Blade vs. Mallet: Here’s what the top-50 players in Strokes Gained Putting are using

“Should I use a blade or a mallet style putter?”

Back in the day, this was hardly even a question. Most golfers opted for true blades, such as the Wilson 8802 or Titleist Bullseye, or what we now call blade putters, such the Ping Anser or Scotty Cameron Newport.

In recent years, however, more forgiving offerings have flooded the putter market and become an increasingly viable option. Mallet-style putter designs provide higher MOI (moment of inertia), thus reducing the negative effects of off-center hits.

Professionals and amateur golfers alike are choosing to play mallet putters more often than ever before, and there’s a few reasons for that. First is availability. Nearly every putter maker now has a large variety of mallet offerings, providing more options in this category than ever. Also, mallet putters are now being built with different neck/hosel designs so that there’s a variety of toe hang options, as well. This means that mallet putters can now fit a wide range of stroke styles, from straight-back straight-through to a strong arc.

Of course, there are still a number of golfers who opt for the blade-style putters that have been popular for decades. Some choose to use blade putters because that’s what they’re comfortable with, and for others the blade-style is simply a better match for their stroke.

For this story, I wanted to find out what the best putters in the world are using: blade or mallet? The process was simple; I went through recent photos to figure out what style putter each of the top-50 in Strokes Gained: Putting (as per PGATour.com) for 2020 are using. Below are the results.

Note: Remember, the best way to figure out which putter style is best for you is to visit your local fitter and go through a full putter fitting that uses analytical feedback. 

Thirty golfers in the top 50 of Strokes Gained: Putting so far in 2020 opt for mallet-style putters. Of course, the mallet category is filled with different designs — some more outrageous than others — but we provided the specific model that each players uses for reference.

• Louis Oosthuizen (No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting), Ping Vault 2.0 Craz-E H
• Denny McCarthy (No. 2), Scotty Cameron Tour-Only Fastback
• Jon Rahm (No. 4), TaylorMade Spider Tour
• Andrew Putnam (No. 6), Odyssey White Hot RX No. 5
• Peter Malnati (No. 8), Scotty Cameron Phantom X 12
• Cameron Smith (No. 9), Scotty Cameron Teryllium T22 Fastback 1.5
• Beau Hossler (No. 10), TaylorMade TP Ardmore 2
• Webb Simpson (No. 13), Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line
• J.T. Poston (No. 15), Scotty Cameron GoLo 5
• J.B. Holmes (No. 18), Bettinardi BB56 proto
• Wyndham Clark (No. 19), PXG Gen2 Gunboat
• Brandt Snedeker (No. 20), Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie
• Chad Campbell (No. 21), Odyssey O-Works Red
• Sam Burns (T22), Odyssey No. 7
• Daniel Berger (No. 26), TaylorMade Spider Tour
• Lanto Griffin (No. 28), SIK Flo
• Tom Hoge (No. 29), TaylorMade Spider X
• Ian Poulter (T30), Odyssey Stroke Lab Seven
• Tyrrell Hatton (No. 32), Ping Vault Oslo
• Patton Kizzire (No. 33), Scotty Cameron GoLo Tour
• Bronson Burgoon (No. 34), Odyssey No. 7
• Sungjae Im (No. 36), Scotty Cameron Phantom X T6 STR
• Max Homa (No. 37), Scotty Cameron Futura T5W
• Keith Mitchell (No. 38), TaylorMade Spider X
• Harris English (No. 39), Ping Scottsdale Hohum
• Ricky Barnes (No. 40), Odyssey Stroke Lab Nine
• K.J. Choi (T42), Ping Heppler Piper C
• Stewart Cink (No. 44), Ping Vault 2.0 Ketsch
• Billy Horschel (No. 46), Ping TR B60
• Mark Hubbard (No. 48), Odyssey Metal-X Milled No. 9HT

Twenty golfers in the top 50 of Strokes Gained: Putting so far in 2020 are using blade-style putters. Three of the putters (John Huh, Matt Kuchar and Adam Hadwin) used on this “blade” list, however, are “wide blades,” meaning that they have a blade-style shape but are larger and have more weight and forgiveness. An argument could certainly be made that a “wide blade” belongs in the mallet category, but I opted to place them on the blade list due to their shaping. If you disagree, that’s fair, but just know I didn’t overlook it.

• Patrick Reed (No. 3 in Strokes Gained: Putting), Scotty Cameron Tour Rat I
• Kristoffer Ventura (No. 5), Scotty Cameron Newport
• Kevin Na (No. 7), Odyssey Toulon Madison
• John Huh (No. 11), Odyssey 1 Wide
• Patrick Rodgers (No. 12), Odyssey Toulon San Diego
• Matt Kuchar (No. 14), Bettinardi Kuchar Model 1
• Bubba Watson (No. 16), Ping PLD Anser SS
• Rhein Gibson (No. 17), Swag Golf prototype
• Bryson DeChambeau (T22), SIK Tour prototype
• Maverick McNealy (No. 24), Odyssey Toulon
• Richy Werenski (No. 25), Scotty Cameron Newport prototype
• Adam Hadwin (No. 27), Odyssey Stroke Lab Double Wide
• Brandon Wu (T30), Scotty Cameron Newport prototype
• Vaughn Taylor (No. 35), Odyssey Versa No. 1
• Troy Merritt (No. 41), Odyssey Versa No. 1
• Dominic Bozzelli (T42), Scotty Cameron Newport 009
• Matthew NeSmith (No. 45), Odyssey O-Works No. 1WCS
• Talor Gooch (No. 47), Odyssey Toulon
• Rickie Fowler (T49), Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS
• Zac Blair (T49), EvnRoll ER TS

To hear more gear insights from Jonathan Wall and True Spec’s Tim Briand, subscribe and listen each week to GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast: iTunes | SoundCloud | Spotify | Stitcher