PutterZone – Best Putter Reviews
Face grooves are all the rage in the putting world these days. Nearly all of the big brands, not to mention several artisan putter makers, have made grooves a centerpiece of their performance story in recent years.
So the stage is perfectly set this year for the rebirth of RIFE Golf, a pioneer of the face groove movement.
Launched by designer Guerin Rife in 2005, RIFE Putters enjoyed immediate success and become one of the putter world’s few independent putter powerhouses. Each model featured RIFE’s RollGroove face technology, which was designed to grip and launch the ball forward off the putting surface with immediate topspin, minimizing skid for a more consistent roll.
RIFE Putters later fell on hard times and was ultimately sold, but the brand is now roaring back under the banner of RIFE Golf with several new sticks for 2013—all of which feature the original RollGroove technology.
In the company’s own words: “RIFE’s patented RollGroove technology is the same today as it was when it was first invented. We’ve found what works, so there’s no reason to change it. You’ll see it on ever putter RIFE has made or will make in the future…It’s what sets RIFE apart from every other putter manufacturer out there.”
RIFE putters feature a lower-than-typical loft of two degrees: “We utilize less loft because of the friction or gripping created by the grooves on the face. The ball is gripped rather than chipped, held through impact, and then released into an immediate forward roll.”
The new RIFE models for 2013 include the Iconic heel-toe weighted blade (pictured here), Phenom heel-shafted blade, Hero rolled-back blade, Titan mallet and Legend 2-Bar mallet. Stay tuned for PutterZone’s Rife Legend putter review.
