Review: MxV1 Putter

Unconventionally Straight
It only takes a glance to see that the MxV1 is not a conventional putter.  It looks more like a mini-toboggan than a putter.  The flat sole and curved up face give it a very unique look.  The rolled face is unlike any other putter you can find on the market.  The single bend shaft goes in fairly straight in the center of the head and the matte black body has a number of cut outs.  The design of the putter almost allows it to stand by itself when soled.  There are a number of features in this putter designed to hit the ball straight every time.  While the look is unconventional, the function is pure straight roll.
There is a slight learning curve with this putter.  If you are one of those golfers that has the toe or heel of your putter in the air at address, you will need to change your set-up. It really works best when the putter is sitting flat. The MxV putter is designed when soled flat to have you right over the sight line on every putt.   It has a couple of alignment aids to help square up to your target: a ball-sized cut out on the back and 3 slashes on the top.
 

MxV suggests a three step method to putting with their putter.  The first is to sole the putter.  Now every putter is soled, but this putter is designed to be soled perfectly flat on the ground to get your eyes in the proper position over the ball.  If you use it as intended; it works.  Your eye line is in the perfect position.  That may mean some golfers might have to adjust their posture and address spacing, but any putting coach will tell you how important eye position is.

The second suggestion is to press forward with the grip.  I found that there is a happy medium that needs to be found in order to get the best roll on the ball.  If you have too much forward press it kind of drives the ball into the ground and not enough you don’t really notice much forward roll benefit.  I found just pressing my hands about 1.5″ was really all I needed.

The final detail for proper use of this putter is a sweeping motion.  They suggest a pendulum type swing is best with this set-up.  Not a big surprise that a shoulder rocking pendulum swing is ideal, that really is an ideal stroke for most putters.  If you get too wristy with your stroke, you also can drive the ball into the ground.  It only takes a little practice to get comfortable with the Sole, Press and Sweep putting method.

Taking this new putter to the course led to some really interesting results.  The greens I played on were a mixture of super speedy to rather slow and shaggy this spring.  It didn’t really seem to matter the course conditions; this is the straightest putter I have ever used.   It appeared to offer the fastest forward roll of any putter, even more than some other forward roll technology infused putters. The toboggan shape seems to grab the ball and just throw it forward.  It was excellent on both slow and fast greens.  The ball just goes straight off the face.  It seemed very difficult to do anything other than hit it straight on my line.

There is only one downside of this putter and that is getting the stroke figure out on long putts.  My pendelum stroke seemed to break down a little bit when I had a very long putt that I needed to strike hard.  I had a tendency to hit the ball into the ground and it would pop up and roll forward, but not smoothly, nor with enough speed to reach the hole.  I worked hard at getting the long putts figure out, but was probably only 75% successful.  I think that maybe with a few more rounds I’d get better, but even then it seems to take more precision on long putts to hit it just right than a conventional putter.

The upside though is how many 10 footers I drained.  I had my best putting from 10′ and in I’ve ever had.  I simply drained everything.  It was “sole, press and sweep” straight into the bottom of the hole 95% of my 10′ or less putts.  The easy alignment, the proper eye position and the rolled face just put a smooth forward roll on the ball stroke after stroke.

It has a very distinct sound.  It is a true “ping” at impact.  The putter does have a slightly hollow feel, which is really no surprise based on the design.  The headweight feels really nice, and the grip is a solid offering.  It is a midsize grip that just feels good in the hands.  The headcover is interesting, but because of the design a conventional cover won’t work either.  It wraps around the front of the toboggan and folds around the back with magnets.

If you need putts to go straighter and are willing to put in a little practice time; you will not find straighter forward rolling putter than the MxV1 putters.  It is unconventional, but it simply drains putts inside of 10 feet with ease.

For more information: www.mxvgolf.com

Quick Hits
+Super straight roll
+Easy distance control
+Metal face
+Easy to align
+Excellent from 10′ and in

–Long putts were inconsistent contact