Equipment
Blade vs. Mallet putters: What the top-50 players are using (OWGR and SG: Putting)
“Blade versus mallet” is becoming more of a relevant argument over the past several years as more and more PGA Tour pros are opting for mallet putters with higher MOI (moment of inertia, a measure of forgiveness) instead of the classic Anser-style putters that most pros once employed. But, exactly how many top golfers are actually using mallets instead of blades now?
That’s what I wanted to find out. In order to do so, I simply looked up the top-50 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and went through recent Getty Images (as close to August 9, 2018 as possible) to determine whether they’re currently using a blade or mallet putter. I then repeated the process with the current top-50 golfers in Strokes Gained: Putting as per PGA Tour’s website on August 9.
What’s the point of this? Well, each golfer is different and you should definitely get fit before making a putter purchase. But to me, it’s just interesting to see how many top golfers and great putters are using mallets compared to blade-style putters, and how any stigma surrounding mallet putters is all but gone. Heck, even Tiger Woods recently switched to a mallet-style putter.
Note: Using an Odyssey rep’s suggestion, I classified Phil’s Odyssey No. 9 putter as a “modified blade,” as well as a few other blade-style heads that have MOI-raising designs i.e. Patrick Cantlay’s Cameron Concept, Ricky Barnes’ and Anirban Lahiri’s No. 9-style heads, and Billy Horschel’s PXG. So these putters were included in the “blade” category. If you disagree with calling these modified blades, I understand.
Let’s get to the numbers.
Top 50 players in the OWGR
Mallet (22-out-of-50): 44 percent
- Dustin Johnson (No. 1 in the OWGR)
- Justin Thomas (No. 2)
- Justin Rose (No. 3)
- Jon Rahm (No. 7)
- Jason Day (N0. 10)
- Henrik Stenson (No. 17)
- Xander Schauffele (No. 19)
- Webb Simpson (No. 20)
- Tyrrell Hatton (No. 25)
- Kyle Stanley (No. 26)
- Kevin Kisner (No. 27)
- Ian Poulter (No. 31)
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat (No. 32)
- Brian Harman (No. 33)
- Charley Hoffman (No. 35)
- Branden Grace (No. 36)
- Pat Perez (No. 38)
- Kevin Na (No. 41)
- Daniel Berger (No. 43)
- Ross Fisher (No. 46)
- Luke List (No. 47)
- Cameron Smith (No. 49)
Blade (28-out-of-50): 56 percent
- Brooks Koepka (No. 4)
- Rory McIlroy (No. 5)
- Francesco Molinari (No. 6)
- Jordan Spieth (No. 8)
- Rickie Fowler (No. 9)
- Tommy Fleetwood (No. 11)
- Patrick Reed (No. 12)
- Alex Noren (No. 13)
- Bubba Watson (No. 14)
- Paul Casey (No. 15)
- Hideki Matsuyama (No. 16)
- Marc Leishman (No. 18)
- Phil Mickelson (No. 21)
- Bryson DeChambeau (No. 22)
- Sergio Garcia (No. 23)
- Patrick Cantlay (No. 24)
- Matt Kuchar (No. 28)
- Tony Finau (No. 29)
- Rafa Cabrera Bello (30)
- Louis Oosthuizen (No. 34)
- Satoshi Kodaira (No. 37)
- Matthew Fitzpatrick (No. 39)
- Thorbjorn Olesen (N0. 40)
- Byeong Hun An (No. 42)
- Gary Woodland (No. 44)
- Haotong Li (No. 45)
- Si Woo Kim (No. 48)
- Zach Johnson (N0. 50)
Top 50 players in SG: Putting
Mallet (28-out-of-50 players): 56 percent
- Jason Day (No. 1 in SG:Putting)
- Greg Chalmers (No. 3)
- Daniel Summerhays (No. 5)
- Webb Simpson (No. 6)
- Kevin Kisner (No. 7)
- Justin Rose (No. 8)
- Peter Malnati (No. 9)
- Beau Hossler (No. 10)
- Graeme McDowell (No. 12)
- Dustin Johnson (No. 14)
- Seamus Power (No. 15)
- Brian Harman (No. 16)
- Denny McCarthy (No. 21)
- Tyrrell Hatton (No. 22)
- Chesson Hadley (No. 23)
- Derek Fathauer (No. 26)
- Ben Crane (T27)
- Nicholas Lindheim (T27)
- Branden Grace (No. 32)
- Austin Cook (No. 33)
- Brandt Snedeker (No. 35)
- Aaron Wise (No. 36)
- Justin Thomas (No. 37)
- Brett Stegmaier (No. 39)
- Tiger Woods (T44)
- Patton Kizzire (No. 46)
- Brandon Harkins (No. 48)
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat (No. 50)
Blade (22-out-of-50 players): 44 percent
- Phil Mickelson (No. 2)
- Alex Noren (No. 4)
- Emiliano Grillo (No. 11)
- Patrick Rodgers (No. 13)
- Johnson Wagner (No. 17)
- Brian Gay (No. 18)
- Michael Thompson (No. 19)
- Whee Kim (No. 20)
- Billy Horschel (No. 24)
- Hunter Mahan (No. 25)
- Wesley Bryan (No. 29)
- Jimmy Walker (No. 30)
- Bud Cauley (No. 31)
- Paul Casey (No. 34)
- Michael Kim (No. 38)
- Matt Kuchar (No. 40)
- Martin Laird (No. 41)
- Dominic Bozzelli (No. 42)
- Ricky Barnes (No. 43)
- Anirban Lahiri (T44)
- Russell Henley (No. 47)
- Rickie Fowler (No. 49)
For those keeping track at home, this means that 8-of-the-top-10 in Strokes Gained: Putting are currently using mallet putters. On the flip side, 3-of-3 major champions in 2018 used blade putters to win. Again, not exactly sure what this means. But it’s interesting.
What do you take away from these results?
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
Memorial Tournament Tour Report: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young switch up drivers, and more
Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
J.T. Poston’s winning WITB: 2026 Memorial Tournament
Best irons 2026: Best irons overall, most forgiving irons, and more
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
Asterisk Talley WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Brianna Do WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
-
Equipment6 days agoMemorial Tournament Tour Report: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young switch up drivers, and more
-
News1 week agoRussell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
-
Whats in the Bag3 days agoJ.T. Poston’s winning WITB: 2026 Memorial Tournament
-
Equipment3 days agoBest irons 2026: Best irons overall, most forgiving irons, and more
-
Equipment1 week agoDetails on Jason Day’s latest prototype Avoda iron setup
-
Equipment3 weeks agoCJ Cup Byron Nelson Tour Report: Koepka and Kim’s newest putters finally get hot
-
News2 weeks agoCharles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
-
Equipment2 weeks agoDetails on J.J. Spaun’s surprise putter switch
Pingback: What styles of putters are used by the 50 best players in the world? (2022 update) – GolfWRX – 0-cialis.com
Pingback: Hvilken stil af pinde bruges af de 50 bedste spillere i verden? (Opdatering 2022) - GolfWRX - comwpvip
Pingback: Vilken typ av stick använder de 50 bästa spelarna i världen? (uppdatering 2022) – GolfWRX - com4yuuu
Pingback: Blade vs. mallet: What style putters do the Top-50 players in the world use? (2022 update) – GolfWRX
HDTVMAN
Aug 19, 2018 at 4:37 pm
I have an actual Ping reproduction of the 1A putter with the PP58 midsize grip in my bag…AND I LOVE IT!!!
Wiger Toods
Aug 17, 2018 at 7:57 am
Centre-shafted mid-mallets are clearly the wave of the future.
OK, maybe not, but they should be. 🙂
Benny
Aug 15, 2018 at 2:48 pm
SAM Lab is awesome but what happens is it shows all the mistakes. Which we try to correct. Some of the best putters in the world have putted great with all types. Balanced, flow, whatever gives them confidence. Cool article. They did another years back with top wedge players and what they use. Keep it up Golfwrx!
Gepetto
Aug 11, 2018 at 1:45 pm
As a follow up, it would be fascinating to know how many of the top putters use a conventional, left hand low or claw grip and then to know which of these use a mallet or blade. Thanks for the great article!
Commoner
Aug 11, 2018 at 8:36 am
A refresher course in English Composition is needed.
doug
Aug 11, 2018 at 1:33 pm
This is conversational english…. ya whitey racist golf ball !!!
Ritch Gallagher
Aug 10, 2018 at 7:24 pm
To be a little more data centric, how many of the players listed as using mallets are using the new models that have some toe hang versus face balanced. I think whatever works best is the path to follow. I have tried a variety over the years but always wind up with my 18 year old Ping B60. I also like to take my 50 plus year old Bullseye flange that I bought in high school in the sixties. It still feels great.
anton
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:57 pm
does your bullseye feel great in your hands, during the stroke or at impact?
Bugh
Aug 10, 2018 at 7:20 pm
A putter is a man’s symbol of his gonadal weapon whipped out on the shaved green to drop that lil’ ball into da hole.
anton
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:55 pm
a man and his putter shall not be parted… it’s a matter of golf and life.
engineer bob
Aug 10, 2018 at 6:25 pm
Two points about putters and putting:
1. ‘feel’ for pros is sensing and controlling the putting stroke. Feel for the rest of us is the pleasant sensation of impact on the sweet spot, and nothing more.
2. MOI = Moment of Inertia or Force of Resistance to motion. High MOI putters impede the putting stroke, but deaden the lousy feel of off center hits. Choose your poison.
anton
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:59 pm
but a big black heavy putter will get the ball into the hole with greater force.
Jeff LeFevre
Aug 10, 2018 at 5:56 pm
Ok so were now calling Anser style putters blade putters what are we calling a wilson 8802 or similar putters?
shawn
Aug 10, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Obsolete ??!!! 😀
anton
Aug 11, 2018 at 12:00 am
LOL !
Jaap
Aug 10, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Almost all my new golfino Customers end up in the mother of all mallet putters.. the odyssey rossie. What they are looking for is balance..
what would be a more interesting test is how many out of the top 50 owgr And PG stats use bigger (super stroke) grips..
joro
Aug 10, 2018 at 2:14 pm
So the Companies are pushing their newest and greatest, usually Mallets. Those who use the “Blades” are using proven models, usually Ping style or my 8802 which has been in the Closet while I succumbed to the hype and the Mallet. I brought out my 8802 forged and POW, back to holing more and more “gimmees”.
So again, either you can or you can’t. Buy what you like and what works, not what some top Pro who can put with a broom uses.
shawn
Aug 10, 2018 at 6:12 pm
But joro…. the pros practice their putting stroke endlessly with any putter they choose to use. Ams and rec golfers want a putter that will guide them through the putting stroke without practice… and even read the green and pot the putt too!!!
christian
Aug 11, 2018 at 10:51 am
Holing out gimmies doesn’t seem very impressive?
joro
Aug 25, 2018 at 8:46 am
Well Christian, holing out and a gimme are not the same in case you did not know. Our gimmes are 6 inches or less and I am very good at that distance. I take it you may have trouble from that distance? You should practice more.
Have a nice game and enjoy your Golf.
Justin
Aug 11, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Exactly, Joro! We can make case study after case study of which type of putter is the “right” putter, depending on what criteria we choose.
Leftshot
Aug 10, 2018 at 1:15 pm
This suggests we mere mortals should all be using high MOI putters, which are mostly mallets. If the players with the most skill and the most time to practice favor putters that give more forgiveness, we’d be fools to give up this added forgiveness.
shawn
Aug 10, 2018 at 6:10 pm
If you can consistently hit the ball on the putter sweet spot you don’t need high MOI… ever think of that?!! 😮
Paul
Aug 10, 2018 at 12:26 pm
I was fitted after going through a SAM Putting Lab session some years back.They recommended a Bettinardi BB-27 blade which I bought. Liked the putter but struggled with it. Keep in mind I developed a mild case of the yips that would come and go. This putter was 340G in weight. Many times I would leave putts short. Finally after a number of years a friend told me I should try a center shafted mallet. There is a PGA Superstore close to me with a huge selection of putters. After hours of putting with various models, I really liked the Scotty Cameron Futura 5s. It had two 10g inserts in the bottom of the mallet. The putter was very expensive. I searched on eBay and found the same putter with two 15g inserts. It was a floor model and absolutely like brand new. Never used on the course. Also I saved over $100.00 going this route. I am happy to say I have halved the number of 3 putts on 18 holes. Normally I would 3 putt at least 6 holes on average and sometimes more. With my old putter there was never a short putt I couldn’t miss. Now I’m consistently making those 2.5 to 3 foot putts. The mallet putter made a huge difference to me. It also is face balanced. Hey I win a few bets now also. With my old putter, my friends would make side bets amongst themselves, if I was going to 3 putt a hole or not. As they say, what are friends for!!!
Sl
Aug 10, 2018 at 1:08 pm
So, what you’re saying is, that the science at the SAM putt lab is totally bogus and useless. I knew it! lol
Paul
Aug 10, 2018 at 3:45 pm
Actually the Sam Putt Lab was very useful. It showed that when I addressed the ball with my putter, I was always leaving it 2 degrees open. I automatically compensated for it by cutting across my putts even though I didn’t realize it. Also it showed that when I thought the blade was centered behind the ball it actually wasn’t. I had to adjust the line on my putter so it was actually farther to the right of the ball a little bit to be actually centered. The Sam Putt Lab was definitely worth it. The lasers they use don’t lie.
ogo
Aug 10, 2018 at 12:08 pm
If you pull the putter with your lead hand get a blade.
If you push the putter with your trail hand get a mallet.
If you can’t bend over due to back pain get a broomstick.
Joe Joe
Aug 12, 2018 at 9:26 am
What if you’re trying to keep your hands neutral and putt 100% with your shoulders?
JP
Aug 16, 2018 at 12:42 pm
I’m a right-hand dominant putter, and I love putting with a blade. Your canned advice doesn’t cut it.
Regis
Aug 10, 2018 at 12:05 pm
I go back to a time where most pros were gaming bullseye putters. Those were blades. Anser style putters were ‘mallets”. Now Ansers are blades.There are Ansers with “Wings”. I gained a real mallet putter for years. My buddies called it my potato masher. That head over was the size of a briefcase
Brad
Aug 10, 2018 at 10:30 am
I recently went through a Sam Putting Lab session where I was willing to accept whatever type of putter was recommended for me. Ironically I ended up with a putter style I would have never chosen for myself on my own. It’s amazing what the right fit will do for your game. Blade or Mallet, be sure to get properly fit as noted in the article.
Chris Pierson
Aug 10, 2018 at 9:55 am
Andrew- Awesome study! Would love to know and see if there’s anything a bit deeper like what is the most popular mallet, most successful mallet, most popular alignment, and maybe look into grips as well. A lot of Odyssey 7’s and TMAG spiders!
Getemgoose
Aug 10, 2018 at 8:37 am
I was actually doing that comparison myself a few days ago. Really cool to see the breakdown. Great article.
DB
Aug 10, 2018 at 8:28 am
Very interesting. However, I suspect it really doesn’t matter that much. If you forced everyone to use a blade putter (or mallet), I suspect the same people would rise to the top in the putting stats.
Shooter McGavin
Aug 10, 2018 at 7:40 am
This kind of means nothing since a lot of mallets now are 4:30 toe hang. I’d rather see a break down of players that use face balanced vs. toe hang putters. Would be interested to see how successful the SBST stroke is on tour.
Day, DJ, JT, Rahm, Tiger… all toe hang mallets.
John Lancaster
Aug 10, 2018 at 3:22 am
It means Rory should get himself a “RORS” spider and green can become the new red….
Brad
Aug 10, 2018 at 1:06 am
It simply means that we should use the putter that works best for us, whether that’s a blade, mallet, or a…wedge? Tip of the hat to you Robert Streb…
Jamie
Aug 9, 2018 at 5:40 pm
Wilson 8802 or George Low Wizard 600 are BLADE putters, not all the Ping Anser knockoffs. This is how mass delusion starts.
shawn
Aug 9, 2018 at 10:01 pm
Absolutely correct… and add to that the Cashin, Bullseye and Spalding T.P. Mills style putters are true BLADE putters… because they don’t have heel-toe weighting like the Anser-style putters. It’s important to make the distinction to stop the mass delusion.
The dude
Aug 10, 2018 at 12:53 am
That ship Has left the port…….Anser style is “blade”.
shawn
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:53 am
Answer style is now called a “blade” to make it sound more potent. Karsten designed the heel-toe weighted Anser for the mass market which cannot consistently hit the ball on the putter sweet spot. Maybe pros have the same problem given their search for an effective way to hold the putter grip.
joro
Aug 10, 2018 at 2:23 pm
Just a little tidbit of info. I was on the first Ping staff and Karsten told me the design was as you stated. The most important thing to him in Putting was feel and should, later proven in testing . So he make the hard material head for sound and the small grip for feel, later copied by Scotty when he ditched the Platinum for steel. Tiger said the Platinum was too soft.
Christens wife named the Putter the Answer but he had to remove a letter on the name to fit on the hosel and it became the ANSER. A great Putter. I had the first Left Handed ANSER made in Redwood City that he gave me. He was a great man and although his clubs were ugly at first, they got pretty really fast. Just a ramble on my part.
shawn
Aug 10, 2018 at 6:06 pm
Thank you, joro… for your historical insight and cogent explanation of “feel” of impact. What about the feel for the back and fore stroking of the putter? The hosel offset destroys putting feel due to added eccentricity. Why didn’t Karsten stay with the true pendulum style 1A model?
Suncoast9
Aug 10, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Terminology has changed over the years. When I started golfing in the 60’s there were three categories for putters: blade, flanged, and mallet.
Blade putters (such as the Bullseye) had identical faces on the front and back.
Flanged putters had a small flare on the back, usually near the bottom. There were flanged putters long before Ping, but I can’t remember any model names. I would say the Anser fell into the flanged category.
Mallet putters of the day were half-round in shape, with larger heads than blades and flanges, although much smaller than today’s offerings. I remember the term “potato masher” from the 70’s, but can’t recall if it was a specific model name or just a generic term for all mallets.
Christopher
Aug 15, 2018 at 12:07 pm
It is depressing that we’re now calling heel-toe weighted game improvement putters a blade. But Golf WRX did best of list of blades a while ago which featured cavity backs. I understand that putters like the Bullseye, Wilson 8802, the TP Mills and Tad Moore putter ranges have gone out of fashion. Even Scotty had the Circa ’62 line (and others) blade range and they were beauties, but it’s lamentable that we’re changing the meaning for no real reason.
If a club offers any kind of perimeter weighting, it’s not a blade.