Futura X X5 Dual Balance

The 2014 Futura X X5 Dual Balance takes the X5 mallet head and builds a counterbalanced system around it, aimed squarely at players who can't find a repeatable stroke at conventional length. The maker's page is direct about the mechanics: the head is made 50 grams heavier, and a 50 gram counterweight sits in the grip end of a 38 inch shaft, all in service of what Cameron's own copy calls "an extremely solid and stable putting experience without an anchor." That last phrase matters, since this putter arrived in the post-anchoring era, and Cameron's language positions the Dual Balance system as the sanctioned alternative to a stroke players could no longer press against their chest.

On spec, the X5 Dual Balance carries a 3.5º loft and 70º lie, a 38 inch length as standard, and a 303 stainless steel head with an aluminum sole, full shaft offset, and the two 15 gram weights that make up the counterbalance scheme. Custom Shop options extend loft by a degree in either direction and lie by two, with half inch length adjustments also on offer, so the standard build is a starting point rather than the only way it left the shop. The grip is listed simply as Dual Balance, and a separate capture of the putter's product page notes it ships with a 15 inch Dual Balance grip specifically to slow the hands at the butt end through the stroke.

Within the Futura X family, this release sits alongside the X7M Dual Balance as one of two counterbalanced options built off the X-series mallets, distinct from the standard X5 and X5R heads that came in conventional lengths. The core shaping is shared with the rest of the X5 line, the departure here is entirely in the weighting and shaft length, which is what the Dual Balance name is meant to signal on the wall of options.