Which putter do you choose?

[getitdaily]

Putter 1

Make 64% from 5 feet

Make 16% from 20 feet

Accuracy from 20 feet - 11.5 inches

 

Putter 2 

Make 82% from 5 feet

Make 12% from 20 feet

Accuracy from 20 feet - 14.6 inches

 

Both putters are equal from 10 feet.

Edited July 13, 2021 by getitdaily

[MattM97]

Depends on my distance to the pin for my first putt, but seems like a no brainier for Putter #2. It almost eliminates 3 putts.

[MPAndreassi]

Putter 2 without a doubt. That 82% from 5 feet would boost up and down percentage substantially as well as almost eliminating three putts. 

[getitdaily]

9 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

Depends on my distance to the pin for my first putt, but seems like a no brainier for Putter #2. It almost eliminates 3 putts.

Good point. Updated with accuracy from 20 feet. Putter 2 may not be as good at 3 putt elimination since putter 1 appears to be closer from 20+.

[minhjn]

#2 no question. 3 putt avoidance I think would lower your score more 

[getitdaily]

7 minutes ago, MPAndreassi said:

Putter 2 without a doubt. That 82% from 5 feet would boost up and down percentage substantially as well as almost eliminating three putts. 

This is where the maths have to be applied. Gotta know how many 5 footers and 20 footers you have. Is an extra made 20 footer worth the potential miss from 5 feet? 

[MattM97]

1 minute ago, getitdaily said:

Good point. Updated with accuracy from 20 feet. Putter 2 may not be as good at 3 putt elimination since putter 1 appears to be closer from 20+.

 

Honestly doesn't matter you could bump back putter 2 on the 20ft putt distance to 28 or 40" and it's still much higher make percentage than 1.

[Phabs]

#2… and is it for sale? 😂
 

In my opinion making 5 footers is way way more crucial then the other stats.  5 footers save par on two putts and make for easy birdies on par 5’s.  The majority of better golfers can put a chip in a 5 foot circle, no problem. 

 

I drill 3-5-7 foot putts a ton and it saves my scores constantly making crucial putts. 

Edited July 13, 2021 by Phabs

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

Honestly doesn't matter you could bump back putter 2 on the 20ft putt distance to 28 or 40" and it's still much higher make percentage than 1.

At 5 feet, putter 2 is worth 1 more putt. At 20 feet putter 1 is worth 1 more putt.

 

I'm going to start tracking how many times I leave myself 4-10 feet. 

 

I recently counterbalanced my wide blade (and put a wristlock on it). After getting the headweight right, I put it head to head against my high moi mallet. I saw a lot of those type of numbers in the hour I putted. 

 

The other site did a counterbalance test a few years ago. Putter 1 is a counterbalanced blade, putter 2 is a non-counterbalanced high moi mallet. 

 

Inside 10 feet the mallet made me worry less. But it got to the hole from 20 feet about 3 fewer times than the blade out of 10 putts. 

 

Interesting stuff.

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, Phabs said:

#2… and is it for sale? 
 

In my opinion making 5 footers is way way more crucial then the other stats.  5 foots save par on two putts and make for easy birdies on par 5’s.    I drill 3-5-7 foot putts a ton and it saves my scores constantly making crucial putts. 

Ha, no. Those numbers are from a counterbalance study by the other site. Putter 1 is a counterbalanced blade. Putter 2 is a non-counterbalanced high moi mallet. The numbers are fairly representative of some recent testing I've done as well. Very cursory testing, but testing nonetheless. 

[gsrjc]

#2

[weakputt]

Number 2. One putts are great but at least take your stress free 2 putt and move on to the next hole.

[MattM97]

11 hours ago, getitdaily said:

At 5 feet, putter 2 is worth 1 more putt. At 20 feet putter 1 is worth 1 more putt.

 

I'm going to start tracking how many times I leave myself 4-10 feet. 

 

I recently counterbalanced my wide blade (and put a wristlock on it). After getting the headweight right, I put it head to head against my high moi mallet. I saw a lot of those type of numbers in the hour I putted. 

 

The other site did a counterbalance test a few years ago. Putter 1 is a counterbalanced blade, putter 2 is a non-counterbalanced high moi mallet. 

 

Inside 10 feet the mallet made me worry less. But it got to the hole from 20 feet about 3 fewer times than the blade out of 10 putts. 

 

Interesting stuff.

 

I'm no math wizard but I'm not sure how a 4% different at 20ft and an 18% difference at 5ft are both worth one putt. But it's your hypothetical, I'd still rather have an 18% better chance of making a putt within 5ft than a 4% better chance dropping one from 20ft. And like I originally said it all depends on your approach game, if you have a strong wedge game then putter 2 is going to drop scores for basically automatic up and downs. 

[getitdaily]

7 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

I'm no math wizard but I'm not sure how a 4% different at 20ft and an 18% difference at 5ft are both worth one putt. But it's your hypothetical, I'd still rather have an 18% better chance of making a putt within 5ft than a 4% better chance dropping one from 20ft. And like I originally said it all depends on your approach game, if you have a strong wedge game then putter 2 is going to drop scores for basically automatic up and downs. 

I assessed my last round and had the following...

 

4-5 footer - 3 (made 2/3)

15-20 footers - 9 or 10 (made 3 of them)

 

For me, I think it comes down to that spread. I usually have a higher volume of 15+ putts and a low volume of 5 footers. I hit a lot of greens and my short game is usually really good. 

 

I basically have both setups so I'll be testing more. This was all just fodder anyway. On quicker greens I am.100% putter #2. When greens get slow, putter 1 has less 3putts because I get longer putts closer.

[danglingangler]

I am taking #2 here. Making more 5 footers is incredibly important for amateurs.

 

This does give me some interesting ideas of tracking my own putting percentage. I have never tracked it over time. Maybe I dont want to lol.

[tatertot]

#2 all day and twice on Sunday ...

 

What are the 2 putters that were studied?

[getitdaily]

Just now, tatertot said:

#2 all day and twice on Sunday ...

 

What are the 2 putters that were studied?

Putter 1 is a counterbalanced blade 

Putter 2 is a high moi mallet

[Kentendo]

Putter 2 by a landslide.

 

The PGA Tour average make percentage from 5' was 80.72% from a Golf magazine article in 2019.  20' to 25' was 12.47%.

 

IMO, you are doing something really special to be at or better than Tour quality from any distance.  The idea that you are at or better than Tour quality all the way out to 20' is an achievement.  Go putter #2.

 

Article for reference:  https://golf.com/instruction/putting/pga-tour-putting-make-percentages-distance/

[getitdaily]

4 minutes ago, Kentendo said:

Putter 2 by a landslide.

 

The PGA Tour average make percentage from 5' was 80.72% from a Golf magazine article in 2019.  20' to 25' was 12.47%.

 

IMO, you are doing something really special to be at or better than Tour quality from any distance.  The idea that you are at or better than Tour quality all the way out to 20' is an achievement.  Go putter #2.

 

Article for reference:  https://golf.com/instruction/putting/pga-tour-putting-make-percentages-distance/

Those stats were from a study by the other site and are a compilation of many testers. Pga tour make stats are very different than a study where someone hit the same 5 footer 10 times. 

 

I am going to do my own testing since I now have both setups. In a 1 hour session Saturday, I saw similar results as above. High moi mallet (#2) more stable and almost foolproof inside 10 feet. Counterbalanced blade slightly better from 20 feet because the ball maintains speed past the hole better. 

[jtj74]

I would get them both and also keep getting more putter as well until I find one that makes 100% from inside 40 feet.

[tider992010]

Putter 2.  

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, jtj74 said:

I would get them both and also keep getting more putter as well until I find one that makes 100% from inside 40 feet.

Well, duh...lol. 

[Trouble_shooter]

2, to be almost automatic from 5 feet for an amateur like me is a tremendous help when everything else is a hair away from going wrong 

[MPAndreassi]

My issue with the test itself is that the player who fits into a counter balance blade is likely a person who doesn’t fit into a high moi mallet. 

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, MPAndreassi said:

My issue with the test itself is that the player who fits into a counter balance blade is likely a person who doesn’t fit into a high moi mallet. 

Quite possibly. And the site didn't show user by user metrics, just compiled stats. 

[tatertot]

11 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Putter 1 is a counterbalanced blade 

Putter 2 is a high moi mallet

That makes sense ... was putter 2 face balanced? If so, it's probably going to fit a different stroke than putter 1.

[bpdhlbrg]

I don't have the data like in your example but I feel like I am currently confronting a very similar choice.

 

For the last two years I have been using a Ping Scottsdale Shea H with a heavy Golf Pride Jumbo Crown grip. I love the shape (heel shafted mid mallet, half shaft offset), color (black), and sight line (white line on the flange centered between the heel and toe), and these qualities all help me set up on line. The weight of the head and large grip produces a nice smooth stroke and and I feel like I will get the ball started on line 100% of the time. The putter is also so heavy I don't ever feel nervy over an important short putt, and I have made enough of them that I feel confident from inside 15' and automatic from inside 5'.  However, I absolutely hate the soft and mushy insert on this putter. I think this plus the weight and jumbo grip hurt me with distance control on longer putts. Every now and then I will be on fire from all over the green, but just as often I embarrass myself in the 25-40' range.

 

When I go out and mess around with a lightweight Cleveland Designed By my distance control on long putts is instantly better, but I am not nearly as confident on the shorter putts. So enter my newest toy, a Rife Vault .002 Major. Same color, shape and sight line as the Ping, with less weight and a smaller grip (Ping P58 midsize cord). And the kicker is those sweet, sweet Rife grooves. I am committed to giving this putter a shot over the Ping, and my theory is that more hands in my stroke and a clickier feel is going to improve my distance control. But I'll be damned if I didn't miss a sliding 3' birdie putt on a hole I haven't birdied in 2 years in the first round I played with it. 

 

Anyways, I think I just have to stick with it and really work on my short/mid range putting to get that smoothness and confidence with the new Rife. If that fails I will look into maybe an aftermarket insert modification on the Ping, or just keep buying every heel shafted putter I see on eBay until I find the magic stick that can replace it. 

 

Rant over. I will now head to the garage and drill 4 footers on the mat until bedtime.

 

 

[brutus27]

Easily putter 2

[getitdaily]

Saturday round. Used putter 2.

 

7 putts 15-20 feet - made 1

3 putts 5 feet-ish - made 2

 

Hit 14 greens and had 30 putts. 

 

Made a 30 footer for birdie too.