Putters

Why pros are obsessed with this type of putter

By: Marley Sims

Counterbalanced putters are leading well-known pros to victory.

Getty Images

Want to improve your putting? Look into trying the hottest type of putter on tour right now — a counterbalanced putter.

Counterbalance putters aren’t new to golf, but they’ve quickly overtaken headlines and gained popularity since the recent wins by Viktor Hovland, Wyndham Clark and Lucas Glover.

Putters
How and why a counter-balanced putter could help you save shots on the greens
By: Ryan Barath

These putters are making waves on Tour, and now everyone wants one. But, what does it actually mean to ‘counterbalance’ a putter?

As in most aspects of golf, it seems complicated, but it’s just a bit of simple physics.

Essentially, it’s a method of further distributing the weight of the putter to the grip side to help put more mass in your hands by adding an additional 3-5″ of shaft length and an extra long 17″ grip.

Viktor Hovland uses the counterbalanced Ping PLD DS 72 mallet putter. John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Distributing the weight of the putter more evenly across the length of the shaft helps create more clubface awareness going into your putting which will (if executed properly) make the ball ultimately roll, well … better.

PING 2023 DS72 Putter

PING 2023 DS72 Putter

$279
Fit for straight and slight-arc stroke types, the DS72 has a shallow milled face to deliver a firmer feel and consistent ball speed with pleasing acoustics. A platinum topline contrasts against the black cavity where a white alignment line and ball-width cavity floor focus the eye. The more squared off will be aesthetically pleasing to the mid-mallet player.The new PING putters all have one thing in common – precision performance on putts of every distance. Everything else is different. From firmer milled faces to soft feeling inserts, simple alignment aids to eye-pleasing color blocking, high MOI blades to multi-material mallets, each model is individually designed to achieve the proper balance of feel and forgiveness in a confidence-inspiring look that leads to more consistency on the greens. With 10 models in all, they leverage the best of PING putters from the past and present with an eye on making more putts in the future. A MODEL TO FIT EVERY GOLFER Each model is individually designed to achieve the proper balance of feel and forgiveness in a confidence-inspiring look. Choose from high MOI blades and multi-material mallets. TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN FEEL From firm milled faces to soft feeling inserts, the line-up is engineered to match a variety of feel preferences and deliver the control and consistency on putts of every length. ALIGNED FOR ACCURACY Single alignment cues or multiple lines combine with eye-pleasing color blocking to match your eye for confidence where it matters most.
 
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With about 40% of your golf shots statistically being putts, improving your putting could be one of the most turning point aspects of your golf game.

Maybe these counter-balanced putters are worth a try. Seems to be working with the pros.

TAP HERE TO SHOP CUSTOM COUNTERBALANCED PUTTERS AT FAIRWAY JOCKEY

Counterbalanced putters, further explained by Ryan Barath

Here’s how Ryan Barath from the Fully Equipped podcast explains the science behind counterbalanced putters, which you can read more about here.

Quite simply, it’s a putter that has a longer overall length to help create extra stability compared to a standard-length putter. This extra length, which is usually paired with a larger and heavier oversized grip helps place more mass towards the golfer’s hands to counteract a heavier putter head and assist in building a smoother putting stroke.

The reason behind this is if a putter head is too heavy compared to the rest of the putter, most golfers will struggle with distance control, and having more mass near the hands (counterbalancing) allows the head to be heavier and increases head stability while also creating more control over the head.

Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark faced each other at the U.S. Open Getty Images

To take this out of the golf space and conceptualize it in a different way — imagine a broom. If you hold it at the very end of the handle and point the bristle end up and move it side to side it feels relatively hard to control. Now if you hold the bristle end of the same broom that handle is a lot easier to move because you have moved the mass of the object closer to your hands. The mass of the broom hasn’t actually changed but how it feels because of where that mass is placed relative to you makes all the difference.

Customize a Counterbalanced Putter Fairway Jockey

Shop custom built counterbalanced putters from top brands like Odyssey, Ping, and TaylorMade.

This also improves tempo. And, considering tempo is one of the biggest issues golfers struggle with, especially on shorter putts, a counter-balanced putter can really help inside 6 feet — and who wouldn’t love to make a few more short ones?

Shop More Counter Balanced Putters

Viktor Hovland’s Winning Counterbalanced Putter

PING 2023 DS72 Putter

$279
Fit for straight and slight-arc stroke types, the DS72 has a shallow milled face to deliver a firmer feel and consistent ball speed with pleasing acoustics. A platinum topline contrasts against the black cavity where a white alignment line and ball-width cavity floor focus the eye. The more squared off will be aesthetically pleasing to the mid-mallet player.The new PING putters all have one thing in common – precision performance on putts of every distance. Everything else is different. From firmer milled faces to soft feeling inserts, simple alignment aids to eye-pleasing color blocking, high MOI blades to multi-material mallets, each model is individually designed to achieve the proper balance of feel and forgiveness in a confidence-inspiring look that leads to more consistency on the greens. With 10 models in all, they leverage the best of PING putters from the past and present with an eye on making more putts in the future. A MODEL TO FIT EVERY GOLFER Each model is individually designed to achieve the proper balance of feel and forgiveness in a confidence-inspiring look. Choose from high MOI blades and multi-material mallets. TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN FEEL From firm milled faces to soft feeling inserts, the line-up is engineered to match a variety of feel preferences and deliver the control and consistency on putts of every length. ALIGNED FOR ACCURACY Single alignment cues or multiple lines combine with eye-pleasing color blocking to match your eye for confidence where it matters most.
 
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Odyssey 2023 Tri-Hot 5K Seven S Putter

$399.99
The Tri-Hot 5K Seven S is a mallet with a short slant hosel, suitable for strokes with arc and face rotation. Tri-Hot 5K putters transform putting performance with multi-material front loaded tungsten weighting that improves CG positioning while dramatically increasing inertia. This putter is equipped with two 25 adjustable weights. HIGH PERFORMANCE AND TIGHT DISPERSION FROM STAINLESS STEEL FRONT Built to improve performance by reducing the amount of side spin on off-center hits, resulting in putts that are closer to the original line, with tighter dispersion, and a greater chance to go in on less-than-perfect strikes. We achieve this through a 303 stainless steel front section that includes the hosel and face area. The back section of these putters has been finish milled to exact shape and weight, helping to keep the CG forward. IMPROVED FORGIVENESS AND IMPROVED ROLL FROM TUNGSTEN FRONT WEIGHTS We’ve precisely positioned massive amounts of tungsten (up to 120 grams) behind the face in the toe and heel sections of the club head. The CG is moved forward for improved roll, while also increasing inertia to over 5,000 IZZ. It’s an improved level of performance that’s now available in new standard size mallets.
 
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Bettinardi 2023 Studio Stock 35 Putter

$449.99
Robert Bettinardi is proud to introduce the all-new Studio Stock 35 to the 2023-2024 Studio Stock line! This compact mallet offers a fresh look with widened shoulders that distribute weight evenly toward the perimeter of the putter, increasing MOI (Moment of Inertia) and making the putter more forgiving for off-center strikes. The Slant neck provides a three-quarter shaft of offset for easy alignment and setup, while one-third toe hang supports players with a slight to moderate arc in their putting stroke. Milled at our Tinley Park, IL headquarters from 303 Stainless Steel and featuring our Roll Control Face milling, the new Studio Stock 35 offers the feeling of a blade putter with the look of a mallet. 303 STAINLESS STEEL Each Studio Stock Series head is 100% precision milled from a single block of 303 Stainless Steel in our very own Tinley Park, IL manufacturing facility. This blend of metals offers a more durable, responsive, and solid-feeling putter for supreme performance. ROLL CONTROL FACE MILLING The entire 2023-2024 Studio Stock line features our signature Roll Control Face™ milling, which is engineered to propel the ball into a true roll faster, while giving golfers the softest feeling milled putter in golf. . DIAMOND BLAST/POLISHED FINISH The Studio Stock series is completed with our Diamond Blast finish on the topline and body to provide a glare-resistant view from address, while the face and sole are polished giving it a luxurious presence on the greens. PREMIUM COMPONENTS Each Studio Stock putter comes paired with a Tour Grade shaft, custom Castleton green Lamkin Sink Fit Grip, and dual-constructed Castleton green and black perforated Studio Stock Series headcover.
 
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Odyssey White Hot Versa Seven DB Putter

$259.99
The White Hot Versa Seven is a double bend face-balanced mallet, best suited for strokes with minimal arc and face rotation. Our black and white high contrast Versa alignment system has dominated on Tours all over the world. VERSA ALIGNMENT Versa’s high contrast alignment technology highlights the proper face angle from address to impact, allowing you to align the putter throughout your stroke. The black and white contrast lets your eyes key in on the linear designs while highlighting face angle. The lineup features a blend of blades and mallets with our famous White Hot insert and game-changing Stroke Lab shaft. WHITE HOT INSERT The original White Hot formulation creates incredible feel, sound and performance in one exceptional two-part urethane insert. Versa and the iconic White Hot insert are long time favorites of tour players and golfers alike. They’ve been asking for us to bring these technologies back and we’ve listened. 
 
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TaylorMade 2023 Spider GTX Custom Putter

$250 (was $350)
EXPANDING THE MODERN SHAPE OF STABILITY Spider GTX sets the standard for performance and construction. The GTX shape resembles the past Spider shapes with True Path and a new extreme back weighting for forgiveness. LIGHTWEIGHT ALUMINUM CAP Made from lightweight 6061 Aluminum, the 194 gram top allows more weight to transfer to the outside of the frame BACK WEIGHT STABILITY BAR The back weight ring is made of heavy stainless steel – 154 grams, that creates a deeper CG for less face rotation and enhanced stability. PURE ROLL2 INSERT The firmer co-molded insert, manufactured of black TPU urethane with silver aluminum beams at a 45° angle designed to improve topspin across the face. TRUE PATH ALIGNMENT The white space in the center of the putter helps frame the ball and creates a path to the hole.
 
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CLICK HERE TO SHOP CUSTOM COUNTERBALANCE PUTTERS AT FAIRWAY JOCKEY

Speaking of putters…

Jack Nicklaus, one of the best putters to have ever graced the game of golf, just dropped a new limited edition collection with Vice Golf. Check out the Vice Golden Bear collection, created in honor of the Golden Bear himself.

NEW – LIMITED EDITION

Vice x Nicklaus Collection

PRO BEAR – A Golden Collaboration
The Vice Pro Bear ccollection celebrates the incredible legacy of Jack Nicklaus in a special brand collaboration featuring golf balls, headwear by Ahead, a gift set, clothing and balls.
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