Blade vs Mallet - Alternate Shots w/ Callaway Golf

JB

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The ongoing dilemma. One week I prefer the blade and then miss my mallet putter. Easier choice w/ the blade now that I have a THP putter cover!
 
I've always used a blade, but recently switched to a #9 style and I am absolutely loving it. Fantastic distance control.
 
I will never believe that a high MOI putter is inherently better than a blade style. I think the length of the stroke makes it far less applicable to putters than other clubs. I think it's all about fitting to stroke and eyes, and the rest is on the user.
 
Great insight by these guys. I used to be strictly a blade guy because I thought all the great golfers used blade putters and I wanted to roll a Scotty Cameron like the tour guys. Well I realized after a while that I was missing a lot of putts that I thought I stroked very well, and after a lot of experimenting I realized that I just wasn't aligning my blade putters very well. However, I hate looking down at a huge putter so I had to find something in between. I ended up with a mid-mallet. Not too big, not too small, but it has a better weighting to it and the longer alignment lines allow me to start the putt on the right line and my putting has never been better.
 
Hawk - agree with you there. it is about what works for the user. I just can't putt with some of the bigger putter heads as I lose my touch. Another style that just doesn't work for me is anything center-shafted. It just does not fit my eye when I line up to the ball.
 
Good episode! High MOI isn't necessarily inherently better, but it can help people who have trouble with letting the putter twist maintain stability. I used to have trouble with this, and got so used to it that it's why I still like the look and feel of a mallet.
 
Hawk - agree with you there. it is about what works for the user. I just can't putt with some of the bigger putter heads as I lose my touch. Another style that just doesn't work for me is anything center-shafted. It just does not fit my eye when I line up to the ball.

Good episode! High MOI isn't necessarily inherently better, but it can help people who have trouble with letting the putter twist maintain stability. I used to have trouble with this, and got so used to it that it's why I still like the look and feel of a mallet.

I'm not anti-mallet. I think they serve their purpose well for many people, just like Shark mentions. I've just read some silly things over the years regarding this debate.
 
Putters are such a personal preference there is absolutely no right or wrong answer. Whenever one of my friends asks for equipment advice I help them out, except when it comes to putters. I tell them they need to roll as many different putters as possible and see what fits their eye, what feels the best to them, and what gives them the most confidence.
 
It definitely depends on the individual.

I've found that I definitely need a mallet style with little to no toe-hang. Otherwise, things get scary. But, I know several people who swear by blade style putters.
 
A very interesting question, for me it's always been personal preference.
 
Easy compromise for me. Mid-Mallet.

I think a few other guys have hit on this, but I think 82.568% rides on the player being comfortable with the putter. I think the rest is technique and stroke. I think comfortablity plays a very large role IMO.
 
It doesn't matter. You'll eventually own all of them. Blade, mallet, center-shafted, back-shafted, heel-shafted, face-balanced, toe hang, extra toe hang...then you'll swear you would have putted better if you had bagged a putter you left at home. That being said, experimenting with putters that fit your general stroke (SBST or slight arc or big arc) will at least provide a reference point until you develop a decent feel for what kind of putter will work for you.
 
Pleasantly surprised by this one. It's about preference, not about Ams going pure-mallet.

Good on Callaway. I couldn't agree more.
 
Am I the only one that finds the talk about putters and MOI for forgiveness weird?

How much twisting can actually be caused in a 4" stroke on a mishit? A extension of that, how do you miss the sweet spot on such a short stroke?

Hopefully nobody takes any of that the wrong way. My misses are usually pulls but I always feel that I'm putting a good roll on the ball regardless of blade or mallet.
 
Am I the only one that finds the talk about putters and MOI for forgiveness weird?

How much twisting can actually be caused in a 4" stroke on a mishit? A extension of that, how do you miss the sweet spot on such a short stroke?

Hopefully nobody takes any of that the wrong way. My misses are usually pulls but I always feel that I'm putting a good roll on the ball regardless of blade or mallet.


I think it comes back to the margin for error. MOI matters because any twisting, even a couple of degrees, plays over a lot more time to roll. If I'm trying to lag 25', factoring in a hill, not hitting the hill where I want it to, or losing pace because I didn't put it dead center on the face, can have a massive impact on where the shot ends up.

And unlike other clubs where you're trading forgiveness for control and shot shaping, with a putter there's no shot shaping. You want it to roll straight down your target line and only have the contours of the ground affect it. So why wouldn't you want maximum MOI?
 
I think it comes back to the margin for error. MOI matters because any twisting, even a couple of degrees, plays over a lot more time to roll. If I'm trying to lag 25', factoring in a hill, not hitting the hill where I want it to, or losing pace because I didn't put it dead center on the face, can have a massive impact on where the shot ends up.

And unlike other clubs where you're trading forgiveness for control and shot shaping, with a putter there's no shot shaping. You want it to roll straight down your target line and only have the contours of the ground affect it. So why wouldn't you want maximum MOI?

The point still vades me. It's like arguing that we should use insert putters that reduces skid. Why wouldn't we want something that promotes forward roll?

I've used a SAM before and it measures your impact zone, backspin and line among other things. I would say all my strikes were in a dime size on the putter face. All produced pretty much the same numbers.
 
I'm old school when it comes to putters. The big headed putters are way too busy for me and most of them are just plain ugly!
 
I have never had a blade putter in the bag, and probably never will. The looks, the feel, the weight of a mallet putter does it for me. That being said, these guys are spot on: It all depends on the individual. It's not dissimilar from any other club in that way.
 
I play a smaller mallet (#9) shape, cause toe hang seems to work out better for me. I lean more towards blade shapes than larger mallets, but I don't mind either. Just depends on the Indian!
 
I have been on both sides of this fence, at least twice. I had a Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum putter that I gamed for years. LOVED the soft feel and look of that classic super shinny birdie machine. Then one day I started to see mallets on the Tour, so I did some research and found my Two Bar mallet putter. It was weighted perfectly, and the ball rolled so well I kept it in my bag for the better part of a decade! That putter saw all of my under par rounds I have ever shot...so when it came to replacing it, I really did my homework. I decided to go to Odyssey and try the more traditional blade putter again, and rolled a few with the Versa #1 W/B/W, loved the look and the feel, but had to try the White Hot Pro V-Line. I just couldn't put it back, and have made some good putts with this stick.
Pro's and con's for both, but I think I'm a mallet man now.
 
I agree it is all about what the player likes to look at and rolls well. Wether it be blade, mallet, mid-mallet if your not comfortable standing over it then the likely hood of being succesfull with it is slim
 
Am I the only one that finds the talk about putters and MOI for forgiveness weird?

How much twisting can actually be caused in a 4" stroke on a mishit? A extension of that, how do you miss the sweet spot on such a short stroke?

Hopefully nobody takes any of that the wrong way. My misses are usually pulls but I always feel that I'm putting a good roll on the ball regardless of blade or mallet.


I've had the same thought many times. I do get it in ways, since your margin of error is so much smaller with a putt (4 inch target as opposed to yards or feet), but I've just never felt it was a huge issue for me. I do miss the center of the face, especially as the stroke gets longer, but I can think of numerous blade putters I've tried or owned that still perform fine in that situation. There is relevant science there, but I just think there's a point where it crosses the line into a marketing bullet point.
 
I've had the same thought many times. I do get it in ways, since your margin of error is so much smaller with a putt (4 inch target as opposed to yards or feet), but I've just never felt it was a huge issue for me. I do miss the center of the face, especially as the stroke gets longer, but I can think of numerous blade putters I've tried or owned that still perform fine in that situation. There is relevant science there, but I just think there's a point where it crosses the line into a marketing bullet point.

I think when it comes down to some segments of golfers MOI means much more than it will to those that practice their putting stroke and have a solid putting stroke. Missing the center of the face of a putter is actually fairly common. One of the companies did a study that showed the average golfer missed the center of the face by more than half an inch something like 47% of the time. I know I have the study somewhere and will try and find it.
 
I think when it comes down to some segments of golfers MOI means much more than it will to those that practice their putting stroke and have a solid putting stroke. Missing the center of the face of a putter is actually fairly common. One of the companies did a study that showed the average golfer missed the center of the face by more than half an inch something like 47% of the time. I know I have the study somewhere and will try and find it.

That's a pretty big number, but not improbable at all.

I guess this one just has a bit of a personal twinge to it. I've seen a lot of really dumb things said in the mallet vs blade debate in the last four years, and you know - I'm easily annoyed lol. I just think it's a preference and fitting thing. Reading some comments I've seen in the past, you'd think that mallets are putting balls in the hole by themselves.
 
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