50 Words or Less
The Strokes Gained Simon Islands putter is a beautifully crafted Anser-style putter. Fully milled from carbon steel. Great feel. Lots of custom options.
Introduction
If you really love golf, the idea of making it your occupation has immense appeal. For Neil Rohrbach and Jimmy Bales, that appeal was too great to resist. You can learn all about their new company, Strokes Gained Customs HERE, and get an in-depth look at one of their first putter designs, the Simon Islands, in this review.
Looks
The Simon Islands putter by Strokes Gained is a well-executed Anser-style putter. All the proportions are correct, and the lines are smooth and flowing.
Where Strokes Gained makes their putters pop is in the finishing. They offer traditional black oxide and oil can finishes and more exotic variations that they’ve developed. You can also customize the stamping, paint fill, and alignment features to fit your preferences. To see the full range of their creative abilities, check out their Instagram page HERE.
Sound & Feel
Neil Rohrbach told me that to know what made a Strokes Gained putter unique, I’d need to roll one for myself. Since I can’t ship my putter to each of you reading this, I’ll describe the feel in this way: it’s exactly what a putter should feel like. This is a solid block of carbon steel milled into a classic shape with moderate-depth face milling. It’s warm butter soft and retains the quietest “tock” when you strike it on the center. The responsiveness is something you can only get from a milled putter – miss the sweet spot by the smallest margin and you’ll know it.
Performance
If you’re reading this review, it’s extremely likely that you’ve rolled a heel-toe weighted blade putter before. The Simon Islands putter by Strokes Gained Customs is not different in any measurable way. There’s some forgiveness on mishits, but you need to stay near the center of the face for the best results. The 45 degree toe hang works best with a stroke that has some amount of arc to it.
The reasons to put a Strokes Gained Customs putter in your bag aren’t the measurables. You’ll put one of these in your bag because putting with it is more pleasurable than putting with something off the rack. You’ll put it in your bag because you can customize the performance elements (loft, lie, length, alignment features) and that will help your putting. You’ll put it in your bag because you can customize the look to match your mental picture of the perfect putter. And you’ll put it in the bag because the confidence you get from putting with your own one-of-one putter is priceless.
Conclusion
If you want a putter that’s made in America and made just for you, I would highly recommend looking into Strokes Gained Customs. This young company is made of people just like us, guys who love the game and simply want to leave their mark on it.
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Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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Milled carbon steel putter I get it. That had me right there I love the feel of that type of putter I have a RIFE 450 Silencer that is very much in that ballpark. I don’t understand why they use sloppy hand stamped lettering. I guess I don’t get what they are trying to say with that. Is that some kind of “tip of the hat” to old TP Mills putters? Everything else about the putter is quality the mill work and finish is great and I’m sure took many hours to do only to then deface it with that sloppy touch at the end. I would rather have it plane with no lettering. Other than that it’s a work of art.
Tom,
It’s just a stylistic preference. Strokes Gained is more than capable of stamping in straight lines or not stamping the putter at all, if that’s what you’d prefer.
Best,
Matt
Another boutique putter company who likes to throw the word “Tour” around to overcharge you. There’s nothing innovative about these putters, just another Anser style putter with some Cameron style stamping, that’s all.
I can get a nicer putter from Byron Morgan or Lamont Mann. If I want a Cameron clone, I just buy a Cameron.