Test: New blade vs. old blade

This was a test of what might be considered the first ‘modern’  blade putter, the Ping Anser, vs. one of the newest, the Odyssey Double Wide. 

This Anser is a 30th Anniversary Scottsdale model. It has no insert, a grip as large as a big pencil, no alignment aids, CF shaft, tungsten weights, milled face, etc.... The Scottsdale Anser originated in 1966.

The Double Wide has about as much technology as Odyssey can throw at it.

The test was putting between two holes on a practice green that are 30’ apart on a fairly constant slope (one is uphill from the other). Groups of 3 putts, at each distance of 5, 10, 20, and 30 feet were taken, uphill then down. This was repeated for a total of 96 putts.

While most golf club performance is open to personal interpretation and variation in player’s input, putters can be held to a higher standard: how many balls go in the hole. Note that in the graph, the Y scale for 5 and 10 feet represent the number of holed putts. For 20 and 30 feet, it’s the number of putts within a 2 foot (gimme) radius.

For those who like data, graphs, and such U is uphill, D is down:

The closer you are to the hole, the better the Double Wide performs. From ~8’ and in, it’s close to automatic. Alignment is intuitive and easy, as it soles flat, and the stroke itself is a simple matter of taking the club back and releasing. The head is so heavy that it acts, and looks, like a clock pendulum. As long as your grip is loose, it will travel down the aligned path every time.

The Anser is clearly not nearly as stable, and moves rather randomly (and somewhat disconcertingly after using the Double Wide) during the stroke. You’re adding a significant amount of variation to the impact, and it shows in the results. On shorter putts, less than 8’ or so, the Double Wide sinks more putts, and does it so easily. It removes any tendency to the yips or other mental trauma, just as the advertising says it should. Just pull it back and release.

The payback is distance control. The Anser feels like an extension of your arm. The putter head is accelerating at the same rate as your hands. The Double Wide can do that too, out to around 15’ or so, at which point you have to actively accelerate the putter. The fallout is that the ability to finely increment distance is reduced. The worst case is very long putts, where you have to literally hit the ball hard. The Double Wide has a tendency to come up either significantly short (most of the time), or grossly long if you really try to hammer it.

To the original question: Is one actually “better” than the other? The answer depends on the distance of putts you’re taking in the course of a round, and to some extent the speed of the greens. If the majority of putts are within 10’, the Double Wide is clearly superior. If they’re outside of 20’, the Anser has a clear advantage. The reality though, is that most of the time you’re two-putting. In that scenario, the Anser will almost always put the ball within a range that negates the Double Wide’s close-in advantage. As well, what isn’t shown on the graph is the number of holed putts from 20’ and 30’. The Anser sank 3 at 20’ and 2 at 30’. The Double Wide dropped 2 at 20’ and none at 30’.

With irons, we have seen advances in materials, weight distribution, face rebound, and such. The greatest change though has been loft creep. Your 7 irons is mostly a 20 year old 5 iron. Putters have been creeping too, but in a more subtle way. While newer models may have numerous advancements and apparent advantages, the overwhelming change is this - newer putters weigh more -

As with other clubs where fitting has become more common, we’re becoming aware that the fitting environment doesn’t fully mimic actual course conditions. For putters, it’s more so. The carpet at your local shop is fast, flat, and small. Head to head in those conditions, there’s no way I’d pick the Anser.

Nice work.

Now this was a test, good job. I'm also wondering if you happened to buy a modern milled putter with tech would the downhill distance control even out? I've heard a lot of people have distance control with the insert or some guys get better control cause they can strike it firmer. But that's a person to person test.

But again good job and hope the Odyssey treats you well.

Yes, it does appear to be a three bears scenario without the baby bear. As with so many things, the middle ground is often the best

You’d think that I could have figured that out by now...

Great Test..thanks for liking both putters! My Newport mid slant works well mostly

blame Indian Not Arrow! 50% of my practice is putting them chip run.Your summary on the long and short is true and a Firmer Grip (left) can assist in longer straighter putts.Mine is 345gr and 82gr pp58 ping grip.Two years this combo.Happy.

Again thanks for efforts!

Good test. So what’s the recommendation?

The Baby Bear.

The two models here represent the lightest, easily manipulated head, which gives superior distance control and feedback, and the heaviest, which gives stroke repeatability and head stability at the expense of feel, feedback, and distance control. Neither extreme is optimal.

The Newport2 through the Mallet 1 in Cameron’s appear to be representative of the sweet spot. They also have the advantage of interchangeable weights to allow you to tailor their effective swing weight to your own needs.

I like the thinking that got you to do this test. Well done.

It mirrors my experience with the PING Sigma Kushin wide blade vs, my anser style blades that iI tend to always go back to. Love to ha e a blade 3/8” wider but still in the 340g range.