Equipment
Blade vs. mallet: What style putters do the top-50 players in the world use? (2022 update)
Four years ago, I wrote an article where I analyzed the putters that the top-50 players in the world were using, and the top-50 players in strokes gained: putting. I wanted to find out whether more mallet-style putters, or blade-style putters, were being used by the world’s best.
In 2018, I found that 44 percent of the top-50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings were using mallet style putters, and 56 percent of the top-50 in strokes gained: putting were using mallet putters.
Flash forward to 2022, and it would seem that more and more top golfers are switching into mallet putters – Scottie Scheffler, for example, just switched into a mallet putter after using a blade-style putter throughout his career.
What are the actual numbers, though? Are more top PGA Tour players really using mallet putters these days, or is the shift overblown?
I wanted to find out.
For my research, I simply went through the most recent GolfWRX WITB photos, and the most recent photos on Getty Images, to figure out what style putter each player in the Top-50 in the OWGR is using, as well as each Top-50 player in strokes gained: putting on the PGA Tour for the 2021-22 season.
Below are the results:
Top-50 in OWGR: Blade or Mallet?
Mallet putter users, 62 percent (31 out of 50)
Rory McIlroy’s TaylorMade Spider Tour mallet putter
Rory McIlroy (No. 1: TaylorMade Spider Tour Hydroblast)
Scottie Scheffler (No. 2: Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto)
Patrick Cantlay (No. 4: Scotty Cameron T5 Proto)
Jon Rahm (N0. 5: Odyssey Rossie S White Hot OG)
Xander Schauffele (No. 6: Odyssey O-Works #7 CH Red)
Will Zalatoris (No. 7: Scotty Cameron Circle T Phantom X T-11 Proto)
Justin Thomas (No. 8: Scotty Cameron T5 Proto Tour-Only custom)
Viktor Hovland (No. 11: Ping PLD DS 72)
Sam Burns (No. 12: Odyssey O-Works 7S)
Billy Horschel (No. 16: Ping PLD Sigma 2 Tyne 4)
Cameron Young (No. 17: Scotty Cameron T5 prototype)
Max Homa (No. 18: Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5.5 Prototype)
Sungjae Im (No. 20: Scotty Cameron Flowback 5 Prototype)
Shane Lowry: (No. 21: Odyssey DFX 2-ball)
Abraham Ancer (No. 23: Odyssey White Hot No. 5 Stroke Lab)
Keegan Bradley (No. 25: Odyssey Versa Jailbird)
Sepp Straka (No. 27: Odyssey Tuttle Stroke Lab)
Tyrrell Hatton (No. 28: Ping Vault Oslo)
Kevin Kisner (No. 29: Odyssey 2-Ball 11)
Dustin Johnson (No. 30: TaylorMade Spider GT Black)
Corey Conners (No. 31: Ping PLD Prototype)
Tom Hoge (No. 32: TaylorMade Spider X Hydroblast)
K.H. Lee (No. 33: Odyssey Works Versa 2-ball)
Adam Scott (No. 34: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 prototype)
Aaron Wise (No. 36: TaylorMade Ghost)
Brian Harman (No. 37: TaylorMade OS CB)
Daniel Berger (No. 43: TaylorMade Spider X Hydroblast)
Jason Kokrak (No. 44: Bettinardi Studio Stock 38)
Harold Varner III (No. 46: Odyssey White Hot OG 7S)
Seamus Power (No. 48: Ping PLD3 Mallet)
Harris English (No. 49: Ping Scottsdale Hohum)
Blade putter users, 38 percent (19 out of 50)
Tom Kim’s new custom Scotty Cameron blade-style putter
Cameron Smith (No. 3: Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype)
Collin Morikawa (No. 9: TaylorMade TP Soto)
Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 10: Bettinardi DASS Prototype)
Jordan Spieth (No. 13: Scotty Cameron 009 tour prototype)
Tony Finau (No. 14: Ping PLD Prototype)
Joohyung “Tom” Kim (No. 15: Scotty Cameron TourType GSS Prototype)
Hideki Matsuyama (No. 19: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS)
Joaquin Niemann (No. 22: Prototype Ping PLD Anser)
Tommy Fleetwood (No. 24: TaylorMade TP Juno)
Ryan Fox (No. 26: Ping Anser 2D)
Thomas Pieters (No. 35: Scotty Cameron Squareback Select 2 Tour Only)
Talor Gooch (No. 38: Odyssey Tri-Hot Two)
Brooks Koepka (No. 39: Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2)
Kevin Na (No. 40: Odyssey Toulon Madison)
Kurt Kitayama (No. 41: Scotty Cameron Newport prototype)
Louis Oosthuizen (No. 42: Ping Vault 2.0 Voss)
Mito Pereira (No. 45: Ping Vault 2.0 Dale Anser Stealth)
Paul Casey (No. 47: Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype)
Alex Noren (No. 50: Odyssey O-Works 1W)
Top-50 in Strokes Gained: Putting
Mallet users: 70 percent (35 of 50 players)
Kelly Kraft’s custom Odyssey Versa 1-Ball Red prototype mallet
Lucas Herbert (No. 1: TaylorMade Spider X Hydroblast)
Denny McCarthy (No. 2: Scotty Cameron GoLo N7)
Tyrrell Hatton (No. 4: Ping Vault Oslo)
Beau Hossler (No. 5: Odyssey 2-Ball Ten)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (No. 6: Odyssey White Hot OG #7)
Kelly Kraft (No. 7: Odyssey Versa 1-ball Red Prototype)
Kevin Kisner (No. 9: Odyssey 2-ball 11)
Sam Burns (No. 10: Odyssey O-Works 7S)
Martin Trainer (No. 12: Scotty Cameron Circle T Prototype Phantom T12)
Chesson Hadley (No. 13: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball)
Mackenzie Hughes (No. 14: Ping Scottsdale TR Piper C)
Rory McIlroy (No. 16: TaylorMade Spider Tour Hydroblast)
Ian Poulter (No. 17: Scotty Cameron T-11 Proto)
Justin Rose (No. 20: Axis1 Rose Prototype)
Billy Horschel (No. 21: Ping PLD Sigma 2 Tyne 4)
Matthew Wolff (No. 23: TaylorMade GT Notchback)
Adam Long (No. 24: Scotty Cameron T5 Proto)
Viktor Hovland (No. 25: Ping PLD DS 72)
Max Homa (No. 27: Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5.5 Prototype)
Patrick Cantlay (T28: Scotty Cameron T5 Proto)
Jon Rahm (T28: Odyssey Rossie S White Hot OG)
Wyndham Clark (No. 31: Scotty Cameron T5 Proto)
Xander Schauffele (No. 32: Odyssey O-Works #7 CH Red)
Vince Whaley (No. 33: Odyssey White Hot OG #7)
Rory Sabbatini (No. 34: Scotty Cameron Flowback Prototype)
Austin Cook (T35: Ping Sigma G Tyne)
Sungjae Im (No. 37: Scotty Cameron Flowback 5 Prototype)
Andrew Putnam (No. 38: Odyssey Stroke Lab Black Rossie)
Sepp Straka (No. 39: Odyssey Tuttle Stroke Lab)
Seamus Power (No. 40: Ping PLD3 Mallet)
J.T. Poston (T41: Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 Black Tour Prototype)
Adam Scott (T41: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 prototype)
Troy Merritt (No. 43: Yes! C-Groove Mollie Tour)
Jason Kokrak (T46: Bettinardi Studio Stock 38)
Mark Hubbard (No. 50: Odyssey Metal X Milled #9HT)
Blade users: 30 percent (15 of 50)
Matthew Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi blade-style putter
Brendon Todd (No. 3: Sik Pro C-Series)
Cameron Smith (No. 8: Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype)
Matt Kuchar (No. 11: Bettinardi Tour Department SS28 DASS)
Marc Leishman (No. 15: Odyssey Versa #6)
Alex Noren (No. 18: Odyssey O-Works 1W)
Maverick McNealy (No. 19: Toulon Stanford MM Custom)
Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 22: Bettinardi DASS Prototype)
Tommy Fleetwood (No. 26: TaylorMade TP Juno)
Patrick Rodgers (No. 30: Odyssey Toulon San Diego)
Seung-Yul Noh (T35: Scotty Cameron Select Prototype)
Scott Stallings (No. 44: Scotty Cameron Newport 2.6 Prototype)
Brooks Koepka (No. 45: Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2)
Justin Lower (T46: PXG Prototype)
Richy Werenski (No. 48: Scotty Cameron Circle T Prototype)
Patrick Reed (No. 49: Odyssey White Hot Pro #3)
Conclusion
In 2018, 44 percent of the top-50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings were using mallet style putters, and 56 percent of the top-50 in strokes gained: putting were using mallet putters.
In 2022, 62 percent of the top-50 players in the OWGR use mallet style putters, and 70 percent of the top-50 in strokes gained: putting were using mallet style putters.
What do you think this means?
To me, it means that each golfer should try as many putters as possible – under the supervision of a professional fitter or local club professional – and find the best possible putter to fit their stroke style and preferences.
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Tiger Woods is making his PGA Tour return at the 2023 Hero World Challenge this week, which marks the first time we’ll see him tee it up in competition since the 2023 Masters.
On Tuesday, we spotted Woods in the Bahamas using a new, unreleased TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver prototype equipped with a new Graphite Design Tour AD-VF 6 X red and black shaft.
? https://t.co/0pyqrJZKUP pic.twitter.com/iIz0CjZZIQ
— GolfWRX (@GolfWRX) November 29, 2023
Back in September, if you remember, Justin Thomas switched into a Graphite Design Tour AD-VF 5 X shaft in his Titleist TSR3 driver. Thomas wanted a longer driver option, and he found 15 more yards thanks to the new 45.625-inch driver.
This week, Woods showed up with the same shaft model (just slightly heavier and stiffer, due to the shorter length compared to Thomas).
So, what is it about this AD-VF shaft that’s attracting top names such as Thomas and Woods?
According to Graphite Design’s website, the AD-VF metalwood shafts have a “FIRM+” butt section, a “STIFF” mid-section, and a “VERY STIFF” tip section.
The “VF” stands for “Victory Force,” and the design promotes a low/mid launch, with low spin. The shafts, which are designed and manufactured at the Graphite Design Japan Factory, use “TORAYCA M40X” pre-preg material in the butt section, and “TORAYCA T1100G” pre-preg in the mid/tip sections to produce better control, stability, and feel.
Here’s how the AD-VF shaft compares to other shafts in the Graphite Design family, according to the company’s website, and as you can see, it’s as stiff as anything Graphite Design offers across the butt, mid, and tip sections. Reductively, you could call it the “stiffest shaft in the lineup.”
As a reminder, Woods most recently gamed the Fujikura Ventus Black with a TaylorMade Stealth Plus head at the Masters in April.
Woods is set to tee off on Thursday at 11:52 a.m. EST alongside Justin Thomas.
See Tiger Woods’ full WITB at the 2023 Hero World Challenge
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- Louise Ridderstrom what’s in the bag accurate as of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Vanquish 5 S
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD
3-wood: Callaway Paradym (15 degrees @16)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder NX 60 SR
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (20 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Recoil D.A.R.T.
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (23 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Recoil D.A.R.T.
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (26 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Recoil D.A.R.T.
Irons: Callaway Apex (6-PW)
Shafts: UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F3
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 58-12X)
Shafts: UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F3
Putter: Sacks Parente 54 MC
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
More photos of Louise Ridderstrom’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (11/29/23): Ping i230 Orange Dot irons with Fujikura Axiom 105s shafts
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Ping i230 Orange Dot irons with Fujikura Axiom 105s shafts.
From the seller: (@ScottyWaaa): “i230 irons with Fujikura Axiom 105s – $1500. Orange Dot. 1/4 inch long. mcc +4 grips. Mint irons. Used about 15 rounds. No trades.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping i230 Orange Dot irons with Fujikura Axiom 105s shafts
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Report: Rory McIlroy planning to leave Florida as he eyes permanent move away from U.S.
The reason behind Azinger’s NBC exit as his replacement for Hero World Challenge is revealed
Pro becomes first new addition to LIV Golf for 2024
Here’s why Vijay Singh has red numbers written all over his irons
Phil Mickelson doesn’t hold back in response to leaked PGA Tour memo offering members equity ownership opportunity
Brooks Koepka aims multiple jabs at LIV Golf on social media
Gary Player leaves fans stunned with 7-word putdown of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Pat Perez among 5 pros out of contract and in danger of losing LIV Golf status
Viktor Hovland gives typically wholesome answer when asked how he’s spent his $34.5m yearly earnings
Spotted: New TaylorMade Carbonwood driver hits USGA conforming list
Louise Ridderstrom WITB 2023 (November)
Louise Ridderstrom what’s in the bag accurate as of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5...
Tiger Woods WITB 2023 (November)
Tiger Woods what’s in the bag accurate as of the Hero World Challenge. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS Shaft: Graphite Design...
WITB Time Machine: Rickie Fowler’s winning WITB, 2017 Hero World Challenge
We’re jumping in the WITB Time Machine and heading back to 2017 when Rickie Fowler was head of the class...
Rory McIlroy WITB 2023 (November)
Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the DP World Tour Championship. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)...
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19th Hole2 weeks agoReport: Rory McIlroy planning to leave Florida as he eyes permanent move away from U.S.
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19th Hole1 week agoThe reason behind Azinger’s NBC exit as his replacement for Hero World Challenge is revealed
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19th Hole2 weeks agoPro becomes first new addition to LIV Golf for 2024
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Equipment3 weeks agoHere’s why Vijay Singh has red numbers written all over his irons
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19th Hole2 weeks agoPhil Mickelson doesn’t hold back in response to leaked PGA Tour memo offering members equity ownership opportunity
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19th Hole1 week agoBrooks Koepka aims multiple jabs at LIV Golf on social media
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19th Hole3 weeks agoGary Player leaves fans stunned with 7-word putdown of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur
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19th Hole3 weeks ago
Pat Perez among 5 pros out of contract and in danger of losing LIV Golf status
Tom K
Oct 30, 2022 at 9:45 pm
Blade that isn’t too deep with a rounded back and flow neck is the way to go.
GenoK
Oct 28, 2022 at 7:45 pm
I’m 73 now, with an 18hdcp. My Tommy Armour Impact #3 was tested against the top mallets on Tour in 2019 and came in 2nd overall. Retail $129 On sale $99 I had a $20 coupon…net price $79. Putting has always been my default position and why my game is still respectable. I wasn’t looking to change, but the testers loved the putter, I loved the price and three putts I’ve had with it have been rare.
Peter
Oct 28, 2022 at 5:09 pm
Confusing to me , in the article it says mallet style putters to mallet putters? I thought it was supposed to be compared to blade putters
Vs. Mallet. I must of missed something.
Tom Philbeck
Oct 28, 2022 at 8:38 am
Compare MOI numbers for blade vs. mallet and your article would be really worth reading
Jeff B
Oct 28, 2022 at 3:21 pm
The MOI for Anser2 style blade is higher than many small/mid mallets. Standard Newport 2 is around 4000, some like Odyssey Tri-Hot getting to 5000. Small mallets like Rossie, 2-Ball, #7 in the range of 3000-3500.
Juan
Oct 27, 2022 at 7:55 pm
Nice article. Scheffler’s rank is confusing because he got there with a blade. In his first tourney with a mallet he lost 4.5 strokes putting to the field.