Nickent Pipe Putter

The stars weren't the only things aligned when Nickent came up with the design for its Pipe putter. Alignment is what this putter is all about. After several weeks of testing, we weren't able to find any golfers who - after using the Pipe - were left uninterested in putting it in their bag. Some liked it more than others, of course, but all of them liked the Pipe. So did I. I went out and bought a Nickent Pipe that's now in my golf bag.

Let's get this out of the way early: The Nickent Pipe is the easiest putter to align of any we've run across. It starts by sitting square to the ball when you ground it at address, and then there's that pipe.

A half-pipe, to be exact. The Nickent Pipe gets its name from its ultra-light thermoplastic alignment aid.

As you can see in the photos, the Pipe features a half-moon-ring body (like the original Nike Oz) with the "pipe" extending back from the clubface and supported by the ring. The frame of the putter head is steel which, combined with the tungsten plug in the back of the pipe, pushes much of the clubhead's weight to the rear and perimeter. (The tungsten plug in the rear of the pipe accounts for 15-percent of the clubhead's weight all by itself.)

These features account for a very high moment of inertia and a center of gravity that is very low and rearward - both factors in truer roll and truer line. In fact, Nickent reported that in a recent independently conducted skid-and-roll test, high-speed cameras showed that the Pipe produced significantly less skid than either the Odyssey 2-Ball or Ping Craz-E.

The face of the Nickent Pipe features what Nickent calls the "P-Line" insert. It's a proprietary polymer composite with a 98 hardness rating. Nickent says this material produces "the perfect combination of soft feel and stability at impact."

Sure, that's what they all say. But we did find that the Pipe produces a solid feel with good feedback; a softer feeling than non-insert putters but not so soft that you lose that clean, crisp impact.

But back to that alignment aid: As we said, it's a "half-pipe," which gives it a three-dimensional advantage over most other alignment aids. It also matches the diameter of the golf ball. At address, it's as if you have a several-inches-long rail from the golf ball back to use in aligning the putter.

Some of the golfers who gave us feedback on the Nickent Pipe felt the alignment aid would have worked just as well had it been flat - a very thick T-line-type alignment aid, so to speak. But most liked the 3D effect and felt it gave them a little extra help in lining up correctly.

What everyone agreed on is that the Nickent Pipe is extremely easy to line up, feels great and provides excellent distance control.

A quick note on distance control, which has gotten short-shrifted as we've focused on alignment: most of our testers felt the Pipe provided them control as good from longer distances as from shorter distances, and excellent in either case. For ourselves, we putted it very well from short-range but we were much better (both alignment and distance-wise) from long range than is normal for us.

How does the Nickent Pipe match up with other popular putters of this type? We didn't ask our testers to do any head-to-head comparisons, but both Rankmark and Golf Test USA did, pitting the Pipe against the Odyssey 2-Ball and the Ping Craz-E. The Nickent Pipe was the preferred putter in both companies' testing.

A significant finding by Rankmark was that the Pipe tested better than the other two putters in alignment from both 10 and 20 feet. It was the first time, according to Rankmark, that a putter maintained its accuracy rating from all distances tested. And Nickent points out that in those tests, the Pipe's alignment ratings actually improved as the distances increased.

The Odyssey 2-Ball is a great putter and a trendsetter, and the Craz-E a great putter as well. Either would be an excellent choice for most golfers. But I personally find the Nickent Pipe preferable to the 2-Ball and Craz-E in both alignment aid and its overall qualities. In other words, forced to choose between the three, I'd choose the Pipe.

Something else of minor note is the Pipe's headcover, which is pretty darn nifty. It might be a little too bulky for some golfer's tastes, but it certainly provides great protection for the putter head.

Can we absolutely guarantee that you'll love the Pipe if you try it? Of course not. Putting is all about feel, confidence and a golfer's comfort level with his putter. If you are in love with traditional blades and heel-toe putters, the Pipe might not float your boat. If you absolutely detest mallets and potato-mashers, the Nickent Pipe might not be for you.

But for most golfers, we feel confident in making this recommendation: Put the Pipe in your bag and you'll smoke it.

The Nickent Pipe putter is available in lengths from 32 inches to 36. At the time of this writing, the Pipe's MSRP was $199.