Is this the PERFECT Zero Torque Putter Design?

I take the new PXG Hellcat ZT for a review on course. I play 18 holes in extremely challenging conditions.

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I’ve got an exciting putter today. Now, you’ve seen me test so many zero torque putters here on Let’s Play Through. And we’ve tested a couple of PXG zero torque putters already, but this one, this one intrigues me. I think this could be the winner maybe of the whole year. This is the PXG Hellcat putter. It is a blade style putter, which is my personal preference. It’s also got that press grip where your hands are actually in front. There’s so much I like about this club. We’re going to dive into that, but we’re also going to do something a little bit different here today. So, generally, we’ve got a battery of tests that we put these putters through. We’re going to do something a little more natural, a little bit more real life here today because I’m going to be playing a full round of golf. And we are going to see how many putts it takes us to finish this round. My overunder for putts here today is going to be 30. So, better than 30. I think that’s going to be a win over 30. And we know we probably don’t have the right putter for us. Before we get to work, let’s take a closer look. Here’s your closer look at the PXG Hellcat. The first thing I got to mention is just how high quality and wellbuilt this head cover is. It’s, you know, not going to affect the quality of the putter in any way, shape, or form, but it affects the quality of the experience. Rubberized big raised logo there. It’s just really well done. And one other little thing that I like is they’ve got a magnet here, so you can just attach this to your golf cart when you walk away. You don’t have to throw it on the ground. You can put it there and keep it nice for a while. These head covers actually are not cheap. Here’s the putter, though, and as you can see, it’s a blade style putter for the first time in their zero torque lineup from PXG, which is my preference. It’s not a super thin blade, though. It’s actually kind of wide. I like that. So, again, I feel like I’m going to get some stability here. Like all the PSG putters in the zero torque line, it features a pyramid face. This milling is beautiful, and it is to ensure consistent roll where they’re struck from the toe, heel, and hopefully center of that club. Again, that wide base here provides some nice heft to this putter. You got some beautiful milling here. It is a premium putter in every way possible, including this grip. Now, this is something we’ve seen on lab putters, but this is called a pressed grip where your hands are literally in front of the club face. It’s going to promote top spin, which is what you want right away to get that putt rolling online. We’ll see how it does here today. And just like most Zero Torque offerings, you’re going to get something that’s kind of center shafted here, but they’ve done a really good job of not making this look awkward to the eye. That shaft is coming into the equator of this club, but the way they’ve engineered the neck here, it’s not quite that S neck that we saw on their first putters. It’s something a little bit different and it works. And it’s just pleasant and pleasing to the eye. Nice alignment line back there as well. All in all, beautiful package here from PXG. One I think I’m really going to enjoy. Let’s put it to the test. All right, first green here is not in the best of shape. You’ll see there’s a little bit of leftover bumps and humps here from the aration that’s been going on this summer, but this is real golf, so we’re giving this a real test. First putt here, we’re going to call this 20 ft. It’s uh right uphill. I’d say it’s moving just a little right to left. It’s going to be a little slower here in the morning dew as well. Oh, it’s online. Come on, reach. Oh, [Applause] gave it a good chance. So, first thing I noticed here with the PXG putter is that you’re going to have to hit this putter a little bit more. Just takes a little bit more energy to get that ball moving. I came just a touch short there. And uh I would have made it otherwise it was right online. So, good start. We’ll see what it does here on hold two. All right. I hit one in there pretty tight here with the Ping I240 video that we’re shooting at the same time. By the way, I’m going to leave that link for you right here. This is a great set of irons, so check that one out and do hit subscribe so you don’t miss any reviews on here. But what we’re going to be faced with is a fairly flat putt. Maybe moving just a touch, but I don’t think it’s going to move a whole lot. And uh we don’t have any more than about 15 ft here. So if I’m going to make a putt, this is going to be a very good opportunity at it. This is where I feel these putters really shine in this distance. 15 to like 8 ft. Those are putts that I don’t know about you, but I very rarely make consistently. When you do make them, it’s like a real win. But if you can make more of these from this distance, man, you can shoot considerably better scores. See if we can make it happen. Boy, it looks like it could break either way. And when it’s that like I just generally aim straight and hope a little bit. It did break that way. I with the water over there, I just my mind tells me it’s got to break in that direction, but it didn’t. It didn’t. Two putt there. Okay, so we’re going to have our first long putt here. here. Now, when I generally go through our rubric, I always say you got to avoid three putts out on a golf course. That is the kiss of death to breaking 100, breaking 90, 80, whatever. You cannot be out here three putting very often. We’re going to try to avoid it right here. This putt is, I would say, at least 50 ft, maybe 60 ft. It’s mostly traveling uphill the whole way here, so that’s good. And overall the slope is going to be coming as we see it from this direction right to left. But as I putt it left to right. Going to leave the flag in for this one. Wish me luck. I know I got to hit this putter. These putts are also breaking a little more than normal out here. I’ve noticed with these summer conditions. So I’m going to play a little more break than I normally would. Hopefully I get that right. Boy, that looks pretty good for speed. Woo! Man, I’ll take that. They say you’re supposed to putt it like 18 inches past the hole is kind of the thing to think about. That’s I think very good advice. Think about putting a foot and a half past the hole. Got to get birdie putts to the hole. That one felt like a a one putt. So, very very happy with that. Let’s go to the next hole. All right, so we actually have a good chance here for a one putt on hole number four. I was chipping off the green. It was not a fantastic chip. I wanted to just tap this one in, but still we’ve got I’d say 9 ft here. We’re coming downhill left to right. Again, this is that distance where I feel like these Steer Tourk putters do give you a little help. You keep the hands soft, let the putter keep it on line, and try not to do too much. And that’s going to be your best shot with these. Oh, I just did not hit it. I got to keep remembering with this putter that I’ve got to give it a little bit more. We got plenty of holes though for these one putts. They’re going to start coming. I can feel it. Okay, no tapins here today. No tapins at all. So, I’ve got 35 ft here, I would say. Again, these greens also not necessarily pristine. A two putt would be quite all right from here. I got to travel uphill and it’s going to break down right on me hard. It’s not an easy putt. Got to remember to hit this putter. I got to swing it harder. I think I got the speed right. Maybe too much. Too aggressive. All right. Well, here’s our first real test. See if we can keep our two putt streak going. Just got to trust this putter. I’ve got to get it to the hole. Oh man, I thought I put that on the perfect line. That was all line there, though. Oh, so our first three putt, which means our overunder is uh for the first time feeling a little bit more challenging. The good news is on our second nine of holes, we’re going to have better greens. It’s going to be a lot easier that way. But I’ll really start to dial this putter in. When you first have a putter anyways, it takes you a little bit to get used to. I’ve got to get used to the speed with this putter. That putt though, I hit it exactly where I wanted to hit it. It just didn’t break the way I thought it would break. It’s going to happen. All right, we’ll see if we’ll make it up on the next hole. All right, I got another chance at a one putt here. This is my birdie putt, but again, it’s not not going to be an easy one putt. This green is very sanded, very bumpy back here. We’re 20 ft away from the hole. Time to get lucky, though, right? Oh, I knew it was coming. Redemption. Oh, that felt good. So, we’re back to at least averaging two putts a hole. That’s one again you feel like you steal. Starting to get the feel of this putter. I think it’s only going to get better from here on out. Let’s find out. All right, another chance at a one putt here for the Hellcat. I was chipping just off the green. I’m actually shooting a different video now. I’m shooting the PXG Wildcat set. We finished the Ping I240 video, so I’ll leave the link to the Wildcat set here, which is a really good one. I think I haven’t fully finished testing it, but so far so good. This is our par putt. I’ve got that magical 8 and 1/2 to 9 ft range here. Very makeable, I think. Yes, sir. All right. Two in a row. Two in a row. We’re back over under looking much better all of a sudden. All right. Can we go three for three? I was in the sand in the other video and here I am with uh about that same distance we just had. I’d say 8 ft here. And this one I think is going to move just a touch that direction. These greens still not the best. Stay there. Yes. Woo. All right. All right, we’re at 14 putts here. Feeling very, very good. And that’s the distance that I really, again, I’ll just pound this point home. These putters can sometimes fool you on long putts. Sometimes it’s hard to develop the feel. I think what they do great on long putts generally is direction. But pace is a little harder to dial in, at least for me. I mean, I’m also testing a lot of putters and changing a lot because we’re doing so many tests on this channel. But for me, distance has sometimes been the one little snag in this zero torque revolution. But direction, that’s where you really pays dividends. And again, 15 to 8 ft putts that I generally made 30% of the time. At best, I’m making more like 50% of the time, it seems like. Yeah, we just saw it three times in a row there. We’re in a good spot. And uh if we can be at 15. If we can one putt this one, we’ll be right on pace for 30 or better. Let’s see if we can make it happen. All right. Well, we got a chance to end this round four out of four. I just hit an unbelievable bunker shot to here. I’ve got 4T, but this is not an easy 4-footer. It’s downhill and breaking. So, I got to keep my concentration up here. Trust my line. Trust the putter. H a lot of wobbles on this green. So, it’s 16 putts here on the front nine. It should have been better. We had the three putt. That was definitely a makeable putt, but uh all in all like what I saw. I think there’s more to come that’s going to get better. We’re actually going to play nine holes of golf here where the greens are in much better shape. They’re still not perfect, still not like PGA Tour quality, but we’re amateur golfers. So, again, this is real life. Heading to 10. We need 14 putts for that over under number or better. I think we can do it. Let’s go. Here we are on our 10th hole. I’ve got 12 ft here moving right to left and downhill on me. This green is better than what we saw on our front side, but it’s not a carpet in any way, shape, or form. So, battle in the elements, but that’s golf. Stay up. Nope. I didn’t give it enough. The putt’s breaking much more than this course normally does. So, we start off with a two putt, but I also learned something there in terms of how this side is going to break on me. And uh we’ll use it to our advantage here as we go. Okay. So, I’ve got a long one here uphill right to left into the grain. I got to hit this putt. I’ve got to hit this putt. [Music] Oh my gosh. I thought that was in. I really thought that was in. I almost want to wait here for a gust of wind. Come on, wind. No, it’s not going to do it. It’s a shame that in golf these putts count the same as a 300 yard drive. But it is what it is. Two putts. So takeaway there I would say and what we saw with the other long putt is this putter is doing well for me. We’ve two putt both of these long putts so far and I can’t say I’ve had the same success with other PXG putters. So that’s that’s really good. We just need those one putts. We’re going to hit that over under. All right we get another chance at a long putt here. We’ll see if we can go three for three on the real long ones. This one about that same distance about I guess 45 50 ft. Now, it’s going to come up to a level here, and then it’s going to flatten out, and then I think as it gets to the hole, it’s actually gonna pick up a little pace. All right. I would just love to putt this. That would be a big win. Avoiding the big numbers in golf, one major thing is avoiding three putts. Come that way. Didn’t Oh, it broke the other way at the end. How did you not see that happening? I just don’t see how that happens, but it did. Okay. Hey, well, we’re in the range here where the we need the zero torque to come through for me. Come on. Oh boy, I hate putting my heart through this sort of thing, but we escape with a two putt. All right, I’m back to this distance again that I I do think is the sweet spot. A little longer though. 13 ft. I’m going to call this one. But it’s uphill and I know the break here for sure. Ah, it stayed really straight. Stayed really straight. Okay. I would like to have had a one putt there, but uh they’re coming. They’re coming. Got to make this putt here. And it’s going to be makeable. It’s in that range. I’ve made a lot here today. The one putts today that I’ve made, this is it. So, we’re going to have uh 8 ft to make it happen. Oh, right here. Right here. It just decided to straighten out on me, man. Okay. Well, if we’re going to hit that 30 over under, I’ve got to one putt the rest of these. Here’s my shot in here on this hole, which means I’ve got it like 25 ft. I’ve got to put it in. Man, this is much longer than I wanted for my second plot. I was hoping to worst case tap this in. I’ve not made it easy on myself. Ah, that one broke more than I thought. So, really a poor three putt there. That kills my overunder. We’ve done so good from that distance today, but it only takes one bad hole to really mess you up. I got to get it out of my head. Maybe we got some one putts here to finish. All right. Well, I just chipped one very, very tight. So, 100% a one putt here. You know, sometimes you have some of those rounds where you’re chipping a lot of them close and they’re, you know, short little ones you’re tapping in. I get a lot of that cuz that’s one of the better parts of my game. But today has not been that way. And uh that has hurt the overunder a bit, but again, we’re doing this in real life conditions. This is what’s happening. So, we got two more holes. I’ve got a par three then a par five. Not that it matters to this video, but we’ll see uh how we finish here. I’d like at least one more one putt to make up for that three putt. It’s still in my head a little bit. Okay, I’m 6 ft here or what would actually be a par putt cuz I was in the bunker on this hole. Hit a decent bunker shot to here. So, I’d like to convert the Sandy. I cannot believe it broke that much on me. Oh boy. All right. I expected a one putt there. We got a two putt. We got one more hole to finish it off. Then I’m going to talk about what I really like about this putter and maybe some of its shortcomings. All right. Well, we’re in that makeable zone. I think um call it again. Hm. Maybe 15 ft. Here we’re sitting at 32. This would be for 33. Did not hit the over under, but I also did not hit very many shots close today. And I’ve been battling these conditions, too. that putt and the putt before I felt I pulled them which uh with these putters again that’s why you got to keep a real loose grip on them because if your arms take over you’re going to still invite some torque into it. So let’s talk about what I really think I did well with this putter. Again I still think that range from like 8 to 10 feet I was really good at with this one just like I have been with some of those other PXG putters. I think that’s where it really shines. This putter, I think, did well on the long putts. A couple of those lags were not easy. And um I lagged him up there pretty nice, especially for the first time ever using a putter. I struggled on a couple like sixfooters. That’s where I felt like this putter may have let me down a touch, but also the conditions. There was at least two putts out here that I think they either hit one of those little moguls and went offline or for whatever reason just didn’t get the roll I expected. The other thing you got to think about with this putter is that you’ve got to stroke it. And again, with any putter, you’ve got to get used to the weight of the putter. For me, this one is one that I’ve got to hit a little harder. That’s okay. Just have to get used to it. All in all though, I think the best of the PXG bunch for me. And maybe that’s my own bias liking a blade putter, but I think they’ve done a really good job. It’s a nice wide blade, so it feels like it’s got that stability. The hands press forward. This grip, I think, like I mentioned, you can do so much with. There’s just a lot to love about this one. So, if you are searching for a zero torque putter, highly recommend you put this one in the mix. Hope you enjoyed this video. Was a little something different here today. Let me know what you think of the format down below. I’ll catch you back here next time on another edition of Let’s Play Through.