Best Putters for Beginners

If you watch my YouTube channel, you will find out that you can shave a load of strokes off your score within weeks, eliminating three-putts (and four-putts). It's that simple and sometimes you just need a decent putter to do it. Guys don't like to admit it, but the putter is the most important golf club in your bag. 

Practicing only an hour a week can easily knock 4 or 5 strokes off your score within a month. I know it can, because I did it. New players and high handicapper take upwards of four 3-putts per round. That's at least 4 unnecessary shots you can eliminate right now with a bit of practice and of course, one of the best putters for beginners on offer.

It's easy to see how important putting is to lowering your score and handicap - just check out B-Dog's round of 98 here. He used an Odyssey 2ball putter I bought him. By just two-putting every green, you can knock off a minimum 4 shots!

1. Odyssey Hot Pro OG putters (best putter dollar for dollar)
2. Cleveland Huntington Beach putters (best budget modern putter for beginners)
3. Odyssey Two Ball Triple Track putter  (best top end putter for alignment)
4. Cleveland Frontline ISO putter  (Sleeper pick)
5. Ping Sigma 2 Anser (best quality blade putter)

Without a doubt, the Odyssey White Hot putter insert is simply the best on the market. Odyssey is #1 on the PGA Tour and #1 in golf. There are pretenders to the crown but the true king of putter face inserts is Jon Snow...I mean Odyssey.

Whether you like the blade, the mallet or the oversized heads, each model in this range gives you the same White Hot insert and trusted Odyssey putting technology. And with that you get consistent lag distance control, soft feeling club face and superb alignment on the rear of the club.

The consistency of the strike with Odyssey putters is only matched by other large brands that cost you three or four times the price. I've used every Odyssey iteration since this line and can safely say for this price, I'd use this putter if I were a new golfer.

Cleveland golf have made a superb set of putters in this range. I personally own THREE, yes 3 putters from this range. They are all unique yet have common features. They're all very high quality, well weighted and have milled steel faces.

In contrast to the Odyssey putters above with the insert, the ball comes off the steel face of the Cleveland with a totally different feel. Inserts make for a very soft feel like you're hitting something with a marshmallow or pool noodle. Okay it's not that extreme but it gets the point across, because when you hit it with a steel putter, you notice a much firmer 'hit'.

This is preference you should work out for yourself by hitting a few with inserts and a few with steel or metal faces. I prefer the milled face on the Clevelands because it feels like I have more consistent roll on the ball. The insert can sometimes disguise poor strikes. 

The Huntington putters come in a wide range of head shapes. You get mallet putters, fang-style, blade and there are also center shafted models. My top tip for picking a putter is to go with what you like the look of. That's 80% of the battle won and it's very easy to find one model in the Huntington Beach range to suit your eye,  I am sure. 

With putting, we often find the most difficult part is starting the ball on the right line. Now, it's not that difficult to do, but what is difficult is to know when we adjust the putter face just before we hit the ball.

With an extended back, the two-ball, triple track alignment system is perfect to keep everything going where you want it. These are great mallet putters for those who struggle with aligning their eyes, the putter face and their mind to their target. 

Cleveland make very forgiving putters and the Front Line range is a step above their Huntington Beach range. The black color makes a very nice contrast to the green color of the greens. 

The contrast in the colors makes it especially easy to line the face up to the line you want to hit the golf ball down. The rear of the Iso model has squares cut out of it with a thin solid line extending to the back, maybe it incredibly easy to align your eyes, which is important for confidence, to the line you expect the ball to take.

The Tungsten in the putter moves the center of gravity to a place that allows consistent energy transfer from the club to the ball so your stroke and hit on the golf ball is always the same, producing a pure roll and more chance of getting the ball close to the hole or in the hole.

This type of alignment aid on the back of the putter is especially helpful for short putts where confidence in your alignment is key. You can stand behind it, knowing that the putter is aligned correctly. These are the strokes you can eliminate very quickly and shatter your scoring barriers.

PING is and has been the most famous name in putters. Their blade putters have always been sensational in feel and consistency. If you're a blade putter fan, literally anything in the PING range will suit you.

Keep in mind though that this style of putter is best suited to players who have a slight arc in their stroke. It's quite difficult to stroke these blades straight back and through, which is easier to do with mallet style putters, especially center shafted ones. 

They have expanded into all sorts of shapes and sizes and they are all in fact exception. The balance, the craftsmanship and the feel of the PING blade is much like Mizuno in irons. Nothing feels like a Mizuno they say. That's similar to a PING blade putter. 

A PING putter is not merely something to plug the hole. If you invest in one of these for your game, you won't replace. A putter is a very personal thing and once you find the one that suits you, hold onto it. Once people try PING putters, they very very rarely move onto another brand. Choose wisely.

Please avoid the double sided putt putt putter if you're looking for a decent putter to improve your game.

This is a great putter for mini-golf, offices and beating up home invaders. It's not however a suitable putter for beginners on the golf course.

There are numerous sites advocating for it but I don't care what the reviews say and I don't care if it's a top seller. This club won't help you improve your golf one iota. I won't allow any future beginner golfing buddies to be taken advantage of.

It's basically a lump of metal that's been stuck onto a stick and marketed as a "two-way putter". AVOID

While I believe a great driver you can hit straight and consistently is the biggest asset you can have, the quickest win thereafter will be from being able to two-putt every single green.

Think about it. Let's say you hit the driver well and get around or on the green in 2 or 3 shots. Then if you three-putt 4 or 5 times on the green per round as well as once or twice from around the green BUT then you learn to two-putt from wherever, you're going to save between 5 and 6 shots a round!

Two hours per week is all it takes

Step 1

Take your putter and 5 - 10 balls. Putt from one hole on the green to another hole on the green 20 to 30 feet away. Putt them until every single one is within 2 feet every time. When you can do that every putt, move onto step 2...

Step 2

Take the 5 to 10 balls and scatter them in a circle around a hole, 3 feet from the hole. Putt from 3 feet until you can hole all of the balls. Then do it again at another hole until you can make all the 3 footers. Once you can do that, go home. Do not leave until you sink every golf ball without missing around five different holes.

The PGA suggest "What you want to do is get into a correct address position. When you tilt from your hips, you want your eyes over the ball, hands under your shoulders, elbows bent but touching your rib cage, and hips over your heels. The putter needs to fit this set-up. If you grip a "standard" length putter and find you're gripping down the shaft, you will need a shorter putter. If you grip beyond the end of the putter, you will need a longer putter. Now with the correct length putter in your hands, the shaft would be in line with your forearms. I have found that most golfers play with too long of a putter."

Up until recently you could use a putter that was much longer than standard length and anchor it on your body for more stability. The two designs were broom handle and belly putters and while they're still permitted, you're not allowed to let them touch anything other than your arms and hands. I don't recommend these putters for beginners.

The broom handle was normally anchored to your chest with one hand and swung with the other hand and the belly putter was stuck into your abdomen with both hands on the grip swinging the putter like normal. 

Under rule 14-b enforced in 2016, all anchoring of putters to your body was banned. Pros who relied on this method of putting lost their advantage while celebrating the New Year as midnight struck on 1 January 2016.