Black Lab BL-360 Putter
If it seems like we just recently talked about one of my favorite putters in my collection, the Black Lab BL-2, that’s because we did. It was the first part of my dive into my putter vault here. Given Chip Usher is a good friend of mine and the background of that club, I thought “Chip might be interested that I STILL have plenty to say about that putter.” Well, per usual with my buddy Chip, there’s always something up his sleeve. In short, Chip reminded me of a putter design he was working on awhile ago that was heavily inspired by the classic Tommy Armour Iron Master putters. Fast forward, I’ve added to my collection what is easily one of the coolest putters I own. It’s called the Black Lab BL-360 putter and it’s glorious.
The Looks
As far as going for the vintage-inspired MacGregor Tommy Armour Iron Master putter look, Chip nailed it. The tall neck with a striped ferrule and the flowing small flange really capture the vibe. One difference, albeit very slight, is that the heel-to-toe length is a little shorter for a more compact profile. Fans of Black Lab’s BL-8 will find it looks similar to the BL-360. It’s clear that they are obviously closely related, but I think the BL-360 captures the vintage vibe and makes me realize how much “they really don’t make them like they used to.”
Like any Black Lab Golf putter, you can get custom paint and some stamping done on it to match your style. The face has a perfectly-executed mild fly mill accompanied by an engraved Black Lab dog logo. As expected, the fit and finish is perfect and just so smooth. I know I’m really talking this putter up quite a bit, but it really does look amazing in hand.
How Does it Feel?
The sweet spot is small-ish on the Black Lab BL-360, but it’s sweet and pure. If you consider the overall size of the head/face, of course that sweet spot is going to be smaller. If you miss toward the toe, you feel a notable drop in quality of feel, but that’s the case with most blade putters. I haven’t hit many too deep on the heel, but the sweet spot and balance of the club generally favors that side of the face.
These old-school, thinner, heel-shafted blade putters tend to be lightweight and somewhat unforgiving. In the case of the BL-360, it’s incredibly well balanced and surprisingly easy to make a good stroke with. Chip has found a way to make these heads in this profile but still keep them in the 350-360 gram range. This makes the putter easier to control and more versatile for the contemporary golfers. While I would stick with more of a traditional smaller pistol grip, this heavier weight would also be SuperStroke friendly.
As we approach the sound section, I want to quickly comment on the BL-360’s face. The fly milling is absolutely perfect and exactly what this putter design calls for. It’s just enough to soften up the impact a bit, but still get enough of the “click” at impact for precise feedback in your hands. We’ll pick up this discussion in the next section.
How Does it Sound?
Picking up right where we left off, the Black Lab BL-360 has a fantastic sound as a result of the face milling and face thickness. The thin-ish face gives the sound the presence you need for useful feedback from the strike. Then the “just right” depth of the face milling helps soften the sound up just enough for a smoother tone. Finding the sweet spot results in a really nice and soft muted “tock”. Super clean, perfectly quiet. When you get out toward the toe, the sound doesn’t change a lot, but gets a little sharper with a touch more “click”.
On-Course Performance
Typically, I’d say this style of blade requires you to have pretty good hands and a good putting stroke. Thin, heel-shafted blades aren’t exactly notorious for bailing you out of putting mistakes. I don’t care how much Phil has won with putters like this, it’s the truth. BUT, as a result of many of the factors we’ve already discussed, I’m extremely impressed with how easy the Black Lab BL-360 is to putt with. With a good stance, grip, and stroke, the putter naturally stayed quiet for me and stayed on its path. I was able to fully trust in the putter and just focus on hitting my targets. Which I did and had impressive accuracy. If I’m perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting this level control out of this putter. I was wrong and I’m not mad at it at all.
In addition to an easy stroke, the BL-360 rolls the ball incredibly well. I feel it’s one of those things you just know when you see it. Of course, there are scientific ways to prove that, but when you see that tight end-over-end roll and the ball seems to have missile lock on your target, you just know. This is the kind of roll I see with the BL-360 and it’s exactly what I look for out of my putters.
Final Thoughts – Black Lab BL-360 Putter
I saved sharing any thoughts or reactions to the Black Lab BL-360 putter with Chip until I had time to fully digest it and start this write up. In the middle of writing this, it fully dawned on me how impressed I was with this thing. I can’t come up with anything I don’t like about it so far. It’s milled out of a solid billet of 303 stainless, feels incredible with the sound to match, and rolls the ball very nicely. My plans were to put this in my vintage bag and largely have it as a collection piece. However, following this testing/messing around, I fully intend on putting this in the bag on some sort of regular basis. At the very least, the Black Lab BL-360 will be a ton of fun to play with and a cool reminder of a good friend.
Great review Bill and your pictures are always very crisp!