of Inertia than a heel shafted putter ? What do you think of the new Red X series from Cameron ? In your opinion are these putters overpriced or worth spending the money they cost ?

I have a couple of putters. I have to say that my favorite at this time is certainly my Bobby Grace V-Foil M5K Center shafted. This putter is no hype. It has improved my putting tremendously because of the physic fact of it's high Moment of Inertia. Altough I can feel when I do mis-hit a putt I am always closer to the hole since I am using this putter. Have you had a chance to try it ? If not I highly recommend you do try it.

I take this opportunity to let you know how much I enjoy your website that I found while on the Internet. I already had recommend your site to many of my friends that are aware of the importance of putting in the game.

Dear Martin,

Thanks for the kind words.

I have not had a chance to try out the Red X or Red X 2 putters yet, but I have studied them. The MSRP is $285, and I have seen discount availability at $225. UK best price so far seems to be 185 pounds ($338 USD).



Titleist Scotty Cameron Red X 2 (center-shaft model, Red X is heel-shafted)

I very much like the Taylormade TPi center-shafted mallet, and consider the Scotty Cameron a follow-on design that capitalizes on the increasing popularity of center-shafted putters in general, and center-shafted mallets in particular.



Taylormade TPi 27 center-shafted mallet

The Red X putters have the design features of a negative sole that sets the bottom of the putter flat and square without a tendency to close the face, and an elastomer barrier between two metals that absorbs and affects the vibrational characteristics of the putter. Whether these features justify the MSRP of $285 or nearly two times the average putter price depends entirely upon the needs, desires, and wealth of the individual. I suspect personal preference may play a larger role than performance enhacement due to this putter's design, although I will say that I like a center-shafted mallet in general, so that's a good start in my book on the performance side.

Here are some online resources and reviews about the Red X putters:

Scotty Cameron

Red X

Red X2

Titleist.E-news

Titleist.com

Scotty Cameron Titleist Red X putters look back

Red X and Red X2 Mallets Joins Scotty Cameron Line

GOLFmagic Product Reviews - Titleist Scotty Cameron Red X Putter

Titleist Launches Tour-Proven Red X Putter Line

Titleist Red X Reviews

Europeantour.com Product Details

Europeantour.com Reviews

Golfreview.com Putters Reviews

PGATOUR.COM - GolfWeb Gear Guide

GolfTest USA - Golf Equipment Ratings & Reviews

Golf Blogger: Equipment

Scotty Cameron - RHC.com

Titleist Scotty Cameron Red X reviews

Golfalot.com price comparison

To answer your MOI question, yes, center-shafted putters have a preferable MOI to heel-shafted putter simply from the design. That's because MOI is a measure of the twist tendency of a putterhead at various impact points along the putter face. Impacts on a heel-shafted putter necessarily tend to create more twist toe-open forces than do impacts on a center-shafted putter. This assumes the denisty and distribution of the putter head weight from heel to toe is otherwise uniform, and not specially weighted to counter the heel-shafting's contribution to twist tendencies.

With regards to Bobby Grace's MOI VFoil putters, yes indeed, I have tried them and like them quite a bit. I find them superior to many other big-headed high-MOI putters, including the Futura and the ping Craz-E, among others.



The guys at Balance-Certified Golf helped Bobby with the physics for this design. I'm a little unsettled about the total length front-to-back of this putter, because it makes me worry a little about how the putter sole bottoms out vertically in the stroke arc (i.e., whether the tail will drag on the up-and-thru stroke. I can't really say this concern is legitimate on my part, but just note it. The size and shape of the putter head, it's footprint on the ground, is a major concern of mine, as this relates not simply to the physics or the aesthetics of the design, but the kinematics of making a stroke near or across the top of the green surface. Other than that, the Bobby Grace putters are definitely top-echelon products!

Thanks again for chiming in, and I hope to hear from you often.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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