YOUR PUTTING GIMMICK-O-METER SHOULD BE GOING CRAZY!

By Doug McAllister

Marketers are all about gimmicks. Their job is to find a bigger fool and get them to buy a whole lotta whatever it is that they're sellin'. In this case the marketers work for Taylor Made Golf and what they're sellin' is an expensive new putter by Kia Ma.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against real quality. My problem is...well...let's just get to the point at hand.

The new Kia Ma Rossa Putters are an interesting combination of a high-tech, milled head with Rossa's trademark AGSI insert and movable weights. I'll give them the movable weights. Taylor Made has become famous in recent years for their movable weights. But it's the AGSI insert that caught my attention and got me thinking. The insert is what ultimately comes in contact with the ball, right? So why go to the exorbitant cost of a "100% Milled" putter head if the contact with the ball is an AGSI insert that is found in any of Rossa's less expensive models?

I had to check out the difference for myself. Accordingly, I went to my local golf retailer and compared, head-to-head, Rossa's Core Classics Daytona with the new Rossa TP Kia Ma Daytona with the AGSI insert. The comparison—at least where my experience is concerned—showed that...can I get a drum roll, please...THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE IN FEEL OR PERFORMANCE BETWEEN THE ROSSA CORE CLASSICS DAYTONA AND ITS FAR PRICIER KIA MA COUNTERPART. NONE!!!! What we have here, it seems, is the putting gimmick of gimmicks—an inexpensive, though effective, AGSI insert housed in an ultra-expensive milled putter head. Nothing more!

The good news is that, if you want the excellent feel and performance of Rossa's AGSI inserts, they can be had at a considerably lower price in any of the Rossa Core Classics Models. And, if you want the superior performance and precision of a totally milled putter look no further than Rossa's original TP Kia Ma putters!

Avoid putting the two together in Rossa's new Kia Ma offering. You're smarter than that anyway, right?

So go with the inexpensive Rossa and putt 'em long and straight (except, of course, if you've got a testy breaker that needs just a nudge!).