MacGregor Face-Off DCT1 Putter Review

With Greg Norman now steering its ship, MacGregor Golf is gearing up to navigate new competitive waters. Indeed, when the “Shark” himself was named chairman of MacGregor’s board of directors in October, it was clear that his presence would be felt going forward.

Norman tends to have the Midas touch in the business world, succeeding at everything from wine to apparel, so when he says that he wants to “unlock the true brand value that is embedded within MacGregor,” it’s not advisable to bet against him.

Lucky for Norman, MacGregor doesn’t have to look far for major talent in the putter department, because he’s already got some in the form of designer Bobby Grace, whose latest offerings are MacGregor Golf’s Face-Off family of putters with Distance Corrective Technology (DCT), which consists of two blades and a mallet.

Following is PutterZone.com’s review of the MacGregor Face-Off DCT1 model blade.

The Storyline
Bobby Grace first made a splash in 1994 with his “Fat Lady Swings” putter, a mallet that he hand-milled in his garage. This distinctive putter helped Nick Price win the 1994 PGA Championship by a record six shots. Grace’s smaller putter, “The Pip-Squeak,” was used by Annika Sorenstam to win her first seven professional events.

Grace’s continued success in club design eventually led to the sale of his company and a position with MacGregor Golf as vice president of putter research and development.

Last year, MacGregor Golf launched its new series of Bobby Grace-designed putters featuring his innovative Distance Corrective Technology (DCT) and Face-Off features.

According to MacGregor Golf: “Distance Corrective Technology uses patented inserts to provide consistent distance control even on the most common miss-hits by a combination of the materials and weighting in the clubhead.”

More specifically, the DCT face inserts are denser and harder as they move away from center, therefore transferring more energy to the ball on miss-hits, thus correcting putts that otherwise would fall far short of the hole.

As for the Face-Off feature: “The polymer insert, designed for faster greens, makes every impact feel dead-center and, with 3 degrees of loft, performs best with this material. The milled metal insert, designed for slow greens, provides golfers with more feedback.”

The View from PutterZone.com
The DCT1 is styled in the classic Anser shape with a plumber’s neck, but the head is taller and wider than the average Anser-style blade (some will argue with characterization of this shape as a true “blade,” but MacGregor and others call these putters blades, and this isn’t the place for semantic quibbles). In fact, the DCT1 dwarfs most of the other Anser family blades here at PutterZone.com headquarters.

There are merit and differentiation in the largeness of the DCT1, allowing it to stand out from the crowd while offering performance benefits to golfers who prefer the look of a traditional putter while seeking the forgiveness—perceptual or actual—of a larger head. With the DCT1, Bobby Grace and MacGregor Golf seem to be enrolling the concept of a larger mallet into a more traditional package.

The DCT1 features a luminous satin stainless steel finish, which is more striking than the drab gray of its sister mallet, the Response DCT. So if you’ve seen the mallet and found it aesthetically uninspired, don’t hold it against the DCT1—this is one sharp looking putter.

The DCT1 comes with a zippered kit featuring the second of the two interchangeable faces along with a custom wrench. Changing the faces is a breeze, requiring you to remove just two screws accessed from the back of the face mounting. Thirty seconds is all you need to radically change the feel of the putter.

When MacGregor says that the polymer face “makes every impact feel dead-center,” they’re not kidding. And while the word “titanium” might sound hard and unforgiving, the titanium face is, in fact, sufficiently friendly in terms of feel and feedback. It’s not as supple or sophisticated as carbon steel, but it doesn’t rattle your cage, either.

Oddly, I prefer the titanium insert over the soft polymer insert on the DCT1, whereas I preferred the polymer on the Response DCT mallet reviewed earlier on PutterZone.com. Perhaps it’s just my biased expectation of what an Anser-style blade should feel like.

I’m not convinced that the average golfer will, or should, interchange the faces regularly depending on course conditions. I’m a big believer in developing a personal relationship with your putter and its overall feel, and that can be difficult if your putter has multiple personalities. Still, the ability to choose from two different faces to fit your game is pretty cool, and if your game changes at a later date or you start using a firmer or softer ball, it’s comforting to know that you have the option of adapting.

As for the Distance Corrective Technology technology, I can only say that the DCT1 is generally quite forgiving and friendly in matters of distance control, be it due to high MOI or Distance Corrective Technology or, most likely, a combination thereof.

The Bottom Line
The Face-Off DCT1 is an elegant, traditionally styled putter that is nevertheless unique in both look and features. The large head and interchangeable faces may not appeal to those who prefer a more classical putter, but others will benefit from the stability and flexibility that the DCT1 affords. With the DCT1 putter, Bobby Grace has given us a fine taste of things to come from MacGregor Golf.