Bettinardi's Antidote SB5 made a splash when it launched in early 2026. It is a center-shafted mallet built for straight strokes, and in the hand it reads as a proper Bettinardi.
What's new
The SB5 is a mallet milled from 303 stainless steel, with a center shaft aligned through the head's center of gravity. Bettinardi calls this Simply Balanced. The idea matches every zero-torque design: when the shaft points at the balance point, the face has no reason to rotate open or closed during the stroke.
Feel-Impact Technology handles the face, a milled pattern that removes 55 percent of the face material. A Diamond Blast finish, a Chrome Tour Grade shaft, a Lamkin Deep Etched Standard grip and a magnetic headcover round it out, and all of that pushes the price firmly into premium territory.
How it plays
Feel scores highest at 8.5, and that tracks with what Bettinardi does best. Taking more than half the material out of a milled face is a feel decision, and the score says it worked.
Forgiveness scores 8 and accuracy 7.8, which suits a head designed to stay square. Across more than 16,000 putts in the 26-model zero-torque test, the SB5 ranked third best from long range.
Where it lacks
Workability scores 6.5. Bettinardi aims the SB5 at straight-stroke players, and anyone who swings the putter on an arc and lets the toe release is fighting the design rather than using it.
Distance scores 7.5, a step behind the feel numbers, and value lands at 7.5 too. Bettinardi charges premium money here, and the scorecard suggests you pay partly for the milling and the name.
“Zero torque usually feels clinical. This one feels like a Bettinardi, and from long range it holds its line.”- The Club Stand gear team
Reasons to buy
- Feel scores 8.5, helped by a milled F.I.T. face with 55 percent of its material cut away
- Simply Balanced shaft runs through the center of gravity, so the face resists twisting without stroke changes
- Ranked third best from long range in a 26-model zero-torque putting test
Reasons to think twice
- At 6.5, workability ranks below every other category, and the design offers an arcing stroke almost nothing
- A premium price tag earns it only a middling 7.5 for value
- Distance control at 7.5 trails its feel and forgiveness scores
Specs
| Head | Mallet, center shaft, 303 stainless steel |
|---|---|
| Technology | Simply Balanced, shaft aligned through the center of gravity (zero torque) |
| Face | F.I.T. (Feel-Impact Technology) milled face, 55 percent of face material removed |
| Finish | Diamond Blast |
| Shaft | Chrome Tour Grade |
| Grip | Lamkin Deep Etched Standard |
| Best for | Straight-stroke players who want a counterbalanced mallet that stays square without changing their stroke |
More putters we've scored
- Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7 2026 - 8.8/10. A zero-torque #7 mallet that beat 25 rivals at every putting distance, and it costs mid-tier money.
- Sub 70 011-SQ 2026 - 8.8/10. A milled aluminum zero-torque mallet that finished second of 26 on the robot without flagship pricing.
- TaylorMade Spider Tour X 2026 2026 - 8.7/10. Lighter than the Spider Tour, nearly as stable, and the most accurate putter in a 2026 test.
- TaylorMade Spider ZT Max 2026 - 8.6/10. TaylorMade stretches the Spider ZT into a bigger, higher-MOI head that keeps its face square on its own.
- PXG Torpedo ZT 2026 - 8.5/10. PXG takes the torque out of its Torpedo mallet without changing a shape players already know.
- PING Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset 2026 - 8.5/10. A compact white mallet whose Onset hosel and top-rail dot keep a pull-prone stroke from drifting left.