Gear: Never Compromise Reserve putters
Price: $449 each
Specs: Milled 303 stainless steel with adjustable sole weights
Available: February 16
Who It’s For: Golfers who want a premium milled putter that is precisely fitted to match their setup, stroke type and visual preferences.
The Skinny: The Never Compromise putter franchise returns with several classic-looking models to choose from and a commitment to helping golfers find a putter that is personally sized and balanced to help them hole more putts.
The Deep Dive: Most avid golfers have accepted the idea that getting custom fit for woods and irons is the best way to ensure that the clubs in your bag match your swing and help you hit lower scores, but too many players fail to get fit for the club they use the most, their putter. Under the best of circumstances, elite players will hit more than twice as many putts as drivers, so they demand a putter that combines the perfect length, balance and looks, but recreational golfers may need to use their putter 35 to 40 times per round (or more). Yet, they still buy putters off the rack.
Dunlop Sports, the parent company of Cleveland, Srixon and Xxio, is bringing back the Never Compromise putter family in 2024, and in addition to offering meticulously made flat sticks, Never Compromise wants to help more golfers get fit for their putter.
The gray area on the dark-finished Never Compromise 3 putter is the width of a golf ball to help golfers align shots more easily. (Cleveland)
Never Compromise Reserve putters, which will only be sold in select pro shops, will come in a Tour Satin finish and a black with a golf ball-width grey area in the center that will be familiar to golfers who remember players like Vijay Singh winning with Never Compromise in the 2000s. Each of the four different head shapes will look familiar, and all the Never Compromise putters are milled from 303 stainless steel for a soft, premium feel.
But instead of picking up a Never Compromise Reserve putter, hitting a few putts with it on the pro shop carpet and walking to the cash register, golfers will need to go through a fitting process before making their purchase. Once they get into their putting posture and setup, the fitter will have them hold the top of an NC Fitting Tool, which is basically a putter on a sliding stand. It allows the fitter to measure the ideal length and lie angle for each player.
In the sole of all Never Compromise putters, like these #1s, are weights fitters can change to adjust the club’s swing weight. (Cleveland)
Once the ideal length and lie angle are discovered, golfers can pick between three toe-hang blades and two face-balanced offerings based on their swing type (slight arc or straight) before the fitter swaps out adjustable weights in the sole to create the ideal swing weight.
At the end of the process, the player will have a putter that not only is appealing to his or her eyes but also is made to their precise specifications, which should put them in a position to make a better stroke and hole more putts.
