Would You Game a $99 Putter?

It’s an age-old question that we can argue about for days.

Is it the person holding the putter? Or the putter itself that matters?

I’ve found it borderline humorous that, of the people who will swear putting is all about the person holding the putter, more than a few game something that costs north of $200. A few more game a putter north of $300. And many more will sport a Scotty, a Betty or a PING PLD that sells for over $400.

If you firmly believe a person who putts well can putt well with anything, why are you putting with what you’re putting?

Like I said, we can argue about this for days.

MyGolfSpy has shown over the years that you don’t have to sell a kidney to buy a good putter. You can but you don’t have to. Relative bargains from Tommy Armour, Wilson and Cleveland have been stellar performers in our annual testing.

Ram Golf hopes to join that group. Our early reports suggest the FX $99 putter line just might be able to do that.

Ram FX: A $99 putter doesn’t mean “cheap”

For $99, you’re not getting a 100-percent milled, hand-crafted piece of jewelry with innovative face technology and a high-end headcover. It just doesn’t work that way.

But you can get a pretty nice flatstick that does its job.

“If there was a category for the best club under a certain price, I’d be gutted if we didn’t win every time,” says Ram Golf owner Simon Millington. “In terms of what we do and what we put into it, I’d be absolutely gutted.”

Ram has a decorated history with putters. The original company was started in Chicago in 1948 by Lyle Hansberger and brothers Bob, Al and Jim. It was known as Sportsman’s Golf and made affordable golf equipment.

In the late 1950s, the company contracted with George Low to manufacture Low’s legendary Wizard 600 putter, forerunner of the Wilson 8802. Jack Nicklaus had a George Low in his bag for 15 of his 18 majors. In the mid-’70s, Ram came out with the iconic Zebra which Ray Floyd used to set the 72-hole scoring record at the Masters in 1976.

Under Millington, Ram has returned to its Sportsman’s Golf roots as a value direct-to-consumer brand. Ram offers what you would call “open mold” products along with clubs designed by Millington and former Odyssey designer Larry Tang, one of the fathers of the Two-Ball putter.

The Ram FX putter line is an example of a standard design tweaked by Tang to give it a unique flavor. You won’t find technological breakthroughs here but, for $99 do you want originality or do you want to get the ball in the damn hole?

We tried the Ram FX-01 and FX-03

The Ram FX putter line was released after this year’s MyGolfSpy testing wrapped up so we don’t have data to share. We can, however, share on-course impressions from a couple of late-season rounds with the FX-01 and FX-03.

What we found was pretty encouraging.

The Ram FX line features a wide-body blade (the FX-01) and four mallets including the fang-toothed FX-03. The entire line is blacked out from grip to toe with a black shaft and a modestly oversized black Ram-branded grip. Each model features very fine rotational face milling and a single alignment line (the FX-02 mallet has three lines).

In total, they’re the epitome of “not busy.” The black-on-black Ram lettering in the cavity is oh-so-subtle. The only thing that might qualify as garish is the white Ram logo heel-side on the face which gives the putter a Dodge pickup vibe.

The FX-01 is a double-wide Anser style with a plumber’s neck and slight toe hang. Normally, I’m not a big plumber’s neck guy which is ironic because I’m willing to bet the entirety of Dave Wolfe’s putter collection and half of mine that I’m the only licensed plumber working in the golf media today. Regardless, the FX-01 is the heavier of the two heads, coming in at 384 grams. That weight comes in handy as it makes the FX-01 feel very stable.

The Ram FX-03 is an Odyssey Seven-style fang-toothed mallet. It features a short slant neck which gives it a modest toe hang for slight arc strokes.

What about performance?

We golfers judge putters in one of two ways. We’re either in the “I gotta like the looks and feel” camp or the “let’s do the full Monty putter fitting” camp. My favorite metric is “three-jack avoidance.” While I love sinking bombs, not three-putting is a more sustainable state of bliss.

The key to avoiding three-putting is distance control and that is where the Ram FX-03 stood out for me. It’s the lighter of the two at only 360 grams and while I did sink a couple of 15 to 20 footers, most of my first putts wound up within tap-in/gimme range. If you’re familiar with my on-again/off-again romance with my aging but still lovely Rife 2-Bar Hybrid, you know how important reliable distance control can be.

I also found the FX-03 easier to aim. Both putters have a single alignment line but the short slant-neck hosel transition has always been easier for me to line up consistently. Each of us is different and that transition is just one element to consistent aim, along with head shape, length and lie.

As for sound, both Ram putters had, shall we say, distinctive auditory feedback. High-end milled putters like a Scotty or Bettinardi have a subtle, muted sound and feel. For a $99 putter, the Ram FX line is not subtle. That’s not to say they sound like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. They don’t but there is a muted metallic clink to them. It’s not off-putting but it is different.

However, as I kept picking up putts within the Circle of Love, I grew to appreciate it as “The Sound of Distance Control.”

They do look a bit familiar, don’t they?

If you haven’t noticed already, we’ll save you some time. There is a striking resemblance between the Ram FX putter line and Wilson’s current Infinite putter line. As mentioned, the Ram line is a basic model tweaked by Ram consulting designer Larry Tang. It’s not unusual for companies such as Ram to work with its Asian suppliers to fine-tune shaping, weighting and milling to create something quasi-unique.

Face it, gang. With a $99 putter, you’re getting an off-the-shelf design. And if you’re going to go with off-the-shelf design, this is a pretty good one. The Wilson Infinite versions have traditionally tested very well for MyGolfSpy. While the head shapes are similar, there are slight and subtle differences, primarily in milling, hosel transitions and other small details. You’d have to be looking for them but they’re there.

It will be interesting to see if any of those tweaks make a difference in testing next year.

Ram FX putters: Final thoughts

 Let’s go back to our original question.

Is the person holding the putter or the putter itself that matters?

Allow me, friends, to posit the following: It’s both. The right stick in the wrong hands is worthless. The wrong stick in the wrong hands is less than worthless. The wrong stick in the right hands is frustrating. The right stick in the right hands is where the magic happens.

The surest way to get the right stick in the right hands is with a putter fitting. If you’ve had one and you know your specs, that’s where the fun starts. That’s when a direct-to-consumer brand such as Ram can offer value.

If you know what kind of head shape, hosel transition, length, loft and lie you like in a putter, you can make a little $99 magic.

If you’re one of those folks who firmly believe a good putter can putt with anything, then why aren’t you putting with a $99 putter?

Asking for a friend.

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