Andy DevaneyThere are few sights in golf quite as irritating as a perfectly respectable putting stroke producing a ball that sets off in entirely the wrong direction. You read the green, settle over the ball, make what feels like a decent movement, and watch another perfectly good opportunity disappear.
The putter face, naturally, has other ideas.
Performance Golf reckons its RS1 putter could help address that particular nuisance by changing something fundamental about the club: where the weight sits in relation to the shaft.
Rather than concentrating mass behind the shaft axis, as many conventional designs do, the RS1 places more than 75 per cent of its 360-gram head weight in front of it.
Performance Golf calls the arrangement Forward Axis Weighting. Its central argument is that gravity can help encourage the putter face towards square during the stroke, reducing the amount of corrective movement required from the golfer.
It’s an interesting proposition in a market already crowded with putters promising greater stability. The question is how much difference that unusual weight distribution makes once a golfer starts moving the club.
Why the RS1 putter puts its weight ahead of the shaft
Face control has become one of the defining battlegrounds in modern putter design.
Traditional putters often position their centre of gravity behind the shaft axis. Depending on the design and the golfer’s stroke, this can contribute to rotational tendencies that the player must manage through the hands and forearms.
The growing interest in zero-torque putters reflects an attempt to reduce that unwanted movement. By bringing the centre of gravity closer to the shaft axis, designers aim to limit the twisting forces acting on the head.
Performance Golf has approached the same problem from another direction.
The RS1 shifts its mass distribution forward, creating what the company describes as a gravitational influence that encourages the face towards square rather than simply resisting rotation.
Chris McGinley, the designer behind the RS1, has more than 30 years of golf equipment experience, including time at Titleist. His design work has contributed to equipment used by 11 players who reached World No. 1.
“For generations, putters have been built with most of the weight behind the shaft, which can make it harder to keep the face square through the stroke,” explained McGinley.
“With the RS1, we flipped that thinking and put 75 percent of the head weight in front of the shaft axis. That forward weighting creates a force that works against the golfer’s natural tendency to open the face. Every gram in this putter is positioned for a reason.”
The distinction matters because reducing face rotation and actively encouraging a square face are different design objectives.
The RS1 is built around the latter, although the extent to which that translates into improved putting accuracy remains a question for independent testing.
The Hammerhead design has a purpose beyond appearance
The RS1’s unusual head shape is a consequence of the engineering.
Its 10-piece, multi-material Hammerhead construction combines a CNC-machined steel face with a carbon-composite crown and lightweight aluminium tail wings.
Those lighter rear components allow more mass to be positioned towards the front of the head without abandoning the overall shape and structural features of the putter.
A sculpted T-Wing tail removes further weight from behind the shaft axis, reinforcing the company’s forward-weighting approach.
It’s a fairly elaborate arrangement for a club whose job, at least in theory, is to move a stationary ball a relatively short distance.
Then again, golfers have spent considerably more money trying to solve considerably smaller problems.
Performance Golf has also incorporated sole-relief zones intended to reduce the risk of the head catching the turf during the stroke.
The company groups these features under its Roll Str8 Technology name, although the defining element remains the distribution of mass relative to the shaft.
A more upright setup and a clearer view of the face
Weighting is only part of the RS1’s design philosophy.
The putter has a 74-degree lie angle, compared with the 70-degree benchmark cited by Performance Golf. That more upright configuration is intended to encourage a shorter stroke arc and reduce face rotation.
It is a meaningful departure from a more conventional setup, particularly for golfers accustomed to a pronounced arcing stroke.
Whether the change feels comfortable will depend on the individual player’s posture, hand position and preferred putting motion.
Alignment has also received attention.
T-Trac alignment markings extend from the rear section towards the striking face, while the Face Forward configuration positions the shaft behind the face to provide a clearer view of the intended contact area.
The patented Dual Pistol Grip features flat upper and lower surfaces with curved sides. Performance Golf says the shape is designed to reduce excessive grip pressure and unwanted wrist involvement.
It accommodates conventional, cross-handed and claw putting grips, offering some flexibility despite the putter’s relatively distinctive geometry.
Taken together, these details suggest McGinley has designed the RS1 as a complete putting system rather than simply fitting an unusual head to a standard shaft.
Strong early sales, but performance is another question
Performance Golf says the RS1 has sold more than 15,000 units since 13 May, averaging more than 100 putters per day.
The company also expects sales to exceed 50,000 during the product’s first 12 months.
John Hardesty, Performance Golf’s chief marketing officer, says the response has surpassed expectations.
“The response to the RS1 has exceeded our expectations,” said Hardesty.
The company has also produced custom RS1 putters for Steph Curry, Jason Kelce, Colin Jost, Charles Barkley and Rob Mac, among others, at the American Century Championship.
Those names provide some useful visibility for the product, although a custom putter is not evidence of competitive adoption or improved performance.
Nor do sales figures establish how effectively the design controls the face compared with a conventional or zero-torque alternative.
That distinction is especially important in an equipment category where personal preference and confidence at address can influence buying decisions as strongly as engineering claims.
The RS1’s forward-weighting concept is certainly unusual enough to deserve attention. Establishing whether it produces consistently better results across different putting strokes requires more than a manufacturer’s explanation.
Performance Golf RS1 price, specifications and availability
The standard RS1 is priced at $399, placing it firmly in premium putter territory.
The announced specifications include:
- Head weight: 360g, with more than 75% positioned forward of the shaft axis
- Construction: 10-piece, multi-material Hammerhead head
- Lie angle: 74 degrees
- Loft: 3.5 degrees
- Standard length: 35 inches
- Shaft: Stepless steel
- Handedness: Right- and left-handed models
- Grip: Dual Pistol Grip
Performance Golf has also announced additional shaft options from 1 November, including a 34-inch model, a 38-inch mid-length version and a 46-inch broomstick configuration.
Further details are available at Performance Golf.
At $399, the RS1 represents a substantial investment in a particular theory of face control. Its appeal is likely to be strongest among golfers who struggle with unwanted face rotation or find the conventional putting stroke demands too much intervention from their hands.
But a suitable fitting and proper comparison with other designs would be sensible before deciding that forward weighting is the answer.
After all, the putting green has a remarkable ability to expose the difference between a clever idea and a holed putt.
