Best Mallet Putters 2023
Published:
Want the ultimate putter for stability, forgiveness, and alignment aids? The best mallet putters have you covered.
Jump To: Best Mallet Putters | Buying Guide | FAQs
The best mallet putters tend to offer more stability and forgiveness than blades, which explains their increased popularity and the fact they now greatly outnumber blades, both on tour and in our picks of the best putters.
The best blade putters still have their proponents of course, but golfers wanting to maximize the use of modern technology to help them hole more putts will want to choose a mallet.
Best At A Glance
Best mini mallet putter: Bettinardi Queen B Putter | BUY NOW – US | BUY NOW – UK
Most forgiving mallet putter: Cleveland Frontline Elite Putter | BUY NOW – US | BUY NOW – UK
Best mallet putter for alignment: Odyssey 2-ball Eleven Triple Track Putter | BUY NOW – US | BUY NOW – UK
Best mallet putter for color and hosel options: TaylorMade Spider GTX Putter | BUY NOW – US | BUY NOW – UK
We’ve tested a wide variety of mallets, including armlock putters, from all the leading manufacturers to help you find the best mallet putter for your stroke. If you have your mind set on a particular brand of putter, then you might also want to check out our brand-specific pages, reviewing the best models on offer from names such as Odyssey and TaylorMade.
Let’s take a look at the best mallet putters in 2023.
Best Mallet Putters 2023:
Putters don't come much better looking or feeling than this
Best mini-mallet putter
The Queen B’s honeycomb face pattern (which now feels softer) is said to be more accurate as the mill doesn’t sweep across the surface but instead comes vertically down onto it.
We love the copper color and the way the head sits behind the golf ball. The feel is lovely and the head is reassuringly heavy. It's a classic design that will never go out of fashion.
Pros
- Unique finish
- Great feel
- Sits nicely behind the ball
Cons
- Heavy head won't suit all
| Style | Mini-mallet |
| Weight | 362g |
| Loft | 3° |
Unique design aims to offer ultimate forgiveness
Most forgiving mallet putter
They say that while golfers have been told weight further from the face is a good idea in drivers (as it increases MOI and forgiveness), the theory doesn’t add up on the green.
It boils down to how heads rotate around their center of gravity when mishit. Cleveland says that if the CG location is further from the face, the rotation arc is bigger, so putts get pushed further offline. With front-weighted models, though, the CG is closer to the face, so the rotation circle is smaller, meaning deviation is tighter, and mishits don’t travel as offline.
Cleveland have done their homework and says the Frontline Elite family are 38% more accurate than conventional MOI putters. So, where a 2cm mishit with a standard MOI putter will miss the hole from 9.2 feet, the Frontline will have you making the same putt (with the same mishit) all the way back to 12.7 feet. It’s a cracking idea and serious food for thought.
Pros
- Unique CG boosts forgiveness
- Very accurate
- Good alignment aids
Cons
- Not everyone will like the large head
| Style | Mallet |
| Stock grip | Lamkin SinkFit Pistol Oversized |
| Loft | 3° |
Maxing out on stability, forgiveness, and alignment aids
Best mallet putter for alignment
The brand says golfers can expect a forward CG (1/4in closer to the face than other leading MOI models), which improves speed and spin control while also tightening dispersion.
Pros
- Great for alignment
- Very stable and forgiving
Cons
- Busy design won't suit purists
| Style | Mallet |
| Stock grip | Odyssey 2022 oversize grip (silver/black) |
| Weight | 365g |
| Loft | 3° |
So good it can convert non-armlock golfers
Best armlock mallet putter
It’s really simple, yet it gives a very locked-in feel, and because of how you hold the putter, it prevents your wrists from breaking down at impact. It’s so good, in fact, we couldn’t believe how unnatural a standard putter felt after using the Midlock... If your putting is in the doldrums, the Evnroll Midlock throws you a lifeline.
Pros
- Best feeling armlock putter we've tested
- Promotes a stable stroke
- Excellent alignment aids
Cons
- Not everyone will be comfortable with an armlock style
| Style | Armlock-mallet |
| Stock grip | Midlock XL |
| Weight | 380g |
| Loft | 4° |
Extremely forgiving with a huge array of customizable options
Best for color and hosel options
True Path alignment frames the ball and helps you visualize the path to the hole, while the Pure Roll insert is made from black TPU urethane.
Read our full TaylorMade Spider GTX putter review.
Pros
- Great stability
- Excellent forgiveness
- Strong alignment aids
Cons
- Amount of options could cause confusion
| Style | Mallet |
| Stock grip | SuperStroke GT 1.0 |
| Loft | 2.5° |
A great putter with genius adjustability
Best mallet putter for adjustability
Two 40g, sliding tungsten sole weights give control over the CG location, toe hang, and face rotation. Available with a small slant neck or single bend shaft, and thanks to the adjustability, you can tailor toe hang from 17° to 20° or 23°.
Read our full TaylorMade GT Max Putter review.
Pros
- Uniquely adjustable
- Will suit a variety of stroke types
- Good forgiveness and stability
Cons
- May be tempting to tinker too much
| Style | Mallet |
| Stock grip | SuperStroke GTR 1.0 |
| Loft | 2.5° |
Simply unbeatable at this price point
Best value mallet putter
CNC-milled putters are very expensive to make as the block of steel needed to create a head in one piece is sizeable and therefore costly. Cleveland wanted to open up milled putters to everyone, so they developed a cost-effective way of making them.
Each head is first cast into shape, then to give the sharp-edged look and appeal of a premium putter the back is milled into a very precise and consistent shape, giving a cosmetic that just isn’t achievable with traditional hand finishing. Each face is then machined with an intricate groove pattern to boost consistency when putts aren't struck from the center of the face.
There are seven HB Soft Milled models, some are face balanced, most have toe hang and suit slight arc players, but all are classic designs with premium cosmetics.
Pros
- An attractive price point
- Premium looks
- Options to suit all strokes
Cons
- Not the softest feel
| Style | Mallet |
| Stock grip | Tour-preferred Golf Pride Green Star Pro Only grip |
| Weight | 370g |
| Loft | 3° |
Best Mallet Putters: Buying Guide
Budget/price
With many of the best mallet putters retailing for over £400, it’s important to decide how much you’re willing to spend. After all, a higher price doesn’t guarantee you’re going to hole more putts. Typically, the leading manufacturers are at the forefront of R&D and use premium materials, which explains the high price, but there’s nothing to say you can’t find a putter for under £200 that works great for you.
Alignment aids
Putters, particularly mallets, now come with all sorts of different visual aids on top to help you align putts and strike the ball in the middle of the face. It’s all personal preference, so it’s a good idea to pick up as many putters as you can and see what type of alignment aid suits your eye. If you draw a straight line on your ball, a single line on your putter can be a great accompaniment for that. If you use a triple track golf ball, a putter with three lines can work brilliantly.
Toe hang/stroke type
Most putters come with different hosel options, which not only affect the look but also the amount of ‘toe hang’ the putter has. Toe hang is measured in degrees and basically dictates how much the putter wants to rotate during your stroke. Generally, golfers with more arc in their putting stroke will benefit from more toe hang, while those with a ‘straight back and through’ stroke will want less toe hang.
A simple but effective way to see how much toe hang a putter has is to balance the shaft on your finger; the angle at which the head points down towards the ground when hanging freely is the amount of toe hang. A putter with no toe hang is often called “face balanced” and the face will be pointing straight to the sky in the previously described test.
Face type/Insert
Putter faces used to be a simple, flat piece of metal, and although some are still like that, most have an insert or some form of groove pattern designed to help reduce skid and get the ball rolling sooner. Finding the face type or insert you like the feel of is key to confidence and consistent pace control.
Length
Putters are typically 33″ to 36″ (discounting arm-lock models, which are longer). The correct length largely depends on your height but also the way you stand when putting; basically, the distance from your wrist to the floor when you address a putt is the length of putter you need.
Grip
Putters traditionally had slim grips, but in the last couple of decades, very thick grips have become extremely popular as they tend to encourage your hands to stay passive, which creates a more stable putter face through the stroke.
How we tested the best mallet putters of 2023
Unlike our other club tests, we haven’t provided any data for our mallet putters test. Our experience has shown that the data collected with putters varies too much from one day to the next to be meaningful. Any data we gathered wouldn’t be a good thing to base your buying choice on; it’s far more important to find a model that suits you and your individual putting stroke. Confidence is hugely important in all areas of golf, but perhaps none more so than putting.
Best Mallet Putters: FAQs
How many PGA Tour pros use a mallet putter?
Around two-thirds of PGA Tour players now use mallet putters, and the proportion is increasing all the time.
What makes mallet putters so good?
Mallet putters have a larger head than blade putters, which in itself makes them more stable and therefore easier to hit putts on your intended start line.
But the larger heads also allow manufacturers to distribute the weight more effectively and pack in extra technology to minimize twisting as you strike the ball. The larger footprint also leaves room for more alignment aids than you get with a blade.
What putter does Jon Rahm use?
Jon Rahm uses an Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S (2.5˚, steel stepped Stroke Lab shaft)
Read our full Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S putter review.
Check out the full Jon Rahm WITB.
SUBSCRIBE TO TODAY’S GOLFER: Print and Digital access, discounts and rewards!
Simon Daddow
Today’s Golfer Equipment Editor
Simon Daddow is the Equipment Editor for Today’s Golfer. Having tested and played more than 10,000 clubs in his life, what he doesn’t know about golf clubs isn’t worth knowing.
He joined EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) as Equipment Editor in 2006 and has worked for both Today’s Golfer and Golf World. Working alongside our test pro Neil Wain, Simon has made todays-golfer.com the most reliable source for golf club testing.
He enjoys excellent relationships with the biggest names in the golf equipment industry, including PXG boss Bob Parsons and TaylorMade’s Tomo Bystedt and Adrian Rietveld.
You can contact Simon via email and follow him on Twitter for loads more golf equipment insig
-
Best Mallet Putters 2023
