XB-1

The Sizemore XB-1 came out in 2007, part of the XB series that putterzone.com describes as one of two blade putters in that line. The publication reports a carbon steel head built around a 110 annealed, 99.9 percent pure copper insert a quarter-inch thick, milled through what putterzone.com calls the IND-X process, a geometric pattern with exceptionally fine spacing, with the copper itself cross-milled in the company's computer in 27 different directions. The finish combines copper flourishes with silver and black, and the sole carries a black alignment line down the center flanked by two grooves that putterzone.com says visually hug the golf ball. The putter shipped with a slip-on headcover, and putterzone.com lists an MSRP of $349, with the Sizemore brand itself dated by the outlet to 2006.

Opinion on the XB-1 leans favorably toward its construction, with community notes praising the fusion of the copper insert into the face as remarkable craftsmanship, and describing the look as exotic and elegant. Putterzone.com's own review goes further, calling it a work of art as well as a precision instrument and stating that it lives up to its price tag by offering top-to-bottom excellence, from craftsmanship to materials, performance to aesthetics. Feedback off the face is described in the same notes as vivid, crisp, and soothing when struck well. The one recurring knock is visual: those same notes flag the putter as optically active at address, pointing to the extra dips, notches, and bevels running along the upper sole as the distraction.

Set against the rest of the XB series, putterzone.com's framing of the XB-1 as one of two blade putters in the line places it as the more traditional of the pair by shape, with the copper insert and IND-X milling doing the work of setting it apart rather than any departure in head form. The designer credit given by putterzone.com is Bruce Sizemore, Jr.