Fantom White Putter Review

Fantom White Putter

Grade: B+
Teacher’s Comments: A nice putter at a nice price

It’s early in the season, but I’ve put in extended practice with the Fantom at GolfBlogger World Headquarters and over two nines, and I can say with confidence that the Fantom is a nice putter at a nice price.

Two features stand out. The first is obvious from the photos: it’s got an enameled white finish, which makes the black alignment lines really stand out. Against a green carpet (like the one I have at World HQ), or on the slightly green-yellowish-brown greens of the early spring, the club head really pops. It’s probably all psychological, but I did think the white had a positive effect on alignment and visualization.

Not visible from the photos is the feel of the club: it’s heavier than the usual flat stick. According to PineMeadow, it weighs in at 340 grams—40 more than the “usual.” I prefer a heavier putter, and my regular stick (a Boccieri Heavy Putter) is heavier still—coming in at 475 grams for the head and 900 grams overall. I think that the heavier putters promote a smooth stroke, helping take excessive wrist action out of the equation. Pinemeadow also says—and I agree—that the heavier head gets the ball rolling quickly.

The feel of the ball of the putter is nice. Some written reports on the Pinemeadow website report a distracting metallic click, but as longtime GolfBlogger readers know, I am quite deaf and wouldn’t be able to report on that anyway.

The one thing I disliked about the design is the scoop on the underside (see bottom left photo). If I brushed the grass (carpet) too hard in swinging forward, the back end actually snagged. A slight change to my setup ended that, though.

Overall, I had great success with the Fantom putter, once I adjusted my stance and my swing a bit (my regular putter has a straight-in shaft, and the Fantom is a double bend, requiring a different stroke). I was knocking them down from all over the greens. But for the scoop problem, I’d give the stick an “A.” As it is, it’s a “B+.”