The Secret Behind EvnRoll Golf Putters

Most golfers are familiar with the term “drive for show, putt for dough.”

The term highlights that putting and, in particular, good putting is crucial to helping us shoot lower scores.

If putting is so important, how much time would you allocate to finding a new golf putter compared to any other golf club in your golf bag you were looking to replace?

Do you have specific criteria you follow in your choosing process?

Would you consider being custom-fitted for your next putter?

From a manufacturer’s perspective, they strive for improved putter performance in several ways, using different technologies and styles to help us hole more putts.

The individual nature of putters and putting means that in this market, major manufacturers, such as Odyssey and TaylorMade, compete with smaller specialised putter companies.

The specialised, smaller putter company was trailblazed by Scotty Cameron. Although he is now part of the Titleist Golf empire, he still runs the show, creating high-end putters that some consider also pass as works of art.

However, there are others in the Cameron mould creating designs and golf putter technology, and one in particular forms the focus of our article. Guerin Rife may not be as familiar a name to golfers as Scotty Cameron. Still, Rife has been designing putters for over 30 years and has perfected enhanced roll putters with a clever groove pattern, which we’ll look at in more detail shortly.

Rife’s company is called EvnRoll, and to help you understand why we feel these putters are worth serious consideration, we’ll concentrate on three key areas:

• Who Are EvnRoll Putters?
• The Technology Within EvnRoll Putters
• The EvnRoll Range

Who Are EvnRoll Putters?

Guerin Rife didn’t come from a golf or engineering background. He was a marketing man working for one of the biggest agencies in the world.

Rife was a keen golfer and started getting involved in project work for golf companies in his then-marketing professional capacity. He was tinkering with an idea for a golf putter, which he considered really basic at the time. He wanted to create a putter head where a golfer could easily scoop up their golf ball without bending over to pick it up.

He took a mallet design and removed most of the rear section, allowing the golfer to scoop the ball up. Rife didn’t know it then, but he had created the world’s first cavity mallet design, and by 1996, he had his prototype ready.

“True Blue,” as Rife christened the putter because he painted the prototype blue, featured groove lines across the face. He created the grooves to help the ball roll more effectively, and those groove lines are highly significant in the eventual evolution of EvnRoll putters, but there was an important stepping stone beforehand.

Rife set up his own company, the Rife Putter Company, in 2000, designing precision-milled putters. The putters featured groove technology that Rife had constantly been working on. Still, there was no major interest in his putters until 2002.

Odyssey’s famous 2-ball putter was launched in 2002. Seeing how many players were using it, Rife devised his own take. The golf putter he produced was known as the 2-bar, a clever play on words of the Odyssey design—remember, Rife’s background was in marketing. Rife got an important foothold in the putter market.

Rife Putters continued adding designs to their range and improving the groove technology until 2009, when Guerin Rife decided to sell the company.

However, Rife wasn’t finished with putter design and, more importantly, his groove technology. In 2016, EvnRoll began with putters and technology designed by Rife.

EvnRoll putters feature the ultimate rendition of Rife’s work with groove technology, now known as SweetFace technology.

The Technology Behind EvnRoll Putters

The theory of energy loss is similar to what we see in any other club and is something we pay close attention to in a custom fitting process.

Rife worked with a launch monitor designed specifically for putters, Quintic, which could accurately measure how the ball reacted on a centred strike and how it would react if the putt was hit out of the toe or the heel.

His work showed that the ideal smash factor for a putter is 1.7 if hit out of the sweet spot. If contact is made up to three-quarters of an inch away from the sweet spot, the smash factor drops down to 1.5.

In the real world, if you have a 10-foot putt and hit it out the middle, the golf ball will get to the hole. If you slightly mishit your putt out the heel or the toe, the ball isn’t likely to get to the hole.

There is also a saying in golf specific to putting that inadvertently supports this point—“never up, never in.”

Rife’s solution to this problem was simple and elegant.

To remove the loss of energy, Rife thinned the grooves towards the heel and toe section of the face, meaning there was more contact surface from the putter face onto the ball.

Through further testing, Rife saw that putts hit out of the heel or the toe rolled as far as putts hit out the centre. Rife had created a putter face that was friendly to off-centre strikes long before some of the major manufacturers created driver faces that lost little energy on heel or toe strikes.

Through Rife’s continued research on groove thickness, he stumbled upon another area that also became crucial to the success of SweetFace technology: shot dispersion.

You might have read that and thought, “shot dispersion in putting, are you mad?”.

If you think about it, the theory holds. If a putt is hit off-centre, not only will the ball roll poorly and not reach its target, but it will also fall to the right or left through inertia, opening or closing the face at impact.

As Rife worked on his groove thickness principle, he found in early testing putts hit out the toe with a wide groove would end up going left of his intended target, and putts out the heel would end up right of their intended target.

Narrowing the V-shape to the grooves kept the ball online for longer and, therefore, tightened up shot dispersion on putts hit out of either the heel or the toe.

Rife now had a technology that could provide consistent distance control and tighten shot dispersion. The technology was named SweetFace, and the putter performance explains why the company is called EvnRoll.

If you want further proof, go onto YouTube and find a video of an EvnRoll putter being robot-tested. The robot has three putts with an EvnRoll putter, and all three golf balls end up right next to each other.

If SweetFace technology has whetted your appetite, it’s time to explore some of the current range of putters available in the EvnRoll range.

The EvnRoll Range

After learning more about how SweetFace technology can improve consistency in our putting, it’s time to examine the different types of models, finishes, and customisable options available within the current EvnRoll putter range.

The Neo Classic Line

For golfers looking for a traditional model, the Neo Classic ER1.2 could be the perfect partner. This traditional blade-style putter is available in a satin or striking black finish. This simple blade design features an alignment line and two small dots on the leading edge to help you line up your putt.

Continuing with the EvnRoll Neo Classic line, the ER2 model features an S-Bend shaft and a longer front-to-back profile, housing a longer sightline. This particular head shape is considered one of EvnRoll’s most successful designs and is available in satin or black.

The ER2 also has a head option featuring the traditional “plumber-neck” hosel design seen on the ER1.2 to offer more variety.

Next, we come to the ER5 model, featuring a “fang” design similar to the Odyssey White Hot 7 design. The “fangs” work to create higher levels of Moment of Inertia (MOI), keeping the putter face square for longer.

The ER5 model also features 3D milling on the cavity base behind the face and, coupled with the single sightline, will help golfers lineup putts more effectively.

As per the other models, the ER5 can be selected in either a satin or black finish.

Lastly, we come to the ER8 model. A classic mallet design featuring the longest sightline of the Neo Classic series. The mallet design also promotes high MOI qualities, and with an S-bend shaft design, helps create a swing path with little arc.

All golf putters feature tungsten and steel weights positioned in the putter’s sole that can be tailored to any golfer’s needs.

All heads are crafted from soft, 303 stainless steel and feature precision-milled 6061 polymer face inserts housing the SweetFace groove technology for enhanced feel and performance.

Each EvnRoll putter is available in 33, 34, or 35 inches to reflect the fact that all golfers come in different sizes. Getting comfortable in your setup is equally important in putting as it is for any other club in the bag.

Through SweetFace grooves, EvnRoll has combined cutting-edge putter technology in classic designs. Guerin Rife has worked for 25 years, perfecting his groove technology. Golfers now have a putter designed to roll the ball consistently and keep the ball online longer. As we know, if the ball stays online longer, the chances of holing the putt are much higher.

We’re excited about the EvnRoll putter range and are delighted to have them in stock at Nine By Nine Golf.

Check out the EnvRoll range on our website, where you can also customise your chosen putter to suit your game perfectly.

If you have any questions about the EvnRoll putter range or how Sweet Face technology might improve your putting, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help.