Black Carbon Series

The Black Carbon Series arrived in 2006 as Bettinardi's first putters built under the Mizuno partnership, and our review traced the line from Bob Bettinardi's Studio B in Chicago through to the finished BC1, BC2, and BC3 that landed on our desk. As Bob put it while the design was still taking shape, "I want this to just scream quality. That is what my market expects." The maker's page lists the Black Carbon Series as a product of the 2006-2008 Mizuno partnership, and our own reporting backs up that this was very much a collaborative effort, with Keith handing off the finished heads with the line, "Now you get to tell us what YOU think."

What set the Black Carbon apart within its own run was the F.I.T. Face, the Feel-Impact Technology milling that marked, per our review, the first time a retail putter carried it. We described the effect in hand as an "insert-less insert," the Honey-Comb pattern followed by the railroad-track millings across the sweet spot changing the sound and feel off the face while keeping everything solid steel. The black plating over the 12L14 carbon steel body was the other headline feature, chosen as much for looks against a white ball as for its resistance to rust and glare.

Against the rest of the Black Carbon lineup, this is the release where all three heads, the BC1, BC2, and BC3, shared the same face technology and finish, differing in shape rather than substance. Our review treated them as a set rather than singling one out, which is consistent with how the series reads on the record: one finish, one face milling, one Mizuno-era rollout, spread across three head styles.