Connect with us

Equipment

Bettinardi releases military-inspired BB8-Wide Armageddon putter in honor of those who have served

Published

on

Bettinardi Golf has unveiled its limited-run military-inspired BB8-Wide Armageddon putter in honor of those who have served, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Veteran Golfers Association.

Limited to 250 pieces worldwide, the new release from Bettinardi features a unique full tactical F.I.T. Face over Honeycomb face milling which is designed for extra soft feel at impact. The neck, bumpers, and sole of the flat-stick features engravings inspired by military insignias used in the army.

Handpainted in a military-themed “sniper” navy, gray and white color scheme, the putter is milled to 355 grams from Soft Carbon steel and comes with a matching Made in USA headcover and a red Lamkin Deep Etched Cord grip.

 

The BB8-Wide Armageddon putter costs $550 and will be available to buy at Bettinardi specialty dealers around the globe on May 23, and online in the Hive on Bettinardi.com.

 

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected]

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Kevin

    May 21, 2019 at 2:41 am

    I would agree with previous posts about this not honoring Veterans. I served in the Marines and can tell you this is not how you honor veterans. I like the previous poster’s idea of donating all or most of profits to Wounded Warrior Project. At least offer a large price discount for Veterans. Now I like Bettinardi putters a lot, and understand that a company can’t just give a bunch of product out for free, but seriously Bettinardi you guys can do better than this.

  2. JP

    May 18, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    Bettinardi has only honored profits here. If you want to honor those that have served, how about making a true limited edition of 100 and donate ALL proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project? I’d get behind that one!
    .
    How about honoring Fire House 54 that responded to the Workd Trade Center? Make a limited run of 54 putters and have those monies donated to the charity of choice of Fire House 54?
    .
    Do something more than line your own pockets with these putters that “honor” people.

  3. Jordan

    May 17, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    You mean you don’t like it when an overweight middle-aged non-veteran shows up at the golf course with that Ping camo stand bag and headcovers? Weird, who would have thought.

  4. Adam

    May 17, 2019 at 11:52 am

    Bettinardi is over-saturating and devaluing their brand by releasing all these “limited edition” putters

    • Will

      May 18, 2019 at 10:29 am

      How do you figure? They release a limited putter once a quarter and 20-24 Hive putters a month that are one of one.

      I think the theme is cool, on a headstyle that is not offered at retail. Nice work Bob and Co!

  5. Joe Taylor

    May 17, 2019 at 11:09 am

    Completely agree with Garrick. Shameless marketing.

  6. Garrick

    May 17, 2019 at 10:59 am

    Another gimmick to cash in on American “patriotism”. As an army vet I dont feel honored and I’m sick of the exploitation.

    • D

      May 17, 2019 at 12:19 pm

      Commercialism for the sake of “just sell” in the capitalist world of America is what’s devaluing the country and Betti can stuff it along with Parsons

    • gunmetal

      May 17, 2019 at 2:52 pm

      Thank you for your service. I could totally see your (and others who have chimed in) point – but where they are donating a portion of the proceeds to the Veterans Golfer Association, I think there’s still a win there, no?

      I did not serve. But I have two brothers who are active duty. Is it wrong for me to have a Ping camo bag or play this putter? Serious question as I always thought the only thing I was doing was in a very small way showing support by doing this. The last thing I would want to do would be to offend or annoy anyone in our military.

      • W

        May 17, 2019 at 9:52 pm

        Instead of spending the money to make these things and then selling them to make money on them, of which only a portion of given to charity and the rest pocketed for profit, why not just give the money in whole in the first place? They can still wave the flag and take photos being patriotic or whatever.
        No need to waste time and resources making objects that are overpriced and sit around more than actually used. They cash money will be used constantly.

        • Steve

          May 19, 2019 at 12:18 am

          They’re a putter company, not a charity.

      • Steve

        May 19, 2019 at 12:21 am

        No, it is not wrong and it’s not disrespectful of you in any way, shape, or form. If you like the bag, use it. If you like the putter, play it. Stop worrying so much about what others think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

on

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Continue Reading

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

on

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Continue Reading

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

on

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Continue Reading

Announcement

Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use have been updated as of January 29th, 2026. Please review the updated policies here Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. By continuing to use our site after January 29th, 2026, you agree to the changes.

WITB

Facebook

Trending