Sub 70 Sycamore 005 Wide Blade Putter Review

Sub 70 Sycamore 005 Wide Blade Putter

If you’re asking me, and you must be because you’re here reading this review, Sub 70 Golf has one of the best values going when it comes to putters. These guys are offering a wide range of different shapes and sizes of putters that are CNC milled out of single blocks of 1045 carbon steel for under $200. You’re just not going to find anyone else doing that right now. Especially with the range of options that Sub 70 has to offer. On top of all of that, the putters are high quality and look great. This is how I ended up bringing a Sub 70 Sycamore 005 putter into my life. A good friend of mine recently put this wide blade putter into his bag and it impressed me so much that I had to try one out for myself. And let me tell you, it’s a good one.

The Looks

It’s funny, while wide body blade shapes have been around for quite some time, they’ve only recently started to click with my eye. When I look at the wide body of the Sub 70 Sycamore 005, it gives a sense of “quiet and smooth” like it just wants to float through the putting stroke. Almost like it’s a glider smoothly soaring above the ground. It gives you that confident feeling, but maintains a profile closer to a blade than a mallet, which might appeal to the blade player seeking a little more forgiveness without committing to a larger mallet profile.

Worth noting is the matte black finish that looks slick, but also prevents sun glare so you won’t be blinded standing over a putt. Top that off with a matte black shaft shaft and you’re in business. Of course, if you’d rather, you can also choose the Sub 70 multi-material graphite/steel shaft. Speaking of shaft options, you can choose between double bend or single bend in eithersteel or multi-material. This is going to impact your offset at address as well as the toe hang of the putter.

Flip the putter over and you’ll find minimal Sub 70 branding with the signature Sycamore leaf. Also visible are the two adjustable sole weights which we’ll discuss in the next section.

How Does it Feel?

If there’s a textbook way a carbon steel putter with a medium face milling should feel at impact, the Sub 70 Sycamore 005 putter is it. When the ball strikes the face, there’s plenty of precision and feedback, but there’s a certain “absorbing” characteristic that makes it feel softer. Definitely not marshmallowy, but there’s a real pleasant response when the ball meets the face. In the case of this 005, the sweet spot is fairly generous so you can sneak away from dead center a little bit and still maintain that pleasant feeling.

One of the real values in the 005 Sycamore is the included weight kit. You try finding another $179 putter that comes with a full weight kit and weight tool. You can’t. Swapping the weights out will definitely influence how the putter feels. So if you prefer a heavier or lighter head, you can swap weights around to dial in the feel you’re looking for. Or you can get nuts and try different combinations of weights, like a 20g on the toe side and a 5g on the heel, to influence the arc of the stroke. I’m boring and felt best with the stock 15g weights in each spot.

How Does it Sound?

Like the feel, the Sub 70 Sycamore 005 Wide Blade has a textbook carbon steel sound as well. I’d best describe it as a direct, yet calm “tock” when you strike the sweet spot. As you venture more toward to toe and heel, that sound will definitely sharpen up letting you know you didn’t hit such a great putt. For what it’s worth, the 005 is my favorite sounding Sub 70 putter out of the entire lineup. I’m not sure if it’s the extra body of wider profile, but it really does deliver an excellent sound.

On-Course Performance

When I mentioned in the Looks section that the Sub 70 Sycamore 005 seemed almost as it was gliding/floating through the putting stroke, I felt that really applied to the putter’s performance. There was a high level of balance and control which resulted in a quiet and consistent stroke. Not too unlike a high-MOI mallet. That’s sort of the beauty of the 005 Wide Blade putter. There’s a nice blend of performance characteristics reminiscent of a blade putter combined with the reliability of a mallet. As such, I felt confident in my starting lines and came up to speed with my distance control very quickly.

Final Thoughts – Sub 70 Sycamore 005 Wide Blade Putter

The Sub 70 Sycamore 005 Wide Blade putter looks great and has incredible feel. In recent years, I’ve become a committed mallet user, but this putter gave me a refreshing blend of the familiar looks and feels from a blade putter and the benefits I need from a mallet. Best of both worlds, if you will… I also can’t get over finding a single-piece CNC-milled carbon steel putter of this quality at this price point. It genuinely will compete with many competitors costing hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars more.

My apologies for coming across as such a fanboy, but I’m genuinely that impressed with the 005 Wide Blade putter. If wide body blades are your thing, you will have a hard time finding a better value in all of golf than Sub 70 Wide Blade putter.