Testing the Mantis Putter

Posted: Wed 22nd April 2015
By: Mike Kaas-Stock

Being able to master your putting is probably the most important thing in golf. So in an attempt to improve his focus on the ball, Mike Kaas-Stock tries the Mantis Putter… and he’s impressed...

A praying mantis by definition is a predatory insect that catches its prey by stealth and ambush. And one look at the Mantis Putter instantly makes me want to apply this same logic. This is a putter that just oozes stealth. I imagine myself sneaking up on the hole and before you can say birdie, I have sprung my ambush, sunk the putt and the prize is mine to feast on.

GREAT GREEN. I have been waiting all week for my Mantis Putter to arrive, it’s like having a shiny new car delivered that no one else has yet. And the first thing that anyone says to me when I finally get a chance to show it off is, “It’s green”. Yes, it is. Green like the grass on the green!     And that is just the point. We all do it, we buy a shiny silver, gold, or dare I say it, red putter, with lots of symbols and important writing on it. We line up our shot and try to concentrate on the ball, but our shiny putter is shouting up at us, “Look at me, look at me!” And we do, we don’t concentrate on that boring little white ball, oh no, our eyes are drawn to our lovely shiny putter, glinting in the morning sun.     If someone did a survey of which golf clubs most often end up twisted out of recognition and thrown in the bin, then I predict that it would be the putter. We have all been there, you are on the green and all you have to do is get the ball close enough to at least ensure a par. “Maybe I can get a birdie,” you tell yourself while trying to remain calm. Countless shots later, you have stood in most areas of the green enough to call them home and you are convinced that there is a force field around the hole that is stopping your ball entering. Result? Another putter ends up in the nearest bin.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL. Will the Mantis Putter miraculously make you sink every putt? I think not, but without even realising it, you will start looking at the ball, and that has got to be the point (unless you want to put the putter in the hole). 

As Michael Dill, from Mantis Putters, aptly puts it, “Golf instructors tell you to keep your eye on the ball, yet most putter designs compete with it for attention. Mantis lets the ball be the hero. The green finish is not a design element, but rather a functional benefit helping the putter head blend into the turf beneath.“What is the measure of success? To golfers, it may vary with each round played. A smoother swing, another fairway found, fewer putts… we treasure our small victories. While every aspect of the game proves elusive, often it is putting – that pure and perfect roll to the hole – that confounds us most.”

A BIT OF HISTORY. Long-time business associates, friends and golf partners Michael Dill and Chris Maher set up Mantis Putters. Both fine golfers, they found themselves, along with many others, bemoaning their putting ability. Surely it was a matter of mental focus, tuning out extraneous thoughts, visualizing and seeing the hole? It wasn’t for lack of practice or concentration, and they had tried a variety of putters through the years, with inconsistent results. Could it be that the putters themselves were the distracting factor? Dill, a marketing professional with an entrepreneurial spirit, began to formulate an idea. Could something be done to draw a golfer’s eye away from the putter and onto the ball instead? Could a new putter be developed to enable that subtle, yet significant shift in attention? The putter would have to be simple and sleek in design, but with something special to help golfers make that imperceptible, but important adjustment.This dilemma was the catalyst for Dill to form the Mantis Golf Company, in 2012. Retro in its simplicity, yet revolutionary in its concept, the Mantis Putter, with its patented green finish, is designed to minimise the visual attention a golfer gives to the putter and maximise attention to the golf ball.

IT WORKS. On a sunny morning in March I take a trip up to my local course for the purpose of testing the Mantis. Being a man who really has a problem concentrating when it comes to putting, I find that something is definitely causing me to aim better. Could it just be a placebo? Could it be that I expect to play better and so somehow I do? Do I care as long as I sink that putt? I suppose only time will tell, but I for one will be keen to bring out my new secret weapon next time I am playing a round of golf. 

Image of Camilla Kaas-Stock
By Mike Kaas-Stock

Managing Director

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