BGT Stability Tour 2 Polar Putter Shaft

• The new Stability Tour 2 Polar shaft features the same construction as the successful Stability Tour putter shaft.
• The new white finish features enhanced durability.
• MSRP $299

Let’s check out the new Stability Tour 2 Polar putter shaft from Breakthrough Golf Technologies (BGT).

For those of you not in the know, BGT was founded by Barney Adams. Yes, that Barney Adams—the man who founded Adams Golf and who designed that Tight Lies fairway wood that many of you still have in your bag. How many times has your Tight Lies fairway delivered your round-saving shot?

This time around, Adams has a different shot in mind. Rather than giving you gear to get to the green, Breakthrough Golf Technologies develops gear to help you putt better once you are there. Specifically, their game is putter shafts.

While boutique putter shafts are moving into the mainstream these days, such was not the case when BGT launched the first incarnation of the Stability Shaft. Putter shafts were essentially an overlooked element. Sure, some companies had previously dipped their toes into the putter shaft pool but no one was truly swimming laps. Steel shafts were cheap and consumers (and maybe companies) thought they were as good as anything.

With the Stability Shaft, Adams told golfers that changing the putter shaft could make them a better putter. Some balked at this concept but if you look at the current putter shaft market, you’ll see other companies promoting their shaft innovations as well. We have Odyssey’s Stroke Lab shaft, LA Golf’s TPZ putter shaft, Fujikura’s MC putter shaft and other putter shafts launching on a seemingly daily basis. It’s getting to be a competitive marketplace and not a cheap one. Some of these shafts will likely run more than the cost of your putter. Yes, even more than your Cameron.

As was the case with his other designs, it seems Adams’s shaft design was a harbinger of things to come.

What Does a Stability Shaft Do?

Very simply, the Stability Shaft is a shaft that feels like steel but performs better. It feels like steel because it has the same weighting and balance point as a steel shaft. The original Stability Shaft was 125  grams, almost identical to the weight of a steel putter shaft. The Stability Tour, including the Polar version that we will look at in a moment, is a little lighter at 102 grams.

While the original Stability Shaft balanced a bit toward the middle of the club, the reconfigured Stability Tour moved that balance point to coincide with that of a steel shaft. That means the shaft should feel like a steel shaft when you swing it. But if it just feels like steel, why should you change?

 

Golf is a frustrating game. That video above showing random head oscillation makes it seem downright unfair. If the head position at impact includes a component of random variation then, even if you deliver identical strokes, the ball can go different places. Again, that is just unfair. You did everything right and the vibrational entropy of the steel shaft let you down.

That’s the intention of the Stability Shaft. It gets rid of some of the vicious vibrational variance and still maintains the feel of steel.

The Stability Tour 2 Polar

So what does the new Stability Tour 2 Polar shaft bring to the table? Let’s begin with the obvious. It is white. The Polar name is definitely referencing the new white finish that, according to BGT, is a “tactile, soft touch coating that won’t scratch, corrode or discolor.”

You may be thinking that a white version of an existing shaft is not newsworthy. Of course it is. This is golf that we are talking about. How are companies like Bettinardi Golf and others able to sell out of their new $125 putter covers time and time again? Do those covers enhance performance? No. They just look cool and that matters for many golfers. Unlike a sporty headcover, this shaft has technology that will help your putting.

I’m willing to bet some people reading this article were on the fence about getting a black Stability Tour shaft and are no longer reading along with us, having immediately clicked over to order a white one. They thought, “Man, that white shaft would look badass on my Bettinardi Inovai 7.0 Slant” and thus sent their putters off for a new Stability Tour Polar shaft. Obviously, these crazy, impulsive kids are my kind of people.

In the spirit of full disclosure, it was that little blue dot in the Polar logo that made me thing of the blue Inovai 7. While I love how the Inovai rolls the ball, it was its blueness that made it the candidate for the Stability Polar shaft. I like a putter with some pop and the aesthetics of the Polar combined with the Bettinardi blue pops large.

Installing a Stability Tour Polar Shaft

If you are curious about how to install the Stability Tour Shaft, take a peek at that video above. If it seems above your pay grade or you just don’t want to mess up a $299 shaft, you also have the option of sending your putter to BGT and they will take care of the build. For both of my Stability Shafted putters, I sent them in to BGT and I couldn’t be happier with their build skills.

Playing the Polar

Rolling the Stability Tour Polar/Bettinardi Inovai 7 took some getting used to. As you may know, I’ve been gaming an Edel with 90 grams of counter-weights set in the grip. After a bit of adjustment to the new build, I could recognize the signature feel of the Stability Shaft. As I mentioned, this Inovai is actually the second Bettinardi that I have reshafted with a Stability Tour shaft. The first was a Bettinardi Queen B 5 that had more than a little time in my bag in 2020.

My overall takeaway from the first build with the Queen B 5 was that the Stability Tour shaft increased consistency. The Inovai/Stability Polar combo produced the same results. As I putted multiple balls, I didn’t all of a sudden make everything. But what I did do was consistently hit the back of the previously putted balls. Yes, this does equate to missing the same putt over and over. But to miss it at the exact same speed on the same line is something I take as a very positive indication that the Stability Tour Polar shaft is doing its job. My putting was very consistent. Now I just need to fix that aim and pace…

Stability Polar: Cool, Calm and Collected

Come on, Maverick, you knew I had to slide in some corny reference to the Polar name. So many tag lines out there. Putt with Polar ice in your veins. Stability Polar will cool your nerves on the green. Ice your golf buddies with Stability Polar, no Smirnoff required. Endless opportunities for deep-toned voiceover content. I’m sure you have others to contribute.

Kidding aside, I think BST has a hit with the Stability Tour Polar shaft. I was a fan of the performance of the original Stability Tour. The Polar version continues that performance and gives you an aesthetic choice that may match your preferred putter panache.

When I wrote about the Stability Tour, many of you commented about how you had made the switch to a Stability Shaft and loved it. Has the honeymoon continued? What has kept you with the shaft or what caused you to move on?

Find out about the new Stability Tour Polar shaft and other Stability Shafts at BreakthroughGolfTech.com