50 Words or Less
The Evnroll ZERO Z5s putter features FaceForward Technology to achieve a zero torque design. Beautiful milling, soft feel, and consistent performance.
Introduction
The ZERO line of putters from Evnroll consists of three distinct model – all of which feature Evnroll’s toe up, zero torque design. You can find my review of the winged modern mallet Z1 HERE, and the wide body blade Z2s HERE. In this review I’ll discuss the Evnroll ZERO Z5s mallet putter.
Looks
To me, the Evnroll ZERO Z5s is the best-looking putter in the ZERO lineup. Although I’ve been gaming mid-sized mallets for years, the ZERO Z5s stands out for its well-balanced appearance. There’s more linearity than the Odyssey Ai-ONE [full review HERE], but the window created by the bar connecting the fangs is remarkably similar.
What’s not similar is the shaft connection. The Evnroll ZERO Z5s features what they refer to as “a reverse-offset hosel.” This backward plumbers neck is what drives Evnroll’s FaceForward Technology, the key to their zero torque design. The look of this design can be a bit jarring at first, depending on what you’re used to.
The body of the Z5s is a beautiful display of Evnroll’s milling craftmanship. I love the soft curves of the bumpers. And the execution of the v shaped grooves that vary in width on the face is exceptional.
The sole of the Evnroll ZERO Z5s conveys a lot of relevant information. There’s the nod to Guerrin Rife, the well respected putter designer. Large weight ports suggest potential high MOI. Plus a friendly reminder that the head is 100% milled in the U.S.A.
Sound & Feel
I was able to test all three ZERO putters together in one session where I concentrated on sound and feel. On the feel front, my hands couldn’t distinguish among the three – they all felt soft. Contact felt consistent across the grooved section with the feel becoming firmer when I breached the boundaries. If you’re looking for strong tactile feedback, the ZERO line isn’t going to check any boxes. If your goal is to groove that perfect centered contact, check out the PUR Truth Trainer – the best putting trainer Saternus has ever tested [full review HERE].
There were some subtle differences in sound across the ZERO family, and I found the Evnroll ZERO Z5s to sit in a friendly middle spot. The Z1 sounded a bit brighter and the Z2s a bit duller. The sound of the Z5s was a pleasant medium volume ‘tock.’ Contact towards the toe shifted towards, but not all the way to, a ‘tick.’ Off the heel, the tock wasn’t as crisp.
Performance
What does a zero torque design entail? Well, hopefully you’ve read our reviews of the putters mentioned earlier, or maybe the PXG Allan [full review HERE], or the various L.A.B. models, and have a good understanding. If not, the premise is the putter face stays square to the target line – naturally, without manipulation. The position you see at address – toe up, face left (for a right handed putter) – will remain that way even if you lift the putter to a horizontal position and balance the shaft on a finger. Unless you add torque (think twist or rotation) with your hands or arms, the toe remains “up” at your impact point.
For me, the key for success with the Evnroll ZERO Z5s was to adopt a light grip pressure, wrist neutral stroke. My focus was strictly on rocking my shoulders. I still maintained an arc to my path, but I had to eliminate the “release the toe” feel that’s been so firmly entrenched in my subconscious. With that, I found the Z5s very accurate.
How important is having the putter face square to the target line? The Evnroll website puts it this way: “If face angle at impact is off by just 1 degree, it can cause a ten-foot putt to miss, for a twenty-foot putt, just 0.5 degrees is enough.”
Evnroll achieves the zero torque setup using what it calls ‘FaceForward Technology.’ The essence of the technology is the reverse-offset hosel that moves the center of mass forward, while the shaft aims straight at the center of the putter head. In addition to looking strange as I noted earlier, the flow of the Evnroll ZERO Z5s felt a bit awkward. But like most things different, the more time I spent with the putter, the less the peculiarities registered.
Not new to the ZERO lineup is Evnroll’s SweetFace Technology. The design extends the putter’s sweet spot across the full width of the horizontally milled section. The technology is in the V shaped groove design where the width varies – wider in the center and narrowing progressively towards the heel and toe. What I observed was a tight dispersion. Even when I thought my contact was way off, roll out was remarkably good.
Conclusion
I loved seeing the text on my golf ball turn over repeatably with the Evnroll ZERO Z5s putter. I also enjoyed that when my read was off, distance was what I intended – even when contact wasn’t dead center. The Z5s was definitely my favorite of the three ZERO models I tested. And as I’ve said before, at $449, the ZERO Z5s is a sizable investment and rolling a few putts with one to ensure the zero torque look and feel are agreeable to you is much recommended.
Visit Evnroll HERE
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7 Comments
Matt:
Rather than saying ‘designed by Guerrin Rife’, shouldn’t you say ‘design copied by Guerrin Rife’? Not only is it $170 more than the Odyssey Jailbird Square to Square I just bought, but the design is a clear rip-off. Rather than fixing the shaft in the head with some built in forward press they’ve created a reverse-offset hosel to steer clear from the design police.
I’m certain the folks at Odyssey are either flattered or have their lawyers preparing papers.
Interesting comments. So how does Scotty Cameron, Odyssey, Toulon, Bettinardi and Piretti to name a few avoid the Ping lawyers given they have all seemingly “copied” the Ping Anser design? I think you’ll find in the library of Rife putter designs, examples similar to fine putter so to characterize it as a “clear rip-off” is wide of the mark. A little less anger is always a good thing!!
Pings patent expired long ago, though I guess company’s were copying well before that. Maybe their legal deparment wasn’t as zealous as Titliest and Taylor Made
MOI, Face Balanced, and now the latest marketing buzz word…”TORQUE”…
Torque is the twisting force that tends to cause rotation. It is a measure of how much a force acting on an object causes that object to rotate. Think about that with commonsense.
Thanks for that comment Bernie. It’s nice to know our readers have engineering degrees like me. But I encourage you to delve into the full “zero” torque concept that is a bit more involved than your basic premise.
– Meeks
Matt…. Thank you for a reply. open dialog is welcome. I know that the putter head does not twist around the shaft, or then up to the grip to twist in your hands. The putter does not care how it is made. It only reacts to what the user does in their stroke path, AOA…absolute or effective loft, and ball position. Having said that, I do believe that a putter design can help the golfer make a better putting stroke. In that regard, to be consistent you must start consistent. If you are testing a putter that is not precisely custom fitted to you for Lie Angle and Length, then to me, all comments on the putter is mute.
I must admit, this is starting to look like these guys are pulling our leg, aka a pisstake.
Just take any long plumbers neck putter and put it on backwards. Maybe a well calibrated bend for your forward press on the shaft, and job done.
Centre shafted, just redrill the head about an inch and a half behind the face, again with a few degrees of forward press for good measure.