Method 001

The Method 001 is the anchor head of Nike's Method line, a classic Anser-2 profile that our review called a putter no doubt built to be as close to Tiger's putter as possible. It arrived in 2009 carrying real tour pedigree: our review notes that Nike won two majors with prototypes of the Method that year, with Stewart Cink taking the British Open and Lucas Glover the US Open, a result that also helped land the Method on the 2010 Golf Digest Hotlist.

The defining feature, per our review, is the Polymetal Groove Technology, described as a hybrid between an insert, a sound-slot, and a deep-groove milling pattern. Putterzone.com's reporting fills in the mechanism: a ported polymer layer sits behind the face with a groove pattern extruded through it, with polymer grooves giving way to secondary steel grooves for what that outlet describes as controlled forward roll. Putterzone.com also reports a 303 stainless steel head at 343 grams, a single sight dot for alignment, and a $249 retail price, which lines up with the $249.99 our review cited at the time. On loft, our own test putter measured at 3.5 degrees, which our review pointed out as proof against the old 1° trick some companies use to fake a quick roll; putterzone.com's own figure for the 001 is listed separately at 2 degrees.

Putterzone's write-up called it a significant technological achievement that produces real results in terms of feel and roll, and predicted it would be a smash hit in the hands of recreational golfers given its resume of two majors. Our own review struck a similar note on feel, describing contact as a simple click with almost no skip whatsoever, and drew a clear line between the Method and Nike's earlier Unitized series from 2006, noting that the only thing these putters share is the Swoosh on the heel.