Blade vs. mallet: Can putter style predict major winners?

Golfers at the highest level aren’t just chasing money and trophies, they’re chasing history, and this week at the Masters a golfer will either add to their major total or win one for the first time and earn themselves an invitation for life to drive down Magnolia Lane.

One of the ways to give themselves the best shot at winning is by managing their putting on the fast and sloping greens at Augusta National, and with that top of mind we ran the numbers on the most successful brands and putter styles over the last decade of men’s major championship golf to find out if you can predict a winner based on putter style.

Here are the results.

Masters

Jon Rahm – Odyssey OG White Hot Rossie S, (mallet)
Scottie Scheffler – Scotty Cameron Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Hideki Matsuyama – Scotty Cameron Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Dustin Johnson – TaylorMade Spider Tour, (mallet)
Tiger Woods – Scotty Cameron Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Patrick Reed – Odyssey White Hot 3, (slant neck blade)
Sergio Garcia – TaylorMade Spider Tour, (mallet)
Danny Willett – Odyssey Versa 1 wide body, (mid-mallet)
Jordan Spieth – Scotty Cameron 009, (plumbers neck blade)
Bubba Watson – Ping Anser milled, (plumbers neck blade)

Odyssey Ai-ONE Milled Seven T DB Putter

$449.99

These Odyssey Ai-ONE Milled putters feature a milled titanium insert which delivers more consistent ball speed speeds, even from off-center hits, leaving putts closer to the hole. Ai-ONE MILLED INSERT This milled titanium insert was designed using Artificial Intelligence to create the unique contours on the back surface to promote consistent ball speed across the face with the pure milled feel that many golfers prefer. MILLED STAINLESS STEEL HEADS All the heads in this line are 100% milled for the beauty and precision that the most discerning golfers appreciate. UNIQUE NAVY BLUE PVD FINISH These putters all feature a beautiful navy blue PVD finish that sets them apart, and complements the milling for a unique and beautiful look.  SL 90 SHAFT A lightweight steel shaft with 20-30 grams (depending on the grip) of counterbalance weight in the butt end. This is an evolution of our Stroke Lab Weighting that will appeal to even more golfers. INTERCHANGEABLE FRONT WEIGHTS Available in 5, 10, 15 and 20 grams these removable weights allow you to dial in your head weight to your exact preference.

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Blade putters have won the Masters six of the last ten years, and four of those wins were with Scotty Camerons. The difference now versus even a year ago is that eight of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are using mallets, and four of those are Odyssey, and that’s hard to bet against.

PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka – Scotty Cameron TEi3 Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Justin Thomas – Scotty Cameron Futura X5.5 prototype, (mallet)
Phil Mickelson – Odyssey PM, (heel-shafted blade)
Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade Soto blade, (plumbers neck blade)
Brooks Koepka – Scotty Cameron TEi3 Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Brooks Keopka – Scotty Cameron TEi3 Newport 2,(plumbers neck blade)
Justin Thomas – Scotty Cameron X5 Prototype, (mallet)
Jimmy Walker – Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS, (plumbers neck blade)
Jason Day – TaylorMade Spider Tour, (mallet)
Rory McIlroy – Scotty Cameron 009, (plumbers neck blade)

Scotty Cameron Super Select Newport 2 Putter

$449

For his latest evolution of the world’s finest milled blade putters, Scotty Cameron builds upon the Tour-proven success of 2020’s Special Select line and introduces his new Super Select models in 2023. Based on feedback from the game’s best players—and with constant design refinement at his San Diego County Putter Studio—Scotty has pushed his blade and mid-mallet designs even further with better performance, new milling capabilities, refined shapes, improved multi-material construction and cutting-edge weight distribution to deliver a Select line superior to any before it. The result—Super Select. Ten models comprise the new 2023 Super Select line, which will be introduced in two worldwide releases.Refined and re-designed for 2023, the iconic Scotty Cameron heel-and-toe weighted putter shape—the Super Select Newport 2—emerges again as the flagship model of our most modern blade line to date. Milled in USA from 303 stainless steel with customizable tungsten sole weights, the Newport 2 retains its tri-sole design, incorporates the Tour-inspired I-beam plumbing neck and introduces new dual-milled face technology, a milling process inspired by deep milled models, but with a second pass of the mill to level, or smooth, face grooves to deliver the feedback associated with mid-mill putters and a highly consistent putter face. The Super Select Newport 2 carries through with the line’s new graphics, shaft band, headcover and new textured Pistolini Plus grip. A left-handed Super Select Newport 2 model is also available. NEW I-BEAM PLUMBING NECK The new, precision sculpted neck designs give each model a racier, industrial look, but also allow for the removal and targeted repositioning of weight from the neck to the heel and toe of the putter head. This, coupled with a strategically placed notch on the models with plumbing necks—positioned for precise lie adjustments—and Scotty’s larger signature milled dots in the pocket, allowed additional weight to be meticulously redistributed for improved performance. DUAL-MILLED FACE TECHNOLOGY Combining the legendary softness of deep-milled putters with the feedback and roll of mid-milled offerings, Scotty’s new dual-milled face technology brings tour-inspired feel to a new level. WEIGHTING Each Super Select Newport 2 features performance weighting with two customizable heel-toe tungsten sole weights.

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The PGA Championship has been won by a disproportionate amount of blade putter users thanks to some help from Brooks Keopka who has won three of his last six appearances. Along with blade putters being the overwhelming favorite, Scotty Cameron putters have been used in seven of those 10 victories.

U.S. Open

Wyndham Clark – Odyssey Jailbird, (mallet)
Matt Fitzpatrick – Bettinardi custom, (slant neck blade)
Jon Rahm – Odyssey Rossie S, (mallet)
Bryson DeChambeau – SIK, (plumbers neck blade)
Gary Woodland – Scotty Cameron Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Brooks Koepka – Scotty Cameron TEi3 Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Brooks Koepka -Scotty Cameron TEi3 Newport 2, (plumbers neck blade)
Dustin Johnson – Scott Cameron Newport 2 Prototype, (plumbers neck blade)
Jordan Speith – Scotty Cameron 009, (plumbers neck blade)
Martin Kaymer – Ping Karsten Series Anser 2, (plumbers neck blade)

PING 2024 PLD Milled Anser Custom Putter

$449.99

The winningest putter in golf history continues to set the standard with its rounded corners and soft ballasts, making setup and aiming easier in the slight arc design. Heel-toe perimeter weighting ensures forgiveness. Quality and precision A solid block of forged, 303 stainless steel requires more than four hours of milling time; precisely shaping every surface and radius to achieve the high quality and premium look expected in a precision-milled putter. Control and consistency A precision-milled face pattern, known as deep AMP (Aggressive Milling Pattern), is inspired by tour player feedback and provides the feel and speed control you need to deliver score-lowering consistency on the green.

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At the U.S. Open, the data heavily favors winners using a blade putter with seven of those wins attributed to Ping Anser-style plumbers neck models.

Open Championship

[*Went back 11 years to get a 10-event sample because the tournament was canceled in 2020.]

Brian Harman – TaylorMade Spider OS, (mallet)
Cameron Smith – Scotty Cameron 009, (slant neck blade)
Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade Soto blade, (plumbers neck blade)
Shane Lowry – Odyssey Stroke Lab 2-ball, (mallet)
Francesco Molinari – Bettinardi BB Zero, (plumbers neck blade)
Jordan Spieth – Scotty Cameron 009, (plumbers neck blade)
Henrik Stenson – Odyssey White Hot XG 7, (mallet)
Zach Johnson – SeeMore FGP, (center shafted blade)
Rory McIlroy – Nike Method 006, (plumbers neck blade)
Phil Mickelson – Odyssey Versa 9, (heel-shafted blade)

TaylorMade Spider Tour Putter

$349.99

STABILITY FOR THE WIN THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance. STEEL WIREFRAME Allows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location. HYBRAR ECHO® DAMPENER HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feel on every putt with the best possible sensation. DIFFERENT CG LOCATION Each Spider Tour model features different CG locations for optimal putter fitting. TSS WEIGHTING TSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths. GUNMETAL PVD FINISH The durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish. TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT The patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole. WHITE TPU PURE ROLL™ INSERT Made from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum, the white TPU Pure Roll™ insert creates a softer feel. Grooves are angled at 45° to encourage optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics. The white insert also creates better symmetry with the white True Path alignment. REFINED HOSEL DESIGNS Spider Tour Series includes two different hosel shapes and designs. The small slant produces toe hang, and the double bend produces a face balanced design.

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At the Open Championship, more wins are attributed to blade putter users but recent tournaments show a trend of mallet putters picking up some momentum. It will be interesting to follow whether this is based on the green speeds and players benefiting from the extra stability mallets provide, or just a growing trend of players moving to mallets overall.

Total wins by brand

Scotty Cameron / Titleist: 18
Odyssey: 9
TaylorMade: 6
Bettinardi: 2
Ping: 2
SeeMore: 1
SIK: 1
Nike: 1

When everything gets totaled, there is an overriding trend that major tournaments are won using blade putters, but with more of the world’s best players switching to mallet putters we could see a huge shift in the data over the next couple of years. Especially considering three of the four majors in 2023 were won with mallets.

As mentioned before, with eight of the top 10 players in the world using mallets including all of the top five, there is a good chance we could see the reign of blade putters winning majors slowing coming to an end.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a True Spec fitting location near you.