Blade vs Mallet Putters - Page 2

Putting is 99.9% mental so what ever makes you feel comfortable over the ball is the best thing, mechanics be damned. I personally am a mental case and find that every time I change putters I putt really well for like a month so I will quite often go back and forth between the 2 designs...but that probably doesn't work for people with the ability to concentrate and not let self doubt enter every putt between 4 and 8 feet totally deflate them.

Putting is , fortunately for me, the strongest aspect of my game (since I have unimpressive  distance and rely on "The great equalizer" to defeat players who hit the ball many yards farther than I.

 

My regular go-to putter is a blade (Taylormade Rossa Daytona #1 with agsi insert) but when I'm struggling a bit I will play my Odyssey Two Ball DFX Mallet...which I often practice with on my office carpet because it just seems to help me re-align my "straight back and straight thru" pendulum swing and tempo....and then I go back to playing my regular gamer blade again....selecting a putter is as personal as picking a toothbrush....try as many as possible and by all means go with whatever works for you.

 

Theoretically there are essentially two schools of putting; the Dave Pelz "Straight back and straight thru" school (to which I subscribe btw) and the "open-close gate " or arc swing putting stroke.

They claim that the Pelz method is more conducive to a mallet putter -indeed it was Pelz who supposedly invented the uber-popular Odyssey two ball alignment system on many of the Odyssey mallet putters...and the "gate-style" arc putt is best managed with a blade ....yet my gamer is a blade and I practice and correct my stroke with the mallet- go figure.

 

Anyway ....it's by far the most subjective aspect of the game and yes it is indeed very much a mental and confidence issue .....go with the putter that gives you the greatest sense of confidence at address.....good luck! 

Personal preference.  You can get into all that arcing stroke vs straight back straight through (which we could argue the physics of until the sun burns out, especially because you can make either style toe hang or face balanced depending upon what style neck you use) but at the end of the day, its all personal preference.

I used to be a strict blade guy.  Give me an Anser or an 8802 and I was happy.  Lately, though, Ive become more of a mallet guy.  I like the forgiveness and ease of alignment of a mallet.  I find that with a mallet, Im more consistent because the MOI of the head gives me a greater margin for error and that the bigger alignment aids make it easier for me to line up my putts.

Please provide more info regarding the face balance relationship to putter neck.  Under what conditions does a classic Anser style blade transform from a toe hang to a face balanced putter?

 

No need to provide an example: it's basic physics. Where does the projection of the shaft line up with the center of gravity? When those are vertical the putter head will align in that position.

FYI- ALL principles be they "basic" or otherwise require examples.   So precisely which shaft creates this face balance you refer to?  Is it a blade with the plumbers neck with a one shaft off set or something else?

Center shaft is one example.  Ebay is full of vintage putters with Anser style heads that are center shaft which are face-balanced. 

I believe that Niblicks are both face balanced and toe hang.  Thats more of that Niblick magic.  They sense what you prefer and magically adjust.  Thats just more proof that the Niblick is the ultimate scoring club and is really the only club you should have in your bag. LOL

When the PN is long enough that the center axis of the shaft intersects the center of the putter face. The shorter the PN the more toe hang...

Look at Scotty Cameron's long neck newports... They're face balanced.

Or the PN can be located closer the the center and further from the heel...

 

Provide your own via thought experiments. It's basic physics.