Vice Golf has three new putters launching today and it’s a bigger deal than I thought it would be. Over the past decade, Vice Golf has established themselves as the Kings of DTC (direct to consumer) golf balls. Lots of players worldwide are playing or are at least familiar with Vice golf balls.
For a while, numerous companies tried their hands at online golf ball sales but Vice Golf ultimately came out on top. I believe their success was a result of delivering reasonably priced, high-quality golf balls in fantastic color varieties.
Personally, I’m waiting patiently for the Cotton Candy color scheme to be added to the Vice Pro line.
Next came the Vice golf clubs
Building on the success of their golf balls, Vice Golf subsequently introduced irons, wedges, woods and putters to their catalog.
I spent a good portion of last season playing “Miami” Vice irons and wedges that were custom fitted for me completely online. I found the clubs to be a great combination of fun and functional.
Basically, the Vice’s clubs were just like their golf balls.
Vice Golf’s first batch of putters were very flashy and not really like any other putters in the marketplace. The VPG01 blade was a wide-body blade with a slant neck and the VGP02 pushed the limits of MOI as well as “traditional” golf club aesthetics. The Emerald Dynasty colored VGP02 putters are dreamy.
As with their full-swing clubs, you can be fitted for a Vice Golf putter completely online by answering a few questions that are then fed into the Vice Golf/HIO fitting database.
That is where Vice Golf was at as of yesterday with their putters. Today, things are very different.
For you to gain something, Vice Golf putters lost something
One of the new putters, the VGP03 blade, is an obvious evolution of the VGP01 blade. The slant neck and deep toe hang are still there but the profile is that of a traditional wide blade. If you need a putter to fit your strong-arc swing, the VGP03 is the one for thee.
The other two new Vice Golf putters are new zero-torque designs.
Though Vice Golf calls their new putters “zero twist” rather than “zero torque”, the recipe is familiar. Through the use of a novel hosel with the VGP03ZT blade and direct-to-the-body attachment for the VGP04ZT mallet, Vice has positioned the shaft insertion point at the putter’s center of gravity.
The alignment with the center of gravity eliminates rotation of the head as you swing the club. This keeps the face square to the stroke arc and should return the face square to the target.
For some golfers, especially those who tend to miss right, reducing or eliminating rotation will lead to more putts on target. Players miss putts right because the face opens too much during the backswing and then remains open when they strike the ball.
By the way, Vice went with “zero twist” rather than “zero torque” because most people understand twisting more than torquing.
(They could be on to something since I had to look up “torquing” to make sure it was a real word.)
Where’s the usual Vice Golf disruption?
Producing zero-twist putters when zero-torque putters are all the rage is good business but almost seems a non-Vice-Golf-like maneuver. Granted, the putters do have copious amounts of flashy neon green but I expect something from Vice Golf to be a little more rebellious.
The rebellion comes when you click “Add to Cart.”
While many zero-torque putters will set you back well over $500, the new Vice Golf putters cost less than $300. Even with the zero-twist technology, the new Vice Golf putters will cost about the same as their previous putters.
If you want an inexpensive way to try this style of putter, Vice Golf is here to help.
By the way, my preliminary play-testing says Vice has succeeded at delivering quality putters at a price point well below the industry average.
Here is a closer look at the three new models with some of my initial play impressions.
Vice Golf VGP03
I started with the VPG03, figuring I would maximize torque before eliminating it. Unlike the somewhat unusual-looking VGP01 blade putter, the VGP03 is quite traditional looking and very handsome as it sits behind the ball at address.
It’s well documented that I am a fan of rectangular heads and right angles in my putters. Parallel and perpendicular lines help me aim at the target. Although the neck delivers too much rotation for me, I love how the neck looks.
When I first rolled balls with the VGP03, I had to double-check that the face didn’t have an insert. The green perimeter paint makes it look like there is a face insert and the soft feel made me think that one was there as well.
No insert; just a soft-feeling face. The face delivers some heat, likely due to the 2.5 degrees of loft. Most of the initial putts ran long but it was relatively easy to get accustomed to the pop off of the face.
Overall, I’d say Vice did a solid job of combining steel and feel.
If this putter had a plumber’s neck, I believe it would be a big hit with more players. The 5:30 toe hang may prove too aggressive for folks lacking a strong arc putter swing.
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Vice Golf VGP03ZT
You’ll notice that most of the model name is the same as the previous putter. Vice tacked on the ZT letters to signify that this is the zero-twist blade. The S-shaped hosel reminds me a bit of the type of hosel that PXG uses to eliminate torque/twisting.
Although the hosel attaches at the heel, the twisted shape makes the bottom of the shaft point directly at the center of gravity. This shaft position eliminates the head’s rotation during the stroke.
At address, Vice did a nice job of keeping the hosel away from the alignment aids. You still see it at the bottom of the face line but the neck blends in very well with the similarly colored body. The dark shaft blends in nicely as well.
One thing I didn’t mention about the VGP03 that is also true for the VGP03ZT is how flat the putter sits on the turf. The wide and flat sole is very stable on the turf when you place it behind the ball. For both versions, I found this stability translated to a smooth stroke overall.
If you are trying to eliminate rotation with a zero-torque design, the flat sole of the VGP03/VGP03ZT will be the icing on your new stability cake.
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Vice Golf VGP04ZT
The VGP04ZT is something else. It’s like a fang-shaped putter and a spaceship had a zero-twist baby.
It’s a super unusual-looking putter which for me is high praise. I suppose the previous VGP02 mallet set the precedent for non-Euclidean putter geometries but I was still pleasantly surprised when I pulled off the headcover.
There’s quite a bit to unpack with the VGP04ZT. Let’s start with the shaft insertion location. As I mentioned, this shaft enters the head at the center of gravity. This balances the weight of the head around the shaft, eliminating twisting/torque.
At address, this translates to a shaft insertion point that is well behind the face or “onset”. Remember that “offset” is when the shaft plane is in front of the face.
One of the advantages of the onset position is that it allows Vice to place an alignment aid in front of the shaft. A traditional center-shafted putter’s shaft sits too far forward for this type of alignment aid.
From there, the wings add to the alignment and stability stories. The bright green parallel lines serve as guide lines for targeting. Overall, the combination of lines is very effective.
Of the three models, I found the VGP04ZT to be the easiest to aim.
Naturally, the zero-twist design is also responsible for putts tracking their intended lines.
As with the VGP03, I found the rolls of the VGP04ZT to be hot and spicy. The VGP04ZT also has a strongly lofted face. At 1.5 degrees, that ball is going forward immediately.
The fangs/wings also make the putter very stable. Although the numbers were not provided, I would not be surprised if the VGP04ZT is the highest MOI putter that Vice has created so far.
Even with a shape that looks like it is ready take the red-shirted away team down to the planet for tribble hunts, the combination of mass position and zero-twisting creates a very stable and accurate putter.
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Did Vice Golf change the game again?
Although there are some recent outliers, most zero-torque putters reside at the upper end of the putter price province. Obviously, the price of these new Vice putters will catch folks’ attention. Ideally, the lower entry cost will motivate them to finally see if that zero-torque thing is right for them.
My only lingering question is are these “Vice Golf” enough for the Vice Golf fan?
Will fans of the Vice Golf brand buy into the looks of these first models or will they perhaps wait and see if there are wilder-looking versions on the horizon? Maybe Vice made these initial offerings a little less colorful than they could have in order to attract golfers who lean more traditional in their aesthetics.
Ideally, Vice can grab golfers from both camps. There is a reason why they still sell white golf balls, after all. Maybe lime green and black is just the gateway color scheme to hook the newbies.
You tell me. Did Vice hit the bold yet traditional aesthetic sweet spot?
Note that I said aesthetic. In terms of design, the only thing traditional about the VGP04ZT is that it has a shaft and a grip, and I love that so much!
These are three good putters. If the final price ends up in the $250-ish range (or even lower), they are solid value buys as well.
The post Can Vice Golf Do for Zero-Torque Putters What They Did For Golf Balls? appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
