What you need to know: SIK FLO M putter

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: SIK Golf, the putter company known for designing faces with descending lofts to produce more consistent launch (and roll), launched a new FLO M mallet putter. The FLO M can be ordered with a variety of hosels, including plumber’s neck, double bend, slant neck, swept neck and armlock. A center-shafted option for both the FLO and FLO M will launch soon.

PRICE/AVAILABILITY: $449, available immediately.

THE DEEP DIVE: SIK Golf, the putter company whose name stands for “study in kinematics,” produces putters where the face is designed to produce consistent strikes regardless of how the club is delivered to the ball.

Key to achieving that is its descending loft technology on the face. The putter starts near the top of the face with four degrees loft and descends to 3, 2 and 1 degree the further down on the face. The theory here is that players routinely produce inconsistent downward and upward paths to impact. The loft changes match up with the contact points. A higher face impact is the result of a downward stroke path, or delofting motion, so the extra loft counteracts that stroke’s effect. Conversely, a lower face impact is from an upward stroke path that adds loft so that area of the face has the least loft. The goal is to produce a consistent launch angle for a more consistent roll and distance control.

As with the original FLO mallet, the FLO M head is milled from a block of 303 stainless steel. However, the head is approximately 10-percent smaller than the original and about 70 grams lighter, the result of feedback from tour players who wanted the forgiveness of a mallet with a feel closer to a blade. As such, the FLO M weights 360 grams, the same weight as the SIK Pro blade Bryson DeChambeau used during his U.S. Open win in 2020.

The FLO M can be ordered with a variety of hosels, including plumber’s neck, double bend, slant neck, swept neck and armlock. A center-shafted option for both the FLO and FLO M will launch soon, and the putters can be ordered in a satin or black matte finish. Price is $449.