Going from blade to mallet putter

[hypergolf]

My friend who usually played in the mid 90's has been focusing his practice on putting for 4 weeks now. I played with him yesterday and he scored mid 80's. That is 10 strokes compared to him a month ago. His iron/wood shots were similar but I could really tell that his putting has improved.

He told me that focusing on putting for the last month really helped but also because he made a switch from blade to mallet style putter. (From SC Newport 2 to SC Red X) I have seen a lot of pros doing this switch too.

Besides focusing on putting practice, I just wanted to see what your thoughts are on mallet putters. Do they really help to make it more stable putter stroke? Does MOI really matter in a putter?

[Eracer]

MOI is resistance to twisting on off-center hits.

So - if your stroke is good, and you hit the ball in the center of the putterhead, there is no advantage to playing a mallet (re: MOI) If your stroke is inconsistent, than higher MOI putters will definitely help.

The real reason pros are are using mallets more is that they are moving away from the "swinging door" stroke, which favors a toe-weighted putter like the Newport, to the "straight back - straight through" stroke, which favors face-balanced putters. The Red, though, is a 1/4 toe-down putter, even though it's a mallet.

Most blades are toe-weighted, most mallets are face-balanced. So yes, if you are more comfortable with a straight through stroke, then a mallet will suit you better than a blade.

[warbirdlover]

I went from a mallet to a blade and am doing much better. All depends on the individual I think.

[JEFF4i]

Crazy enough I went from mallet to blade.

Yet, if you don't know me by now, I don't think it means much of a hoot. I suppose the drastic change matters...somewhat.

[dave.]

Hmmm,I have possibly one of the finest beasts in the blade world,the Odyssey Black prototype,yet a pro gave me an Odyssey #5 Dual Force to sell for him and I can't miss.I can truly say the MOI thing isn't a con.A second hand 30 quid putter has kicked a 200 special edition beast into the garage.

[figjam]

I've been changing between blade and mallet lately and I must admit that although I want to have a blade in the bag, for me a mallet is probably better.

I love the look of a blade putter and try to persevere with them, but my best scores always seem to happen when I go back to the mallet. I have a straight back/straight through stroke and the face balance of a mallet really does provide a more consistently straight putt off the face. I can do it with a blade but I find I have to concentrate more on the followthrough to gte a good result, but with a mallet I just hit through naturally without thinking about it. Another reason I putt better with the mallet is because I find it much easier to line up. The depth of the putter and the long sight line from front to back allows me to line up much straighter than with a blade. It means all I have to do is get the ball's alignment aid pointing at my line, line the putter sight line directly along that line, and the only thing I have to worry about is speed.

I think the one advantage blades have is better feel for speed on longer putts, but I sink heaps more 6 to 12 footers with a mallet. I think after writing this I've convinced myself that I must surrender to common sense and put the mallet back in the bag permanently.

[dave.]

A 'modern' blade like SC Newport or any other such bastard offspring of the Anser,are of a lot more forgiving that the original Ansers

[Jules150]

Is a center shafted blade putter good for a straight back straight through stroke?

[RickinMA]

Originally Posted by Jules150

Is a center shafted blade putter good for a straight back straight through stroke?

a center shafted blade or a blade with a long neck will likely be face balanced. Face balanced meaning the weight is beind the axis of the shaft. (face goes up if you let it roll in your open hands)

face balanced designs (regardless of how they get there) are generally best for straight back straight through type strokes

toe weighted putters are generally better for open - square - close type strokes

in my opinion, backweighting (counterweight under the grip) is good for some of each - I certainly fall into this category