Astral Putters Review

Astral Putter Key Features:

• Proprietary, patent-pending adjustable hosel assembly: instantaneously change the club's -  lie angle, toe hang, and shaft offset
• Interchangeable putter faces and body styles: two different faces and putter bodies available 
• Custom Flat Face Mill pattern: to deliver a smooth and consistent feel and roll

Astral Putters is a fascinating brand based out of Denver, Colorado. The brand is the brainchild of Blake Callaway, a fitting surname for a man making his way in the golf equipment industry. 

We had the pleasure of meeting Callaway at the PGA Show in Orlando earlier this year, and he talked us through the fascinating story behind the brand.

Having tinkered with a number of putters in his home workshop, Callaway decided that there was a hole in the market for a putter that would adapt to the golfer rather than the other way around. 

With a plan in his head, he began to learn about golf club design, and before long, he taught himself how to design and create his vision. With the help of his father, Charles, the pair got to work on bringing their ideas to life.

After teaching themselves how to use a milling machine, the father-son duo built their putters, and they will soon be available to purchase in April.

The result of Callaway's devotion to his idea is a putter that can be customised to a never-before-seen level after purchase.

Typically, when you buy a putter, you can get fitted for it, and the weight, lie angle, and shaft offset can be tailored to your needs.

However, once you leave your fitting, those figures are typically set in stone.

However, with Astral putters, once you have purchased the putter, you have the option, thanks to the brand's tool kit and modular assembly, to alter a variety of different characteristics.

The brand offers four different lie adaptors and three hosels, which allow for an extensive level of customisation.

We were fortunate enough to test two of the brand's putters to familiarise ourselves with the two different head designs and face inserts.

Let's get into it. 

Player Level

Astral Putters: Looks and Feel

During our testing period, we tried both models available: a classic blade profile and a mid-mallet.

The blade has a stunning matte black finish, while the mallet is cool grey with turquoise detailing. 

The brand also offers two different face inserts, offering a subtle difference in softness. The two options available are copper and brass. 

The copper insert is the softer of the two, while the brass insert offers a slightly crisper feel at impact. 

Down at address, both putters look fantastic, and despite initially not being 100% convinced by the mid-mallet's colour palette, it quickly grew on us. The turquoise detailing really makes it pop, and we're not sure we've tested another putter with a look quite like it.

Flip the putters over, and they are stamped with Astral's logo, which is also on the back of each insert. 

All in all, the designs are very classic, with Callaway having stuck with a tried and tested formula that will likely resonate with a vast audience. 

In terms of feel, the two different inserts are said to offer different levels of softness, although having tested both, we couldn't tell a huge amount of difference. 

Both inserts offer a very soft feel at impact, which lovers of fully milled putters will undoubtedly appreciate.

They both also create a satisfying yet muted noise at impact, which is probably a touch more high-pitched than the TaylorMade TP Reserve range or the Odyssey Ai One Milled models.

Overall, we really couldn't find fault with these putters in terms of look or feel. Callaway clearly did his homework before embarking on his quest to make these putters, and the hard work has really paid off. 

Astral Putters: Performance and Forgiveness

When we constructed our putters, we configured them in order to initiate an automatic forward press, with the putter face lying in front of the shaft. 

As you can see from the images above, the position at address is quite an unusual one, but it demonstrates exactly what is possible with the modular design.

These putters can be constructed at home with the simple twist of a few screws, with 60+ toe hand and shaft offset combinations available. 

This allowed us to constantly tweak our setup until we found the optimal performance we desired. 

Once we had settled on this configuration, thanks to the array of premium KBS putter shafts we were provided; we felt invincible on the greens. 

Putting a consistent roll on the ball felt incredibly easy, and the putter reacted exactly how we had hoped. 

We repeatedly maintained a strong and even roll on the ball, resulting in many more holed putts and greater speed control. 

In terms of forgiveness, the mid-mallet probably offered a touch more than the standard blade, thanks to its slightly higher MOI.

That being said, we found both designs very easy to control, and thanks to the well-weighted construction, they both felt very stable and solid during takeback. 

All in all, these putters are very impressive, and the creativity of the design equally matches the level of performance. 

It takes a lot of time and effort to start a brand from scratch and compete in an industry as competitive as golf putters, but Callaway and his team at Astral have made a blistering start to their journey in the game. 

Should you buy an Astral Putter?

If you are a golfer who enjoys premium products and loves the idea of tinkering with and customising your putter, you should absolutely consider purchasing an Astral putter. 

Not only does the brand have a fantastic story, but the product also lives up to the hype.

Coming in at just under £400, these putters are by no means cheap, but thanks to the level of customisation available thanks to the modular design, you are getting a putter that can grow and change with your stroke as your game progresses, a feature not many products in the golf market can deliver.

Take me to more equipment reviews!