Your putter face twists on you. You can't feel it happening, and that's exactly why the five footer slid left. PXG just rebuilt its Torpedo head so it twists less. The Torpedo ZT is $449, right or left handed. It's on PXG's site and in their stores now.
Zero torque putters are everywhere this year, and most brands had to invent a strange looking head to get there. PXG didn't. They took the Torpedo shape out of the Battle Ready II lineup, a head golfers already liked, and changed the balance underneath it. I haven't put a stroke on one yet.
What's new
It all comes down to the hosel. PXG calls it an Onset Hosel, and what it does is set the shaft axis just above the center of gravity and extremely close to it. Close enough that the head balances toe up. When those two things sit almost on top of each other, the head stops wanting to twist while you're moving it. Less face rotation for you to manage. That's the whole idea behind zero torque, and PXG is not first to it. They're just the first ones to put it under a shape I don't mind looking at.
There's a 1 degree forward press built into that hosel too. Your hands sit a little ahead at address without you manufacturing it. The head measures 4 degrees of loft and plays like a 3 degree putter because of the press. And I like that, because forward press by feel is one of those things golfers get wrong a different way every day.
The head is two pieces. Milled 303 stainless steel up front, 6061 aluminum in the back. The aluminum is light, and light in the back lets them push mass out away from the center of gravity. That's your MOI. So the one you catch out toward the toe still gets to the hole.
The rest is housekeeping. Full center sight line, which is about as simple as alignment gets. The Pick-Up Pocket is back, so you're not bending over at every hole. The face is PXG's Pyramid Milled Face Pattern, with the milling worked around how a ball's dimples sit against it, and PXG says it sounds like an insert and responds like milled steel. Feel's personal. Go roll one.
Two sole weights come out, and that's the part I'd actually mess with. Stock is 370g. You can drop it to 357g or take it up to 392g. That's a real spread, not one token port so somebody can print the word adjustable on the box. Heavier heads tend to settle down a guy who gets quick with his hands. Lighter heads suit the player on fast greens who keeps running putts eight feet by. You don't have to guess which one you are either. Go get fit for it.
Who it's for
If your misses have no pattern, and you suspect the face is open on some and shut on others, this putter was built for that exact problem. Same goes if zero torque has been tempting you but every one of those heads looked like a shop project. You're getting a mallet you already recognize.
If you're a strong arc putter who likes feeling the toe release through the ball, this geometry is going to fight you a bit. That's not a flaw. It's just a different stroke than the one you've got.
Now here's the catch, because there's always one. $449 is real money for a putter, and no hosel is going to fix your speed control from long range.
So if face rotation is your problem, go get fit for one. If you already putt well and you're just bored, keep your money. I covered the PXG One & Done ZT here if you want the same idea in a different shape.
Source: PXG official product page
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About the author
Paul Liberatore
Paul Liberatore is the founder of Golfers Authority and a former four-year golf gear contributor to Sports Illustrated. He tests golf equipment hands-on to help golfers make better buying decisions.