The Never Compromise putters have a look, a feel and a composition uniquely their own. The Never Compromise phenomenon has been climbing to unheard of heights as countless successful touring pros jumped on the bandwagon. NC putters were on top of the victory list on both the LPGA and Senior tours.
The Z-1 Alpha 2 is the newer and smaller of the two available Never Compromise mallets. The regular Alpha has a deeper and flatter back flange. The Alpha 2 has one less “step” on the back flange making for a more compact mallet which appealed to numerous of our testers who do not regularly like mallets. The extra size of a mallet head allows Never Compromise to add a larger mid-section of their “Grey Matter”; that ultra-lightweight material they use which is even lighter than aluminum. The result is a particularly stable head during impact.
Unlike many mallets, the face balanced Alpha 2 is not a banger. It has the feel of a sensitive instrument which encourages controlled stroking of the ball. The apparent sensitivity is not as pronounced as it is with the smaller, cavity-blades mentioned below, but it is still quite noticeable.
The majority of our testers have putted better with the Never Compromise on the golf course than they have on the target green. All have praised the feel and distance sensibilities of the mallet. As to the target green, the Never Compromise Alpha 2 did reasonably well. It was not as easy to aim as were some others in the class. The Zebra and Carbite mallets have more effective alignment aids. Players who have traditionally aligned with the face as a perpendicular reference to the target line will have no problem. Those who use alignment aids might.
The Alpha is one of those friendly, likeable putters we return to from time to time. The feel and appearance are very appealing.
The Never Compromise Z-1 Delta, like its bigger sister, the Z-1 Alpha 2, has been doing well on the pro circuits. Also, like its big sister, it has a look and feel which says, “Touch” and “Control”. It is an incredibly smooth and sensitive putter which feels even more precise than the Alpha. It has a feel of great refinement and sophistication. This is a sharp, classy looking putter.
The head mass is much smaller than the Alpha and balance-wise it is a 45 degree hanger, but the weight distribution theory and application remain the same. The “Grey Matter” in the center of the face accounts for a very small percentage of the head’s weight and gives all of the Never Compromise putters an extremely light, almost delicate feel at impact. The wide weight distribution also provides for very fine stability at impact on off-center hits. The head twists very little.
We do not recommend the longer necked Deltas to the average guy off the range. They will probably experience a tendency to over-nurse the ball, in other words, they’ll probably try to guide it too much towards the hole. This is a putter for very proficient and experienced putters who are looking for more sensitivity and correction to their off-center hits. It was intentionally designed for tour-quality players. That means it responds best to very, very good putting strokes. In spite of this, the Delta 2 is Never Compromise’s best-selling putter.
The Gamma has been designed by Never Compromise to be slightly more user-friendly for low to mid-handicappers. It has less offset for easier alignment and has a thinner topline for “better optics”. This model derives its basic shape from the Ping Zing school of putter design. As with the Zing, it has a friendly, easy style with a long face, wide sweet spot and ample heel-toe weighting. The Gamma still has almost all of the feel of the other Never Compromise putters, but just with a touch more familiarity for the average, good golfer. We are talking about relatively subtle differences here, but subtle differences are what matter most often in high-end putters.
