BioMech's Unconventional but Efficient AccuLock ACE Putter
24 Aug 2015
by Rusty Cage
see also: Equipment Reviews
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The innovative design of the AccuLock ACE putter
stabilizes the putting stroke.
If there’s one club in the bag that drives most
golfers crazy, it’s definitely the putter. Even Ben
Hogan, as great as he was tee-to-green, was
rather ordinary with the flat stick. So It’s no
surprise that putter designers go to great
lengths to create what they hope is the next
great magic wand. The recently released
AccuLock
ACE by BioMech Sports takes a truly
avant-garde approach to putter design. And if
you have an open-mind, it might just help you
shoot lower scores.
One of my friends at a local pro shop took
one look at the AccuLock ACE and called it a
garden hoe. The 39-inch long putter with the
oversized, curved mallet isn’t pretty in the
traditional sense. But then again, it wasn’t
designed to win an equipment junkie’s version
of a pageant. The club was developed to match
the biomechanics of the human body and in
doing so, prevent and reduce back problems
typically associated with traditional putting. The
angle of the shaft and it’s extra-long length
allows the grip to rest against the leading
forearm similar to how PGA Tour Pro Matt
Kuchar uses his Bettinardi Arm Lock putter. In
both cases, the goal is to stabilize the hands,
arms and shoulders, and to encourage the
golfer to use their core muscles to facilitate the
stroke.
Strolling over to the putting green, my
friend and I took turns with the AccuLock ACE.
Although he was quick to disparage its looks,
he made five consecutive six-footers just
messing around with it and jokingly offered to
buy it from me. I didn’t have nearly the success
he did with the putter from short-range, but I
found my groove hitting putts from longer than
30 feet - an area I typically struggle with. The
forward-press design and optimal face angle
gets the ball rolling with a lot of topspin,
requiring minimal effort to hit a putt of
considerable length. If anything, I had to dial
back the length of my stroke to keep from
blasting the ball past the hole.
 |
The innovative design lets the
AccuLock ACE putter
remain squarely on
the target line. |
Using the AccuLock ACE putter certainly
requires an adjustment. If you’re not used to
the unconventional length, or securing the grip
to your forearm, you will feel some initial
frustration. Also, golfers who take the putter
back on an arc may find that the straight-back,
straight-through approach doesn’t work for
their natural stroke. Still, if there’s one thing I
can say for certain, the AccuLock ACE gets
easier to use the more you practice with it.
The putter made it’s official debut at the
2015 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. Rhode
Island-based BioMech is headed up by the
husband and wife team of Frank Fornari and
Gwen Bauer, both of whom are scientists in the
biotechnology field. The idea for the putter was
born when Fornari and tennis pro Lavonne
Davis were commiserating about their shared
frustrations with putting. Davis and Fornari
began tinkering with putter shaft angles which
eventually led to six years of research and
development before the final realization of the
AccuLock ACE.
 |
An optimal face angle at impact
results
in proper ball launch and roll.
|
The unconventional putter began
receiving attention on the PGA Tour as early as
last year. Four-time PGA Tour winner Heath
Slocum was approached by BioMech in the off-
season to help him eliminate errors from his
putting stroke. Slocum put the new putter into
play at the Sony Open in Hawaii. A second
player, Bo Van Pelt, who had used a Bettinardi
Kuchar Model at one point, wielded an
AccuLock ACE at the Waste Management
Phoenix Open less than a month later.
The key features of the putter include:
- Maximal forearm contact which
stabilizes hands, wrists, arms and shoulders.
- Unobstructed view of the golf ball and
putter face.
- Shaft angles allow the putter to
perform as an orthotic facilitating consistent set
up.
- Upright lie angle minimizes arc
inherent in pendulum putting.
- Optimal face angle at impact
resulting in a better roll.
BioMech offers the AccuLock ACE in four
shaft lengths: 39, 41, 43 and 47 (uncut) inches
and is outfitted with a baby-blue elongated 17-
inch grip made by Winn. Golfers willing to try
out the putter can order it in five distinct
colors. With the anchored putting ban looming
at the end of this year, counter-balanced
models along with arm-lock putters like the
AccuLock ACE are expected to become more
popular among touring professionals and
amateurs alike. But why wait till 2016? If
you’re struggling around the greens, you owe it
to yourself to seek a solution, and the
quirky-looking AccuLock ACE might
just be the fix.