50 Words or Less
The PXG Battle Ready II Closer putter brings technology from PXG’s irons to the green to enhance forgiveness. A huge range of customization options. The Closer delivers as much forgiveness as you can get in a classic shape.
Introduction
As someone who follows golf equipment very closely, I feel like I’ve been trained not to expect too much from new putter releases. We might get a new finish, maybe different head shapes sub in and out of the line up, but transformative changes are rare. The new PXG Battle Ready II putter line is the exception. By borrowing technology from their industry-leading irons, PXG has made the Battle Ready II Closer an entirely different putter than the original Battle Ready Closer [review HERE].
Looks
The PXG Battle Ready II Closer brings back one of the stalwart designs from PXG’s putter line. This is a widebody Anser 2-style putter that will be instantly familiar to almost all golfers. PXG did a good job executing this classic design with proper proportions, a cavity that frames the ball well, and a single sight line for alignment help.
Seeking a full-sized mallet? Check out the Battle Ready II Blackjack HERE
In terms of changes from the previous version, the most obvious is the finish. The black finish has been replaced by a matte silver. Per PXG, this change came at the request of their Tour staff who prefers this more traditional finish. While I like the new finish, no one – save Batman – owns black like PXG, so I’m a little disappointed to see that go.
As has become their custom, PXG did a tremendous job with the head cover for the Battle Ready II putters. They’re thick, and they have some of the strongest magnets you’ll find. They also feature the QuickStick Cart Magnet, so you can attach the cover to your cart rather than throwing it on the ground.
Sound & Feel
PXG promotes their irons as having the thinnest faces in golf. This makes sense in a club where we value ball speed and distance. When that boast was made about the new PXG Battle Ready II Closer – the face is a mere 0.055″ thick – I was curious (and a bit concerned) about how that would affect feel.
Rolling a premium golf ball with the Battle Ready II Closer, I found that my concerns were misplaced. Thanks to the S COR Polymer, you’d never know the face is abnormally thin; this putter has a very traditional sound and feel. The ball feels very soft off the pyramid face structure. The impact sound is slightly higher pitched, but it’s round and full, not shrill or thin.
Despite being built for stability and forgiveness, the PXG Battle Ready II Closer delivers moderate feedback. The feel becomes dull as you move away from the center, losing the very small amount of bounce that pure strikes get. There is virtually no audio difference between pure strikes and mishits except on very long putts.
Check out the PXG Battle Ready II Apache HERE
Performance
While the change in finish is most obvious, it’s the change in technology that makes the PXG Battle Ready II Closer so exciting. Like PXG’s irons, the Battle Ready II putters have hollow bodies filled with S COR Polymer. The purpose of this design is to remove weight from the middle of the putter and push it to the edges. This technology gives the Battle Ready II putters an average MOI that’s 10% higher than the original Battle Ready putters.
Stop and think about that for a moment. The Battle Ready putters were some of the most stable, forgiving putters available, and the Battle Ready II putters are an entire letter grade better. Seeing that kind of leap forward in one generation is almost unheard of in modern golf equipment.
All of this to say, the PXG Battle Ready II Closer is as forgiving and consistent a putter as you can buy at this size. This is a conventionally shaped mid-mallet with forgiveness that’s on par with many spaceship putters. You can get away with some pretty poor strikes and still not fear the three putt.
As a longtime Anser-style player, what I like about the PXG Battle Ready II Closer is that it retains a fair measure of agility in the swing. The plumbers neck hosel that I tested gives this putter a toe hang around 4 o’clock. That, combined with a CG that isn’t too far from the face, allowed me to control the face easily and have a good sense of where it was throughout the swing.
Finally, the Closer that I tested pushed its forgiveness to the extreme with the addition of PXG’s proprietary M16 putter shaft [review HERE]. This does come at an $89 upcharge, but it noticeably improves stability. Per PXG, the M16 is 26% stiffer than traditional steel shafts and delivers a 37% improvement in accuracy in robot testing. If you want to truly minimize the effects of mishits, pair your Battle Ready II putter with the M16 shaft.
PXG Battle Ready II Putter Customization
The original PXG Battle Ready line was the unequivocal champion when it came to putter customization, and the Battle Ready II line looks like it will retain that belt. First, almost every one of the nine putters in this family has four hosel options – double bend, armlock (not available online), plumbers neck, and heel shaft – each offering a different amount of toe hang. Three models – Dagger, Blackjack, and Bat Attack – also have a center shafted option.
Your choice of hosel will also affect the head weight with double bend being the lightest, heel shafted 10 grams heavier, plumbers neck adding another 10 grams, and the arm lock version a full 45 grams heavier than the double bend. On the topic of weight, every PXG Battle Ready II putter comes with either two or four adjustable weights. The stock weight is 10 grams, but PXG offers weights from 2.5 to 20 grams so you can customize the feel.
New for the Battle Ready II line is a wealth of grip options. There are PXG Sink Fit Pistol and Skinny grips. Additionally, PXG has Pistol I, II, and III, and Straight I, II, III, and XL grips. The Pistol I is a fairly conventional pistol-style grip, where the Pistol II has a much larger profile and less pronounced flare at the butt. Pistol III is the largest with a pronounced pistol shape. PXG’s Straight grips all have the same flat topped, taper free shape. They get larger from I to II to III, and the XL is a longer grip specifically made for armlock putting.
Finally, though this should go without saying, every golfer is able to order their preferred length, lie angle, and loft when they purchase a Battle Ready II putter through PXG’s website.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for maximum forgiveness in a putter that looks and feels traditional, you can’t do any better than the PXG Battle Ready II Closer. Combine their forgiveness-boosting hollow body technology with a world of customization options and your poor putting will be a thing of the past.
Visit PXG HERE
Matt Saternus
Latest posts by Matt Saternus (see all)
- Oraimo Trcker 100 E-Bike Review - September 27, 2023
- Podcast Episode 199 – L.A.B. Golf Putters - September 27, 2023
- PXG 0317 T Irons Review - September 26, 2023
Thanks Matt, as someone who’s struggled putting into my senior years your your review brings me hope
that the PXG closer offers style flair and grip and weight options I can find THE putter of my dreams. Keep up the good work. Have to put my ping to bed/
Thanks Matt. I just received my Closer in 33.5″ and the PXG Pistol 1 putter grip. I am super impressed with the feel, the “swing-ability”, the forgiveness and most importantly for me, the ability to align the putter consistently well. I had the PXG One & Done and the Black Jack. Both were excellent putters but I really had to double and triple check alignment with the black head. For some bizarre reason, I can really see the angles and position of the head really well and quickly with a silver putter head. The swing weight is great and comfortable and lies on the ground so well…Evnroll putters , not so much for me… great feel and nice sound that makes it easy to gage speed and distance.