Key takeaways
- The testing was run on a robot, not by hand. A human tester introduces more variation than the differences being measured.
- Face twist on a half-inch heel strike measured 0.13 degrees against 0.52 degrees for the best-selling putters tested.
- Ball speed on a half-inch mishit stayed within 0.01 to 0.02 mph of a center strike, which is where the 300-500% forgiveness range comes from.
- The unflattering results are published here too, including two competitor outliers that skewed one dataset and an independent reviewer who reported poor distance control.
Most putter claims are published without the data underneath them. This page publishes ours.
The testing was commissioned from an independent lab, run on a robot rather than by hand, and captured with Quintic Ball Roll Analysis. Everything below is what came back, including the parts that complicate the story.
Who ran the testing
Blair Philip, of TRU2SPORTS LLC in Dallas, Texas.
He has designed putters for thirty years, including at PING, YES! Golf and Adams Golf. He has designed more than 200 putters and tested thousands more. He co-founded BGT Stability Shafts. He was the first US professional to use the Quintic Ball Roll System, and he has worked as a tour representative on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the Japan Tour.
He was paid for the testing. He was not paid for the conclusion, and the attestation at the foot of this page is his own wording.
The testing protocol
A gravity-driven robot delivered every stroke. That matters more than it sounds. A human tester introduces variation in path, speed and strike location that is larger than the differences being measured, which is why hand-testing cannot separate two good putters.
| Condition | Setting |
|---|---|
| Stroke | Robot, gravity-driven, zero acceleration |
| Speed | Consistent 8 mph |
| Strike locations | Center, half-inch toe, half-inch heel |
| Distances | 8 ft, 25 ft, 50 ft |
| Capture | Quintic Ball Roll Analysis |
Data captured on every strike: impact ratio, ball speed, launch angle, face angle before and after impact, lie angle stability, club path, ball rotation in RPM and degrees, angular acceleration, deceleration rate, side spin, cut and hook spin, landing dispersion, and post-landing roll consistency.
Incred models tested: RFB Black Mallet, RFB SK1, Black Mallet CS, Black Mallet Legacy OS, Black Mallet Legacy and Blade Legacy. These ran against the best-selling putters on the market, including models from TaylorMade, Odyssey, Scotty Cameron, Ping and LAB Golf.
Face twist on half-inch mishits
Face angle at impact is the dominant influence on where a putt starts. A head that twists when the strike misses the center sends the ball somewhere the golfer did not aim.
| Metric | Incred average | Top sellers average |
|---|---|---|
| Face twist, heel strike | 0.13° | 0.52° |
| Face twist, toe strike | 0.67° | 0.76° |
| Impact ratio standard deviation | 0.005 to 0.01 | 0.01 to 0.035 |
| Lateral spin | lowest in test | up to 300% higher |
Blair's note on the heel number: "It only went up by 0.1 degrees. That's actually about a third compared to most putters. That's very good."
Ball speed retention on mishits
This is the measurement behind the forgiveness claim. Ball speed decides distance, and distance decides how far offline a miss finishes.
- Center strike: 2.08 to 2.09 mph
- Half-inch mishit: 2.05 to 2.07 mph
- Deviation: 0.01 to 0.02 mph
Conventional putters typically lose 0.5 mph or more on the same mishit. Holding more than 99% of ball speed where the field loses meaningful speed is where the 300-500% more forgiving figure comes from. It is a range because it varies by strike location and model, and the range is the honest way to publish it.
"Usually you see a fairly significant drop in ball speed. This hasn't changed much. It's very close, 0.01 or 0.02 from the center strike, it's really not breaking down at all."
Roll quality
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Average forward rotation | 62 to 66 RPM |
| Forward rotation at high launch | 44+ RPM |
| Skid | zero |
| Side spin | under 10 RPM on all strikes (25+ RPM typical) |
| Deceleration | linear |
The high-launch number is the unusual one. A putter launching above 2.5 degrees normally produces net backspin. These produced forward rotation anyway.
"Even though it's launching high, the rotation number is 44+. That's not usual for a putter."
Against LAB Golf, and rollout on mishits
The Black Mallet rolled 77% better than the LAB models on center strikes, with 14% lower skid. On heel mishits the gap widened, and Blair's language about it is in the attestation below.
On 8-foot mishits the Incred models finished roughly three inches longer than the traditional putters tested. Three inches is the difference between a putt that drops and one that stops on the lip.
What the data does not show
Publishing only the flattering half would make the rest worth less.
Two competitor models skewed one dataset. The TaylorMade Spider Tour V and the Odyssey TT returned unusually high RPM values that distorted the ball roll comparison. They were noted as outliers rather than quietly dropped, and the roll figures above should be read with that in mind.
Robot data is not player data. A robot removes the variation a golfer brings. It isolates the equipment, which is the point, and it says nothing about how a putter feels or how quickly a golfer adapts to it.
One independent reviewer reported poor distance control. Matt Saternus at Plugged In Golf tested the RFB SK1 on his own launch monitor and found ball speed consistency "on par with the best mallets in the game." He also reported poor distance control and a weak sense of connection with the putter, attributing both to using a new technique without practice time. Face-down balance changes how the face arrives, and it asks for an adjustment period. Most golfers need about five putts.
The competitor count is not published here. Our own records disagree on whether the comparison set was eight models or eleven. Until that is settled, this page says "the best-selling putters tested" and gives no number.
The attestation
"Incred putters perform better in controlled robot testing than many of the best performing putters on the market in terms of consistent ball speed, ball roll and general forgiveness on center and mis-hits. Incred black mallet putters have a significant performance advantage over the lab golf putter models tested. Lab putters show an alarming amount of face twist and decrease in ball speed when mis-hit towards the heel of the right-handed putters tested."
Blair Philip, Putting Expert, TRU2SPORTS LLC, Dallas TX.
Why the putter behaves this way
The center of gravity sits in front of the shaft axis rather than behind it. Rest the head on a flat surface and the face points at the ground. The mass leads and the face follows, which is what resists the twist the data above measures.
The technology is Reverse Face Balanced®, protected by granted U.S. Patent No. 12,697,531. See how the inverted putter works.
For the models this data covers and how they compare, see our best putters 2026 guide.
Frequently asked questions
Who tested the Incred putter?
Blair Philip of TRU2SPORTS LLC, a putter designer of thirty years who has worked at PING, YES! Golf and Adams Golf. He has designed more than 200 putters and was the first US professional to use the Quintic Ball Roll System.
How was the putter testing done?
A gravity-driven robot delivered every stroke at a consistent 8 mph, across center, half-inch toe and half-inch heel strikes, at 8, 25 and 50 feet, captured with Quintic Ball Roll Analysis.
What does 300-500% more forgiving mean?
On half-inch off-center strikes the Incred putters held ball speed to within 0.01 to 0.02 mph of a center strike, retaining more than 99% of it. Conventional putters typically lose 0.5 mph or more on the same mishit.
How much does the face twist on a mishit?
0.13 degrees on a half-inch heel strike, against 0.52 degrees for the best-selling putters tested. Face angle at impact is the dominant influence on where a putt starts.
Is the robot testing data independently verified?
The testing was run by an independent lab and the attestation is Blair Philip's own wording. One outside reviewer, Plugged In Golf, separately measured ball speed consistency on his own launch monitor and reported it on par with the best mallets in the game.