50 Words or Less
The TimberTouch Putterworks Woodford putter is more than just a work of art, it’s solid on the performance front. Ample forgiveness and a wonderful roll. Very satisfying sound and feel.
Introduction
As is obvious from the first photo, let alone the company name, TimberTouch Putterworks putters are made from wood. Why wood? A suggestion from his son started Dean Larsen on a journey of combining his engineering skills with his artistic aspirations to craft putters made from wood. And just like designers of metal putters, Dean utilizes CAD (Computer Aided Design) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) for initial concepts, then moves on to trials using various woods and finishes. Are the putters more than just a beautiful conversation piece? Keep reading to find out.
Looks
The TimberTouch Putterworks Woodford putter I tested is simply beautiful. The exotic zebrawood used in the top, face, and base has wonderful dark striations that pair nicely with the mahogany and maple layers of the body. Olivewood inlays on the top provide appealing alignment aids.
Deep and rounded, the head shape of the Woodford is unique in its solid simplicity. The silhouette brings to mind some sort of marriage between an old Odyssey Two-Ball and a PXG Battle Ready Gunboat [review HERE].
Discussing a wood putter, I think it’s worth noting that it is finished with eight layers of weather grade polyurethane. The finish looks deep and elegant without being glossy. After multiple test sessions, I haven’t noticed any dents or scratches. Here’s what TimberTouch has to say about durability on their website: “Do baseball bats dent when hit with a 100 mph fastball? No. Quality wood will give and return to the original shape.”
Sound & Feel
I fully expected the TimberTouch Putterworks Woodford putter to sound woodsy, yet interestingly, its sound was very similar to most metal, milled putters. There’s a hint of organic resonance, but nothing that would cause a casual listener to turn their head. Well-struck putts inside 20 feet produced a quiet ‘tick.’ The sound was a bit louder on longer putts. Towards the toe, putts sounded a tad hollow – maybe leaning towards that woodsy expectation I had. Towards the heel the sound became muddled.
Contact felt firm with the Woodford. Intuitively I knew the face was softer than a steel milled one, but at putter speed that wasn’t discernible to my hands. Regardless, that solid feel, along with the sound element, made centered contact very satisfying. Out towards the toe there was notable vibration through the shaft.
Performance
Using precisely positioned internal weighting, the TimberTouch Putterworks Woodford putter is face balanced, and with its size, best suited for straight back, straight through putting strokes. TimberTouch states the “Face-balanced design ensures maximum control and precision, allowing you to feel every stroke with confidence and grace.”
At 390 grams, the Woodford putter head felt somewhat heavier than my gamer, but I liked the steady path it produced, making execution of my intended stroke seem effortless. I was also impressed with the forgiveness.
TimberTouch putters utilize 2 degrees of loft on their laser etched faces. From their testing, the combination of wood face hardness (technical term) and loft reduces skid by about 33% when compared to “a variety of standard putters.” I can’t validate these findings, but I can say the Woodford put a very nice roll on the ball.
Conclusion
To answer my opening question, yes, the TimberTouch Putterworks Woodford putter is solid in the performance department as well. I’m also confident most every golfer would enjoy the sound and feel. And for those that really want to stand out in a crowd (or at least their foursome), I can’t think of a better way to garner attention. But being different is a tough transactional hurdle at $350 when compared to other similarly priced boutique brands. That said, TimberTouch Putters are distinctively different, and worthy of consideration beyond their aesthetic beauty.
Visit TimberTouch Putterworks HERE
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8 Comments
interesting review. I had a wood putter many years ago (when I actually thought clubs alone were the only reason I wasn’t a great golfer!). Totally didn’t work for me, the model I had was way too light & therefore my hands, which aren’t the most steady in the world, didn’t work well with it. Additionally, golf can be rough on clubs & even though it has a cover, the mere act of playing & riding around can be rough on clubs. I noticed my new chips and nicks in the club after a few months & once that happened on the face, I had to get rid of it.
Not saying this would happen with this putter as I’m sure improvements have been made over the years. Just not for me. The price also could be a turn off given the fact that realistically, this club maybe hard to sell on the secondary market.
Greetings Mike. Dean from TimberTouch here. We only use the most resilient of exotic hardwoods for our putter faces. Between that and 8+ coats of hard polyurethane, I have never seen a chip or dent on any of our putter faces. Quality exotic hardwood will flex a bit and return to the original shape when struck vs painted metal (I just checked out my old spider and the many chips after 1-2 seasons confirmed my thoughts).
Thanks for the post and hopefully we can bring you back to a classic wood putter soon!
What happens when it gets wet? Or what happens when it deals with extreme temperature changes?? I would feel like these are the most important questions…
I can tell you that water beads up on the finish. I don’t have any concern with damp conditions. I can’t attest to extreme temps, but I sure can’t think of an issue that might impact.
Thanks for reading.
– Meeks
This putter looks beautiful and if it performs as well as this review says, it might be heavy consideration for my putter for this season. All of the different color and shape choices make this putter stand out compared to everything offered on the market. Such an impressive putter from a one man company, great job TimberTouch Putterworks!
Greetings. Dean from TimberTouch Putterworks here. The coatings we use are marine grade and with 8+ thin coats, our putters are VERY well protected from the elements. A simple wipe after the round will suffice. I have seen our putters be left in a wet club cover for weeks with no issue (although I would not recommend that for any club).
Heat will definitely not be of concern. All components used can handle much hotter then a trunk in AZ and we have never had a return due to club failure.
Between the quality exotic woods, plied and adhered construction, internal weighting structure, and premium coatings, these putters are really robust and daily use friendly.
Thanks, Dean.
This has to be the best looking putter on the market today. The look, feel, and roll are better than anything from the big name putter manufacturers. As with any golf equipment purchase you are making an investment. So, taking care of that investment is essential. Just looking at the attention to detail and the superior construction of these putters, they will last a long time. This putter is not only aesthetically pleasing, but gives me the confidence to play my best game.
This putter looks awesome!! I work in the wood industry and was gifted some years ago with a Musty wood putter. They use many different wood combinations, and the feel is great. It certainly is a head turner and topic of conversation, especially because it is engraved with the logo of my college alma mater. Anybody who has tried it has commented on how good it feels and well it puts. I have thought many times about switching to the latest technology but keep going back to wood. Thanks for a great review! I will have to give TimberTouch a try.