Bettinardi Legacy Continues with New Hexperimental PROTO

Bettinardi Legacy Continues with New Hexperimental

Bettinardi Golf unveiled their all-new Hexperimental HIGH MOI Prototype last week at the BMW Championship, and viewers are already buzzing for the Baby-Ben look-alike. With such a rich legacy on the course, combined with the latest innovative technologies of Bettinardi, the Hexperimental is the perfect mix of past-proven and future-driven work. 

THE HISTORY 

The inspiration for the Hexperimental dates back to the 2003 U.S. Open, on the now hallowed grounds of Olympia Fields, which hosted the 2020 BMW Championship last weekend, creating the perfect storm for the unveiling. 


“I don’t know that there is a better putter fairy tale than what happened at Olympia Fields CC at the 2003 U.S. Open,” - Dave Wolfe, My Golf Spy


Jim Furyk championed his one and only Major at the U.S. Open 17 years ago, but the story actually starts the Wednesday evening before the tournament began. Late that morning, the USGA had deemed Furyk’s Hog Proto mallet as noncomformative, after he had been playing it for almost two months into the season. 


Scrambling to find a solution, Furyk reached out to Bob Bettinardi, whom he knew had a facility 5 miles away from the tournament. Together, Bob Bettinardi, who at the time produced with Ben Hogan Golf Company, Furyk and his father worked tirelessly through the night to find a putter that worked for Furyk, finally settling on a model, the High MOI “Baby Ben” 


Low and behold, Furyk won the tournament, finishing with the lowest 72-hole score in over a century of U.S. Open History, putting Bettinardi’s name on the map in the professional tours. 

NEW BEGINNINGS 

“It’s not often that a new product has a connection to the course, but there’s a reason why Bettinardi waited until this week to launch its new Hexperimental High MOI Prototype at Olympia Fields Country Club, site of the 2020 BMW Championship,” - Jonathan Wall, Golf.com


As soon as the announcement of the BMW Championships location was released, Bettinardi knew they had to do something special to revitalize the history they made at Olympia Fields in 2003. 


Taking the legacy of “Baby Ben” into the new decade could have only happened on this course and only with this new model. Inspired by their legacy, the Bettinardi team worked incessantly to make this old classic a new favorite by incorporating the advancements the company has made since the Open. 

“It may look like Baby Ben, but quite a bit has changed since that original 2003 design,” - Dave Wolfe, My Golf Spy


The prototype has reengineered the features of the Baby Ben, crafted from Aluminium and 303 Stainless Steel, unlike the Baby Ben’s all-aluminium composition, and includes our-precision milled F.I.T. face for one of the softest feels on impact on the market. The super high MOI model gets the ball into a roll faster than any putter Bettinardi has created. Taking inspiration from the several holes in the Baby Ben, the newest PROTO includes one hole throughout the mid-section, setting the weight in the front and back of the body for enhanced stability throughout stroke. 

“History holds some good karma,” - Mike Johnson, Golf Digest

PAST-PROVEN, FUTURE-DRIVEN

Bob and Sam Bettinardi are proud to bring the strong roots up to the surface of their latest technology. Having a history like the Baby Ben’s is a story only possible with a family-owned business, dedicated to solving problems with their bare hands, right on-site. The Hexperimental putter is a manifestation of Bettinardi’s craftsmanship, heritage and innovation combined in one jaw-dropping design. 

Bettinardi looks to the future to continue changing the game of golf, like with this Hexperimental PROTO, and keep making legends like Baby Ben’s on the greens for generations to come.