As eGolf Megastore sought to expand our offerings and further enhance the experience for customers, we set our sights on forging a partnership with a distinguished putter manufacturer. Bettinardi Golf, renowned for their tour validation and exceptional craftsmanship, stood out as the ideal partner for us. As an avid golfer and someone who simply wants the best for his game, I had long admired the quality and performance of Bettinardi putters, which had earned the trust and validation of top professional golfers on various tours.

In 2017, when exploring this partnership, I understood that Bettinardi would not only bring prestige but also provide golfers with access to the very best putters on the market. Armed with this vision, I reached out to Bettinardi, expressing my admiration for the brand’s track record of producing tour-validated putters of the highest quality. Once I had met with Bob, outlined our position in the market as the leading golf retailer, and showed our in-store facilities where people could not only try out the putters but also have the opportunity to discuss putter performance with one of our PGA fitters, ensuring the best fit for their game, Bettinardi saw an opportunity to expand their reach and share their exceptional putters with a wider audience. Recognising eGolf Megastore’s reputation for providing golfers with top-tier equipment and expert advice, dedication to customer satisfaction, and commitment to excellence, the partnership seemed like a natural fit.

Bob and Sam Bettinardi in the workshop. Supplied

After careful discussions and negotiations, we proudly became the Middle East’s authorised distributor of Bettinardi putters. This collaboration brought together two entities with shared values and a mutual commitment to providing golfers with superior equipment. With the addition of Bettinardi putters to our inventory, our customers were now able to experience the remarkable craftsmanship and precision engineering that had earned Bettinardi its reputation.

As a company, we’re always looking to offer the best to our loyal customers, and given Bettinardi’s prowess in the custom putter world with their ‘Hive’ collection, this seemed like a fantastic opportunity to create a regionally specific putter of our own. 

Due to their limited production and exclusive one-of-a-kind nature, the Hive collection putters are highly sought after by collectors and golf enthusiasts alike. Every new release of Hive putters generates excitement within the golfing community, often resulting in rapid sell-outs. 

The term ‘Hive’ refers to the manufacturing facility of the company, where skilled craftsmen meticulously handcraft each putter with the utmost precision and attention to detail. The Hive collection is known for its limited-edition designs and unique aesthetics, which often push the boundaries of putter craftsmanship. Each putter in the collection is individually crafted and represents a fusion of cutting-edge technology, innovative materials and exquisite design. Given the region’s ability to purchase special ‘money-can’t-buy’ items, whether that be luxury cars, property, or unique putters, I felt this is something we had to offer our consumers at eGolf.

As our partnership flourished, eGolf Megastore and Bettinardi continued to work together closely, sharing insights to further improve our offerings. This collaboration led to the development of exclusive customisations and limited-edition designs (some of which you can see throughout this piece), making eGolf Megastore the only retailer in the Middle East to offer these unique UAE-inspired putters. 

We love the idea not only because these putters are regionally specific and highly limited for players and collectors alike but also because they are still some of the best-performing putters money can buy. What’s not to like?

We’re already in the final stages of producing these Dubai-inspired putters with Bettinardi, working and collaborating to ensure they become some of the coolest and most unique putters a UAE golfer could wish for! Customers and collectors should keep their eyes peeled on the eGolf Megastore social media channels for a special chance to purchase one of these putters as soon as they are released.

Visit eGolf Megastore to view the range of limited-edition Bettinardi putters.  

The post A winning match: Bettinardi Golf and eGolf Megastore are a perfect partnership in the Middle East appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Robert ‘Bob’ Bettinardi has always chosen the path less travelled — especially when it comes to creating golf clubs.

His Bettinardi Golf company is now known across the globe as the world leader in creating unique pieces of equipment, tailored to each individual golfer — specialising in bespoke and ‘One-Piece Technology’ putters.

But it has been a journey of more than 25 years — and a lot of hard work — to reach the pinnacle in golf equipment design and production.

In 1991, Bob turned the putter industry upside down by crafting a tool from a solid block of metal — what he phrases as ‘one-piece technology’ — rather than follow the herd and opt for castings, forgings and weldings to create putters. He soon had all the top golf industry original equipment manufacturers lining up at his door when word got out about the advantages his distinctive products could offer the top professional players on the greens.

A talent for design and state-of-the-art machining methods has seen Bettinardi Golf add some of the top manufacturers and golfers to its portfolio.

And once more, that determination and talent has has been rewarded as Bettinardi Golf claimed an unprecedented five golds in the Golf Digest Hot List 2023 Awards.

Golf Digest Middle East recently caught up with Bob and Dean Cheesley of eGolf Megastores — the region’s leading golf equipment supplier and fitter — to talk about the Bettinardi journey and plans for the future.

“I started dealing with Golf Digest 20-something years ago, and I was always begging to get into their gold or silver list [on the Hot List], but it seemed they always went with the Scotty Camerons and the Pings and so on,” Bob tells us with his dry humour always lurking during a recent visit to Jeddah. “So around 15 years or go I said to myself: ‘I’m done trying. I will never get on that list.’ As soon as I did that — boom — it all started to happen. It’s like when you give up chasing that girl you were after for years, then she starts calling you.

“That’s when I brought in my son.”

Bob and Sam Bettinardi in the workshop

In 2012, said son, Sam, joined the company’s ranks as head of marketing and sales, helping the company embrace the ever-evolving e-commerce market. Today, Sam serves as Bettinardi Golf President, clearly inheriting his father’s eye for putter designs, as well as player development alongside Bob.

“He’s 33 and he’s fantastic,” Bob continues with fatherly pride. “He’s grown the business about 1,500 per cent in the past 10 years. I was always trying to keep things small, but Sam said: ‘No, I need graphic designers, marketing people, this and that,’ and now he has grown the business very nicely into what it is today. But this year was the icing on the cake! On the Hot List we have five Gold putters and a Silver wedge.”

Then the humour creeps in again: “The greatest thing about the Hot List is it is listed alphabetically so we are listed first ahead of the Pings and TaylorMades, so it looks like we are on top — double gold!”

But as we rewind back to the conception of the solid putter and how it was received, Bob takes on a more serious tone.

“So it’s really a simple,” he explains. “When I first got into the business in 1991, everybody was casting their putters out of a mould and then pouring molten metal into the mould, let it cool and there you have your putter.

“I ended up doing some milled putters for Ken Giannini, and they were all welded. The body of the putter and the little hosel were welded together to make a milled putter.

“I started questioning why and how they were doing things. And one of the things that I questioned was, why would you weld that little hosel on to the body of the putter, because when you weld you add heat to the metal, and me being a metallurgist and engineer, I knew that when you add heat to metal, you distort the metal.

“When you’re trying to put the ball into a four-and-a-quarterinch cup from 20 or 30 yards away, you need all the precision you can get, and distorted metal will take away from that and hurt you.

“You want that putter without any spot or wrinkle basically. That’s what you want the putter to be.

“So I said to a couple of people I was doing business with — TP Mills and Scotty Cameron — ‘Why don’t we make the putter from one piece?’ And they go: ‘What do you mean?’

“I explained, we get a big block of metal and carve everything off that until we get to that putter inside.

“At first they were worried it would cost too much. But I knew if you want a precision instrument, instead of welding, you need to carve the entire thing out of one piece.”

And so Bob went off to prove it was worth it and the One-Piece Technology (trademark Bettinardi Golf!) putter was born.

“The first putter I made was very similar to the Ping Anser,” Bob continues. “I made it for Scotty and he gave it to a guy called Bernhard Langer, who in 1993 won The Masters with it. That was ‘Big’ for Scotty and me as Scotty’s name was on the putter and I was manufacturing them.

“Roll on to 1997 and Tiger Woods, you know him? He, at 21 wins The Masters. His big ‘Hello World!’ moment. He did not three-putt for four rounds with a putter that was made in my shop — a onepiece putter.

“In 1998, I decided to go out on my own, and Jesper Parnevik picked up my putter for the 1999 Greater Greensboro Open. My first tournament on my own and he wins with 27-under with 99 putts. Then my name was getting out there and my name was on the putters and that’s how we got started.”

“After a short time with Ben Hogan, I decided to set up my own company. So from 2008 Bettinardi has been on its own and we have grown into what we are today. Francesco Molinari wins the Open with our putter in 2018, Matt Fitzpatrick wins the 2022 US Open with our putter.

“I read comments about my product like: ‘I can’t describe this feeling … This putter feels like butter … It putts itself.’

“That is the culmination of doing things the right way, making it the right way. If there’s another way in the future that’s going to be better than milling, I would like to know what that is. I would want to do that. I want to make sure I’m always on the cutting edge of making the best. That’s what Bettinardi is.”

Bob and Sam Bettinardi have built a unique empire

Bettinardi golfers have claimed nearly 100 elite tour titles since 1998, with players still knocking on Bob’s door for the latest blades and mallets to give them that extra edge.

Just last month up-and-coming LIV Golfer James Piot joined the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick and Georgia Hall, who carry a Bettinardi putter in their bags.

“Jason Kokrak, who won three times in one year about two years ago, uses a production Bettinardi putter that is actually off-the-rack,” Bob says. “Georgia is using a putter that is off the rack — but she wanted her name stamped on it and made a couple of custom things done to it, so we tailored it to her requirements.

“Shergo Al Kurdi is an example of one player who uses a custom putter, not a production, called our BB0, which is really meant for people who want something special. We don’t sell these production, they are made to order for each individual. Some like the Toyota, Shergo has the Ferrari.”

RELATED: Take a look at the latest Bettinardi creation

One of the most popular of the Bettinardi putter ranges is the ‘Hive’ — high-end luxury and Tour putters with one-of-a-kind designs and made-to-order diverse looks and appearances with highquality finishes. “These are very limited-edition and constructed one-to-one,” Bob explains. “It took us nearly a year-and-a-half to persuade Matt Fitzpatrick to find one of our putters that was perfect for him. I’m talking probably eight to 10 times of trial and error. So he was a very difficult person to deal with — in a good way! He would be like: ‘No, it doesn’t feel right. No, the weight is wrong. No, the loft is wrong. No, the lie is wrong. I don’t like that shaft.’

“So you were talking about days, weeks, months of working on a putter specifically for Matthew.

“But now Matt is very happy because he has the right putter for him.

“This just illustrates that the Hive and customs are really all about taking the time and the extra effort to make this special product that a golfer would like. If there is a customer that wants his initials, or a logo, or his son’s name on the putter, we will take that extra time to make the putter just the way they want it.

“We will add a special head cover, a special grip, a special shaft.

“The client is shown renderings, and they may want a few changes — so really the client is being treated like a professional golfer.

“Once we get the green light, we make the putter and 10-15 weeks later, the client has their unique product.”

Just something to ponder — imagine seeing your playing partners’ faces when you whip out that majestic, personalised mallet on the green for the first time …

Visit any eGolf Megastore outlet to work with their team to curate your very own one-of-a-kind putter.

The post Putting things right: Bob Bettinardi’s long journey to golf-club perfection appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The putter, the MC-10, is based off Parnevik’s BB10 and the shape is nearly identical. The 303 stainless-steel head is 360 grams and features a gold-flame finish with the company’s hallmark honeycomb milling pattern on the face. The neck is a one-piece milling plumber’s neck with seven copper plugs. The neck includes a “1/250” engraving to mark its limited quantity while a red hex milling with Roman numerals XXV are on the face.

The putter comes with a red leather headcover with crimson accents and a red perforated-leather Gripmaster grip with a white stitchback.

Bettinardi got his start in the industry milling putters for several companies from 1991-1998. Milling — a method regularly used today — was novel back then and producing a putter from a solid block of steel without using forging, casting or having welds, delivered a look and feel that resonated with the consumer. The company’s heritage is strong as well. Parnevik’s win was the first of more than 100 tour wins worldwide including four professional men’s major championships.

Don’t miss the May issue of Golf Digest Middle East for an exclusive interview with Bob Bettinardi

The post Bettinardi’s latest limited-edition putter is based of the one that gave the company its first tour win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Jim Herman is a 42-year-old on the PGA Tour who took until 2016 to win his first PGA Tour title at the Shell Houston Open. So it should not come as a shock that it took him a while to get going before going on to win the Wyndham Championship. Herman birdied three of his last four holes on Friday just to make the cut, then went on a tear, shooting 61-63 over his final 36 holes to win by one over Billy Horschel.

Although much attention will be paid to his sharp iron play over the final nine holes, resulting in a trio of short birdie putts, what kept Herman in contention was three big putts on the front nine. Herman dropped a 29-footer for birdie on the first and followed that with a 59-footer for an eagle 3 at the par-5 fifth hole. One from 14 feet followed at the eighth hole, too. For the week Herman was third in strokes gained/putting, picking up more than six shots on the field. In all, he made 444 feet of putts over the four rounds.

Herman’s putter is a Bettinardi Inovai 5.0 Tour F.I.T. Face mallet with a circle of open space in the cavity. Herman has used three different models of Bettinardi putters in his three wins on the PGA Tour (he also won the Barbasol Championship last year).

But that’s not to downplay his work tee to green as well. Herman ranked fourth for the week in strokes gained/tee-to-green, picking up nearly another six strokes on the field. With a split set of Mizuno JPX 919 irons.

What Jim Herman had in the bag at the Wyndham Championship:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (Graphite Design Tour AD 6X), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M6, 15 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade M4, 21 degrees
Irons (4): Mizuno JPX 919 Tour; (5-PW): Mizuno JPX 919 Tour
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 588 (52, 56 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM6 (60 degrees)
Putter: Bettinardi Inovai 5.0 Tour F.I.T. Face

The post Jim Herman’s equipment at the Wyndham Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Francesco Molinari came into The Open touted as a possible favorite outside some of the big names in golf. Then after the third round, he said of the upcoming fourth round, “It’s not a day to be aggressive. It’s more a day to make as many pars as possible.”

Molinari fulfilled both of those predictions by making 16 pars along with two birdies to shoot a flawless final-round 69 and win the Open by two shots over four players, including Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, in the process becoming the first Italian to win a major championship. Incredibly, Molinari played the last 37 holes at Carnoustie bogey-free after a double-bogey 6 on the 17th hole on Friday.

Molinari hit two-thirds of his greens in regulation and for the week and cashed in when he needed to with his custom Bettinardi DASS BBZero with a skull and crossbones stamp in the rear cavity in an Italian flag-themed paintfill. Molinari first put the putter in play at the Players Championship and later in May won the BMW PGA Championship and Quicken Loans National with it. Molinari’s putter is only 32.25 inches in length with a loft of 2.5 degrees and a like angle of 70. The grip is Lamkin’s Deep Etch.

Molinari also uses a split set of irons, putting in a TaylorMade P790 UDI 2-iron for the week (taking out his 5-wood); TaylorMade’s P790 for his 4-iron and the rest of his irons the company’s P750 model with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold X100 steel shafts.

His wedges are TaylorMade’s Milled Grind and Molinari used his 56-degree Milled grind to hit his shot into the 72nd hole from 113 yards in tight for a final birdie and a fitting exclamation to his first major.

British Open 2018: What Francesco Molinari had in the bag at Carnoustie

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Driver: TaylorMade M4 (Mitsubishi Tensei CK 60 TX), 8.5 degrees

3-wood: TaylorMade M3, 13 degrees

Irons (2): TaylorMade P790 UDI; (4): TaylorMade P790; (5-PW): TaylorMade P750

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (50, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe (60 degrees)

Putter: Bettinardi DASS BBZero

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