Last fall, Bettinardi discovered them Bettinardi workshop custom putter design software. This system positioned itself well among Bettinardi’s existing custom options.
Before the Bettinardi workshop, you can customize the specs of a stock Bettinardi rig or go all-in with Bettinardi’s complete sky’s-the-limit customization program.
Unlike the existing custom program, the Bettinardi Workshop enabled customers to design their own custom equipment from their computer screens.
Of course, Bettinardi isn’t the first company to offer one phone on the porch putter design interface. Odyssey, TaylorMade and PING have had similar programs.
What makes the Bettinardi workshop different is the unreal number of custom options.
Today, I’m going to take you through my process of building a Bettinardi Workshop barrel. We’ll explore the options and compare what you see on the computer screen to what you’ll roll on the green.
Wait, there is how much models?
When you open the Bettinardi Workshop site for the first timeyou will see the amazing number of models you can choose from. For reference, the Odyssey/Toulon Garage at its peak maxed out the number of models at around seven.
In the Bettinardi workshop, there is 33 models!
This includes both right and left handed models and does not take into account the fact that some of the models have multiple neck options. When you consider the necks, you get pretty close 50 possible paws to match.
I would consider five choices to be an acceptable number of options. Fifty is borderline crazy and it’s amazing for the consumer.
Bettinardi gives you so many choices and I love that. If you’re going to spend the money to customize a barrel, you should be able to choose the exact model you want.
A full range of cosmetic design options
If you have trouble making decisions, you’ll find the Bettinardi workshop even more challenging once you get into the cosmetic options. I will not even attempt to count the number of possible combinations that can be created in the Bettinardi workshop.
Even the most knowledgeable mathematicians would be happy to say that there is one a multitude of options.
Choose your paint colors and mix those colors as desired. While the Cameron Custom shop limits you to four colors, the Bettinardi Workshop allows you to choose a different color for almost every painted part of the paint job.
You can also choose the colors for the gauge itself and the aluminum back if you choose an Inovai model.
If you still have some energy left after choosing the colors, then you will move on to choosing the stamping of the face, shaft, shaft band, grip and headstock.
Don’t forget that Bettinardi also builds your own Bettinardi Workshop rig to your loft/lie/length specifications.
If you’re like me, you’ll probably drain your phone’s battery before settling on the final setup. I went through multiple paw swaps before landing on my final design.
(Full disclosure: I built some plugins just for fun.)
Sorting out the Bettinardi Workshop interface
While the number of choices for the consumer is at the top of the industry, the current interface is a bit clunky and somewhat outdated.
To its credit, the interface hits the basics very well. You can easily access the various options through the drop-down menus and view the feed updates when you make your selections. That part is all good.
By itself, the interface is good, but other companies have done it better in terms of visuals.
The king of putter layouts these days is the TaylorMade MySpider interface. Not only does the insert image update when you change options, but you can rotate the device in all directions to see how your options changed the look.
The Bettinardi workshop lacks this rotating aspect. When you update an option, the playback of the slicer with the new option is updated.
In Bettinardi’s defense, their massive catalog of customizable joints probably limited what they could do in terms of technologies. Creating 3D rotational images of 50 models would be time consuming and expensive.
TaylorMade simply gives you a Spider Tour or a Spider X to customize, and these two models each use two separate interfaces.
The rotary interface looks better during the design process, but the inclusion of something like this would probably result in Bettinardi including fewer model choices. If so, I’d rather see more patterns than scrolling graphics.
Realistically, you’ll only look at the screen for a few minutes at your Bettinardi’s Workshop virtual shooter, but you’ll be playing for years. As long as the resulting device is solid, the interface doesn’t have to be perfect.
Why build a custom barrel?
For oyster lovers, this is a silly question. For us, custom over stock is more of a “why wouldn’t you?” question. You use the barrel more than any other club in your bag. Having it fitted and a little fancy is the obvious choice.
This time, I had two customization motivations. Of course, the first was to see how Bettinardi’s on-screen options compare to the product in hand. This is the first goal for this type We tried it article.
The other personalization motivation was much more personal and not related to golf.
Last summer, one of my best childhood friends was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. I’m pulling for you, Bruce Campbell.
As my friend began his treatments, I decided to make a custom shooter for him. He’s not much of a golfer. His claims to fame in this field are destroying a new driver (not his) and a golf cart (also not his).
In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have given him anything that would get him back on course.
Besides being somewhat of a threat, he’s also a huge Miami Dolphins fan. There were posters of Dan Marino in his room growing up, and he joins the rest of the 1973 Dolphins team in celebrating when an undefeated team takes its first loss of the season.
Miami hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1974, but my friend remains committed dolphin.
I did this to the shooter as a way for him to know that I was thinking of him at this difficult time in his life. My hope was that a little pink and teal would bring some levity to the arduous process of chemotherapy.
Fins on the left, fins on the right
Once I knew I was going with a Miami Dolphins theme, I got to work building the Bettinardi Workshop rig. Of course, I chose the colors to match the dolphins, but some of the other choices were just driven by curiosity.
I chose the Bettinardi Inovai 6.5 head because I had never personally rolled one. Somehow, he slipped away from me.
I’m sure he won’t mind if I roll him a little before I hand him over.
I also wanted to see what the metal axle bar looked like and feel the Bettinardi brand GPS graphite axle. As with the Inovai 6.5 head, this throw shaft has somehow escaped my reading. Since graphite shafts are such a “thing” these days, I had to take the opportunity to take some swings with this shaft.
After all, this would be a Miami Dolphins player. After setting up the aspects, I hit the buy button and began the waiting process.
Construction will take some time
Since all gauges in the Bettinardi workshop are made to order, don’t expect your shooter to arrive in a hurry. Bettinardi lists the production time at eight to 12 weeks. For my putter the delivery time was very close to 12 weeks.
My guess is that the more complicated the build, the longer the production time. For example, an Inovai with a custom colored rear end will take more than an Antidote SB1 where most of the customization is just paint.
Three months will seem like a long time while you wait for the shooter to arrive, but you’ll soon forget all that waiting once you see the carrier.
The Miami Dolphins are 6.5
Bettinardi did a great job with this shooter. On the subject of the Dolphins, the shooter looks much better in person than on screen. While I couldn’t rotate the computer display, I’m happy with what I see at every angle with the current slicer.
The color pops and I’m glad I added ‘FINS’ to the face. Of course, I wanted the stamp to fit the theme, but I’m also happy that the letters are a bit inconsistent.
The hard hit on the “I” tells me that a person, not a machine, hit those letters in the face. Although I can’t pinpoint why this matters to me, it does. I suppose in these days of machines doing everything, I like to have proof that there was a real person involved in the construction.
I dig the metal axle band. For demonstration purposes, this gauge also has the shaft band and shaft seal. If I wasn’t building this to share with you, I’d go with one or the other.
If I had to choose, I’d probably spend the extra $60 on the metal band, since that’s something you can only get from the Workshop program.
Although I haven’t had wide machined rollers, I like the feel of the KBS GPS shaft. Is it better than steel shaft? It depends on how you define “better”.
It looks super cute and feels good, but I can’t definitively say that spending an extra $150 will help you or I get more kisses. It sure stands out, though.
The Bettinardi workshop built a great sportsman for a great man
Although Bettinardi Workshop’s computer interface is more functional than meets the eye, the resulting shot is fantastic. The renderings did a great job helping me choose the colors of my Inovai 6.5 and gave me a rough idea of ​​what the finished machine would look like.
Once I had the finished device in hand, I forgot all about how the interface worked.
The price for the Bettinardi Workshop will vary depending on the options selected. The base price for the Inovai 6.5 is $425. My “add everything” plan resulted in a price just under $1,000. My guess is that you will fall somewhere between the base price and the stupid-Dave maximum.
Pay for what matters to you and skip what doesn’t.
When all was said and done, I used the Bettinardi Workshop to build a Miami Dolphins themed gauge that I can now send to my friend in Cincinnati who just rang the bell cancer free a few weeks ago. Way to stay strong, my friend.
(I still won’t let him hit my new driver or drive the golf cart.)
Build your own custom rig at the Bettinardi workshop at Bettinardi.com.
