Going from blade to mallet putter

[hypergolf]

My friend who usually played in the mid 90's has been focusing his practice on putting for 4 weeks now. I played with him yesterday and he scored mid 80's. That is 10 strokes compared to him a month ago. His iron/wood shots were similar but I could really tell that his putting has improved.

He told me that focusing on putting for the last month really helped but also because he made a switch from blade to mallet style putter. (From SC Newport 2 to SC Red X) I have seen a lot of pros doing this switch too.

Besides focusing on putting practice, I just wanted to see what your thoughts are on mallet putters. Do they really help to make it more stable putter stroke? Does MOI really matter in a putter?

[TourSpoon]

I switched to a mallet about 8 years ago and have been using the Rossie 2 since. Just yesterday, I went to the putting green and used it against my other putter and I still prefer the mallet especially on those 5-6 footers that add up! My stroke feels more stable using that type of putter. Give it a shot.

[shortgame85]

My friend who usually played in the mid 90's has been focusing his practice on putting for 4 weeks now. I played with him yesterday and he scored mid 80's. That is 10 strokes compared to him a month ago. His iron/wood shots were similar but I could really tell that his putting has improved.

I love the look of a blade putter, but the reality of MOI, which really seems to help one make a more consistent and repeatable stroke, convinced me that my dance partner should be a mallet. I prefer a center shaft, high MOI putter such as the MacGregor Bobby Grace design I bought several years ago. It has weight adjustments, although I keep the heavier weights in it all the time. The weight and size contribute to making the putter easy to stroke the ball consistently. I have flirted with other putters, but I just haven't found anything else that works as well. If you are looking for more consistency, I would suggest a high MOI mallet style putter.

[Harold]

I'm one who is pretty slow to change and have been using the same putter that I started the game with five years ago. Last Saturday while I was getting fit for custom irons I started dinking around with some of the mallet putters at the store. After about an hour I really liked the feel of the heavier weight and decided it could not hurt to try it out. For 32.00 it was worth a crack. I go out that afternoon and while it wasn't any one thing the mallet putter did make a positive difference that day. It was a combination of the heavier weight allowing me to feel the medium/long putts better combined with the two ball mark to get lined up on my mark better when in close that ended up earning me my personal best score at the course I played. Other factors like doubling my GIR over my usual average or losing only one stroke due to penalty helped but it was really the flatsick that made the difference.
While the jury is still out as I want to see how it translates into long term averages what happened Saturday and a quick nine Sunday convinced me that the mallet has earned it's way into the bag.

[c_mack9]

see im the opposite, i have a great stroke with a mallet cause of the weight but i leave everything short or long with a mallet. i hit more putts or get them closer everytime with my blade. thats just me, just use what works best for you.

[gogolfing]

I switched from a blade (used a Ping Pal for almost 16 years) to a mallet. I like the alignment of it and the weight. Just feels real solid. I've tried some blades messing around at demo days since I switched to the mallet and I have a hard time making a solid stroke with it.

[Cahal]

Ya I have to agree with c_mack9, I have been using a 2ball for a few years now and definitely liked the alignment of it but pretty much all this past year even playing more often really felt like I couldn't get the feel or weight of my putts right. I went back to a really old more blade like putter and felt my weight got better but still wasn't happy so hopefully looking to score a newport 2 or redwood answer for next season.

I still think you see a ton of pros and really good putters who like the anser style head on tour but can't hate on the alignment benefits of the new mallets either.