Any of you guys recently make the switch from a blade to mallet and noticed a significant difference? I have done some reading as to why all the pros are making the switch, but thought it would be good to hear from some people.

I made the switch last year and have switched back to my old blade. My opinion on mallets is you lose some feel but maybe gain in alignment and speed consistency. I don't feel like I have a problem with those two things, so I switched back.

I tried the Spyder line of putters but thought they felt horrible and couldn't find one that would putt along the line that I was seeing. I don't know how so many pros use them.

The mallet putter I used last year was an Edel, and I liked it, but I just feel like I putt better with my blade.
I'm not opposed to using a mallet, but it needs to have some feel to it. I'm currently interested in the blades that are thicker from front to back. They seem like an in-between mallet and blades. I just haven't had time to sample one yet.

I'm a blade guy but have been tempted recently to check out the mallets with all the pros making the move.

I'll wait for a slump to test it out. Ball is rolling nicely with the flat stick right now. Stupid rain….

I have 4 blades on the shelf behind me. I love the way they look. I love the feel on pace.

I game a mallet though. I got that new centered shafted ping with the line down the club head. It feels like I haven't missed a line since I bought it. Definitely tough to go back to a blade after a bunch of rounds and practice and testing.

I switched about 6 months ago to the Taylormade Spider from a milled face Mizuno blade and love it. Have never putted better. It just feels so much easier to get the ball on the intended line and I've got more confidence than ever on 5 footers and in.

Also I never quite appreciated just how significant missing the sweet spot of a putt is with a milled face blade. If you dont strike it perfect your distance control is going to vary hugely. Not a problem at all anymore as the mallet is so forgiving. Like going from a persimmon driver to a 460cc head

I've made the full progression from blade to mallet to zero torque and it's been the best thing for my game. I had a pronounced arc in my putting stroke so always played a blade with significant toe hang. I realized I needed much more stability so went to a Taylormade Spider that also had toe hang and the weight distribution definitely helped steady my stroke. That said, I realized I needed to change my stroke a bit as the arc was definitely hurting me on short and midrange puts. I got a Spider ZT when they were released and it was a tough transition as my "old" stroke still had a bit of arc and that wasn't really working with the ZT. Once I practiced a bit more and changed to a claw grip I'm able to putt straight back and through and my putting has never been better.

TLDR: blade>mallet>ZT has helped me have a better putting stroke and make more putts.

I'm a high handicap but have always been a decent putter. But I had a spyder tour in a rental set not long ago and I just fell in love. It fit my stroke perfectly. Even my misses were way closer than my leaves typically were with my blade. That said, at the price point they go for it is still not worth it to me. My 20yr old Odyssey White Hot with Steel Insert is still getting the job done for free right now.

Sweet Kitten Feet said:

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I'm a high handicap but have always been a decent putter. But I had a spyder tour in a rental set not long ago and I just fell in love. It fit my stroke perfectly. Even my misses were way closer than my leaves typically were with my blade. That said, at the price point they go for it is still not worth it to me. My 20yr old Odyssey White Hot with Steel Insert is still getting the job done for free right now.

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Check out some of the Ray Cook mallet putters at Academy if you have one nearby. They perform just as good as a Spider at a much lower price point.

https://www.raycook.com/putters/

The spider is what I'm looking at going to. Have rolled it a few times in the store and like how it feels coming off the face.

Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Sweet Kitten Feet said:

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I'm a high handicap but have always been a decent putter. But I had a spyder tour in a rental set not long ago and I just fell in love. It fit my stroke perfectly. Even my misses were way closer than my leaves typically were with my blade. That said, at the price point they go for it is still not worth it to me. My 20yr old Odyssey White Hot with Steel Insert is still getting the job done for free right now.

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Check out some of the Ray Cook mallet putters at Academy if you have one nearby. They perform just as good as a Spider at a much lower price point.

https://www.raycook.com/putters/

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Yeah I've played with those in the store. Just don't have the feel off the face or the stability in the swing (weighting maybe?). I don't know. But every time I go to a golf store I hit that spyder and it is just smooth and awesome feeling to me.

LRB38 said:

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The spider is what I'm looking at going to. Have rolled it a few times in the store and like how it feels coming off the face.

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There are dozens of different Spiders on the market so make sure you are trying/buying the proper model, alignment, and hosel combination for you.

I went from being a blade/midblase guy to a LAB golf mallet homer. I am a huge believer in zero torque and I can't believe we aren't seeing more on tour. Significantly improved my putting

The tour X1 is the model I've liked the most.

Scotty Del Mar hit the sweet spot for me. More forgiving than a blade but not nearly as bulky and distracting as most mallets

Switched in December. Played a White Hot Pro 2 blade forever and bought a ZT Spider on a whim.

It's legitimately the only piece of equipment I've purchased that took noticeable strokes off my game. It rolls so pure.

LRB38 said:

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Any of you guys recently make the switch from a blade to mallet and noticed a significant difference? I have done some reading as to why all the pros are making the switch, but thought it would be good to hear from some people.

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In the past few years, I have used all of the following Odysseys at one time or another:

• Versa #1 (toe hang blade)
• Doublewide with single line(toe hang blade)
• 2 Ball (face balanced mallet)
• Jailbird Cruiser Ai-One (toe hang mallet)
• Rossie S Ai-One (toe hang mallet)

I have detailed putting stats for all of them. The biggest improvement in my putting has been due to these things:

• Sticking with toe hang to fit my arc stroke
• Starting line drills
• Finding the eye position that lets me see the line more easily (inside and behind the putter)

I putt as well with the Versa and the Rossie, but I game the Rossie because my distance control with the Ai-One insert is a little better. I don't think a mallet will make you magically better than a blade. The best putter for you is the one you can line up and start on line the best.

Bought me a Spider ZT Max last week. Switching from envnroll blade to this zero torque mallet. Ive only played one round so far but made a 40 footer with it and I feel much more comfortable with shorter putts.

I'm a long time blade guy, but recently switched the the Lazrus Laz2.5 Zero Torque putter and it is so solid and I have made a noticeable number of putts each round I've had it in the bag. The low entry price point and the solid reviews I saw online sold me

I gamed a center shaft two ball for ages...just switched to a Tri Hot Mid Mallet, also CS and have a made a lot more long putts lately....

I think the bigger question is....Why doesn't everyone use a straight back and forth putting stroke? Takes all of the "arc" timing out of the equation...

1990AG said:

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I gamed a center shaft two ball for ages...just switched to a Tri Hot Mid Mallet, also CS and have a made a lot more long putts lately....

I think the bigger question is....Why doesn't everyone use a straight back and forth putting stroke? Takes all of the "arc" timing out of the equation...

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Because in order to keep the putter face aligned perpendicular to the target line, you have to use your hands to manipulate the face if your natural stroke motion has some arc in it.

To have that arc in your motion, you would have had to train it that way...for timing if nothing else. If that is true, you could certainly train yourself out of it...

Just seems to me that if the key is to keep the face square at impact, then starting it square and keeping it square all the way through the stroke would be most consistent.

Not saying that makes it easy, just more likely to be consistent.

1990AG said:

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To have that arc in your motion, you would have had to train it that way...for timing if nothing else. If that is true, you could certainly train yourself out of it...

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Not true at all. It's just like the arc in a swing with any other club. Did you have to train yourself to not swing your other clubs straight back and straight through? Or does that occur naturally?

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Just seems to me that if the key is to keep the face square at impact, then starting it square and keeping it square all the way through the stroke would be most consistent.

Not saying that makes it easy, just more likely to be consistent.

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For me, I would be introducing an additional, unnecessary motion that fights against how I swing the putter: hand rotation to keep the putter face square throughout the swing. What works for you is more inconsistent for me.

Curious....What is your index?

1990AG said:

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Curious....What is your index?

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14-16 currently.

I agree with Stan Utley's explanation:

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If you're standing to the side of the ball to hit a putt, to make the putter go straight back and straight through along the target line, you have to use the small muscles in your hands to close the putter face on the backswing, and then open it again on the forward swing, in relation to your body. That's the opposite of what you do for anything else in this game, from a driver swing to a short pitch, and it's also not the best way to do something consistently, time after time, without a lot of practice. Letting the putterface move in a path square to the arc is what will make the ball go where you're aiming, with a bigger margin for error and less need for practice.

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he's made plenty of money selling it for sure. Seems counterintuitive to me but putting is for sure more mental that physical, so whatever you have confidence in I guess

Tried a mallet and couldn't get a good feel for it.

Went with a Cleveland face-balanced blade, and I absolutely love it.

I have a very straight back-and-forth swing, and it just feels rights.

1990AG said:

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he's made plenty of money selling it for sure. Seems counterintuitive to me but putting is for sure more mental that physical, so whatever you have confidence in I guess

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As has Dave Pelz with the SBST stroke. There's more than one method to teach people to putt successfully. Even the pros don't all putt the same way.

You asked why everyone doesn't putt straight back and straight through. The answer is that it doesn't work for everyone.

FTAco07 said:

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LRB38 said:

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The spider is what I'm looking at going to. Have rolled it a few times in the store and like how it feels coming off the face.

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There are dozens of different Spiders on the market so make sure you are trying/buying the proper model, alignment, and hosel combination for you.

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Agree with this. I ended up switching from a Scotty Del Mar to the Tour S counterbalance. I love it. But, you need to go somewhere you can try a bunch of them. I came down to the Spider and a similar Odessey counterbalance.

It's definitely not just one size fits all. Spend a lot of time and narrow it down to 2-3. Then, if possible, go out on a real green and at the end of the day you will find one that feels the best.

If you are in Dallas, 2nd swing has a ton of them in a ton of different configurations.