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OUR JOB IS YOUR GAME
If you are in the market for a mallet putter in 2019, this test is for you.
At MyGolfSpy our job is to provide independent, unbiased, and objective testing of products to help you make more confident purchasing decisions. We do this by employing consistent testing methodologies and advanced golf analytics inside our 100% independent test facility. You are then able to leverage the industry’s richest set of head-to-head data to help unlock your full potential. Our testing yields unparalleled data which equals unparalleled insight for the golfer.
For 2019, stop buying golf equipment you like and start buying equipment you want to keep. Don’t spend a dollar unless it improves on what’s already in the bag.
Most Wanted:
Putter Buying Considerations
LENGTH
The length of your putter can affect both your ability to control distance and direction. Typical stock putters are either 34″ or 35″ in length; however, many golfers will better fit into a shorter length putter. You want to choose a putter that will allow you to have a relaxed set-up based on how you address the ball.
LOFT
Loft may affect the distance of your putt more than the direction, and speed control is extremely important in putting. If you have too much, or too little loft, your ball may either hop or dig into the ground, making distance control inconsistent. We always recommend getting fitted for a putter. A fitting specialist can help determine the proper loft for your putter.
BLADE vs. MALLET
Choosing between a blade and a mallet should come down to both personal preference and your natural putting stroke tempo. According to PING, if you tend to have a quicker tempo putting stroke, a lighter, blade style putter might suit your game. Conversely, if your stroke is smoother and slower, a heavier, mallet-style putter might be your fit.
TOE HANG
As much as your tempo plays a factor into the right putter, so does the amount of arc in your stroke. If you tend to have a large amount of opening and closing of the face, you’ll want to consider a heel shafted putter that allows for rotation – if you balance the putter on your two index fingers, the putter head should hang with the toe closer to 6 o’clock. On the other extreme, a face-balanced putter will have the face pointing to the sky when you balance it. This style putter is generally well suited for golfers who have more of a straight back straight through stroke.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT - Runner-Up: TaylorMade TP Red-White Ardmore
The TaylorMade TP Red-White Ardmore was again a strong performer, finishing second in our 2019 Most Wanted Mallet Test. Featuring an improved alignment system and aluminum Pure Roll Insert, the TP Ardmore Red-White ranked near the top in all three of our subjective feedback categories - looks, feel, and alignment.
If you're looking for a mallet this year, make sure the Ardmore is in your consideration set.
FIELD NOTES
During each test, we look for trends that provide us insight into where the market as a whole is moving, as well as what noteworthy changes manufacturers have made to improve year-over-year performance. We also solicit feedback from our testers. We want to understand what they liked, what they didn’t like, and why. While we do collect and share noteworthy portions of this subjective feedback, it does not factor in our rankings.
TRENDS AND TWEAKS
- Of the 30 models tested, we would categorize five as being slight arc, one as strong arc, 23 as straight back straight through (face-balanced), and one as torque-balanced (toe-up).
- Traditional pistol grips are increasingly uncommon. Only 8 out of the 28 putters tested featured a pistol or pistol-like grip. Almost every manufacturer offered some sort of midsized to oversized grip. Whether it be the P2 Aware Tour grip on the MLA Tour X-Dream putter or the new EVNROLL Gravity Grip – several models offer a unique twist on the grip designed to help stabilize the hands and square up the face. Even Bettinardi putters with their classic cord pistol grip were midsized at the smallest. Mostly gone are the days of the ultra-thin pistol grip.
- The number of Fang style putters, like the Odyssey Stroke Lab Seven is on the rise.
- The common theme with the larger-head mallets is to push weight to the perimeters of the head to increase MOI, thereby boosting forgiveness.
Matching Your Putter to Your Tempo
According to PING, golfers with slower tempos, often better fit into heavier, mallet style putters. On the flip side, quick tempo golfers (think Brandt Snedeker), would likely benefit from a lighter, blade style putter.
NOTES FROM THE TESTING POOL
- The Odyssey Stroke Lab Seven was rated highest by the test pool, with an average score of 7.9 across Looks, Feel and Alignment. The Stroke Lab Seven was rated the highest in each individual category, as well. Testers noted exceptionally soft feel, stability, and ease of alignment with this putter.
- The EVNROLL ER5, Scotty Cameron Futura 7m and the PING Sigma 2 Tyne 4 ranked among the highest for looks.
- Among the top putters for feel were the PING Sigma 2 Fetch and Tyne 4. Both of these putters feature PING’s all new Soft Feel insert.
- In terms of alignment, the EVNROLL ER5, Scotty Cameron Futura 7m, and Odyssey Exo Marxman were ranked the highest. For all three of these putters, many testers noted how easily these putters set up square to the target when placed on the ground.
- Several putters that performed well were not popular with the tester. One putter, in particular, the MLA Tour X Dream , was rated near the bottom, despite finishing T2. As we’ve noted previously; in opposition to what many golfers believe, there is little correlation between what looks good/suites the eye and what performs well.
- It was a rare occurrence for a putter to be highly rated for one metric and poorly for another. Putters were generally highly rated or poorly rated as a whole.
- An interesting exception was the Argolf Mordred, which while not rated highly for looks and feel, was rated among the best for alignment.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT - MLA Tour X-Dream
A previous Most Wanted Mallet Test Winner (2016), the MLA Tour X-Dream has been a consistently strong performing putter since the inception of MyGolfSpy's putter testing. MLA putters feature an alignment designed to activate the many line detectors in our brain. While not a favorite for looks, many of the testers provided positive feedback for alignment.
2019 Most Wanted PUTTER DATA
2019 Most Wanted Mallet Data
| Club | 5' Score | 10' Score | 20' Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tommy Armour Impact No.3 Check Price | 27% | 60% | 20% |
 | MLA Tour X-Dream Check Price | 23% | 55% | 21% |
 | TaylorMade TP Red-White Ardmore Check Price | 33% | 45% | 21% |
 | Scotty Cameron Futura 7m Check Price | 27% | 50% | 21% |
 | Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 12 Check Price | 20% | 55% | 21% |
 | EVNROLL ER5 Check Price | 40% | 35% | 21% |
 | Cleveland TFI 2135 Elevado Check Price | 17% | 55% | 21% |
 | Scotty Cameron Futura 6m Check Price | 23% | 50% | 19% |
 | PING Sigma 2 Fetch Check Price | 30% | 40% | 19% |
 | Bloodline RG-1 Center Shaft Check Price | 27% | 40% | 20% |
 | Odyssey Stroke Lab Seven Check Price | 27% | 40% | 20% |
 | Odyssey EXO Marxman Check Price | 33% | 30% | 23% |
 | PING Sigma 2 Tyne 4 Check Price | 30% | 35% | 20% |
 | Tour Edge Biarritz Check Price | 20% | 45% | 20% |
 | Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 6 Check Price | 20% | 40% | 23% |
 | TaylorMade Spider X Copper Check Price | 23% | 40% | 19% |
 | Tommy Armour Infusion Aero Check Price | 13% | 50% | 19% |
 | Wilson Staff Infinite The Bean Check Price | 23% | 40% | 18% |
 | Bettinardi Queen B #10 Check Price | 20% | 40% | 20% |
 | Tommy Armour Infusion Newhaven Check Price | 10% | 50% | 20% |
 | Bettnardi Studio Stock 38 Check Price | 10% | 50% | 19% |
 | TaylorMade Spider Tour Check Price | 13% | 45% | 20% |
 | Tommy Armour Infusion Phoenix Check Price | 10% | 50% | 18% |
 | Tour Edge Alps Check Price | 17% | 40% | 20% |
 | Argolf Mordred Check Price | 20% | 40% | 15% |
 | Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 11 Check Price | 17% | 35% | 21% |
 | Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle Check Price | 17% | 35% | 18% |
 | Wilson Staff Infinite The "L" Check Price | 17% | 30% | 21% |
 | Wilson Staff Infinite Bucktown Check Price | 23% | 20% | 21% |
 | Edel E-4 Check Price | 3% | 40% | 20% |
EXPERT TIP - WHICH WAY DO YOU MISS?
Matching a putter to your natural stroke type is essential if you want to make more putts. If you tend to miss it to the right, your putter might have too much toe hang, or the arc is "too strong." Conversely, if you consistently pull putts, or miss it to the left, your putter may not have enough toe hang.
Putters with more toe hang typically match a stoke that has a lot of rotation, where putters with less to hang match more of a straight back-straight through stroke.
MORE BUYING TIPS
GET FIT
95% of amateur golfers haven’t been fit for a putter. Would it surprise you if 85% of PGA Industry Professionals (the guys fitting you for a putter) haven’t been fit as well? The bottom line is – you’re leaving strokes on the green if you’re playing the wrong equipment for your game. Don’t choose a putter just because it looks or feels good, get fit for a putter that works with YOUR stroke to start making more putts.
FACE TECHNOLOGY
The face of the putter is one of the most critical parts of the club; after all, it is the contact point with the ball. Every manufacturer has proprietary technology whether it’s EVNROLL’s variable grooves, PING’s TR face, or the traditional milled face, pay attention to what is on the face of the club.
GRIP STYLE
Pistol, counterbalance, and oversize – just some of the many styles of putter grips available. Feel is the trade-off here, a thicker grip that will stabilize the wrists may lose a little feel, whereas a more traditional pistol grip may give you more response but could cost you some control.
HOW WE TEST
Our Mission is to help you find the best putter for your game.
We are 100% independent and unbiased, and always put the #ConsumerFirst
ABOUT OUR TESTERS
Our pool of testers consists of 20 golfers with handicaps ranging from plus to the mid-teens. As a group, they span a broad range of putting stroke characteristics.
Over the course of several sessions, each golfer is required to putt and finish 18 holes with each putter. Putter groupings and order are randomized on a per tester basis.
LIMITING VARIABLES AND GATHERING RELIABLE DATA
To minimize variables, all testers hit Bridgestone Tour B-RX Golf Balls inside our dedicated Lab X testing facility located in Yorktown, VA.
While it doesn't affect the final results, subjective feedback on looks, feel and alignment is taken from each tester on every putter in the test.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
To arrive at our final results, we analyze the data for statistical significance. Top group percentages (the percentage of the time a putter finishes in the statistically significant top group across the testing pool) are leveled to account for performance at distances and weighted to favor 10' putts as our tests show it's where the greatest differences are found. The Most Wanted Winner is the putter that finished with the highest adjusted top group percentage.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
2019 Most Wanted Mallet Specifications
| Club | Loft* | Lie* | Length* | Swingweight* | Headweight | Toe Hang | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argolf Mordred Check Price | 2.2 | 72.3 | 34 | E 4 | 360g | Straight |
| Bettinardi Queen B #10 Check Price | 3 | 70 | 34 | E 1.7 | 362g | Slight |
| Bettnardi Studio Stock 38 Check Price | 3 | 70.4 | 34 | E 0.2 | 358g | Straight |
| Bloodline RG-1 Center Shaft Check Price | 2.6 | 69.4 | 34 | E 6.9 | 395g | Straight |
| Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 6 Check Price | 3.2 | 70.5 | 33.875 | E 5.4 | 365g | Straight |
| Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 11 Check Price | 3.1 | 70.2 | 33.875 | E 8.4 | 370g | Slight |
| Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 12 Check Price | 3.1 | 69.8 | 33.875 | E 9 | 370g | Straight |
| Cleveland TFI 2135 Elevado Check Price | 3.2 | 69.9 | 33.75 | E 3.5 | 370g | Straight |
| Edel E-4 Check Price | 3.2 | 71.3 | 33.875 | C 4.5 | 345g | Toe Up |
| EVNROLL ER5 Check Price | 1.5 | 70 | 34.875 | E 1 | 355g | Straight |
| MLA Tour X-Dream Check Price | 2.4 | 71.3 | 34 | F 4.1 | 375g | Straight |
| Odyssey EXO Marxman Check Price | 2.9 | 70.1 | 33.875 | D 4.6 | 360g | Straight |
| Odyssey Stroke Lab Seven Check Price | 3.1 | 70.4 | 35 | E 5.7 | 365g | Straight |
| Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle Check Price | 3.2 | 70.5 | 33.875 | E 1.1 | 365g | Slight |
| PING Sigma 2 Fetch Check Price | 3 | 70 | 34 | D 9.9 | 365g | Straight |
| PING Sigma 2 Tyne 4 Check Price | 3.1 | 70 | 34 | D 3 | 370g | Strong |
| Scotty Cameron Futura 6m Check Price | 3.6 | 70.3 | 33.875 | D 9.9 | N/A | Straight |
| Scotty Cameron Futura 7m Check Price | 3.5 | 70.1 | 33.875 | D 9.7 | N/A | Straight |
| TaylorMade TP Red-White Ardmore Check Price | 3.4 | 70.2 | 33.625 | D 6.2 | 355g | Straight |
| TaylorMade Spider Tour Check Price | 3.5 | 70.3 | 33.875 | D 5.9 | 350g | Straight |
| TaylorMade Spider X Copper Check Price | 3.1 | 69.4 | 33.75 | D 9 | 355g | Slight |
| Tommy Armour Impact No.3 Check Price | 3.1 | 69.7 | 33.75 | E 1 | 365g | Straight |
| Tommy Armour Infusion Aero Check Price | 3 | 70.3 | 33.875 | D 9.5 | 360g | Straight |
| Tommy Armour Infusion Newhaven Check Price | 3.3 | 70.1 | 34 | E 0 | 355g | Straight |
| Tommy Armour Infusion Phoenix Check Price | 3.6 | 71.1 | 33.875 | D 4 | 365g | Straight |
| Tour Edge Alps Check Price | 2.3 | 70.3 | 34.75 | F 7 | 360g | Straight |
| Tour Edge Biarritz Check Price | 2.1 | 70.8 | 34.75 | F 9 | 370g | Straight |
| Wilson Staff Infinite Bucktown Check Price | 3 | 70.8 | 34 | D 6 | 360g | Straight |
| Wilson Staff Infinite The "L" Check Price | 3.1 | 71.2 | 34 | D 6 | 360g | Slight |
| Wilson Staff Infinite The Bean Check Price | 3.4 | 71.2 | 34 | D 6.1 | 360g | Straight |
* denotes measured value vs. manufacturer’s stated spec.
FAQ
Buying a Putter
Q: Should I get fit for a putter?
A: Without a doubt. Don’t just go to the putting corral at your local golf store and choose the putter that feels the best. Do your research, know the facts, and take your knowledge to your local golf course or store with the intention of being fit for the right putter for YOUR stroke.
Q: Can I fit myself for a putter?
A: To a degree, yes. PING developed an App that pairs with an attachable sleeve to your current putter shaft to determine your stroke type, lie, and loft to help you understand what to look for in your next putter.
Q: How do I find the right length putter for me?
A: A quick test would be to take a comfortable putting stance with a putter; if the putter is too short, it’s likely it will sit too upright, or the heel of the putter will be off the ground. On the flip side, if it’s too long, you’ll feel as though you’re crowding the ball and the putter on the ground and the toe will be pointing up slightly.
Q: What is the price range for a typical putter?
A: Most putters range in price from $50 into the thousands; however most putters average between $150 and $350. Ultimately, it’s about finding the best putter for YOUR game. Price may always be a factor, but don’t assume the best putters are the most expensive.
EXPERT TIP - DISTANCE STRUGGLES?
If you tend to struggle with short putts, you might want to try a heavier putter. On the other end, if you need help on long putts, you might want to try a lighter putter. Blade putters tend to be on the lighter side, whereas mallets are typically bigger and heavier.
Most Wanted
Q: How is the Most Wanted Winner determined?
A: To determine the Most Wanted Blade Putter, we run the data through three tests of statistical significance (5′, 10′, and 20′). Throughout our test, golfers 1-putted from 5′ 77% of the time, 2-putted from 20′ 77% of the time, and 2-putted 54% of the time from 10′. Not that 10′ performance is weighted more highly in our rankings as that’s where our data suggests the most significant differences in performance are found.
Q: How are the best putters for stroke type determined?
A: At the beginning of the test, each putter is classified by its toe hang/stroke type. The best within each designation are those that finished highest overall with respect to toe hang/stroke type.
Q: How much does subjective feedback like looks, sound, and feel factor into your rankings?
A: ZERO. Our rankings are based purely on total putt counts and quantifiable performance metrics. We include subjective notes only because readers have asked for more feedback directly from the testers.
Q: Will you publish an overall winner between the Blade and Mallet putter tests?
A: Yes, those results will be published in the coming weeks.
Geoff Johnson
4 years ago
Any thoughts on Odyssey EXO Seven Mini vs TaylorMade Spider X.