Nickent calls this “three-dimensional alignment” and it is an eye-catcher.Īt the back of the pipe section is a tungsten plug that moves the center of gravity away from the face. The white pipe section stands alone, and makes a nice contrast to the green color of the putting surface. There are no sight lines, dots, arrows, ball-shaped discs or any other sorts of busy-looking alignment aids to catch your eye. But in practice, the Pipe putters are actually more subtle than many other alignment-style putters. You’ll get your share of “What is THAT?” comments the first time you turn it loose on the green. The T-shaped head of the PP004 is hardly subtle. The white pipe section of the Pipe putters really pops out against the green. Aside from the hosels, the Pipe blade head designs are identical. The PP004 has a plumbers-neck hosel, while the PP005 has a shorter goose-neck hosel. The PP004 and PP005 blade-style Pipe putters have a slightly shorter pipe section than the original three mallet versions of the putter. Nickent says this design creates a high MOI that improves forgiveness and roll. The white pipe section is a rounded tube of ultra-light thermoplastic that is the same diameter as a golf ball.Īt the end of the pipe section that is farthest from the face of the putter is a dark gray tungsten weight, which serves to move the center of gravity deep and away from the putter face – 15 percent of the putter’s weight is housed in the tungsten plug. At the heart of each putter is the Pipe section that gives the line its name. I decided to test a 34″ inch PP004 over several recent rounds to see if it was twice as good as my two-putter platoon.Īll five models of Pipe putters have stainless steel bodies and a lightweight polymer “P-Line” face insert. It has alignment and MOI-enhancement features, but it also has a plumbers’ neck hosel and a more manageable head size. The Pipe PP004 putter especially appealed to my schizophrenic flatstick tendencies. The Nickent Pipe putters have lightweight polymer face inserts and stainless steel bodies. This lineup shakeup almost always produces improved putting, at least for a while. Then I’ll switch to a mallet, like an Odyssey 2-Ball, for a few rounds. I’ll putt with a blade, like my trusty Scottsdale Anser, until I hit a cold streak. But thanks to alignment aid/high-MOI putters like the Odyssey 2-Ball, I’ve gone to a platoon system over the last couple years.
I’ve always favored blade putters to mallets. Is the Pipe hype or is it just your type? Read on to find out. The Pipe PP004 and PP005 are both blade-style models that feature a modified version of the Pipe design. Nickent has added two new models to the, uh, Pipe line this year. Let’s put it this way: if an Odyssey 2-Ball and a Futura Phantom got drunk and popped out a kid, the Pipe may be it. These mallet putters featured a visually distinctive rounded white “pipe” section that served as an alignment aid and as a way to shift weight away from the putter’s face. Riding the success of its 3DX hybrid line, Nickent Golf entered the short-game fray last year with the Pipe line of putters.