1st Customer Testimonial.. from a former putting coach...
It's a bit early, perhaps, to give the putter the full "5 Star", but I think giving it less than that would be a bit of a disservice. I ordered just the head, and had my local club fitter put me in exactly the right length and lie angle. Also, your club fitter can orient the shaft lean anywhere from well forward, to perpendicular, to well back, depending on your personal preference (I had mine made perpendicularly so that the view of the ball and face of the putter is not obstructed). Perhaps all putters should be sold this way!
Since I had my putter custom fit to having my eyes directly over the ball, the putter sets up perfectly for a proper takeaway, and I had absolutely zero incidents of "dragging" the putter's feet on the green. I spent about 2.5 hours on the putting green playing with the new putter and didn't drag the feet once. So, if your putter is properly fit, you should not have an issue with that.
I had three initial issues of concern. The first (and biggest) one was the negative loft. Putting manufacturers have been building putters with loft for over 100 years for a reason, so I was concerned that this putter would drive the ball into the ground, resulting in a ball that bounced off the turf before rolling. That proved to not be a problem. Even on long putts where a big stroke was required, the ball rolled extremely well right off the face. My second concern was that the face does not come with either an insert or grooves. Again, I was afraid that the ball might not roll well off of the face. I still have some Dave Pelz "O-Balls" from when I was on staff, and I rolled most of my putts so that the line looked like it was not even moving (O-Balls have two red stripes that completely encircle the ball. They are similar to Callaway's ERC ball). If you don't have O-Balls, use your Sharpie line. So, the ball rolled great without the need for grooves. The ball didn't come off super-hot, so apparently no insert was required. My third concern didn't appear until I began the session. The sound resulting from the collision with the ball is a bit jarring! It's reminiscent of the original Ping putter from back in the late 60s! However, after enjoying the success of my putts with this putter, I soon found that I wasn't even noticing the sound at all. If that's is an issue for golfers, perhaps an insert would give the putter a more familiar "click" instead of "Bingggg". But, as I said, the success of the results quickly removed all thoughts of the "tuning fork" sound.
I think the putter is very attractive. It's certainly different, but the all white head with the thin red alignment arrow looks great to me. I particularly like the fact that the head is the same length as the ball's diameter. If you see any of the ball outside of the face at address, you don't have the ball centered--period. As someone who has taught putting for several years, I found that, surprisingly, a lot of golfers don't position their ball on the sweet spot of the putter. Perhaps it's because, in most putters, the shaft actually interferes with the golfer's vision. But, whatever the reason, it's a bigger problem than you would think. It will NOT be a problem with the V3ktor putter. I also really like the fact that the face is well forward--it's almost like all you see is the face and the ball when you are addressing the putt.
The putter is beautifully balanced, and the contact feedback gives a solid, pleasant feeling in the hands. The side rails do a good job of assisting in alignment, and the red arrow (for me) was a huge aide to aiming (that's an area that I struggle with). The putter felt like it was "medium" heavy. I thought that I preferred heavy heads to get the ball rolling through momentum rather than hitting, but I found the weight of this head to make it much easier to use a stroke that didn't get the hands and wrists involved. Now, all that's left to do is take it to the golf course (we can still play in SC), which I hope to do tomorrow.