Pros...blades for irons, but lots of mallets for putters! Hmmm

[2717B]

I find it interesting that the majority of pros play blade like irons (less forgiving, smaller sweet spot...more workable etc. etc.), but over the last few years it seems that a pretty high percentage of pros have switched to mallet like putters (more forgiving, bigger sweet spot, higher MOI etc. etc.). 

Edited August 30, 2020 by 2717B

[Mudguard]

3 minutes ago, 2717B said:

I find it interesting that the majority of pros play blade like irons (less forgiving, smaller sweet spot...more workable etc. etc.), but over the last few years it seems that a pretty high percentage of pros have switched to mallet like putters (more forgiving, bigger sweet spot, higher MOI etc. etc.). 

 

Do the pros actually play blades more than cavities? What are the numbers?

[MtlJeff]

I actually do the opposite haha....big fugly irons with a tiny blade putter

[bombs]

Blades when struck well are the most predictable in terms of carry consistency and workability. 

 

 

[COL_B]

I wonder if sponsorship plays a big role in all the mallets.

 

A pro is probably not going to play his best with big chunky irons that sell to the masses.

 

there is a much smaller difference between a big putter vs a small putter than there is between a SGI and a blade (or a small forged cavity) 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by COL_B

[minhjn]

The mallet explosion is due to manufacturers making mallets with toe hang I believe 

[Socrates]

Pro's and blades are a given.

 

Mallet putters are just a current trend.  5 years from now, it just as easily could be blades and anser style putters.  But Pro's know where the money is made.  On the green.

[tomg1969]

42 minutes ago, minhjn said:

The mallet explosion is due to manufacturers making mallets with toe hang I believe 

This

[Jeremy8810]

1 hour ago, minhjn said:

The mallet explosion is due to manufacturers making mallets with toe hang I believe 

This is the correct answer. Thinking of getting a putter fitting for next season and a toe hang mallet will be on the list.

[minhjn]

35 minutes ago, Jeremy8810 said:

This is the correct answer. Thinking of getting a putter fitting for next season and a toe hang mallet will be on the list.

 

Props to Odyssey and TM the last few years for putting slant necks and flow necks on their mallets

[1Mordrid1]

Less than 30% of PGA Tour players use blades, so pros and blades do not go hand in hand.

 

The same reason that less pros are using blades now days is the same reason more players are using mallet putters. The stigma of whats in the bag just does not matter much any more, as long as what is in the bag is working for them. 

[greenwavegolfer]

There's absolutely no downsides to a forgiving design on a putter whereas there's a performance tradeoff between a blade and a chunky, forgiving GI type iron when you're a pro looking for consistent ball speeds and spin control on good shots. They don't want "flier" shots or reduced spin on irons and that's what dictates their choice of clubs. For a putter, they want what they can get a good roll with and align properly and if that's a mallet, it's a mallet.

[Red4282]

6 hours ago, 2717B said:

I find it interesting that the majority of pros play blade like irons (less forgiving, smaller sweet spot...more workable etc. etc.), but over the last few years it seems that a pretty high percentage of pros have switched to mallet like putters (more forgiving, bigger sweet spot, higher MOI etc. etc.). 

I Play a mallet and its not because of forgiveness, but more about lining up your putt. Mallets give more real estate for alignment aids such as 2 ball, triple track, etc. 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

A few things. I dont think as many players are playing blades as we think. I think most are playing a small players cavity back which is a step above blades. I play the mp 20 mmc a step above the mp 20 blades and they are very forgiving very workable and very precise. I think most pros realise this and play these types now. Example is brooks koepka playing 919 jpx tours... also i think mallets are here to stay for pros. The reason being... has anyone noticed how soft they tap most putts? I think it gives them the perfect amount of power on those rocket fast greens. Vice versa i had a spider x and while i think it is a great putter it was a nightmare after a few rounds for me... everything was blasted by the hole... switched to a 2018 scotty blade and its night and day.

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, iNeedMoreGolf said:

A few things. I dont think as many players are playing blades as we think. I think most are playing a small players cavity back which is a step above blades. I play the mp 20 mmc a step above the mp 20 blades and they are very forgiving very workable and very precise. I think most pros realise this and play these types now. Example is brooks koepka playing 919 jpx tours... also i think mallets are here to stay for pros. The reason being... has anyone noticed how soft they tap most putts? I think it gives them the perfect amount of power on those rocket fast greens. Vice versa i had a spider x and while i think it is a great putter it was a nightmare after a few rounds for me... everything was blasted by the hole... switched to a 2018 scotty blade and its night and day.

 

There's actually little difference in MOI between the MMC and the blades.  Less than 200 gm-cm2.

[Valtiel]

5 hours ago, greenwavegolfer said:

There's absolutely no downsides to a forgiving design on a putter whereas there's a performance tradeoff between a blade and a chunky, forgiving GI type iron when you're a pro looking for consistent ball speeds and spin control on good shots. They don't want "flier" shots or reduced spin on irons and that's what dictates their choice of clubs. For a putter, they want what they can get a good roll with and align properly and if that's a mallet, it's a mallet.

Yeah this is a good point. You're not dealing with turf interaction, spin (to a degree), flight, or workability with a putter, so it ends up just coming down to a utilitarian decision for lots of guys. As a side dish to that, I think with the proliferation technology in instruction, more players are likely going to straighter, more mechanical putting strokes as opposed to the open and close "arc", which is more conducive to big, high MOI putters. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Valtiel

[xxio]

Same with anser style putters and offset.

 

Low offset irons, yet anser style putters with full shaft offset.

[soregongolfer]

How often do you want to "work" a putter?  

[dubbelbogey]

No such thing as "too forgiving". In every other pro sport in the world where the rules allow using performance enhancing equipment, the athletes will universally do so. Nobody in slalom or GS skiing is using a straight ski. Nobody in tennis is using a wooden racquet. All top tiers of auto racing now use an automated gearbox. The athletes will seek to gain every advantage possible as allowed by the rules.  Ditto for hockey sticks, bicycles, etc...100% of the time. 

 

Are pro golfers really that exceptionally stupid and hide bound by tradition? Even the world's very best ball strikers hit some balls off the center of the clubface. To think otherwise is naive. Why do a very significant percentage of pro golfers, then, choose to play blades, when there is true forgiveness to be had? And some will argue that forgiveness can be had with all the supposed advantages of hitting a blade. Why don't they move over to that gear, when they have zero issue doing so with their drivers, fairway woods and putters?

 

Myself, I don't think they're that stupid at all. The answer lies elsewhere.

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by dubbelbogey

[MattM97]

12 hours ago, shortset said:

I believe that the skill that carries players to the pro ranks is ball striking. Hence the blades. 
 

Tour players are not necessarily the best putters in the world hence the need for forgiving equipment. 

 

You're right, that guy Joe from your local Muni is the best putter in the world, only if he could strike a ball. 

[nova6868]

Most pros are playing the smaller/medium sized mallets which really don't have a significantly higher MOI than a blade. In fact some of the smaller mallets actually have lower MOI than your standard Anser 2. I really think it's just more manufacturers having and pushing the mallet options with toe hang. 

[MelloYello]

I think some just prefer the big alignment aids on top and there's often a heftiness to the mallet that some prefer.

 

No good putter is concerned with "forgiveness" in a putter, and there's not a player on Tour that isn't qualified as a good putter. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by MelloYello

[iNeedMoreGolf]

6 hours ago, soregongolfer said:

How often do you want to "work" a putter?  

Exuse me... but if you havent worked a putter before then... you must not golf...lol...  does a work count as a downhill right to left 15 footer that sinks? If so i worked the putter maybe a few times.

[COL_B]

53 minutes ago, iNeedMoreGolf said:

Exuse me... but if you havent worked a putter before then... you must not golf...lol...  does a work count as a downhill right to left 15 footer that sinks? If so i worked the putter maybe a few times.

LOL.

 

I "work" a putter two ways:

- sometimes hit it off the toe on a short putt, or to control speed on a touchy downhill

- I'll strike down to pop the ball over the fringe or wet grass

 

The latter is because my chipping yips are locally legendary.

[SouthLand]

57 minutes ago, iNeedMoreGolf said:

Exuse me... but if you havent worked a putter before then... you must not golf...lol...  does a work count as a downhill right to left 15 footer that sinks? If so i worked the putter maybe a few times.

That’s not the same.  You’re not trying to putt a draw or a cut.  I can see your point, but I’d argue what you did was a try to hit a straight putt to your line.  Working a full swing is quite different.

[iNeedMoreGolf]

43 minutes ago, SouthLand said:

That’s not the same.  You’re not trying to putt a draw or a cut.  I can see your point, but I’d argue what you did was a try to hit a straight putt to your line.  Working a full swing is quite different.

No its not.. i took a full swing inside out in that putt.

[North Butte]

8 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Yeah this is a good point. You're not dealing with turf interaction, spin (to a degree), flight, or workability with a putter, so it ends up just coming down to a utilitarian decision for lots of guys. As a side dish to that, I think with the proliferation technology in instruction, more players are likely going to straighter, more mechanical putting strokes as opposed to the open and close "arc", which is more conducive to big, high MOI putters. 

An awful lot of touring pros have been convinced that putting is something that can be reduced to a series of steps, each step of which can be perfected separately.

 

Have your caddie consult his greens book to find the break.

 

Point the alignment mark on your ball in the direction corresponding to that read.

Line the markings on the top of the putter with the line on the ball.

 

Make a stiff, mechanical, guided stroke with the putter to make sure you deliver it back to the ball with the lines still in the correct arrangement.

 

Voila, perfect putting every time...not!

[MtlJeff]

I do agree with some of the thoughts here that i believe many pros view putting as very mechanical, whereas with full swings they want to shape shots , hit half-shots, manage trajectory etc...So using irons that they are comfortable with for a variety of reasons makes sense. 

 

for putters, it's actually a quite simple thing. Find a line and make ball go straight. 

 

As i mentioned , ironically i do the exact opposite. For me it's just that i like forgiveness with irons....and don't feel that i need forgiveness with a putter since it's easy to hit well. So i like the clean look of a small putter

[Hougz79]

I love Anser/Newport blades.  But I align mallets better.  I might try a Spider Tour X with a slant neck; I really enjoy the alignment that putter provides.  Pretty decent distance control for an insert putter as well. 

[COL_B]

1 hour ago, MtlJeff said:

I do agree with some of the thoughts here that i believe many pros view putting as very mechanical, whereas with full swings they want to shape shots , hit half-shots, manage trajectory etc...So using irons that they are comfortable with for a variety of reasons makes sense. 

 

for putters, it's actually a quite simple thing. Find a line and make ball go straight. 

 

As i mentioned , ironically i do the exact opposite. For me it's just that i like forgiveness with irons....and don't feel that i need forgiveness with a putter since it's easy to hit well. So i like the clean look of a small putter

The dimension besides "straight" on the right line hitting it with the right speed. The bigger the mallet, the (generally) tougher to control speed.