50 Words or Less
The Performance Golf SQ putter has a unique face down balance. Unusual grip may be a winner for those that prefer larger grips. Very light swing weight.
Buy the Performance Golf SQ Putter HERE
Introduction
For 2025, almost every putter company is offering a zero torque putter. From the L.A.B. Golf’s OZ.1 to Odyssey’s Ai-ONE Square to Square models [review HERE], everyone is going “face up”. Performance Golf is taking a different approach with their “face down” SQ putter. Is everyone else facing the wrong way? Can the SQ putter improve your results on the green? Let’s discuss.
Looks
The Performance Golf SQ putter comes in two different shapes. Seen here is the SQ-1, which is a fairly traditional blade. The SQ-5 is a fang-style mallet. Both putters have a silver finish with a simple black alignment line on the flange. They share the same red and black branding across the sole and in the cavity.
Digging deeper on the SQ-1, the most obviously unusual thing about the putter is the placement of the shaft. Rather than being inserted in the top line, it plugs into the shoulder. Two or three years ago, this would have been more noteworthy, but we’ve seen an explosion in unconventional neck placements lately. Beyond that, the SQ-1 sets itself apart from a standard Anser with the rounded back edge and the bite taken out of the flange.
The Performance Golf SQ putter comes with a basic black headcover with a velcro closure. The design of the head cover is bare bones, and the materials don’t feel great. While this isn’t an overly expensive putter – it retails for $189 – I wish Performance Golf had gone the extra mile to give customers a little more in this department.
Sound & Feel
In my initial testing of the Performance Golf SQ putter, I had a few moments of self doubt. I was hitting putts specifically to gauge the feel, and I was coming up empty. After several more, I realized that my hands hadn’t gone numb, the ball just feels incredibly light on the face. I chalk this up largely to oversized grip.
Compounding this “issue” is the fact that the impact sound is a quiet “thud.” This combination gives the golfer very limited feedback on strike quality, especially at shorter distances.
Performance
As is their style, Performance Golf makes some very strong claims about the performance of the SQ putter. Among them are a “straighter stroke and square face at impact” and, of course, “eliminate 3-putts and make more putts than ever before.” They credit these improvements to Straighter Stroke Technology which they state “locks the face square”.
As you can see, the SQ putter balances face down. I’ve seen plenty of putters that balance face up, and many zero torque putters balance toe up, like L.A.B. Golf’s putters [OZ.1 review HERE], but this is the first that I’ve seen balance face down. When combined with the other unique piece of the puzzle – the “Patented Dual Pistol grip” – it creates a feeling that’s very unusual. Performance Golf states that the grip is “rotated 90 degrees clockwise”; it reminded me of the Palmbird grip turned sideways [review HERE].
When swinging the Performance Golf SQ putter, I found that I did not have a great sense of what the face was doing. I believe a lot of this is due to the lack of swing weight – the SQ putter came out at D0 where my L.A.B. MEZZ.1 MAX is E6 [review HERE] and my conventional putters are in the high Ds. No swing weight is inherently the best, but this was too low for me to have a good sense of it.
In spite of this, when I gripped the putter gently, rocked my shoulders, and tried to “give up” control of the putter face, the results were good at short range. The ball tended to find its line or pull slightly left. I can’t recall hitting a single putt offline to the right.
When it came to longer putters, it was more of a struggle. The aforementioned lack of head feel and the SQ putter’s limited forgiveness were not a great combination. This putter isn’t less forgiving than a traditional Anser, but it doesn’t have the face tech or multi-material construction that other makers use to boost MOI in a traditional shape. Missing the center of the face resulted in the ball coming up significantly short of target.
Finally, it’s worth noting that there are no customization options available of the Performance Golf SQ putter at the time of this writing. The putter is available in right handed only at 34.5″, 3 degrees of loft, and a 72 degree lie angle. This more upright lie angle is touted as part of the design – locking your hands into a higher position to straighten your putter path.
Conclusion
The combination of light swing weight, unique grip, and face down balance make the Performance Golf SQ Putter meaningfully different than any flat stick you’re likely to find on the shelf. While this combination wasn’t a revelation for me, it might be worth a try for you. With a 365 day money back guarantee, Performance Golf makes trying the SQ Putter risk free.