Equipment
The modern trend in putters
We’re really living in a golden age of golfing tech. Just think for a moment about your whole outfit. From the shoes on your feet to your glove on your hand and the club in the hand you’re holding, each aspect of your equipment is the cornerstone of present-day engineering and innovation.
Putters in particular truly come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. If you’ve rifled through and examined the clubs we have in the shop, you’ll have noticed all the different clubheads, hosels, and shaft lengths we have available.
To celebrate the wonderful world of putters in all their forms and varieties, we want to take you back through history and outline some of the greatest technological putter achievements that have hit the world of golf.
The 20th Century
The 20th century significantly upgraded golf as metal clubheads supplanted traditional wood. In 1903, Arthur Knight invented the first center-shafted putter, and the R&A approved early steel-shafted clubs in 1929.
By the 1940s, the world was introduced to John Reuter Jr’s iconic Bullseye putter. You’ll be familiar with this putter’s looks, this type of club is very much still used at crazy golf centres today!
A few decades later, Karsten Solheim, the visionary founder of PING, changed the game forever. In a legendary moment of inspiration in 1966, Solheim sketched the blueprint for the iconic Anser putter onto a record sleeve.
The design proved revolutionary, securing over 500 tour victories and becoming the industry’s gold standard. By introducing perimeter weighting, Solheim effectively maximised the MOI, creating a more stable and forgiving stroke. A breakthrough that remains a cornerstone of modern putter engineering.
The 2000s
Skipping forward to the turn of the century, Odyssey released the White Hot 2-Ball putter and its legendary status was cemented almost immediately. Paul Lawrie famously added it to his bag ahead of the 2001 Dunhill Links Championship and won the tournament at St. Andrews right away.
Fans were hungry for the ground-breaking 2-Ball design and the putter hit the market January 2002. Over two decades later, the 2-Ball design has proved to be a roaring success and is still widely used today. The 2 Ball putter has made its way into the hands of the likes of Padraig Harrington, as well as Michael Block, the club pro who entered and finished within the 15 at the 2023 PGA Championship.
The 2010s
TaylorMade’s square mallet-shaped Spider putter series was met with critical acclaim when it first hit the market, but fans were really taken with Jason Day’s custom prototype red version. Day, a native Australian, requested a red spider putter in tribute to his home country’s notorious venomous Redback spider.
He explained how he very quickly became enamoured with the TaylorMade putter’s design “I picked up the TaylorMade… and oh, man, the weight of it. You know in the movies when a character picks up a blade, and they’re like ‘Ooh perfect balance’. That’s exactly what it felt like.”
The putter was a staple in his bag throughout his rise to achieving World No.1 status in 2016. Most previous putters had clung to a rigid palette of being black or copper, but the popularity of the red colour that brilliantly contrasts against the green putting surface has demonstrated that a bit of colour can really brighten up your attitude towards your short game.
As we mentioned at the start, we have lots of different kinds of putters available in the shop for you to come and try out. From blades to mallets, we’re always available to help you find the club best for your game.
The 2020's
While the designs for zero torque putters have been around since the 90s, it wasn’t until as recently as 2024 that big brands like Odyssey, TaylorMade, PXG, and L.A.B. started making their own, much to the joy of consumers.
Zero torque golf putters have the shaft placed directly through the heads’ center of gravity, eliminating any natural twisting force, or torque, that occurs through your stroke. This results in a supremely accurate swing and strike.
Zero torque putters have a design that keeps the face of the putter relative to the path of your stroke while handling a traditional putter can invite a natural tendency to open the face. This strategically placed shaft reduced the amount of clubhead twisting that occurs when you bring the club back from the ball for a more predictable stroke.
As we mentioned at the start, we have lots of different kinds of putters available in the shop for you to come and try out. From blades to mallets, we’re always available to help you find the club best for your game.
