Bettinardi just unveiled two new zero-torque Antidote putters, demonstrating their continuing commitment to the zero-torque market. This is no real surprise since zero-torque putters are as hot as ever with consumers. Why wouldn’t a putter company keep making them?

Lots of companies, Bettinardi included, rolled out zero-torque putters last year. In many ways, launching a second batch of zero-torque putters is more difficult than the first.

Most of us celebrate a first attempt at something, often being less critical than usual since it was a first attempt.

For a second run, though, customers expect more. The company has had a year to learn from their initial offering so the next one should be better.

Back to the new Antidote zero-torque putters. Did Bettinardi learn something from their initial Antidote models? More importantly, did that new knowledge result in better putters?

Are the new Bettinardi Antidote putters better performing?

I wanted to bring up this question first so that I could promptly dodge it. This is a question we will definitively answer in about six months when the 2026 Most Wanted Zero-Torque Putter Buyer’s Guide publishes.

Expectations are high since Bettinardi grabbed some scoreboard in the 2025 Buyer’s Guide. The Antidote SB2 placed third overall. That’s pretty good for a first take on the zero-torque design.

The Antidote SB1 ended up more in the middle of the pack but this was not unexpected as zero-torque blade performance often lags behind that of zero-torque mallets.

Were I to make predictions for the 2026 testing, I would expect the new Antidote SB3 mallet to do very well. The balance is spot on and the rolls are as expected for line and distance. It checks all of the putting boxes.

I’m not quite as bullish on the smaller SB5 mid-mallet but that is just a “me” thing since small, round mallets are my putting kryptonite.

Are the new Bettinardi Antidotes better looking?

I’d like to take a brief moment to acknowledge my growth as a person. Did you notice I talked about putter performance first and looks second? Although it’s unlikely, maybe my putter shallowness is dissipating.

Performance is what keeps a putter in the bag but the putter’s appearance is what leads to its purchase.

Thanks to L.A.B. Golf, the golfing consumer is more tolerant of odd-looking but high-performing putters than ever. Quell your rage L.A.B. rats. I, too, like the look of my DF3.

Bettinardi’s new Antidote putters show us that a high-performing zero-torque putter can also be attractive.

Bettinardi nails the aesthetic with both new Antidote models. I don’t putt very well with the SB5 but I love its looks. The near-seamless integration of the front and rear sections is a marvel of milling. It looks great behind the ball.

The Antidote SB3 is gorgeous. The Bettinardi Antidote SB2 was an award-winning performer but not really a looker. It wasn’t a brick-on-a-stick but it was brick-adjacent.

The SB3 has all of the looks that made the similarly fanged Bettinardi Inovai 6 a crowd favorite. To my eye, this putter suits the Bettinardi design aesthetic way more than the SB2 did. Ignoring the hosel, you’d likely think it was an Inovai model, not an Antidote.

That new shaft plan

Let’s not ignore the hosel, though. Obviously, hosel position is a key element involved with making a zero-torque putter. To eliminate torque, the shaft needs to attach to the putter at the center of gravity.

For the Antidote SB2, Bettinardi drilled a hole at the center of gravity and inserted the shaft. For this head shape, it was a fine plan.

For the fang-shaped SB3, this shaft attachment plan would not work since the CG would be located in the empty space between the fangs. As a result, Bettinardi added an arc of metal to the rear of the front section and then bored it out for shaft insertion.

In true Bettinardi fashion, the milling around this new insertion point is sublime. Not only do the edges perfectly blend into the body but the vertical milling marks add a nice aesthetic element.

At address, the SB3 and SB5 look fantastic. The eye gravitates to the small sight line and the front edge. The new attachment design just blends into the head. Not once did I find it distracting when putting.

Let’s take a closer look at the two new Bettinardi Antidote models.

Bettinardi Antidote SB3

As I mentioned, the SB3 looks a great deal like a Bettinardi Inovai putter, specifically the Bettinardi Inovai 6.

Making the Antidote SB3 look like the Inovai 6 was a pro move on Bettinardi’s part, considering that the Inovai 6 was the Best Mallet Putter of 2024. 

Unlike the Inovai, the Antidote SB3 is not a multi-material design. The front and rear sections are milled stainless steel. It blew my mind a bit that the rear blue section is not milled aluminum. It says 303 Stainless Steel on the fang but I needed to email Bettinardi just to be sure.

It’s a significant feat that Bettinardi was able to shift the center of gravity forward with stainless steel fangs at the rear. Making the rear end out of stainless steel boosts the MOI properties of the SB3. This is a great way to increase stability.

The inner lines on the fangs and the central top line combine into an effective alignment system.

In terms of feel and roll, Bettinardi’s trademark F.I.T. face milling works well with the shape of the head. F.I.T. faces are one of Bettinardi’s softest faces, yet the rolls off the SB3 are still responsive and packed with feedback.

My guess is that the extra stainless steel for the shaft location added a bit of firmness to the impact feel. Bettinardi balanced out this new firmness with the softness of the F.I.T. face milling.

Whatever the motivation, the build plan is a good one. I fully expect the SB3 to be in the running for the best zero-torque putter of 2026.

I can see myself building a purple one in the new Bettinardi Workshop.

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Bettinardi Antidote SB5

The Bettinardi Antidote SB5 is a mid-sized, zero-torque mallet. That fact alone separates it from many of the other zero-torque mallet offerings which tend to lean more toward the stouter edge of the size spectrum.

As with the SB3, the SB5 is milled entirely from stainless steel. I’m impressed with the way the curves and lines mesh with this head. It really looks like a normal center-shafted putter.

The shaft just sits a little back from the face.

Those of you who are turned off by the larger profiles of zero-torque putters will appreciate the SB5’s smaller footprint. Like the Antidote SB1, the SB5 feels like a precision instrument.

Maybe that is just psychological but you get a different vibe when you place the small SB5 behind the ball than you do with the larger SB3.

How that vibe is received depends on the person looking down at it. Some will like the smaller profile; others will prefer a larger mallet.

Both of these putters are zero-torque but they feel and play very differently.

As a size reference, the Antidote SB5 fits in a blade-style headcover rather than a mallet cover.

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Bettinardi’s sophomore success

Bettinardi has stepped up their zero-torque game with this new Antidote release. Both of these putters are aesthetically appealing with the SB3 being the best-looking Bettinardi Antidote to date.

With this release, Bettinardi has provided golfers with both the familiar and the new. The SB3 looks like an Inovai and feels like a traditional zero-torque mallet when put in motion. The SB5 has a classic Bettinardi look as well. It could easily be mistaken for a Studio Stock center-shaft.

As with the SB1, the feel of the SB5 is a bit different from other zero-torque putters. I’m not being vague on purpose. It’s just tough to describe the difference. I find it to have more of a delicate feel than the SB3 but even that is not a complete description of the difference.

Just go roll it when you see it in your shop and you will understand what I am trying to say.

Speaking of shops, if you head to Bettinardi.com on Black Friday, you will be able to pick up blacked-out versions of all four of the Antidote putter models. Don’t dawdle. They will go quickly.

Pre-order for the two new Antidote models begins today at Bettinardi.com with putters arriving in shops on Dec. 2.

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