Blade vs. Mallet Putter Heads (Video) - by Pete Styles
Blade vs. Mallet Putter Heads (Video) - by Pete Styles

Selecting the right putter for your game is a very important process, actually a very personal process. It’s difficult for someone to advise you on the right type of putter straight off the bat because you might pick a putter up and feel really comfortable with it whereas the next guy picks it up and it doesn’t really suit him. The putters break down into two general types of categories, one we look at the head; we have a bladed type of putter here. It’s quite a long nose but it’s quite thin, quite narrow from front to back. This has heel and toe waiting and the little crook in the neck there.

When I look down at that putter, there’s a small alignment line on the back that helps me to line up, it swings fairly evenly, fairly smoothly on the heel and toe waiting, give me a little bit of a sort of a higher moment of inertia. But if I change now to a more mallet design of putter, the front to back measurement here is much broader, much wider there and a slight narrower heel to toe measurement that way. It also incorporates a much longer alignment aid at the back. And when I set this now and over the ball, there’s a little curve in the neck still just to provide a little bit of offset. When I set this down behind the ball, I actually find this one personally for me a lot easier to line up when I swing the club because it has the weight further away from the face and wider and deeper.

The high moment of inertia even more so in the blade on this one wants to swing the club even straighter back and through. Doesn’t want to curve off line too much, so if I hit the ball with this from the toe off in the heel, it still actually keeps the ball quite straight and nicely online, so next time you’re looking for putters, consider the difference between a mallet headed putter and a bladed putter. Look at the length of the face of the golf club, the width of the back of the golf club, the alignment aid at the top, whether it’s got a curve neck or a straight neck on it. If you go to thomasgolf.com, they’ve got a good selection of putters there and I’m sure you’ll find something that suits your game.

 2012-06-06

Selecting the right putter for your game is a very important process, actually a very personal process. It’s difficult for someone to advise you on the right type of putter straight off the bat because you might pick a putter up and feel really comfortable with it whereas the next guy picks it up and it doesn’t really suit him. The putters break down into two general types of categories, one we look at the head; we have a bladed type of putter here. It’s quite a long nose but it’s quite thin, quite narrow from front to back. This has heel and toe waiting and the little crook in the neck there.

When I look down at that putter, there’s a small alignment line on the back that helps me to line up, it swings fairly evenly, fairly smoothly on the heel and toe waiting, give me a little bit of a sort of a higher moment of inertia. But if I change now to a more mallet design of putter, the front to back measurement here is much broader, much wider there and a slight narrower heel to toe measurement that way. It also incorporates a much longer alignment aid at the back. And when I set this now and over the ball, there’s a little curve in the neck still just to provide a little bit of offset. When I set this down behind the ball, I actually find this one personally for me a lot easier to line up when I swing the club because it has the weight further away from the face and wider and deeper.

The high moment of inertia even more so in the blade on this one wants to swing the club even straighter back and through. Doesn’t want to curve off line too much, so if I hit the ball with this from the toe off in the heel, it still actually keeps the ball quite straight and nicely online, so next time you’re looking for putters, consider the difference between a mallet headed putter and a bladed putter. Look at the length of the face of the golf club, the width of the back of the golf club, the alignment aid at the top, whether it’s got a curve neck or a straight neck on it. If you go to thomasgolf.com, they’ve got a good selection of putters there and I’m sure you’ll find something that suits your game.