EVNROLL ER11VX Midlock Review

Guerin Rife and EVNROLL do it again with an innovative improvement on contemporary method and design.

When we reviewed the EVNROLL ER2B, we were blown away by the design and the performance of the putter. Having won awards as the “worlds most mosted blade” we can assure you it lived up to the hype and since then the brand continues to go from strength to strength and you can imagine our excitement when we got to use the latest in Guerin Rife’s portfolio.

With over 25 year of experience, Rife is no stranger to putter design but it was the introduction of EVNROLL in 2016 and Rife’s patented “sweet face technology” that has the industry talking and the latest in the brands portfolio gives you an idea of the team continue to push boundaries.

The Carlsbad, CA company pride itself on using data to change the game and create the perfect putter for your game accompanied by stunning visual design.

The EVNROLL ER11VX is the second installment of the successful mallet to be fitted with the highly acclaimed Midlock grip.

We took the putter out for 3 rounds to give it a run-through to see how it fared in on the greens.

Design

As previously mentioned the ER11VX isn’t a new design per se, but more so a tweak of last year’s ER11V with ever so slight changes.

Whilst everything still looks familiar with its CNC Milled Aluminium body, the stainless steel weights have been changed slightly to give it better balance and weight resulting in a greater MOI (Moment of Intertia) for the player.

On the top of the putter, the sight line has changed from a tunnel to a solid straight line and its bold red and white text and accents have been updated to show the VX in this year’s model whilst still showing the traditional “E” and “Design by Guerin Rife” text.

The headcover has also had an update to showcase the Midlock variant with soft tumbled leather, a monochrome design, and of course, the tiny “Get Even” messaging on the side tag.

One of the most ingenious parts of Rife’s design on both the ER11V and VX was the option to cut out a concave hole to pick up your ball without compromising on the weight and build quality of the putter head itself, which is so incredibly useful and puts a small smile on your face on every pick-up.

Like every EVNROLL putter, the build quality feels extra premium and feels beautifully weighted.

The true talking point on the ER11VX ML is the Midlock itself, Rife’s approach to the armlock method which is dubbed “Armlock Made Easy”

The grip like the monochrome headcover compromises of 2 parts. The bottom black half acts as your traditional putting grip and acts as a guide, a reminder of who to set up naturally in terms of hand position.

The top white half is where the magic happens. Using the “just add 6” measurement, the player should add 6 inches to their traditional putter length and the top white section, which almost looks like a pistol grip turned sideways acts a natural feeling lock into your lead forearm with very little forward tilt.

Performance and Feel

Like anyone using a new putter grip for the first time, The Midlock felt very strange at first. Having used Armlock putters before, we found the Midlock to take even longer to get accustomed to simply because it almost sits in between Arm lock and traditional.

When using an Armlock putter you’re almost expecting a whole new method, but with Midlock the feel is a lot more subtle as a concept. The forward tilt or shaft lean in comparison is only 4 degrees vs 9 degrees of what an armlock would be.

Once you are comfortable in your setup you can instantly feel the pressure taken off of your wrists and dispersed into your arms and shoulders giving you a much more controlled takeaway.

We found ourselves hitting our putts long at first but with the weight and hozel designed specifically for the degree change, we quickly found our tempo.

Knowing you can control the length of your takeaway more consistently meant that it was easy to control pace and roll. We dubbed it a “2 Putt machine” as we were able to control the ball getting very close to the hole, especially on putts greater than 10 yards.

A controlled takeaway also meant a consistent arc which we found incredibly useful when trying to roll your putt on your guideline.

It took a whole 1 round to get used to the putter overall because of the feel and those who use fatter grips may struggle a bit longer, however, once you are used to it it’ll be hard to remove it from your bag.

Strangely we found the ER11VX a lot easier to use and better to use outside of 5-8 yards mainly due to the stroke length but over time we’re sure this will improve also.

Overall, EVNROLL has been a joy to use. Our rolls were consistent and confidence felt very high when using it resulting in 3.5 strokes gained on putts when using Arccos analytics.

Gallery

Verdict

The ER11VX Midlock putter won’t attract everyone but it is for those wanting a confidence boost in their putting stroke it is definitely worthy.

The ML eliminates almost all shakes and off-track takeaway simply by releasing pressure from your wrists and dispersing it.

The beauty of the EVNROLL ML is that Guerin Rife has modified the design to feel as subtle as possible whilst sticking to USGA guidance on rules.

The weight, feel and design of the ER11VX all work in harmony with one another making this better a serious option for those in the market for something new.

The ER11VX Midlock is available to build and buy directly from EVNROLL with a RRP of £409

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Craig Peterson