Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange
How does it look behind the ball?
The Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange is an elegant updating of the classic bullseye flange shape, and really looks the part. As you can see from the picture it's rounded in all the right places and despite having a wider flange than the original bullseye flanges, it doesn't look clumsy or overly fat.
We also liked the line on the back of the flange. It gives you a good feeling of where the clubface is, and addressed the whole problem of the bullseye shape being too rounded and soft that you had no idea of where you were aiming.
... on a Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange putter
That having been said aiming one of these babies is not easy! Especially if you compare it with more modern designs with long lines or two ball designs. Beyond the soft edges of the putter, you can't actually see the whole of the leading edge of the putter because of the off-set hosel which covers the heel.
Much though I love the elegance of the shape, when you're got only half of a fairly curvy shape to aim with, it really doesn't give you much of an aid to aiming at all... and that in today's putter market is a distinct disadvantage.
How does it feel?
Having admired the soft shape, I expected a delicate feel when striking the ball, but instead I got only a hard click. It's obviously a matter of taste whether you like that, and on the positive side the hard click it is extremely direct - you know exactly whether you've struck it out of the sweetspot or not.The other thing to say about the sweetspot is that it seemed to me to be quite a bit bigger than the original bullseye flange putters (I putted with one of these for years, so know all about what missing the sweetspot feels like!). This is most definitely a positive.
If you're wondering "just how heavy is the Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange", I can tell you this - it's not that heavy. Especially as it comes with a 33 inch shaft as standard, you don't notice the weight being anything extraordinary.
How does the Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange roll the ball?
The roll is excellent - a real strength of this putter. You can really see the ball rolling end over end on almost every putt and as a result you'll see the ball diving into the cup from all angles.
If you like the classic center-shafted bullseye putter shape, and you want an updated version then the Scotty Cameron American Classic 3 Heavy Flange is the best one we've seen. The feel is firm, but you'll probably get used to it. The roll is excellent. Because of the difficulty of hitting the sweetspot with a long seing, we wouldn't recommend this putter if your you normally play on greens that run slower than 9 or 10 on the stimpmeter (medium/fast for club greens).
Others to consider:
Scotty Cameron Newport 2 The original, best Scotty Cameron... and thankfully not the most expensive. This is Tiger Woods' putter and if you can putt half as well as he does...
Scotty Cameron Newport 2.6 Center Shaft
The classic shape with a center shaft and no bend at the hosel. It's different ... but still has the same awesome feel.Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Studio Stainless
The "more affordable", but rather unimpressive Scotty Cameron.
Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5 This well-loved shape with a straighter neck looks gorgeous, but doesn't - for our money - feel as good as the original
Scotty Cameron Studio Design 5 Gorgeous mallet style putter - great roll, but somewhat hard feel off the face.
Scotty Cameron Futura
Phil Mickelson toyed with the Futura, before heading back to a blade. The first of the truly futuristic putters, and probably about as attractive as they're ever going to be Scotty Cameron American Classic 3
A simply gorgeous reworking of the Bullseye shape. New materials and great Scotty Cameron workmanship make this a beautiful putter to look at. Still not that forgiving, though!Scotty Cameron Bullseye Platinum Heavy Flange
A Bullseye putter worthy of consideration! The offset neck and flange aren't quite what you'd want if you're a purist looking for a bullseye, but it putts better.Scotty Cameron Napa California
As you'd imagine from Scotty Cameron, this is a beautiful piece of equipment. Looks, roll, feel - it has it all ... and a price tag to match Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi Mid
A big hulk of a putter - face balanced with a long aimlineReturn to the Best-Putter.com homepage
