Have you been wondering if you’re playing with the right type of putter? You’re not the only one out there wondering the same thing, and considering how important putting is to the sport, it’s a reasonable question to ask. So, here it is: is a mallet or a blade putter better for you?
That really depends. Both can be effective styles, but perform differently due to the shape of the putter head as well as balance and weighting. Let’s take a closer look.
Who Should Play with a Mallet Putter?
First let’s look at mallet putters. These are larger putters, with a head shape that is often semi-circular or square, though some mallet putters have “wings” that extend behind the club face.
This different shape changes the way the weight is distributed around the putter head, with more of it distributed around the rear of the club or around the perimeter.
This weighting configuration can change the MOI, or moment of inertia, when the club strikes the ball. It has the potential to make a mallet putter slightly more forgiving when you don’t make perfect contact.
Many mallet putters have a number of visual alignment cues, such as high contrast shapes, lines, or alignment dots, that help golfers visualize the alignment of the putter head and the path of the stroke, to improve their accuracy and consistency.
These visual cues, paired with the fact that mallet putters often deliver a higher MOI which can make them slightly more forgiving in some situations, make them appealing to many newer golfers.
With that said, even skilled golfers sometimes prefer the forgiveness of mallet putters because it can offer the potential to tighten shot dispersion and result in more accurate and consistent putts. Mallet putters, because of their consistency and forgiveness, also excel for making longer putts where that forgiveness comes into focus.
Also, golfers that have a straight-through stroke or only a slight arc may also prefer a mallet putter because the face generally stays square, evening out inconsistencies.
On top of that, some mallet putters feature a modular or customizable design, with inserts or weights that can be added, removed, or even positioned around the clubhead to personalize the putter to a specific golfer’s putting bias.
Another thing to note about mallet putters is that, in terms of auditory and sensory feedback, they tend to be a little softer and less “crisp” than blade putters, especially if they are weighted with inserts that sometimes have a tendency to absorb vibration and feedback.
Who Should Try a Blade Putter?
Now let’s take a closer look at blade putters. Blade putters are a more traditional putter profile, with a compact head, like a blade, hence the name. Most of the mass in a blade putter is situated directly behind the face of the club.
They are usually heel-to-toe weighted and have “toe hang” which means that the toe of the putter points slightly downward if you balance the shaft on a finger. In other words, the toe end of the blade putter’s head is usually ever so slightly heavier than the heel.
Importantly, toe hang encourages the putter to open slightly on the back stroke and close a little on the forward stroke, which helps square the putter when the golfer has a slight arc to his or her stroke.
Generally, blade putters offer a simpler design and cleaner aesthetic than mallet putters, and they’re usually not configurable with weights and inserts, making them less customizable.
Blade putters tend to be slightly less forgiving than mallet putters, but they offer precise, consistent feel and often better feedback than mallet putters, too. For these reasons, many golfers prefer them, especially those who have more of a pronounced arc to their stroke.
Also, while blade putters tend to be less forgiving, especially with less than perfect contact, with solid, center face contact they provide not only excellent feedback, but very consistent results. So while it can potentially take more practice to become proficient with a blade putter, the results can be worth it if you put in the time and practice.
Summarizing Blade vs. Mallet Putters
To recapitulate:
So, Which Is Better for You?
As is true in so many things in life, it really depends. Neither blade putters nor mallet putters are inherently or objectively better than the other. It’s all about what you prefer.
If you are a golfer with more of an arc to your stroke, and you prefer feedback over forgiveness, or if you prefer traditional aesthetics and equipment, a blade putter might be a better option for you.
On the flipside, if you prioritize forgiveness over feedback and you have a straighter stroke with less of an arc, then a mallet putter might suit you better than a blade putter.
Questions? Contact Us
Not sure whether a mallet putter or a blade putter is the better choice for you, but open to trying something new? Get in touch with us and let us know what your challenges on the green are, and we will make specific recommendations for putter and shaft combos that may be able to help you.
There was a time in the golf industry when most driver shafts were made of steel. After all, steel is very strong and very stable, consistent, tough, and cost-effective.
Even so, you probably don’t need us to tell you that steel driver shafts are an exceeding rarity in the modern sport. This begs the question of what happened to them?
Well, the short answer is carbon fiber came along and outdid the performance of steel in many ways. Here’s what you should know about the rise and fall of steel.
Why Steel Driver Shafts Are a Rarity Nowadays
To understand what happened to steel driver shafts, we actually have to rewind a little bit further back to find out why and when steel became the primary driver shaft material in the first place.
It didn’t start with steel. Back in the day, most golf driver shafts were actually made of hickory. Hickory is a strong and dense, yet flexible wood from which old golf shafts used to be made, and the craftsmanship of which was tied to traditional methods.
Hickory golf shafts were handmade, which produced and upheld a high level of quality. They were also relatively flexible compared to the steel that ultimately replaced them, which gave skilled golfers a lot of control over shot shape.
However, despite the considerable relative advantages of hickory driver shafts, they were not without their limitations. Since hickory is a natural material, it’s impossible to create a manufactured standard for quality. Variations in wood stock meant that craftsmen weren’t always working with the best available materials.
Also, being wood, hickory driver shafts were also prone to warping under adverse conditions, especially bad, wet weather. On top of that, even though hickory is strong, hickory shafts could still crack or break when mishandled.
That’s where steel came into the picture. It has a lot of advantages over hickory wood shafts. For one, since steel is a manufactured material, it could be made much more consistent than hickory, according to the grade and alloy used. Natural variation between pieces of hickory was one of the major problems steel solved.
Also, steel is denser and stronger than hickory. It is also considerably stiffer, which, to some golfers, only offered another relative advantage.
The greater consistency of steel also resulted in a more predictable flex, which gave skilled golfers improved repeatability and predictability from shaft to shaft. And, on top of that, steel was more economical to manufacture; steel shafts were and remain incredibly cost-effective compared to other materials (including modern composite shafts).
It wasn’t long before steel was officially adopted; by 1924, the USGA legalized the use of steel shafts and it wasn’t long before the market for steel driver shafts exploded. By the 1930s, steel driver shafts were the standard.
For decades steel dominated the market for golf shafts, and while there are still many putter shafts and iron shafts that are made from steel (True Temper steel shafts come to mind) the market for driver shafts has shifted.
Steel is a rarity, and the majority of driver shafts today are made from composite materials such as graphite. But if steel offered so many advantages over its predecessor, what is it about composites that have made them eclipse steel? Let’s take a closer look.
The Advantages of Composite Driver Shafts
The first graphite golf shaft was actually invented in 1968 by a man named Frank Thomas, the Chief Design Engineer for a company called Shakespeare Sporting Goods Company; that’s the same one that makes fishing rods, which are also made primarily from composite materials (and which, interestingly, were previously made from flexible woods like bamboo, as well as from fiberglass).
By the 1970s, composite shafts were introduced more widely to the market and it wasn’t long before their wide range of virtues started to eclipse steel golf shafts.
Like steel, composite materials like graphite are manufactured goods, which means they can be subjected to procedural controls that result in a very precise, consistent finished good. In other words, composite shafts, like steel, are very, very consistent.
But where the difference comes in is in how versatile graphite shafts can be. While steel is universally very stiff, composite shafts can be manufactured to deliver a much wider range of flex profiles, along with other attributes.
There are composite driver shafts that are very stiff, even rivaling steel, which produce low launch and low spin profiles, with minimal torque, but there are also very flexible composite shafts that produce higher launch angles, more spin, and greater sensitivity and feedback. This range gives composite shafts a better ability to meet the needs of a larger cohort of golfers than steel ever could.
On top of that, composite shafts can be made very light, which can benefit golfers who have slower swing speeds, or who otherwise prefer a low swing weight. At the same time, mass can be added to composite shafts to make them heavier, more stable, and more consistent, just like steel.
Graphite shafts can also be made to provide vibration dampening, to minimize the discomfort that comes from fat shots and other errors.
All in all, graphite driver shafts can deliver pretty much everything steel can and more. The two drawbacks are that they are more expensive and more fragile. Steel is tougher no matter how you look at it.
But that is a small price to pay for the considerable advances composite shafts offer in terms of their range. Regardless of your skillset as a golfer, there are composite shafts out there that will compliment your abilities. You just need to find them.
Contact Us to Learn More
While there are still some associations that play with hickory-shafted golf clubs, and some players who still prefer steel driver shafts, far and away, composites have taken over the market for the reasons covered in this post.
Explore our collections of advanced composite driver shafts and if you have any questions about club pairings or shaft fitting, get in touch with us and we will be more than happy to help.
While many cutting edge clubs promise to deliver a larger sweet spot, and advanced carbon composite golf shafts promise to extend range and control shot dispersion, you should never just assume the newest and best is automatically the best for you.
This is one of the reasons why working with a professional that offers golf shaft fitting services can be one of the best investments you can make in yourself as a golfer, with benefits that will continue to materialize time and again.
Golf shaft fitting involves working with a professional who will take your measurements, observe your swing for speed, tempo and mechanics, and make both general and personalized recommendations about what clubs and shafts will likely perform best for you.
With that said, here are some of the best reasons to get fitted for clubs at least once.
Playing with clubs that don’t fit you well or compliment your natural skillset is working against yourself; it’s like wearing clothes that don’t fit and expecting them to look good or be comfortable.
There are so many elements of club fitting that can influence how well your clubs and shafts will fit you. A fitter will suggest a golf shaft and club pairing that fits not just your dimensions but your swing mechanics, and with attention to optimal lie angle, the grip style, and more. When you’re finished with the process, you’ll have clubs that feel more like an extension of your body than just like tools you use to play the game.
A golf shaft and club combo that produces optimal launch and spin characteristics will make it easier and more repeatable for you to drive farther and more accurately. Clubs that are fitted to you better also will enable you to drive farther with less straining, which will help you keep control over your shots, not increasing your overall range, but minimizing dispersion.
Clubs that fit you work with your natural swing mechanics, which in turn will reduce strain on your muscles and joints. A custom fit encourages an effortless, fluid swing, with a lower risk not just of fatigue but of injury.
If you get fitted for clubs that will exact less of a toll on your body, you’ll be able to practice (or play) for longer, which is the main driver in proficiency; you never get good at something if you don’t practice often.
Once you know what it feels like to play with clubs that are properly fitted to you, your confidence will likely grow because you will stop compensating for equipment that was never a good match for you in the first place.
Club fitting services will yield clubs that fit your body and swing mechanics nearly perfectly, which can improve forgiveness, reduce the incidence of mishits, and which can also extract more power, effortlessly, from your swing. It’s not just about weight, flex, flex point and torque, but about how these things work together to deliver replicable results with less effort from you. As a result, you will experience fewer issues associated with inconsistent performance because your clubs will be optimized to work with your natural abilities.
What you learn from a fitter can help you pair golf shafts and clubs, even a while after you get fitted. You can also leverage the insights you glean about your swing mechanics, specifically with respect to swing speed and tempo, to help you choose shafts for clubs down the line. In other words, getting fitted can give you the ability to sift through golf shaft and club pairings with a more discerning eye so you can make better informed decisions about what you should pair, what you should play with, and why.
Contact Us for More Details About Our Golf Shafts
If you’ve been previously fitted in the past, but have questions about the golf shafts and clubs we sell here, get in touch with us directly and our customer service team would be more than happy to make recommendations based on that information. Feel free to reach out to us, let us know what your goals or challenges are (or what you’re looking for in new shafts) and we will help you out.
It may be a great feeling when your approach shot lands amazingly close to the hole. What’s not a great feeling is missing a short putt. And guess what, every golfer has been there before.
While frustrating, missing short putts is a reality for all golfers at some time or other, but the truth is that also improving your short putting accuracy is one of the most effective ways to lower your score. Plus, it feels great when you don’t miss, of course.
With that said, there are tons and tons of golf putting tips out there, but shedding some light on another few won’t hurt. Here are two critical tips that, if you keep to them, should help you lower your scores.
Follow Through Every Time
Where you aim your putter face is the single critical point in where the putt is going to go, of course taking into account the grain direction and lay of the green. But what’s also important is following through on the putt every single time, no exceptions.
Square the putter face, and keep your body very still. When you commit to the stroke, it’s tempting to look almost immediately to see if the putt is going where you want it to go. But this is a flaw in the putt sequence.
Looking up right away adds unnecessary movement (more on that in a second) and can interrupt the putt, resulting in unsquare contact at the moment of impact. Anticipation, looking up and away from the putt too soon can introduce inaccuracy.
Keep yourself fully still and attentive to the putt until the putter has made contact with the ball and it’s already rolling. Only when your swing is complete and the ball has left the putter face should you move any other part of your body, including your head.
Then you can look up and check the accuracy of the putt.
Keep Moving Parts to a Minimum
Start by planting your feet firmly on the ground, then check the direction in which you’re aiming the putter. Make adjustments if you need to, but once you’re ready to start your backswing, you should not move any part of your lower body.
Unlike a full golf swing, putting is completely an upper body activity, and the fewer parts of you that move, the better. Watch experienced golfers and you will see that their lower body is effectively completely still when putting, including their hips.
Swaying during the putt is a common problem for lots of problems. Putting simulators and training aids can help you identify issues like this so you can address them when you’re actually playing.
Even excessive movement in your wrists (or any, depending on whom you ask) can also be a problem. Rotating your upper body and keeping your arms and wrists effectively fixed can also help mitigate minor aberrations that result in inconsistency and inaccuracy when putting.
The bottom line is that your feet should stay firmly planted on the ground and you should strive to keep your lower body as still, and the swing of your upper body as consistent as possible with every putt.
Bonus: Read and Reflect on Every Putt
Don’t just square up and putt without reading the green first. Experienced golfers will often walk completely around the ball, even around the hole, to see the grade of the green and to pick up on other factors that can influence the direction of the putt.
After the putt you should also reflect on what went well and what didn’t, if you missed. Every putt is a learning opportunity to key in on what you’ve done well just as much as it is to identify and rectify anything you’re doing wrong that could be costing you accuracy on the green.
Considering Trying a New Putter Shaft?
Stability putter shafts are designed to reduce unwanted shaft movement during the putting stroke. With extremely low torque and a more stable structure than traditional steel, Stability helps reduce shaft deflection and supports more consistent face delivery at impact.
The result is a putter shaft built to help golfers improve consistency without forcing them to change their natural stroke.
If you are looking for better feel, improved stability, and more reliable putts, learn more about Stability putter shafts or contact us with questions about which model is right for your game.
