Equipment
Bettinardi hosts 7th Social, 300 putters quickly find new homes
A custom Bettinardi BB55 putter with hand-anodized fish graphics. A few limited-edition BB55’s were made for the social and every one of them had custom graphics.
You don’t need a new putter, but you really, really want this one. Why? Because… well…
It’s ok. Bettinardi understands, and that’s why the company has been hosting its social each of the last seven years at its headquarters in Tinley Park, Ill. This year’s event, which took place June 20 and 21, included 40 of the most enthusiastic Bettinardi putter collectors in the world.
How serious is your putter collection? A Missouri man who attended the social said he had more than 1200 Bettinardi headcovers in his collection.
Let me explain the passion these people have for putter collecting. Have you ever looked at a putter and wished it had a little different shape or feel? Sure you have, but that doesn’t make you a putter collector. These people research putters more than you check your portfolio. They buy, sell and trade putters with the frequency that the average golfer buys golf balls.
All that to say this: On Friday night, those 40 collectors gobbled up 300 of Bettinardi’s custom putters (which sold for between $800 and $2000, by the way) and tables full of Bettinardi accessories. If you’re doing the math, that’s 7.5 putters per person. Still think you’re a putter collector?
It’s 7 p.m. Do you know where your favorite Bettinardi putter is?
The schedule included dinner, an open bar, a four-piece blues band and tours of the manufacturing floor so the collectors could see how their favorite putters were made. Then around 7 p.m., company founder Bob Bettinardi gave a speech like he does every year. When he was done talking, that was the signal that collectors could climb the company’s staircase and make one of two turns: left for custom putters, right for custom accessories.
Pick your favorite: Collectors rushed to lay claim to their favorite custom Bettinardi putters at its 2014 social. All of Bettinardi’s putters are designed, milled and assembled in the United States.
Sam Bettinardi, Bob’s son and vice president of sales and marketing for Bettinardi Golf, joked that there was no fighting this year. Or maybe he wasn’t kidding?
The company spends about 8-to-9 months creating the one-off custom putters that are the highlight of the event, he said, something it’s happy to do.
“It’s worth it to get people together, talk about the brand and showcase the abilities we have,” Sam said.
The next morning, the group played a round at Crystal Tree in Orlando Park, where Sam estimated that about 30-to-40 percent of the collectors were using a new putter for their round. Somehow, I don’t think it will be their last new Bettinardi.
Here’s a few of our favorites putters from the social. Click here to see more photos from Bettinardi’s 2014 Social and what GolfWRX Members are saying about the putters in the forum.
Only 30 of these Bettinardi Propaganda theme putters were made. Notice how the face milling matches the engraving on the sole of the putter.
A twisty-neck “Kool-Aid” BB0 (pronounced bee-bee-zero) with a torched shaft and head. Very few Bettinardi Kool-Aid putters are made, making this an extremely rare find.
A BB0 putter with alternating copper and aluminum bronze plugs in the face. Each plug is placed by hand and the putter face was milled four times with four different milling patterns that include Bettinardi’s Honeycomb, F.I.T. Face, and Zipper techniques.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
View this post on Instagram
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
joesixpack
Jun 25, 2014 at 7:08 pm
I’m sure you’ve all heard the one about the guy who dies and his wife and kids discover that he has this huge collection in his private office of super expensive putters, headcovers, divot tools, etc. Tons and tons of putters that basically all look the same. All with a particular logo on them. They look through the collection and find their father’s journal and discover that he spent more than $100k on all this stuff!
Since none of them are golfers, the decide to sell the collection. They bring it to an eBay consignment shop and let the agent sell off each and every piece separately. The entire collection fetches about $10k. Their memory of their father is forever tainted with the thought that he was a complete idiot.
If you read that and thought to yourself, “But my collection is worth way more than I paid for it!”, think again. As long as there are people who will keep paying for this stuff, they will keep producing it, so it will never be scarce or truly rare. A 10 year old putter from one of these makers is not more valuable than a new putter from the same maker. And if someone were to post one of those $2000 bettinardis mentioned in this article today on ebay I can guarantee it wouldn’t fetch $2000. The only people in the world willing to pay that were all in the room!
I saw an episode of Pawn Stars the other day where someone came in with a couple Cabbage Patch dolls that were mint, never played with, in their original boxes. The pawn shop guys offered almost nothing. The person was shocked! But seriously – who the hell is going to pay big bucks for some stupid doll from the 80s? And who on earth is going to buy that $2000 putter 20 years from now when Bob Bettinardi is retired and nobody remembers who he was?
Anyone remember Beanie Babies? How about Ray Cook?
Hud
Jun 25, 2014 at 11:29 pm
I don’t really know why you felt the need to post this. I guess as a cautionary tale… However, you are right when it comes to some issues and dead wrong when it comes to others.
I too have heard of quite a few of these tales, similar to the one you described. In some cases, yes the collection brought in a much lower sum of money than was spent on it, but in about 1 of 5 instances the putters and collection brought the family a large sum of money and sold for more than the original investment. In a majority of those cases, 2-3 out of 5, they will break even and at least get their money back. Also you have to realize there is a difference in collecting and “investing” many of these men are not “investing” in these putters in hopes of striking it rich down the road.
You simply can NOT place a blanket statement on everything and say that this is how it will always go. It depends on what brand is being collected. What particular portion of the brand was focused on. When it was purchased and for how much. I can personally think of a dozen collections that I personally have knowledge of that would bring far more than the collector ever put into it.
Your statement is not only misleading, in some ways it is just wrong. I can’t speak for the Bettinardi market, I don’t know it, but I have a very deep knowledge of the Scotty Cameron market and I can assure you that many of these gentlemen that can afford these putters are not leaving their family a burden. Their family will not need the money from the sale of their collection to survive. Is it possible that if it were sold it would bring less than what was paid? Of course, depending on the items and how quickly they decide to move it, but just like with anything if you sell a large quantity of items just to sell them and get them off your hands you are going to lose money.
Selling a large and complex collection takes time, it takes giving the market the chance to realize what is being sold. If you put a $100,000 collection up for sale in a week long auction broken up piece by piece it is possible a large portion of the potential buyers will simply miss it because they don’t have the time to watch eBay all the time. Even if they see it, they may not have or want to take in that many items at one time. But if you take your time and sell it carefully, you can find the right buyers and get the proper amount of money.
Finally, you talk about the fact that many of these putter makers are simply making more and more of the putters and so their rarity is lost or non existent. That is certainly not the case for a large majority of the early Cameron items. Of course Titleist/Fila pumps out tons of Scotty Cameron OTR putters each year, and they are great putters, but that is usually not what is being collected. You said in 10-20 years no one will know these guys, well think about the early Cameron items. Pre-Titleist Cameron’s sell anywhere from 2-20 times the original sale prices. I could talk about the money early Titleist era handmades and tours or even limiteds bring, but I have probably already wasted enough of my time proving my point here. The fact that there are companies and individuals that make quite a profit off of brand new Cameron items would seem to disprove your theory that if it cost $2,000 today it would not even sell for that tomorrow. Profit making on these items have gotten so bad that it has become a serious problem within the collecting community, and has really become a devisive issue.
Sorry for the ridiculously long post, I don’t really even have a dog in this fight. I only have three Cameron’s in my “collection” although a couple of them are nicer ones, but seeing something like this comment struck me the wrong way.
joesixpack
Jul 31, 2014 at 10:01 pm
It’s people like you that Scotty Cameron is preying on.
If you think I’m wrong, prove me wrong.
You have 3 camerons in your “collection”, and 2 of them are “nicer ones”. I bet they are not worth what you think they are worth.
If you will post on here what they are, show photos of them, and say what you paid for them and when, and then publicly post them for sale (here or ebay or wherever) with reserve prices set for what you think they are really worth, I bet they will not sell.
I will wager money (or even better, a scotty cameron putter from my personal collection, which you may think is hugely valuable but since he made about 100,000 of them I think is worth about $50), that your “collection” isn’t worth what you think it is.
I dare you.
Andy
Jun 25, 2014 at 6:17 pm
What a cool story! Really neat some of the putters with the plugs in the face, and different face millings. Bettinardi is on the up and up
Pingback: Bettinardi hosts 7th Social, 300 putters quickly find new homes | Spacetimeandi.com
Scott
Jun 25, 2014 at 1:53 pm
On a smaller scale this is very similar to the annual Scotty Cameron ICC. As a Cameron collector I am in no means putting down this event, in fact I think it’s very cool. Bob has done some great work for Scotty in the past and has been doing great work under his own name for a long time now. Very cool that Bettenardi is cranking up the head cover and accessory lines even more.
Congrats to all who attended, I’m sure it was a blast .
dot dot
Jun 25, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Making a limited edition is a very nice thing to do. It limits the amount of people who can get ripped off. Corporate responsibility is taken seriously at Bettinardi. Nicely done.
Joel
Jun 24, 2014 at 2:37 pm
Attending one of these is definitely on my bucket list, just need to suddenly be independently wealthy first…then just buy ALL of them at the social.
AK
Jun 24, 2014 at 1:26 pm
Who says we are in a struggling economy? Certainly not these 40 guys!