The Performance Golf RS1 Putter is Shockingly Good

I’ll be honest with you,I went into this review with a heavy dose of skepticism.

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Performance Golf. And if you have, it’s likely because you’ve received a barrage of ads or emails marketing their products.

These guys are some of the best marketers in golf, which has always given me pause, as some of their claims can be a little hyperbolic.

As such, I’ve only reviewed one Performance Golf product in the past: The One Wedge, which is a legitimately good wedge for amateur golfers who struggle getting out of bunkers or heavy rough.

So, when I was offered the chance to review the Performance Golf RS1, a $400 putter in a world that LAB has completely taken over? I didn’t expect much. I figured I’d test it for a round, not be a fan, and not even bother to write a review.

But after 3 rounds and a couple of hours on the putting green, I’ve completely changed my tune.

This putter is legitimately good and competes with all of the hypiest putters out there.

It’s not perfect, but in the areas where it counts? This is one of the best putters I’ve ever tested. 

Let’s jump into the details.

What Makes the RS1 Different

The RS1 was designed by Chris McGinley, and that name carries real weight in the club design world. He’s spent decades in golf, worked with multiple number-one-ranked players on equipment, and designed putters for some of the biggest brands in the game. The RS1, as I understand it, is essentially the putter he always wanted to make. The physics always made sense to him, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself until now.

Knowing he was the engineer behind this opened me up considerably. This isn’t some random product that rolled off a factory floor in Asia. There was serious, intentional design work that went into it.

The core concept is called Forward Axis Weighting, and here’s the simple version: on most putters, the weight is centered or even slightly behind the shaft. On the RS1, 75% of the weight is in front of the shaft. That single design decision changes how the putter wants to move through the stroke – because of that front-loaded weight, gravity actually does a lot of the work of keeping the face square, rather than leaving it entirely up to your hands and your stroke.

On top of that, the Performance Golf RS1 has a 74-degree lie angle, which is 4 degrees more upright than a standard putter. What that translates to in practice is a tighter arc on your putting stroke, which means less face rotation and fewer opportunities for things to go wrong on the way through the ball.

There are reportedly nine different design elements working together here, but those two, the weighting and the lie angle, are the big ones you’ll actually feel.

Performance Golf RS1 Putter

$399

Have trouble keeping the face square on your putts? The RS1 may be exactly what you need. This putter surprised me in all the best ways, and it's definitely worth considering (even over some much bigger names).

Buy from Performance Golf

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

How the Performance Golf RS1 Compares to LAB Putters

The obvious question, and the one I kept asking myself, is how does this stack up against the zero-torque technology that LAB has built their entire brand around?

They’re actually doing something meaningfully different. A LAB putter, your DF3, your Mezz.1, your Oz, is designed so the face doesn’t really want to rotate at all. You can literally balance them and the face stays square. That’s passive resistance to rotation.

The RS1 is doing something more active. It’s using the forward weight distribution and gravity to guide the face back to square during the stroke, rather than eliminating movement altogether. The easy mental model: a zero-torque putter is passive, the RS1 is active.

In my experience, the RS1 feels more like using a conventional putter. Because of the way it’s weighted, it has a sensation that splits the difference between a blade and a mallet. You get some of the control and feel of a blade with the stability of a mallet.

For golfers who have tried LAB putters and found them too “robotic” or just couldn’t get comfortable with how different they feel, this might actually be the better fit.

First Impressions: Look and Feel of the Performance Golf RS1

Visually, I actually like it. We live in an era where putters are getting progressively weirder. The LAB DF3 is not exactly a traditional-looking club, so the RS1 doesn’t feel out of place. The alignment lines across the top are clean and functional. The pistol grip is comfortable and easy to hold. It looks like a premium product.

The Performance Golf RS1 putter comes in two configurations: stainless steel shaft at $399, or graphite shaft at $429. Looking back, knowing what I know now, I’d personally go graphite.

Here’s why: the stainless steel face combined with the stainless steel shaft gives the RS1 a hot, “pingy” feel at impact.

If you’re the kind of golfer who wants a soft, mushy feel off the face (and that’s definitely me), you’re not going to get that with the base model. It’s not awful, but it’s a jarring contrast to how good everything else about the putter is. My playing partners noticed the sound too; there’s a high-end ting at contact that takes some getting used to.

The graphite shaft should soften things up meaningfully. It’s $30 more. Worth it.

Real-World Performance of the RS1

Okay, here’s where things get genuinely surprising.

In my initial testing, I had some early concerns about lag putting. Distance control on longer putts just wasn’t clicking the way I wanted it to. But after two more rounds, those issues largely went away as I developed a feel for the weighting.

And the results since then have been hard to argue with.

In my last two rounds with the PG RS1, I didn’t have a single three-putt. Not one. For me, that is genuinely wild.

From 20, 30, even 40 feet out, I’ve been consistently getting the ball close enough to tap in. The way the forward weighting works, it seems to dial in distance control almost naturally once you’re comfortable with it. You’re not fighting the putter, gravity is actually working with you.

Inside 10 feet, this thing feels automatic. That’s the same experience I had when I first tested LAB putters.  That confidence that as long as you’re reading the line correctly, you’re going to make the putt.

If I’m being honest, I’d give the RS1 a slight edge over the LAB putters I’ve tested (the DF3, Mezz.1, and Oz) in that short-to-mid range. The forward weighting just makes it almost too easy to keep the face square.

For context: my personal gamer before testing the RS1 was the PXG Bat Attack ZT putter, which has been my favorite putter of all time because it delivers some zero-torque benefits while maintaining a soft, controllable feel. T

hat combination helped me cut putts per round pretty dramatically. The RS1 doesn’t have that same softness — but it may actually be more effective. 

I’m still dialing that in. And honestly, it’s been good enough that I’m planning to stick with the RS1 for a few more rounds and see if I can get used to the sound and the feel. But the fact I’m even considering the switch from the PXG says a lot.

One (Very) Minor Critique Worth Noting

This is a minor thing, and actually has nothing to do with the putter itself, but I wanted to mention it.

The case that the RS1 comes with feels very high quality, as you’d expect from a $400 putter.

However, when it comes to fit, I’ve had some frustrations getting it back on the club easily. It fits, technically. But when trying to put it back on after every hole, it just seems a little too tight, and causes some frustration every time I do it.

As such, I’ve found myself just leaving it off for the duration of my round – which isn’t ideal.

Also, something to remember, this is a center shafted putter, so if you want an aftermarket cover – make sure you get the right one. I realized this as I went to put my normal cover on it, which is meant for a heel shafted design.

The Return Policy Changes the Equation

One more thing I want to mention, because it genuinely enhances my recommendation here.

My biggest concern about the RS1 was the same concern I’d have about any putter you can’t try before you buy: what if you spend $400, it’s not right for you, and you’re stuck with it?

So I looked up their return policy, fully expecting a standard 30-day window, or less…

It’s 365 days. No questions asked.

You can use this putter for nearly a full year and return it if it’s not working for you. That is a company putting its money where its mouth is in a major way. It’s the kind of policy that should go a long way toward defusing the skepticism that Performance Golf’s marketing tends to generate.

So whereas I might have otherwise said “go to Golf Galaxy and try a LAB first,” that return policy makes it a lot easier to say: if this sounds interesting to you, just try it.

How easy will they make it to actually return the putter? Well that remains to be seen, but assuming customer support is useful? This is a huge reason to take a chance on the putter.

Should You Buy the Performance Golf RS1?

If you’ve been struggling with an open or closed face at impact (and honestly, if you’re not a scratch golfer, that’s probably part of your putting problem), the RS1 is worth a real look.

The technology is legitimate. The designer is credible. The results, at least for me, have been hard to deny. I went in expecting to use it twice, put it in the closet, and tell you it wasn’t worth your time. Instead, I’ve kept it in the bag, shot two rounds without a three-putt, and genuinely had to reconsider what my go-to putter is going to be.

My main caveats: if feel and sound at impact are really important to you, either go graphite or be prepared to adjust your expectations.

And understand this isn’t magic, you still have to read the putt correctly. But for keeping the face square and getting the ball rolling on your intended line? This putter does what it says.

Backed by a 365-day return policy, the risk is basically zero.

Performance Golf RS1 Putter

$399

Have trouble keeping the face square on your putts? The RS1 may be exactly what you need. This putter surprised me in all the best ways, and it's definitely worth considering (even over some much bigger names).

Buy from Performance Golf

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

This page contains affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and buy one of the products on this page, we may receive a commission (at no extra cost to you!) This doesn’t affect our opinions or our reviews. Everything we do is to benefit you as the reader, so all of our reviews are as honest and unbiased as possible.

Have questions about the RS1? Drop them in the comments — I know a lot of you are going to be just as skeptical as I was, and I’m happy to try to answer them based on my experience.