R1-J

The Bloodline R1-J line runs across two releases on our record, the R1-J Blade in 2017 and the Bloodline R1-J in 2018, and both turn on the same idea: a putter built to stand on its own on the green so a player can walk behind it and check alignment.

The 2017 R1-J Blade arrived with a CNC milled aluminium face and what golfmagic.com described as a relatively compact footprint paired with an oversized grip, and the publication reported it conforms to the rules of golf and is capable of self-standing. Golfmagic.com's reviewer found it surprising how stable and solid the putter felt at impact given that compact footprint, and noted it stands on its own well despite the small head. Si.com reported that Ernie Els used the putter to win the PGA Tour Champions' Hoag Classic that March, though that credit belongs to the publication's reporting rather than to anything verified here.

By 2018 the line had grown into the Bloodline R1-J proper, which golfbusinessnews.com described as the brand's second major appearance and built around the same patented design as the maker's RG-1 mallet putter. That publication reported a machined aluminum face, body, and hosel bonded to a stainless steel sole plate, with an extremely low balance point said to add feel and release through the stroke, and the same self-standing alignment idea carried forward from the Blade. Golfbusinessnews.com quoted Bloodline Co-Founder Larry Bischmann speaking to momentum building on tour and among other athletes drawn to the alignment benefit alongside the putter's feel. On the community side, pluggedingolf.com's reviewer called it by far the best putter they had used, citing feel and distance control and mentioning they use the stand-alone feature occasionally to check their line, though elsewhere on record the same 2018 release also drew complaints about replacement grip quality and the company's customer service.

Read together, the two releases tell a fairly consistent story: a blade-then-mallet evolution held together by the self-standing alignment gimmick, praised in both years for how it feels at impact and how it plays into a putter's line, with the 2018 model expanding the material story to a bonded aluminum-and-steel build while also picking up the sourness of business complaints that the 2017 Blade doesn't carry in what we hold.