We Tried It: Makefield Putter “Makefit Kit”

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised. 

What We Tried:

Makefield Putter “Makefit Kit”. This kit allows you to try a Makefield Putter at home before you buy. It also allows you to dial in the fit to find what’s right for your stroke.

Who Tried It:

Robert Canady. I’ve been with MyGolfSpy for six years as past Forum director and a current moderator. Anyone who has read my topics on the Forum knows I’m a sucker for two things: the newest driver and an opportunity to be fitted for any club in my bag. The Makefield Makefit Kit seemed like a very cool and inexpensive way to add another fitting to my resume.

What is Makefield?

They are a direct-to-consumer putter company formed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Theirs is a pretty cool journey and you can read more about them here Makefield Putter Story.

What is the Makefit Kit?

One of the challenges all DTC companies face is getting their product in front of golfers. They typically don’t have any retail presence. In addition, getting golfers to buy something they have not seen and held in their own hands, especially something as personal as a putter, can be a big obstacle. You can argue the putter is the one club a golfer needs to see at address and feel it in their hands as it’s a club that relies on touch and feel.

Cost

This is where the Makefit kit comes in. For just $20, Makefield will send you a self-fitting kit to try for two weeks. It is more than just one putter with a couple of weights. Based on your selections in the online order form, you receive two putter heads, four shafts (different necks and lies), 12 weights in assorted materials (tungsten, steel, aluminum). Also included are several screws in case you happen to drop one in deep grass while changing a clubhead.

How It Works

Using the online order from Makefield is very straightforward, much like ordering any club online.

You just follow the screens for shipping and payment info. Once I sent my order on the afternoon of Jan. 24, I received a confirmation email of the order within 20 minutes. That was followed by an email the next morning of a “order change status” showing it was in process. I received a shipping confirmation Jan. 29.  Five days was a surprisingly good turnaround particularly for a small company that had most of its staff at the PGA show at this time. The putter arrived the next day, Jan. 30.

Upon unboxing, I was impressed with the full assembled kit and all that was included.  After unpacking, I noticed one of the putter heads was a left hand and while I had some fun putting with it backwards (and even made a 20-footer doing so), I contacted Makefield, they apologized and got the correct one to me immediately.

Testing the Putters

I ordered two styles that I usually have success with: the VS, a mallet style, and the VS-F, a “fang style”.  It included two types of shafts, a short slant and a double bend, each one at 35 inches (my request) and one each at 70- and 72-degree lie angle.

I won’t go into an actual review of the putters as this article is more about the experience of the trial kit. That said, I did test both indoors on an Ex-Putt simulator and outdoors on a putting green. Not on the course due to snow during the period I had the putters.

Weighting System

Enclosed in the package is a nice diagram of all the weight placements. It also stated how to influence the roll and clubface.  Unfortunately, there was one glaring omission. The chart showed letters S, A and T in various placements. The enclosed weights had no corresponding letters to know which was which. After asking three accomplished golfers if they could tell which weight was the S, A or T, they were all stumped. However, a phone call to Makefield customer service got me in contact with Michael Brown who was immensely helpful. He explained that S, A and T simply stood for steel, tungsten and aluminum. Each weight also had a different marking, not a letter, to show which was which. Now as someone who has dealt with these material weights in drivers, I should have been able to tell the difference just by holding them. Brown disagreed, saying it was on them for not having that information on the sheet and thanked me for bringing it up and they would add it. That makes me think they must be early in this testing program if it hasn’t come up before. 

To be clear, the instructions do say the stock configuration will work best for most golfers based on the design of the putters, but the options to alter them are certainly there. When you find a configuration that works for you and you are going to buy the putter, you list the weight configuration on your order form and that’s the way it will be built. When receiving the actual putter, you do not get the full assortment of weights with purchase.

My Configuration

After testing both models, I was able to decide that the putter that worked best for me was the VS-F with the short-slant neck at 72 degrees. The 70-degree version had more putts miss slightly right. The natural toe hang of the VS-F was enough that I didn’t need to change any weight configuration to get what I considered the best possible results for me. The engineers seem to know what they are doing.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed the process of being able to test what amounts to four putter variations. It could have probably been hundreds if I had the unlimited time and desire to try all the weight configurations.

In the end, the results weren’t dramatically any better than my current gamer which has been solidly in play for two seasons—a lifetime for any club to last in my bag.

If you decide to order the putter, the $20 fee will be applied to the purchase price. Stock prices range from $349 to $399. I will say the Makefield putters are a bit industrial-looking. The feel and sound of the milled face provide the type of feedback I would look for in a putter. So the price, while it may seem high for a DTC company, is certainly worth the quality and individual attention each build gets.

In the end, I will be sending my kit back with the enclosed prepaid shipping label. I really was impressed with the overall presentation and the ability to try different setups. I applaud Makefield for doing something to get its product in the hands of golfers to experience.