Choosing a putter as a beginner can become a daunting task without a basic understanding of what you should be looking for. There are a multitude of model and brand choices. No two putters are the same, and you will need to have an idea of how to tell the difference between them.

Blade vs. Mallet Putters

These are the two most common types of putters on the market and on tour. However, they are distinctly different in both their use and look. 

Here, we have a typical-looking blade-style putter. Blades have been around since the dawn of golf and will continue to be around simply due to the tradition of using a blade putter. While some blade putters can be useful, the original design of a blade putter is counterintuitive. The blade is long from heel to toe with no depth, causing a high probability that a beginner putter will not consistently hit the sweet spot, forcing the ball to push or pull in one direction. This can be a major issue on the course and for this reason, I recommend staying away from any sort of blade putter as a beginner.

The mallet putter, as you can see here, resembles a mallet, but each one can still be distinctly different, more so than blade putters. Even between our putter, the Optimum, and an Odyssey mallet putter, there can be great variation. The variety of mallet putters on the market allows beginners a wide range of putters to choose from. I believe mallet putters, in general, are the best putters for beginners.

Get the Beginner Putter in Your Hands

If there is one single piece of advice I could give someone in search of a beginner putter, it would be to make an effort to feel the putter in your hands and take some practice putts before making a decision. Now, I understand that can be difficult with Covid still looming, but it could spark your interest enough to know what you want to buy.

On a deeper level, try to focus on how the putter feels in your hands. Do you feel confident with this putter in your hands? Does it feel smooth when you stroke a putt? These are great questions to ask yourself before a putter purchase. With a beginner putter, you want to have that confidence every single time you approach a putt.

Avoid Falling for Marketing Tricks

In the putter industry, there are so many types of putters being made that companies have to find a way to market their products even if they don’t have a new type of technology or theory built into them. Because of this, you will find numerous putters for sale that have nothing to truly offer but a high price tag and a name brand. 

One of the most common examples of this I have come across is the use of marketing with a new type of groove technology on a putter. For those that don’t know, grooves are the name we give to the lines of depth machined out on the face of drivers and irons to create a more consistent ball flight. These grooves work when a club is swung hard enough to compress the golf ball into those grooves. However, when it comes to putters, this technology does nothing. A putter is not swung hard enough for it to compress the ball, effectively making any grooves you see on a putter simply a marketing strategy.

Another example of a marketing trick that can fool a beginner putter is seeing excessive lines on top of the putter or behind the putter that companies market as a way to increase your accuracy. While some of these aesthetic lines may fool you into feeling more confident standing over the ball, the truth is they do very little to improve your putting stroke or aim. So don’t choose a putter simply because of the way it looks. 

Price for a Beginner Putter

When we talk about the price of a beginner putter, we have a large range to examine, anywhere from $20 - $500 depending on the brand, model, and where they are made. We would all like to keep up the illusion that we don’t have a budget, but the truth is that most of us do, especially beginner putters. Why pay $500 for a name brand like Callaway or Odyssey when you can find something half the price that makes you feel just as confident?

This is something we all fall victim to–believing that expensive directly correlates to quality. In golf, the single most important part is finding the type of putter you are good with. If that is a $20 blade made in China, then so be it. If it is a $200 mallet made locally, then that is perfectly fine too. In summary, you should be able to find the proper beginner putter for you no matter your price range.

At the end of the day, no one can choose the right putter for you. The choice is something you have to make for yourself. It’s something you might have to do multiple times as you go through as many putters as it takes to find the perfect beginner putter for you. You will eventually find something that works for you, and once you do, you won’t find a better feeling.