BGT Paradox Putter Review: First Impressions Matter
Unique design, premium shaft, and surprising on-course performance after 36 holes.
The BGT Paradox putter delivers a first impression unlike any other putter.
Paradox is defined as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true,” according to YourDictionary.com
Well then, BGT’s Paradox putter is properly named.
Seemingly absurd? Check.
When investigated, may prove to be well-founded? Check.
Here’s what happened after 36 holes on the course and plenty of practice green time testing the BGT Paradox putter.
Need to Know
How We Tested the BGT Paradox Putter
I tested the left-handed BGT Paradox mallet putter for 36 holes on the golf course and thoroughly on the practice green to evaluate performance from various distances and situations, plus look, sound and feel.
BGT Paradox Putter First Impressions
You can't tell at address that the Paradox's toe is taller than the heel
My first impression of the BGT Paradox putter, quite literally, was “Holy cow, the toe is taller than the heel!”
Then I wondered, “Is that distracting over the ball?”
It isn’t.
After a few rolls it was, “Dang, this putter is legit.”
Paradoxical, indeed.
BGT Paradox Specs & Details
The BGT Stability Tour shaft features a taper with a 13% reduction in shaft diameter
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Profile: Zero Torque
Shapes: Blade, Mallet
Dexterity: R, L
Lengths: 33-34-35 inches
Head Weight: 365g (Mallet); 355g (Blade)
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Ultra-Stiff
Price: $699
Pros:
- Principal Axis Technology (weight high in the toe and low in the heel) helps the putter stay square during the stroke
- Two head shapes in right and left-handed options
- Impressive heel to toe forgiveness
- Putts just seemed to track to the hole more often
Cons:
- Price will limit most golfers
- Asymmetrical head shape will turn off some players
My guess is that most casual golfers aren’t familiar with BGT. And who is going to drop $700 on a putter from an unfamiliar brand?
BGT – which stands for Breakthrough Golf Technology – is not just some scrappy start-up, DTC, up-and-comer. Not that there would be anything wrong with that.
Most casual golfers, however, probably are familiar with Barney Adams. If not the name, most certainly the Adams Golf line of clubs that Barney founded in the late 1980s. Those clubs (think Tight Lies) found their way into a good chunk of recreational players’ bags over the decades that followed, notably for their user-friendlyness for almost all levels of golfers.
Adams is the man behind BGT, and the company actually specializes in performance shafts. BGT’s Stability Tour putter shaft is one of the best-selling putter shafts of all time.
Paradox is BGT’s first putter, and like the Stability Tour shaft, it brings something truly unique to the market.
BGT Paradox Putter Performance Review
Enough background and specs, how did the Paradox perform in my hands, on the golf course? This proved to be one of the most enjoyable putter tests I can remember, and the unique shape of Paradox only added to the fun.
Look & Feel
Given its unorthodox shape, the first question Paradox is required to answer is how does it look at address?
If someone were to blindfold you and set you up at address over the Paradox putter, then remove the blindfold, you’d never know the head is asymmetrical. Over the ball, it looks just like any onset, center-shafted, zero torque putter.
Thanks in part to the ultra-stiff Tour Stability shaft that comes standard (more on this soon), Paradox delivers a crisp, medium-firm strike.
Accuracy
To revisit first impressions for a moment, the Paradox not only made a strong impression at first sight, but it made a lasting impression at first putt.
My first roll on the practice green, a 12-foot or so downhiller, tracked right to the bottom of the cup. That’s always a good omen.
After 30 minutes or so on the practice green with Paradox, I landed firmly in the believer category. Then I took Paradox to the course.
Again, my first wave with the wand was magical. I rolled in a 25-foot, downhill, left-to-righter for a bonus birdie from a spot where I’m usually just trying to avoid a 3-jack.
That magic, however, wasn’t bulletproof. Eventually some of those 3-putts negated what could have been round-changing putting performances. Those blemishes on the putting statistics were distance-control-related, almost exclusively after rolling my first putt through the circle of friendship and into that six-plus-foot comebacker territory.
Distance Control
As someone who has changed putters virtually every four to six rounds for a few years now, distance control is always the last element to fall into place with a new putter, and that was just as true when I tested Paradox as it was for the last half-dozen putters I've used.
I prefer seeing the ball roll too far past the hole than coming up woefully short. I hate having to give putts an extra hard whack from mid or long range, so I didn’t beat myself, or the Paradox putter, up too much for a few early 3-putts.
Forgiveness
On the practice green, I tested the extremities of the Paradox and learned that hitting a half-ball towards the toe or heel is no big deal.
From around 10-12 feet, distance on those off-center strikes came pretty close to what I saw from center strikes, and the line held pretty well too. Those misses didn’t find the hole at the same clip, but they always cozied next to it for easy tap ins. If we’re honest, that’s what really matters when we miss the center by that much.
Price
I can’t tell you whether I was more shocked the first time I saw the asymmetrical head of the Paradox, or the top-tier price that makes a stock L.A.B. putter look like a bargain.
But let’s dive into that $699 price, because, yet again, BGT has baked something in that’s starkly different from industry standards.
The stock shaft on the Paradox putter is BGT’s Stability Tour shaft. That’s a $329 shaft.
If my math serves, that accounts for somewhere near half the price of the putter.
However, whereas most putters come with the option to upgrade the shaft to something more expensive, BGT only has an option to downgrade (if you will) to the less expensive, Paradox Graphite shaft.
That option cuts $200 off the price. However, I see the Paradox putter as somewhat of a vessel for BGT’s unrivaled Stability Tour shaft. I can’t say exactly what opting out of that shaft would do to performance, but I feel like it would somewhat defeat the purpose of bagging the Paradox putter.
The Paradox of First Impressions
I remember seeing an interview with a musician about two decades ago. I think it was Travis Barker from Blink-182 on MTV, but I can’t say for certain or confirm it.
This part I do remember. The musician was tattooed from head to toe, and he mentioned meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time. The father made a remark about the tattoos, and the musician replied something to the effect of “Someday, you won’t even see them.”
That sentiment has always stuck with me. First impressions may be built on looks, but once you go deeper, once you investigate, you just may find something meaningful. Something true. Something that makes you forget all about those looks.
That’s Paradox.