Review: Barber Pole Portrush Putter

There is nothing like a good barber!

I like going to golf stores as much as anyone. I enjoy go through all the clubs and checking them all out, especially the ones I don’t have at home. Most often when I get to the putter section I am disappointed with the selection. There is a lack of good looking putters on the market.

They either look like a kindergartner designed them or they have too many plastic pieces on them, I’m not even sure which way to putt with them. There are many that claim high-tech faces and alignment aids, but I still prefer something that is all metal and looks good. A good looking classic putter is hard to find; just like it is hard to find a good barber that won’t give you the “Bieber” cut. The Barber Pole Putters are good ol’ fashion designs with great looks and even a little new technology.

I found it interesting that the company is based in Dublin, Ireland, but has their heads milled in California. It is opposite of what so often happens. Most often we see American companies getting their product made elsewhere and shipped in. It is nice to have a “Made in the USA” as an export too.

You can’t miss a Barber Pole putter because of the solid milled brass head. I’m not sure if anyone else is making a solid brass putter at this time, but I couldn’t think of any, these are the only ones I have seen. They look really great with the muted gold tone. The brass head doesn’t have a finish, it has what looks to me like a bead-blasted finish for a satin look. They say they might patina some over time, mine has not yet. This barber knows good looks and they have 4 classic models in their brass heads.

The solid brass head has a classic yet unique look, and it also has great feel. The head offers clear feedback on putts whether it was a center strike or out on the edges. I would put it between carbon and stainless in terms of firmness. Not quiet as soft as a carbon putter, but softer than stainless. It has an audible click at address, but it is a deeper tone.

The real technology in this putter is the radius roll face. Basically it is a zero lofted putter with a rolled top line so that it doesn’t look like there is no loft, but like a normal lofted putter at address. The premise behind loft in a putter is to lift the ball to get it rolling on slow and shaggy greens. But many of us now play on incredibly smooth greens even at the cheapest of courses. Initially that lack of loft and solid brass head caused me to putt the ball a little faster than normal. I regularly had a come-back putt with the Barber Pole Putter.

The Portrush model is a perfect fit for my arch stroke. It has a nice long plumbers neck and hangs nicely at 5:00 PM. It also offers whatever alignment aid your prefer. It has a sight dot on the top line and a sight line on the flange as well as a nice cavity outline so that you can square it up to the ball very easily.

The grips a nice red and white Winn AVS grip that is very soft. It is a nice touch on this putter. The headcover is a custom design that didn’t quite live up to the rest of the putter. It is small, kind of thin and not really all that impressive. It didn’t stay on very well either. The look is cool with the barber pole embroidery on it, but I think it could use a little more padding and increased size.

This putter has pretty much everything you might be looking for in a new putter. I found the radius roll worked very well on fast greens once I got used to the zero loft. Maybe your old putter just isn’t cutting it any more and time to get a new style from a new barber. The Barber Pole putter looks stunning in brass, feels great, offers easy alignment and the roll face technology works great on fast greens. There is just nothing like a good “barber”.

For more information: www.barberpolegolf.com

Quick Hits
+Cool Brass look
+Solid feel
+Radius face roll
+Double alignment features, sight dot and line
+Excellent balance

–On the upper end of putter costs
–Not ideal for slow shaggy greens