Proven Putters

[Dynasty90]

I am in the market of purchasing a new putter. The putter that came with my "all in one" club set has seen better days and the time has come for it to be replaced.

What are some proven putters I should look at to being my search?

Something that is readily available at Dick's or Golf Galaxy so I could try out before purchasing, would be nice but not necessary.

I am open to both new and used suggestions if you feel an older model putter is very good.

Thanks for your replies!

[blangdale]

The Ping Anser has won a lot of tournaments on Tour and spawned copycats from most manufacturers. Older ones are not too bad to find: the Karsten Series were only around $80 or $90 new, so they're probably less used. I'd say its the standard for blade-style putters and pretty hard to go wrong with.

[Righty to Lefty]

"Proven Putter" ....Other putters have proven something for somebody else but it hasn't proven anything to you.  You gotta find the setup and look that works for you in a putter.  I really don't understand why so many people ask for opinions like these because this is a completely personal thing that you have to find out for yourself.  I for one have never picked up and "anser style" putter that I liked.  It's sorta like asking other people if they think your wife is good looking when you could really care less what they think because YOU think your wife is good looking because you married her!

I can tell you that I love #9 style putters...however my putter is 37 inches long, 4 degrees flat, has 21 grams added to the head weight, a Tour Lock 150 gram weight added 7 inches down the shaft, and a 80 gram counterweight. I know what I am looking for in my putter now but it is a journey that I had to go on alone.

[Ernest Jones]

I have never tried them, but the Cleveland Classics line gets good reviews, has a wide range of styles and are very comfortably priced but like Righty to Lefty said, you'll only know after some test runs. Best advice I ever got for putter shopping is to never buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it and never take the price tag off, it'll behave better if it thinks your still just testing it out but once you take that price tag off it no longer gives a shit.

[PirateJim]

I agree that one person's idea of what makes a putter good doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same reaction.  Still, there are a few sort of "proven" designs, and the Anser style has certainly got to be at or very near the top of that heap.  It pretty much single-handedly seems to have pushed the old Bullseye type blades I grew up with out of the picture, and pretty much every large putter manufacturer has very similar designs in their lineup.

My suggestion is to make the rounds of the local golf shops and try EVERYTHING, trying to keep an open mind.  Most golfers seem to like either blade or mallet type putters, while some sort of switch back and forth.  A lot of it is going to have to do with finding a putter that matches your own eye and lets you line it up easily.  Some of the big mallet putters have huge alignment aids like the Odyssey DART.  Some blades have no alignment aids at all other than the face like the Scotty Cameron Newport.  It is a matter of taste and what works for you, and rolling putts is the best way to find that out.

One other consideration is balance.  If you hold a putter with the shaft horizontal and a finger about 6 inches back from the head you can see how the head and face balance.  The experts seem to agree that if your putting stroke follows a pretty strong arc, you will be better off with a putter with more toe-hang, or weight out toward the toe of the club.  If you have a straight back and through stroke, a more face-balanced (face points straight up) club may suit you better.  Ping is actually marking most of their new putters for the type of stroke they suit best.

There are, of course, lots of people that putt very well with putters that don't follow the above guideline, but as you are shopping it's something else to consider.

[lumpuckeroo]

I agree with Pirate Jim, putters are like women, there's a soul mate out there for you, but you have to spent some time finding it.  Fortunately, putters can't slap you across the face!  And don't get caught up in the price, a $350 Scotty Cameron might not putt as well for you as a much less expensive putter.  Also, used putters are generally a good deal, most golfers tend to treat putters with care, so you can pick up used ones in perfect condition for a fraction of the cost new (except Scotty Cameron)!  I've got a lot of putters in my closet that I bought bought off of eBay and were in like new condition, all I had to do was change the grip.  Go to your local golf stores and putt with all the putters you see, you never know which one will be your soul mate.

[dbuck]

As everyone has said, putters can be very personal, so try as many as you can. I will also echo many on the PING Anser style as a good starting point. The most common high dollar Scotty's are finely made versions of the PING Anser. I don't mean that as a criticism of the Scotty, but recognition of the impact of the Anser style. I am down to 4 putters myself, in 3 styles. Of course I have an old PING Anser 3. Bronze colored with a white alignment line. Day in and day out, probably my most consistent. I have two heel shafted flanged blades, a Wilson Geo Low Original 600 and a Ray Cook. On days when I have "the feel", the Wilson seems to swing itself. It has no alignment aids though, and the sweet spot is closer to the heel. The model for this type of putter is the Wilson 8802 and many of the best have used this type, though few use it now. Scotty made a finely crafted limited edition of the flanged blade, the Napa, and when you find one they are $500+. The putter that Phil uses is to me a higher tech upgrade of this type of putter. I have a Bridgestone Mallet that I received as a gift. It is a traditional sort of mallet with a half-moon shape and alignment aids on the top. It is heavier and is useful to smooth out my stroke sometimes. Many of the newer putters are variations on the face balanced mallet. So try examples from these three styles to see what looks best to your eye and feels best, then try several of the most comfortable style to find "THE ONE". Or at least "THE ONE" for the next 6 months, LOL.

[saevel25]

Proven Putter? What ever gets the ball in the hole. There is no right answer to this but that. If you steal a putt putt putter and make putts, who cares?