The Best Blade vs. Mallet vs. Zero-Torque Putter of 2026: A Head to Head

Our 2026 Most Wanted Putter test put 79 putters through roughly 50,000 recorded putts across three categories: blade, mallet and zero-torque (ZT). Every putter got the same test protocol.

PV HCP is MyGolfSpy’s PuttView-powered handicap metric, a Strokes Gained-style number that compares each putter’s performance against an average tour player at every distance tested, where a lower (more negative) score means better performance.

Here, I took the single best performer from each category and put them side by side to see what separates a category champion from the rest of the field and from each other.

Every buying guide at MyGolfSpy is informed by independent testing and millions of equipment data points, helping golfers separate marketing claims from measurable performance.

How we test

MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted Testing is powered by:

UNRL Apparel – The official staff apparel partner of MyGolfSpy. We rely on UNRL to keep staff comfortable and focused while providing world-class testing.

Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are a key component in testing. Every shot hit in Most Wanted utilizes these golf balls. They have long been the non plus ultra in golf ball quality and the only ball we trust in Most Wanted testing.

Foresight GC Quad – Foresight is the gold standard in camera-based launch monitor technology because it produces data we can rely on with every shot hit.

The Indoor Golf Shop’s SIGPRO Premium – All of our testing is done indoors at our HQ in Yorktown, Va. With each test, our screens take an absolute beating. We need high-quality, durable impact screens to handle the workload. SIGPRO Premium meets our expectations.

Meet the champions

Category	Putter	PV HCP	Short	Medium	Long	Make %	Avg Miss
Blade	Mizuno M.Craft Osaka	-5.5	-6.5	-1.8	-7.4	45.8%	17.7″
Mallet	Bettinardi BB 6.0	-6.3	-6.5	-1.6	-10.4	45.8%	16.2″
Zero-Torque	Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7	-8.1	-7.9	-6.2	-10.4	48.9%	15.2″

Mizuno M.Craft Osaka: Blade category winner

The Osaka posts a -5.5 PV HCP in a category that averages -2.65, a margin of nearly three full strokes over the field. That’s the largest gap between a champion and its own category average of anything in this test. If you’re committed to a blade because of look, feel or feedback at impact, the Osaka is the putter proving blades don’t have to be a performance sacrifice (at least not compared to other blades).

The short-putt scoring for the Mizuno M.Craft Osaka is just as strong as the best mallet the Bettinardi BB 6.0. The medium range putts are what hurt this putter and brought the average down a bit.

Bettinardi BB 6.0: Mallet category winner

At -6.3 PV HCP, the Bettinardi BB 6.0 doesn’t just win the mallet category; it was the only putter to beat the entire zero-torque category average of -6.29.

Its long-range number is the standout, tying for the best long putt performance in the entire dataset at -10.4. It had solid average miss results but similar to the Mizuno M.Craft Osaka blade, the Bettinardi BB 6.0 also had a hard time with the medium putt length.

Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7: Zero-torque category winner

The Ai-Dual S2S #7 doesn’t have a weak distance. Short range at -7.9, medium at -6.2, long at -10.4. I’ve put this putter in my bag recently to test it against my old Scotty Cameron. I’m making more putts so it’s not surprising that the make percentage is as high as it is.

Zero-torque putters were built to reduce twisting through impact and on paper this is what that design goal looks like when it’s executed at the highest level. The best zero-torque putter of the year was also the best overall putter we tested in 2026.

The bottom line

For a complete look at all of the best putters of 2026, here is the roundup we created with all of the results: Best Putters 2026.