Most Wanted Blade Putter

[mizuno_lover]

If you haven't checked out the blog and the most wanted blade putter do yourself a favour and have a drool over the pictures of all those beautiful blade putters in contention.  That so many absolutely finely crafted tools are in one spot boggles my mind.  Got me buggered how you can choose the best out of that lot.

 

I had to wipe my chin several times.

[Maverickping]

Thanks for letting me know. Some really fantastic putters there.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Seriously fine metal over there. You should see them first hand

 

Fire off any questions you have, except for "who won?"

[Undershooter]

Who won?

 

 

Seriously though, did you have a personal favorite Dave? And was there one putter that surprised you? Good or bad.

[apprenti23]

Can you post the specs- gram headweight, material makeup, and MAP price for all? I'm assuming all besides the CB putters will be the same length, loft and lie right?

[GolfSpy Dave]

Can you post the specs- gram headweight, material makeup, and MAP price for all? I'm assuming all besides the CB putters will be the same length, loft and lie right?

All of the putters are 34". Other than that, manufacturers were allowed to tweak the specs as they saw fit for maximum accuracy.

 

I can probably dig a bit to get you the info on specific models, but I actually don't have all of the info that you are asking for in front of me. Pricing in particular gets difficult when we get into the customization available from the small shops.

[kfilly20]

I would love every single one of those putters. 

[Mr_Theoo]

I want that machine putter

[mizuno_lover]

The Machine putter is the one I picked to win on the blog

[SPY ZINGER]

Nicely done once again, Dave

[GolfSpy Dave]

Nicely done once again, Dave

Thanks Zing!

Had a solid crew with X and T to polish it off

[JspartansC]

Great timing on this as I am thinking a new putter is next purchase. Was considering an Anser 2, but based on the results, I will go tryout the TM Indy.

[apprenti23]

Awesome review! Always like it when the underdogs perform well!

[Undershooter]

Can you weigh in now Dave?

[GolfSpy Dave]

Can you weigh in now Dave?

Sure. Fire away. We will be doing a Beyond the Numbers post in a few weeks, but I'll answer what I can.

[Dean D]

quick stroke - heave or light putter head?

[Undershooter]

I had asked if you were surprised by the results of any of the putters. Also if you had a personal favorite.

[GolfSpy Dave]

I had asked if you were surprised by the results of any of the putters. Also if you had a personal favorite.

Oh yeah, [reading is important] 

I guess that the two big shocks for me were the Carbon winning and theTaylorMade Daytona placing low. Carbon b'c they are new, and the Daytona b'c it did so well in last year's competition. Lots of discussion/speculation to be had there as to why.

 

While I too found the Carbon Ringo to be near-magical, I actually putt quite well with the Machine. I prefer a putter without alignment lines though so there's that. My pure speculation is that the Machine just fits a narrower spectrum of putting needs than the Ringo, and that I just happen to hit that narrow window.

 

I was also surprised to see the Newport 2 score low. I thought that the switch away from the black body/black sight line would be a boon for them. Not so much. As always, a Scotty Cameron putter brings some expectations with it. Perhaps the pressure of the name had a negative impact on performance. Seems silly, but would your driving change if you all of the sudden realized that you were behind the wheel of a Ferrari?

 

Lots more speculations to come in a week or two

[Kenny B]

Oh yeah, [reading is important] 

I guess that the two big shocks for me were the Carbon winning and theTaylorMade Daytona placing low. Carbon b'c they are new, and the Daytona b'c it did so well in last year's competition. Lots of discussion/speculation to be had there as to why.

 

While I too found the Carbon Ringo to be near-magical, I actually putt quite well with the Machine. I prefer a putter without alignment lines though so there's that. My pure speculation is that the Machine just fits a narrower spectrum of putting needs than the Ringo, and that I just happen to hit that narrow window.

 

I was also surprised to see the Newport 2 score low. I thought that the switch away from the black body/black sight line would be a boon for them. Not so much. As always, a Scotty Cameron putter brings some expectations with it. Perhaps the pressure of the name had a negative impact on performance. Seems silly, but would your driving change if you all of the sudden realized that you were behind the wheel of a Ferrari?

 

Lots more speculations to come in a week or two

 

No, my driving wouldn't change a bit!  Except it wold be a lot more fun and I would go faster!  

 

I am a little curious why putters that have done well in the past do poorly the next time.  It seems like it's the same with drivers too.  Is it just a difference in the testers used?  It seems to me that putters just don't change that much from year to year.  I know that putters are very personal.  It doesn't take much for one putter to feel good and another to feel lousy.  But from year to year, I don't see a specific putter changing that much to warrant a plunge to the bottom.

[mizuno_lover]

What an awesome test of putter craftsmanship this line up of blade putters was.  What  a surprise result too.  As usual I picked the dead last comer but was pleased to see the Wilson 8802 come in at 11th place.  I had a replica of that putter in the early 90's and lost it when I was posted from one base to another.  Now that was sad, I loved that putter.

 

I wasn't surprised to see TM up there on the podium.  They do make some nice blades and I was a little surprised that the Spider Blade didn't make it to the test.  The other two I thought were definitely different from being your classic blade shape but never the less obviously performed.  Given Cameron's popularity I thought they would have been higher but I know from personal experience I struggle with all of Cameron's putters in my hand let alone a blade butter and I think they are definitely overrated in my experience.  I know there are guys out there who love their Scotty's so keep lovin' them and sinking putts with 'em I can't do it.  Thanks go to Golf Spy Dave for another great Test without you Dave we would have nothing to write about, great job mate  

[fozcycle]

Great Review guys......I read through it yesterday, but I must say, since i am primarily a mallet gut, I anxiously await the same review with mallets.

 

That said, I was surprised by the pecking order of the Blades.  One area that did not get addressed was the actual head weight of the participants.  As one who prefers heavy putters(355+ grams head weight) I am interested if the blades were all in the 340 gram area or did they differ.  If there were some 355+ contenders, how did they sort out as a group versus the standard 340's?

[Kenny B]

Agree with Foz.  I need a heavier putter.  I think we are starting to see a trend to heavier putters and counterbalancing, so maybe one day I will find something that is sexy and works for me.  

[GolfSpy Dave]

There were some seriously heavy heads in the mix. Top of my head, the Piretti CW2 weighed 370 or so. All of the Wilson models are counterbalanced, but the Ping heavy are not. 

 

We are going to sift through the options as best we can, and if we can discover the magic formula, please direct all calls to my new yacht.

[mbrodeur86]

Is it me or does Cleveland seem to be doing very well the last couple of years and only $100 for a putter....something to look at.

 

Personally, I've tried many a putter in my days and I seem to have better control and better putter lag with a 340g head. Heavier than that and the ball soars past the hole all the time.

 

Regardless, another fantastic job by mygolfspy! 

[mizuno_lover]

I reckon Cleveland are sneaky good these days.  I spied some really nice models in my club pro shop but didn't buy them.  They were their classic line from memory.

[Undershooter]

I reckon Cleveland are sneaky good these days.  I spied some really nice models in my club pro shop but didn't buy them.  They were their classic line from memory.

I love my never compromise. They were owned by Cleveland. Great putters

[mizuno_lover]

I've got a never compromise in my collection, an early belly putter, I should get it cut down to legal length and have a fool around with it.  From memory it had a lovely feel off the face and put a beautiful roll on the ball. ​

 

 

I love my never compromise. They were owned by Cleveland. Great putters

 

[mbrodeur86]

I love my never compromise. They were owned by Cleveland. Great putters

 

 

Me also. It has the 340g weight that I wanted plus it's a milled putter. Feels great with the Snell ball, just about what I envisioned in a putter feel. I wanted a $300 putter and got one for $75. 

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

I will never use a putter again that is not counterbalanced.  It makes so, so much difference on the mid to long range putts.  Within the counterbalanced universe, I've come to understand that the normal differences between putter styles continue to apply.  

[Sluggo42]

I think these are all interesting thoughts, but how much of it all is just you being used to a certain feel? I mean, if there was only one putter made that everyone uses, don't you think you would figure out how to putt with it eventually?