Choosing the right putter can improve your performance dramatically. That is why blade vs mallet putter is one of the most debated topics within golf circles.
Both of these styles offer distinct advantages depending on your personal preferences, skill level, and, more importantly, your natural putting stroke.
In this blade vs mallet putter guide, we will explore these putter types, highlighting what makes them distinct and their ideal users.
Ultimately, we will help you choose a putter that suits your stroke style, helping you improve your game. But before we do that, let’s first understand what they are.
What Is a Blade Putter?
A blade putter is a type of golf putter characterized by its traditional, narrow, and often rectangular head shape.
It is popular for providing excellent feedback and feel on the green, making it ideal for golfers who prefer a classic, precise putting style.
What Is a Mallet Putter?
A mallet putter is also a type of golf putter characterized by its larger, semi-circular or boxy head shape.
It is design is for better forgiveness and stability. Mallet putters also have a higher moment of inertia due to their league size and distributed weight.
Blade vs Mallet Putter: What Is the Difference?
Now that you know what they are and that blade and mallet putters offer significant advantages based on your playing style and personal preferences, let’s now highlight the key differences.
Here are the major ones:
1. Design and Construction
Blade putters are named for their thin, bladelike design. The weight is concentrated in the toe and heel, making it a simpler, classic design.
These putters are designed from a single piece of metal, such as carbon steel, stainless steel, or brass, for maximum feedback and feel.
Mallet putters, on the other hand, have a large, bulky head like a mallet, mainly due to the additional mass behind the face.
Some mallet designs include intricate geometries like multi-material construction and wings for optimized weight distribution.
Typically, mallets are designed from composite materials, including heavier tungsten weights and some lightweight metals like titanium and aluminum, to optimize weight distribution and offer better forgiveness.
2. Stroke Compatibility
Blade putters are suitable for places with an arc-style stroke, where the clubhead naturally opens and closes slightly throughout the motion.
To match the arcing stroke pattern, most blade putters have toe hangers.
Mallet putters offer a face-balanced design that suits a straight-back, straight-through putting stroke. This way, you can minimize face rotation and maximize stability.
3. Weight Distribution and MOI
The weight of blade putters lies primarily in the heel and toe. This construction gives them a lot more feedback and control but a lower MOI.
That is why blade putters are more susceptible to twisting on the bad hit. Therefore, it might not be ideal for inexperienced golfers.
Mallet putters have their weight spread out across a larger surface area. Most of it situates around the perimeter of the clubface.
This results in a higher moment of inertia, making these putters more resistant to twisting on bad hits, which also means more forgiveness and stability.
4. Forgiveness
The higher MOI of mallet putters is what makes them more forgiving on a bad hit. It will help you maintain speed and direction even when you don’t hit the center of the clubhead.
Because of their technical nature, blade putters are less forgiving. They are ideal for skilled golfers who can consistently strike the center of the club face.
5. Feel and Feedback
The larger, perimeter-weighted design of the mallet putters can reduce the feel you get from the ball strike.
But the good thing is that modern mallet putters use insert technology or milled faces to improve feel.
Naturally, blade putters, because of their design, construction, and direct weight distribution, provide more tactile feedback.
This feature helps pro golfers gauge distance and stroke quality more accurately.
6. Alignment Aids
Blade putters keep alignment aims to a minimum, often using a small line or dot on the top of the putter head.
For this reason, these putters will appeal to players who rely majorly on feel and personal judgement to aim.
Comparably, mallet putters are ideal for beginners because they have bold alignment lines or sight dots to help you visualize your putts and aim more accurately.
Blade vs Mallet Putter: The Importance of Choosing the Right Putter Style
Choosing the right putter can change your game in a significant way.
Blade putters generally accommodate arc-type strokes, whereas mallets or face-balanced putters the design is for straight strokes.
But there are also emerging designs like toe-hang mallets and double-wide blades that have blurred these lines.
Whether you choose one over the other, you should keep in mind that the defining difference between these two lies in the clubhead shape:
- Generally, blade putters feature sleek, thin rectangles.
- Mallet putters are defined by larger heads in square or half-moon shape.
With the above in mind, you should ensure that your choice of putter aligns with your stroke type. You shouldn’t just emulate pro players or get one with the best tech.
The bottom line is maximizing your potential on the course with consistent practice.
Here are a couple of things you should know:
- The way you stroke your putter will have a significant influence on the style that suits you. If you are already tired of the 80s club and wish to graduate to the elusive 70s club, then you should consider going for a putter fitting to determine your current putter and putting strokes. It will also determine whether you need to switch your putter styles altogether. It could be the reason you have not been making enough putts or having a hard time with distance control.
- After assessing both your putting stroke and current golf equipment, you should be able to understand whether you should lean more into an arc-style putter using a face-balanced mallet putter or if the blade will do the trick.
- Unfortunately, most golfers assume that what they need to make more putts or become the best putter is having a new putter. Sure, they could be right, but you may get a putter that doesn’t suit your natural putting stroke. So, sometimes new is not always better.
- When it comes to the blade vs mallet putter debate, there is no obvious advantage of one over the other. However, mallet putters offer the advantage of being more forgiving for high handicappers because they have the least amount of clubface manipulation throughout the stroke. For arc-stroke putters, it would be important to use a blade putter as much as a mallet.
- The real advantage of using a putter is finding the one that matches your natural putting stroke. And the interesting thing is that it won’t depend on how often you practice or even your style. Having the right putter to fit your stroke is the initial step. After that, you can choose to get the reps needed to enable you to clean out all your biddies’ wallets.
What Matters Most When Choosing the Right Putter
1. Stroke Type
Choose blade putters if you have a straight-back-straight-through putting stroke.
Likewise, a mallet putter might be ideal for golfers with an arced putting stroke because of the extra forgiveness offered by mallet putters.
2. Alignment and Aiming
Blade putters are ideal for golfers who prefer a simpler, clean look at the address.
These putters tend to offer precise alignment. Mallets, too, provide enhanced alignment aids, thanks to their larger club face, which helps golfers align more easily.
3. Putting Green Conditions
Blade putters are ideal for fast, smooth greens because they require more precise control. Mallet putters are an ideal choice for slower, bumpier greens because they provide stability and forgiveness.
4. Feel and Forgiveness
Blade putters tend to offer a softer feel, therefore appealing to golfers who want maximum feedback from their putts.
Mallet putters, on the other hand, are more forgiving, making them a fantastic choice for golfers who prioritize stability on the greens.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Nearly all major golf equipment brands are featured on the PGA Tour.
But the exact type of putter that professionals use will largely depend on the individual preference.
It boils down to something that matches their putting stroke needs.
With that said, about 60% of them use mallet putters.
While there are several great putters out there, the most important thing to focus on while shopping for a putter online is whether a face-balanced or toe-hand putter head is what you need to match your putting stroke.
From here, you can now look for a putter that has the proper length.
Grip size is usually a preference, and you can always change it after the purchase.
There is no direct answer to this question because it will depend on the style that suits your putting stroke.
The good thing is that both putter head styles offer options in the toe-hand and face-balanced categories.
Once you are aware of the balance that is required for your natural putting stroke, you will be in a better place to find the putter shape that fits your needs.
Verdict: Which Putter Should You Choose?
Finding the right putter boils down to your balancing skills, personal feel, and stroke style. So, your best approach to getting the best putter is to test both blade and mallet options.
When comparing blade vs mallet putters, consider factors like comfort, accuracy, stroke type, alignment, and putting green conditions in order to make the right decision.
In the end, what matters most is to find a putter that gives you the most confidence and helps you sink those crucial putts.
You may need to test each type and practice to be able to find the perfect putter that suits your game.
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