It didn’t take long for rising star putter maker Logan Olson to unveil his first new creation since tying up with one of golf’s biggest brands.
Olson announced his new Craft Batch No. 3 release on Thursday, just two days after TaylorMade revealed its acquisition of Olson’s putter company.
With the announcement came the news that the 27-year-old Olson, already one of the hottest names in bespoke putters, would remain the “Principal Designer” of all Olson products and that he would continue to work on future Craft Batch releases. The first two Craft Batch releases go for more than $1,000 on the secondary market.
Here are five things to know about Olson’s latest release: the Craft Batch No. 3 blade putter.
A new “Flumber’s” Neck
The two most popular neck designs on blade putters are typically plumber’s necks (also known as L-necks) or flow necks. Of the two, plumber’s necks are significantly more common as they offer moderate amounts of toe hang and a full shaft of offset to help the player keep their hands in front of the ball.
Flow necks offer increased toe flow for players who like to feel more rotation in the stroke while reducing the offset for players who have strong forward presses.
With his new “Flumber’s” neck, Olson has blended the positive benefits of both designs to improve feel and acoustics.
This produces a putter that has fairly significant toe hang but preserves the offset so it doesn’t require the player to have a strong forward press. Also, because of the bend in the neck, the point where the shaft and neck meet, and form the “L” shape, is away from the ball, making sure every player can see the entirety of the ball at address.
Grooves and milling
Most putters, specifically blades, these days have a milling pattern on the face designed to soften the feel and provide a more true roll. If they don’t, you’re likely to find a putter with grooves or a face insert to help the ball roll end over end.
Craft Batch No. 3 features both a milled face and a horizontal groove pattern that further enhances the putter’s ability to get the ball rolling end over end.
Sole Channel
Picking up the putter and looking at the bottom, you’ll see a large channel milled out of the heel side of the putter sole. This was done very strategically to optimize the feel and sound of the putter.
Olson used the channel because he found the center of gravity on a typical blade putter isn’t actually in the center of the club face due to an imbalance of weight created by the neck. By milling out the channel on the heel side underneath the neck, the mass is offset, allowing the CG to be positioned in the exact center of the face.
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