2/13/2025 • GolfBox
Searching for a cure-all for those common putting ailments? Bettinardi has the Antidote! No really, they do!
The Antidote line has long been the most unconventional collection in the Bettinardi putter universe. However, the 2025 Antidote release veers into slightly more conventional territory with the new Antidote SB1 and SB2 putters.
Both models are torque free putters, which is without doubt the hottest putter design trend over the past year.
You’re probably already familiar with toe-hang and face balanced putters. If you’re not, what’s wrong with you?
Anyway…
If you were to balance a toe-hang putter on your finger it would result in the toe of the putter hanging below the heel. Attempt the same thing with a face-balanced putter and the putter face would point to the sky.
While toe-hang putters are better suited to arcing strokes and face balanced models are an excellent match for straight-back-and-through strokes, zero torque putters are a completely different beast.
Why? Because they don’t have a balance point.
The shaft is aligned with the putter head’s centre of mass, a dynamic that is resistant to twisting of the head. The putter head naturally stays on path while the putter face remains square to the target line throughout the putting stroke.
All you need to do is let the putter head do its thing and watch in awe as it achieves a perfect square-to-square stroke.
Sounds like a great deal, right?
The Bettinardi Antidote SB1 blade and SB2 mallet putters keep a twitchy, misbehaving putter face at bay with their torque free qualities. But you’re probably wondering: how in the world did they achieve it in both a blade and high MOI mallet?
Antidote putters are installed with the same low-profile, centre shafted neck. It’s positioned precisely on the topline of both putters and well behind the putter face, right where it aligns
with the putter head’s centre of mass. And that’s how Bettinardi have achieved zero torque performance in the new Antidote line-up.
The SB designation of both putters means “simply balanced”, which is Bettinardi’s euphemistic way of describing the Antidote’s zero torque dynamic.
The Antidote SB1 is a classic wide-bodied blade putter. Milled from a single block of 303 stainless steel, the SB1 features curved bumpers and traditional shoulder shaping. The similarities to Bettinardi’s popular BB28/SS28 putters are obvious, however, the SB1’s thick topline and pocket insert behind the face shift the centre of gravity to align with the neck, thus creating zero torque performance.
The cutout, which helps shift mass from the heel to offset the weight of the hosel, is hidden by Bettinardi’s tapered blue aluminium insert. But it more than just looking pretty; it also improves impact acoustics and feel. The SB1 also features an eye-catching T alignment system in a contrasting sapphire blue.
A sleek, high-MOI mallet, the Antidote SB2 is a three-piece design that features a unique head geometry and low profile. The SB2 pairs a milled 303 stainless steel face with two separate 6061 aluminium back pieces. The rear body piece, finished in Bettinardi’s signature anodized sapphire blue, is coupled with a smaller, silver-grey piece called “the engine” which positions significant mass behind the hitting area.
Ported internally, both back pieces help raise the centre of gravity of the face to shift it closer to the equator of the golf ball. This helps achieve an end-over-end ball roll off the face much quicker after impact. Twin alignment lines runs across the SB2’s rear, with a single stripe included on the topline.
Both new Antidote putters feature Bettinardi’s famous F.I.T. milling pattern on the face. F.I.T. (Feel Impact Technology) is the softest of Bettinardi’s face milling options, with the unique groove pattern stripping away 55 per cent of the stainless-steel hitting area to generate a soft impact feel and deft touch.
Meanwhile, Antidote putters feature a diamond blast finish on the exterior to reduce glare. A counterbalanced Antidote SB1 and counterbalanced Antidote SB2 model is also available.
Australian Release Date: March 7, 2025
Hand: RH/LH (SB1 RH only)
Loft: 3°
Lie angle: 70°
Lengths: 33-38”, 34-39” (counterbalanced)
Offset: -1°
Toe hang: -90°
Head weight: 360g, counterbalanced 400g