Evnroll ER ZERO Z.1 Putter Review

The new Evnroll ZERO Z.1 putter is one of the best mallet putters I've ever used.  It checks off every performance box you want with exceptional stability, roll, and distance control.  And that's only the beginning.

The modern shape might not be for everyone.  But for a lot of players the ZERO Z.1 will be the kind of putter that stays in your bag forever.  It's really that good.

Let's start with the shape and appearance.  Mallet putters these days come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  And at first blush the Evnroll ZERO Z.1 will be a subjective preference that some will like and others will not.  It's on the larger side for mallet putters, but not so big that it looks like a pizza box on a stick.  In my opinion there are some shape and appearance similarities to the Cameron Phantom X12, Cobra KING Agera, and maybe even the Odyssey 11 putters.

 

Even with its larger size, the ZERO Z.1 is on the lighter size made with a 6061 aluminum body and a hollowed out center of the putter.  After just a few putts I immediately felt like the weight wasn't so light that you lose swing momentum however, but it was still heavy enough to retain touch and feel on putts of all distance.  This seemingly "just right" weight can also be attributed to the 30 gram steel weights positioned in each of the putter's four corners (more on that later).

Two things I noticed immediately about the ZERO Z.1 were the strong sensation of hands controlling head and absolutely phenomenal stability and balance.  And I'm not exaggerating one bit here, these features are readily obvious and fantastically pleasing.

 

The hands and head connection with Evnroll ZERO Z.1 is so profound it almost reminded me of the connection and sensation of your hand holding a pencil.  And more importantly, the precise connection and sensation between fingers and pencil tip.  The feeling of pretty much complete and perfect control throughout your entire swing is as good as it gets.  Absolutely love this sensation.

Next up on the ZERO Z.1 wow department for me was the balance and stability.  Putt after putt I saw incredible and repeatable stability going back and coming through.  I don't know the MOI number for this putter but the hollow center and four 30 gram steel weights in each of the four corners made my stroke as balanced as it could possible be.

 

Think a perfect pendulum back and through.  Or a train on train tracks.  In fact, the entire swing from stroke to roll makes me think of the smooth precision of an Olympic Rowing Team on calm waters.  You just normally don't get this kind of stability with a lighter putter.  And the added bonus is you also don't experience the loss of feel or control that stability sometimes sacrifices with putters that are too heavy.  Whatever example you envision in your mind as something that's repeatably consistent and stable, the Z.1 movement is pretty much guaranteed to be precisely that.

Distance control with the ZERO Z.1 felt both natural and exact, and as time went on even somewhat effortless. I got seemingly perfect roll with this putter.  It has a lower loft than many putters on the market at 2 degrees.  I have a tendency to hit up on the ball with my putters however, so this really benefited me in getting the ball rolling immediately as opposed to hopping a little bit at the beginning.  And as with all Evnroll putters you can customize loft and lie to whatever best suits your stroke.

 

And speaking of your stroke, the Evnroll ZERO Z.1 is primarily face balanced, but the new short-slant hosel gives it a little toe hang.  So now this putter is still ideal for anyone with a straight-back, straight-through swing but also anyone with a slight arc to your swing.  If you do have a prominent arc in your putter swing however, I'd probably advise you to look at other models, like the EV5.1 which has hosel options that give you up to twice as much toe hang (I'll be reviewing the EV5.1 soon as well).

Alignment is also a subjective preference kind of thing and what I really like about the ZERO 5.1 is it gives you three different visual ques that all blend well together.  In fact I think you can use any of the three individually or all as one seamless aid.  A simple front line, middle circle, and simple back line give you a very strong and easy to line up visual that helps square the ball perfectly.  I tend to focus on the single front line as someone who likes simplicity above all else with alignment and my aim with this Z.1 putter honestly couldn't be any better.

 

The milled face headliner of Z.1 (and all Evnroll putters) is their Sweet Face Technology.  This is basically a variable width groove pattern with grooves that narrow out towards the toe and heel.  Evnroll says this creates a "sweet face" as opposed to merely a "sweet spot" by increasing contact surface and energy transfer on putts away from the center.  I call it a face that makes putts purrr to the hole even when your putts are not perfect.  Really and legit great stuff here.

Finally I have to mention a few things about the ZERO Z.1 impact feel.  While impact feel itself isn't something that affects performance of a putter in the same way that stability or roll does, I do think it's an important performance feature nevertheless.  And Z.1 is shockingly soft and deep for a lightweight aluminum body.  At impact it feels incredibly soft deep enough for me to be confident I'll knock em in for delicate short putts.  But it but also feels like a firmer (or deeper) soft on longer putts giving me that same kind of confidence in distance control and feedback.  Maybe it's a mental thing, but for me Z.1 impact feel really contributes to the exceptional consistency of distance and speed control on putts of all lengths.

 

In a nutshell the Evnroll ZERO Z.1 is quite simply one of the best mallet putters of 2023.  With seemingly ideal weighting, balance, and control through entire swing and a consistency of roll and distance control, the Z.1 putter will make many of you as confident as you can possibly be on the greens.