Joel Tadman tests a wide selection of the very latest putters on the market to help those of you that are seeking a change of fortunes on the greens pick a model perfectly suited to your needs and budget.
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00:00 Now during a round of golf, you'll hit more shots
00:02 with this club than you will any other in your bag.
00:05 And if your scores aren't improving,
00:06 the chances are it's the putter that's to blame.
00:09 And that's where this video's gonna come in
00:11 and hopefully help you out.
00:12 If you're due an upgrade, I'm gonna test over 25
00:15 of the latest and greatest putter models here
00:17 at the beautiful Woburn Golf Club,
00:19 the Tavistock short game area,
00:21 to really put them through their paces,
00:23 help you understand the differences in the looks,
00:25 the feel, and the performance that you can expect
00:27 from all the latest putters on the market,
00:29 and help you pick the right one for you.
00:31 (upbeat music)
00:33 Okay, so starting with the looks of these 2023 putters,
00:41 and I think this is arguably the most important category
00:44 to get right.
00:45 I think you need to feel comfortable
00:46 with what you're looking down on
00:47 when it comes to your putter.
00:49 And as you can see, from all the models here in front of me,
00:51 there's a whole host of different colors, shapes, sizes,
00:54 visual cues, alignment aids, all that sort of thing.
00:57 Now, as a result, I would encourage you to try
01:00 as many different putters as you can
01:01 on the practice putting green before you make a purchase,
01:03 so you can find one that really suits your eye
01:06 and helps you hold a lot of putts,
01:08 and start with all online.
01:09 And there's a few standout models
01:11 in terms of what they're offering visually.
01:13 I think one of the main ones is the Odyssey Versa,
01:16 this white hot Versa, new for 2023.
01:19 But that kind of high contrast block color system,
01:22 I think is really effective at highlighting
01:24 where the face is pointing.
01:26 And I think the sight line on the front
01:28 does also assist with that and enhance that,
01:30 so I think that's a really good option
01:31 if you're struggling to start your balls online,
01:34 this is gonna give you a really good visual aid.
01:36 Another one I really like is the Ping options
01:39 in the 2023 range, 'cause you get a whole host
01:42 of different shapes, and you get a couple
01:44 of different alignment options.
01:45 So this is the Mundi here in my left hand.
01:48 This has got some white sight lines
01:50 that stand out against the black flange,
01:51 and then you've got the Anser,
01:53 which is using more a block color system
01:55 as well as a sight line.
01:56 So there's some different options with that range
01:58 to hopefully find the visual cues that work for you.
02:02 Worth touching on the TaylorMade Spyder GTX,
02:05 you can see here this has got the red chassis,
02:08 actually comes in six different color options,
02:10 so you can really personalize your putter,
02:12 maybe on your team allegiance or however you wanna do it.
02:14 And that TruePath alignment system is really effective,
02:17 really high contrast, definitely highlights
02:19 where the face is pointing really well.
02:21 The other one to talk about is the EV5 from Evenwell.
02:24 What I like about this is you get three different
02:27 kind of chassis options depending on your visual preference.
02:31 So you've got the all black here,
02:33 you've got an all silver, or you've got a duo option
02:35 which combines both of them.
02:37 So they have got a different sight line options,
02:40 combinations as well, so you can really tailor
02:42 the design of this putter to suit your visual preferences.
02:45 So a lot of options within that Evenwell design
02:48 as well as six different hosel options as well.
02:51 Mizuno OMOI putters, worth touching on these
02:54 because they come in three different finishes.
02:56 You've got the blue, the satin, and the black.
02:58 I think they all look really, really premium.
03:01 Also worth mentioning the caramel copper PVD finish
03:05 on the Bettanardi Queen B.
03:06 I think this looks super, super premium.
03:09 And it's just a point of difference
03:10 with a lot of putters on the market these days.
03:12 And just stand out really well against the grass.
03:14 I think it makes you see where the face is pointing
03:17 and the head shape a little bit better.
03:19 I just finally gotta mention the Zebra AIT1.
03:22 This is kind of a reinvention of a classic looking putter.
03:26 I think that stripe system is something definitely visual.
03:29 It's very different and also very effective
03:31 at seeing where the face is aiming.
03:33 So definitely one to try if, as I said,
03:35 if you're struggling with the alignment,
03:37 you're getting a lot of assistance there.
03:38 Obviously you will get more assistance
03:40 in terms of alignment with the mallet shaped putters
03:42 versus the blades.
03:44 If I had to pick my favorite for looks,
03:45 I think it would be the Ping 2023 range.
03:48 And in particular this Mundi option.
03:51 I think this is the most effective putter.
03:54 From all my testing I've done,
03:55 this was the one I felt most confident
03:57 in knowing exactly where it was aiming
03:59 and then able to return the putter to square.
04:01 Because of that, I felt the most,
04:02 I got the most confidence out of this
04:04 Ping Mundi 22/23 putter.
04:07 So this is my standout putter for looks in 2023.
04:09 (upbeat music)
04:12 Okay, so now we move on to the feel
04:14 and sound of these putters.
04:15 And it's worth just mentioning,
04:17 you need to consider things like
04:19 what type of golf ball you play
04:20 when it comes to the kind of acoustics of a putter
04:23 and the impact experience they're offering.
04:25 It does have an impact on that.
04:26 As I said, I would encourage you to try them out
04:28 and see which one feels best for you.
04:30 Obviously there's a different range of constructions here.
04:33 You've got grooves, you've got inserts,
04:35 you've got milled faces, you've got solid faces.
04:38 So that will have an impact on the feel that you experience.
04:42 At impact, if you like a firmer feel,
04:44 there are some models that really stand out.
04:46 The Mizuno OMY is a classic example of that.
04:49 It's quite a firm feel
04:51 'cause of the shallow milling on the face.
04:53 And it's also quite a heavy feel.
04:55 Mizuno feel like that was gonna give golfers
04:57 the best performance.
04:59 It is certainly something I noticed.
05:00 It feels quite head heavy,
05:01 feels quite stable as a result as well.
05:03 And you do have an adjustable weight kit
05:05 with the Mizuno MCraft OMY putters to adjust the weight.
05:08 If you want to, you can go up or down.
05:10 But as standard, it comes quite heavy.
05:12 And I think that will suit golfers
05:13 with quite slow, rhythmic tempos.
05:16 I certainly enjoyed the feel of that Mizuno OMY putter.
05:20 The TaylorMade Spyder GTX and the GT Max
05:23 have quite a loud, almost like a clicky sound to them.
05:27 And then if you want something a little bit softer,
05:29 you've got the Odyssey options,
05:31 both the TriHop 5K and the Versa putters
05:34 with that white hot insert have quite a nice,
05:37 soft, gentle, subtle feel to them.
05:39 And I also like the feel of the PXG Battle Ready Closer
05:45 and the Cleveland HB Soft Mill.
05:47 I think that was surprisingly soft,
05:50 yet solid sensation from both those putters.
05:53 I certainly lean towards more of a gentle,
05:56 softer feeling putter.
05:57 And there were kind of three that really stood out for me.
05:59 The Evenroll V-Series I thought felt excellent.
06:03 The Scottie Cameron, as you'd expect,
06:05 definitely feels really nice.
06:07 They've done a really good job of milling.
06:09 There's kind of a new mill pattern there.
06:10 Just kind of takes away some of the acoustics.
06:12 It felt softer than the Special Select
06:14 that we saw previously.
06:16 But actually my standout for feel,
06:18 might surprise you,
06:19 is the Wilson Staff Model putters.
06:23 These feel absolutely fantastic.
06:24 Soft, really solid.
06:26 You've got a very subtle,
06:28 but intricate milling pattern on the face.
06:30 Does a really good job of dispersing the sound at impact,
06:33 but not overdoing it.
06:34 You do get enough kind of response and feedback
06:37 from the face to help you understand
06:39 how you struck the ball.
06:41 But I think in terms of an impact experience,
06:43 the Wilson Staff Model putters
06:45 really stood out the most for me.
06:47 Right, so now we're moving on to the forgiveness
06:51 and stability of these putters.
06:52 I think it's an underrated attribute,
06:55 you know, when you're putting,
06:55 especially from long range,
06:56 you want a putter that's going to deliver
06:58 uniform, consistent performance
07:00 when that strike pattern tends to deviate more
07:03 away from the sweet spot into the heel and toe.
07:05 And obviously the Mallet putters that I've got here
07:07 will provide more forgiveness than the Blade putters.
07:10 But that said, there were some surprise packages
07:12 within some of the smaller shapes
07:13 that we'll come onto in this section.
07:16 So I think I'll start with the Scotty Cameron.
07:19 So I've got the Super Select Newport 2.5 Plus.
07:24 So this plus concept is a new thing
07:27 for Scotty Cameron this year.
07:28 Three different shapes that are slightly larger
07:30 than their kind of namesake counterparts.
07:32 So this is the 2.5 Plus.
07:34 So it's a slightly bulkier blade design.
07:36 I wouldn't call it a wide blade,
07:38 it's just slightly larger than the 2.5, the standard model.
07:41 So it's a little bit longer from heel to toe,
07:43 definitely has a little bit of a wider flange.
07:45 And as a result, I found it to be really forgiving
07:47 for what is essentially a blade putter.
07:50 I was really impressed with the TainoMade Spider GTX.
07:53 This is a relatively compact Mallet,
07:54 but you can see with this,
07:55 I think it's 120 gram tungsten back piece,
07:58 it's a really stable putter off center.
08:00 I felt like it really didn't want to twist that much
08:03 when I was hitting it off center.
08:05 It was a very consistent user-friendly option.
08:08 So I really enjoyed that one.
08:10 I do think the Evenroll face technology is very effective
08:14 at, well, they say kind of gearing off center putts
08:18 back to straight.
08:19 I wouldn't probably go that far,
08:20 but it definitely delivers consistent speeds
08:23 from long and mid range.
08:24 It's something I've noticed testing these putters long term
08:28 is that, yes, it doesn't give you the most amount of speed
08:30 because of the grooves on the face,
08:32 but that speed is consistent
08:34 and therefore that feedback loop you get
08:36 when you're using it,
08:38 kind of you can calibrate your brain
08:39 to put the right amount of stroke length on it
08:42 and therefore I've become really effective putter
08:45 with my Evenroll putter from long range
08:47 and these putters in particular, this EB5,
08:49 you know, with that kind of mid Mallet shape,
08:51 I think has been really, really user-friendly for me.
08:54 Before I pick my winner,
08:55 I'm just going to highlight the Cleveland
08:57 Frontline Elite putter.
08:59 Now this is a very common shape.
09:01 We see a lot of brands using
09:03 kind of that original spider shape design,
09:06 but I noticed this to be very solid off center.
09:09 It's got a very incredibly loud sound to it
09:12 and a hard feel.
09:14 It's not going to suit everyone,
09:15 but if you're looking for stability and forgiveness
09:17 in a putter that's not going to cost the earth,
09:20 I enjoyed what this Cleveland Frontline had to offer
09:22 and I think it's got an excellent stock grip,
09:24 probably one of the best stock grips
09:26 out of all these putters on test.
09:28 So yeah, Cleveland Frontline Elite,
09:30 very impressed with that in terms of forgiveness,
09:31 but there was one standard model,
09:33 if you're looking for maximum help on your putts,
09:36 the Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K is a standout range.
09:41 You've got two tungsten weights here in the front,
09:43 just really gives you a solid feel at impact
09:46 and if you do make a bad stroke,
09:47 you get away with it a little bit more with this putter
09:49 than you do pretty much any of the other putters
09:52 here on this test.
09:53 And with that white hot insert,
09:54 it feels stable without feeling hard or firm
09:57 or harsh or clicky.
09:58 You get some really nice acoustics,
10:00 a really nice impact experience with this putter
10:02 and it was just really consistent.
10:03 So in terms of if you're looking for maximum help,
10:06 I do think the Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K range
10:08 is really gonna help you out
10:09 and in particular, this seven shape.
10:11 Right, now we're moving on
10:15 to the all important performance.
10:16 Ultimately, a putter needs to get the ball
10:19 in the hole as often as possible
10:20 and there were three that really stood out.
10:23 The first was this PXG.
10:24 This is the battle ready, closer
10:27 and definitely gravitating towards wide blade shapes
10:29 at the moment for some reason.
10:31 I do think that white sight line's quite thick
10:34 and it stands out well against that black flange.
10:36 As a result, I found it very easy to aim
10:39 and I do think the feel and stability of this putter
10:41 is kind of up there, if not as a level
10:44 with everyone else or slightly better.
10:46 It's got these really heavy tungsten weights
10:47 in the heel and toe.
10:48 As a result, it felt really solid
10:51 and I was especially prolific
10:53 for kind of inside eight feet with this.
10:54 I felt really confident that I was able
10:56 to return the putter to square
10:59 and I like the, obviously it's got
11:00 this multi-material shaft.
11:02 This is a concept we're seeing, as you can see.
11:04 Quite a few different brands are offering
11:06 this kind of multi-material shaft design.
11:08 It definitely seems to offer me
11:10 a slightly more head heavy feel, which I like.
11:13 It certainly matched up with my tempo
11:15 that I tend to adopt a little bit better
11:17 and just offered me a bit more stability as well,
11:19 especially on those long range putts.
11:21 I felt like I was scaring the hole a little bit more
11:23 with this shaft.
11:24 I thought the stock grip was really tacky as well.
11:26 As a result, this was one of the putters
11:28 that I hold more than my fair share of putts with.
11:31 The other one to talk about in terms of performance
11:33 and how I was able to adjust the putter
11:36 to suit my performance
11:37 with this TaylorMade Spyder GT Max.
11:41 So this is a unique concept.
11:43 It has two movable 40 gram weights
11:46 that you can slide up and down the chassis
11:49 in, there's three different kind of noted positions,
11:52 but you can actually have the weights
11:53 in between those if you want to.
11:55 And what I was able to do with this putter,
11:56 I've got them in setting three at the moment,
11:58 and these weights actually move back and forwards.
12:00 And actually by having them in the one position,
12:03 just tend to slow the rotation
12:05 of the club base down a little bit.
12:06 It's something I did actually notice.
12:08 As someone who tends to miss left on putts
12:11 kind of from inside 10 feet,
12:14 doing that did seem to subtly help keep the face open
12:17 a little bit more.
12:18 And I definitely noticed I wasn't missing left as much
12:22 with that weight option with the weight position
12:24 as I was beforehand.
12:26 So it's an interesting concept from TaylorMade.
12:27 I do think the effect is relatively subtle.
12:30 It's in terms of holding the most amount of putts,
12:32 those are the ones that did it for me.
12:34 Now I'm of the opinion that you don't need
12:38 to spend loads of money on a putter
12:40 to get half decent performance out of it.
12:42 And as a result, I think golfers will be looking
12:45 to save a bit of money when it comes to buying a new putter.
12:47 And there are three models that really stood out
12:49 in terms of offering the best value for money.
12:51 The cheapest putter in this test is the McGregor V-Foil.
12:57 There's a few different shapes in the range.
12:58 I think there's four different ones.
12:59 This is the 004, so this is the mallet option.
13:03 I think this is a very familiar shape.
13:06 Offers really good stability for what is a putter
13:08 that costs less than 100 pounds.
13:10 Obviously white sight line, black chassis,
13:12 really easy to align.
13:14 Feels quite firm.
13:14 I don't think this insert or arc technology
13:17 they've got on the face is doing a great deal.
13:19 But if you play a soft golf ball,
13:21 I think that'll marry quite nice with the firm feel
13:23 you get from this putter.
13:24 And the stop grip is quite nice as well.
13:26 It's quite tacky and a decent shape and size.
13:29 Another putter that offers good value for money
13:31 is the Onesis HiaMuai putter.
13:34 The reason I say it's got good value for money
13:37 is because it's very stable off-center.
13:39 You can see this kind of perimeter weighting design here
13:42 is gonna give you really good off-center forgiveness.
13:46 I do think it looks a bit too busy on top.
13:48 I think there's probably too many alignment aids
13:50 going on here, but it could be a bit distracting.
13:53 Some people might like it.
13:54 But I do like the grip.
13:55 I think the stop grip is excellent.
13:57 But the standard model for me in terms of value for money
14:00 was undoubtedly the Cleveland HB Soft milled.
14:04 So this comes in at 200 pounds,
14:07 but I think this is probably one of the better feeling
14:09 putters on test.
14:10 Felt really solid, quite soft.
14:13 You've got progressive milling here on the face
14:15 in terms of it becomes a bit tighter towards the middle
14:19 and wider towards the edge.
14:21 Essentially controlling the amount of metal
14:23 that comes into contact with the ball.
14:25 And I found that to be quite effective actually off-center.
14:28 Felt like I was getting a uniform roll out from long range
14:31 and a really kind of consistent feel
14:33 from this progressive milling.
14:35 So really effective tool.
14:37 And obviously it comes with the multi-material shaft as well.
14:40 Does give it a lighter feel overall.
14:42 Some people might like that.
14:44 So for value for money, it's the Cleveland HB Soft milled.
14:47 And in particular, it's number four.
14:49 (upbeat music)
14:51 Okay, so now it's time for me to get off the fence
14:53 and pick my favorite putter of 2023.
14:56 Worth pointing out, this is only a very small cross section
14:59 of what's available on the market.
15:01 A lot of these ranges come in a whole host
15:03 of different shapes and sizes and models
15:05 to suit different preferences.
15:07 So yeah, worth taking it with a relative pinch of salt.
15:10 There are plenty of other options out there.
15:12 But there were some honorable mentions.
15:15 I just want to just say, before we pick my overall winner,
15:18 I think the two honorable mentions really need to go
15:20 to the Evenroll EV5 putter
15:22 with that interchangeable chassis system
15:24 and the hosel options and all that other thing
15:26 and the sweet face technology combines
15:28 to produce a really comprehensive putter.
15:32 Also, I think the PXG Battle Ready
15:34 is a sneakily underrated putter range.
15:36 I think it's probably one of their strongest categories
15:38 in terms of hardware.
15:40 I've really enjoyed putting with that particular model.
15:43 But my overall winner for best putter of 2023,
15:48 if money was no object,
15:49 the one that ticks the most boxes for looks,
15:51 feel, forgiveness, all that sort of thing,
15:53 was the Odyssey TriHot 5K.
15:57 I probably wouldn't pick this particular shape.
16:00 There are some smaller shapes
16:01 that I think I'd probably gravitate towards a bit more.
16:04 But in terms of offering that combination
16:06 of stability off center with those tungsten weights,
16:09 which are adjustable,
16:10 you can have different weights in there if you want to,
16:13 without having a hard or harsh feel,
16:15 it's got a really nice, soft, gentle feel
16:18 from the white hot insert,
16:20 but it still provides good speed.
16:21 So it hasn't got a soft feel,
16:23 but then you feel like you've got to hit the putter
16:24 too hard to get them there.
16:26 It's also got, obviously, the multi-material shaft,
16:28 which I think does have some effect,
16:30 if very small, versus a traditional steel shaft.
16:34 It did deliver a marginal improvement.
16:36 So all in all, the Odyssey TriHot 5K range
16:40 is my favorite for 2023.
16:42 So from the beautiful Tavistock short game area here
16:45 at Woburn Golf Club, it's goodbye from me.
16:47 I'll see you next time.
16:49 (upbeat music)
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