Choosing Between Blade And Mallet Putters
Whether you recently converted from a mallet or are a passionate blade enthusiast, you should choose a putter that fits your natural stroke pattern. Custom fitting will enable you evaluate your stance and stroke, so guiding your decision for your game. Between a blade and mallet putter, weight, design, forgiveness, and performance define your choice.
Weight
Design
The boundaries between mallet and blade putters keep blurbing as technology develops. The most recent blades have better performance, milled forms, better materials, and more. This covers newly made grips meant to maximise hand sensation. Selecting the ideal putter for your game requires study of your own putting technique and identification of a match. With its face-balanced shape, a mallet can be ideal for you if you have a straight-back, straight-through stroke. If you have an arcing stroke, though, a slant-neck mallet or plumber's neck would be more appropriate for your swing. More forgiving on off-center strikes, mallet designs also help with alignment and feature a larger sweet spot. For a more mechanical type of player, this qualifies them as a good fit.
Feel
Selecting a blade or mallet putter affects feel and confidence as much as physics and design. While some players want the bulkier shape of a mallet to inspire confidence and power, others favour the elegant, classic style of a blade putter to convey a sense of mastery and accuracy. A mallet would be a better fit if your stroke is square-to--square since they are face balanced and intended to remain square to the ball all during the putting stroke. But some players have a more arcing stroke, so a blade design putter can be a more fitting tool for them. Many players are shocked to find that, particularly with newer putter models with multi-material construction, superior milling techniques and improved alignment aids, a mallet may be just as forgiving as a blade. Discovering which design best fits your putting stroke will depend on your personalised fitting.
Forgiveness
When choosing a putter, one gives forgiveness much thought. Given their bigger club head size and construction, mallet putters usually provide more forgiveness than blade variants. Beginning players who might find it difficult to centre their ball on the putting green will find this especially useful. Many mallet putters also exhibit longer alignment lines than conventional blade types. These lines help golfers achieve a square configuration and position the putter face on their intended line whether they be lines, opposing colours, squares or circles. Blade putters' precision, feel, and control appeal many professional players. For individuals with longer arcing strokes, though, a toe hang blade style may be more appropriate for their game.
Performance
When selecting a new flat stick, it's advisable to have a bespoke putter fitted. Important considerations in selecting the appropriate putter for your game include your posture and stroke type, which you may evaluate here. Blade putters may be the ideal choice for anyone with an arcing stroke since they have a bigger sweet spot near the heel and greater toe-weighting. Face-balanced mallet putters, on the other hand, can help with aim and alignment and provide more stroke stability. Stick with your blade putter and polish your consistent swing if you are a purist and value accuracy above pardon. Try a few out and see what works for you, though, if you want to embrace the heft of mallets and explore technology.