Boccieri Golf - Small Company, Big Ideas…Heavy Putters

Golfers today are constantly bombarded with fancy marketing messages from equipment manufactures vying for their business. Amidst all the flash and hype, how can the average player know what will actually help their game? It can be difficult to differentiate the gimmicks from those products that offer a true technological advancement. One company that is absolutely the “real deal” and worth checking out is Boccieri Golf: maker of the Heavy Putter.

In order to truly value the Heavy Putter you must get to know its inventor, Stephen Boccieri. A scratch golfer and nuclear engineer, Boccieri applied the skills from his day job to his passion, spending his spare time evaluating equipment from all major manufacturers. He was puzzled by the structural inconsistencies that existed across the board and soon began modifying the equipment to improve performance, an admittedly self serving task as he was searching for ways to better his own game.

Boccieri’s background enabled him to focus on engineering principles, applying them to the construction of golf clubs, specifically the putter. Following exhaustive experiments, he found that adding weight to a putter was the most effective way to promote a consistent swing path. The key, however, was not adding mass just to the head, but also in the grip end of the shaft, thus raising the club’s balance point 75 percent higher than conventional models.

The counter-balance moved the putter’s center of gravity closer to the golfer’s, promoting exceptional stability during the stroke. The combination of increased mass in the head and grip gave the putter enough total weight to engage the larger muscle groups and disengage the small wrist and hand muscles. This change leads to a consistent, pendulum stroke which breeds repetition and more accurate putts.

Following extensive testing and model designs, the “Original” Heavy Putter was released in late 2004 at a weight of 900 grams, nearly twice that of a conventional putter. It immediately garnered attention from top professionals worldwide. Troy Matteson put a model in play on the Nationwide Tour and skyrocketed to the top of the 2005 money list.

In 2006, Boccieri Golf released its second Heavy Putter line, the “Matte” series, identical in appearance, technology and weighting to the Original series, but featuring a non-reflective gray surface that helped to keep sun out of the eyes. That same year, the Heavy Putter experienced a landmark moment when Matteson won the PGA Tour’s Frys.com Open, causing a snowball effect as more professionals began relying on Heavy Putter after witnessing its performance-enhancing capabilities.

“I started putting with one and thought, man, this thing is awesome,” says Matteson. “The biggest thing anyone who tries the Heavy Putter will find is that it improves your speed. And any time you can improve your speed, you’re going to make more putts.”

The next evolution came in late 2007, when the company introduced the Deep Face or “DF” Series. A mixture of classic and cutting-edge designs, the DF models feature a face one-quarter inch taller than standard putters. This positioning more closely aligns the equator of the golf ball with the “sweet spot” of the clubface, allowing for an optimal transfer of energy and improved putting. The line was so well received that the company released a second version, the DF “Black,” featuring a rich “PVD” finish.

In 2009, the company decided to “take to the street” and get real feedback, crafting a putter line that answered all consumer demands – the MID-WEIGHT Series.

“We really did our homework to launch the MID-WEIGHT Series, conducting research across the country to drill down exactly what golfers are looking for in a putter,” says Boccieri. “The results from extensive player testing were astounding, with seven-out-of-10 players preferring to have the new MID-WEIGHT Series in their bag. It’s lighter than previous Heavy Putter models, but still has enough mass to promote consistency, which appeals to a wide variety of players.”

The MID-WEIGHT Series features five classic designs available in a silver satin or black “PVD” finish. Each putter clocks in at 750 grams – less than the company’s original lines but still more than a conventional offering (500 grams). The reception for the MID-WEIGHT Series has been overwhelmingly positive. When it debuted on the PGA European Tour the brand’s usage increased 250 percent, a staggering statistic considering Heavy Putter is already a popular choice in Europe.

In just a few years, the Heavy Putter went from Stephen Boccieri’s basement to worldwide acclaim. The company’s products are available in all 50 states and more than 30 overseas markets on six continents. It has received awards from golf’s most respected publications and is found in many of the finest off-course shops, prestigious facilities, country clubs and resorts worldwide and has captured victories on the PGA, European, Nationwide, Asian, Canadian and European Challenge Tours.