Golfers who like a golf ball-width feature do so because they like to frame the ball while lining up to putt. There are tons of putters out there that have a feature to frame the ball at address, and while some do it subtly, others are much more explicit.

If you can accept the somewhat unconventional looks of an MOI model, you’re giving yourself maximum benefit. It’s important to love the look of your putter, though, as confidence plays such a huge part on the greens.

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He spent a large part of his career as a golf club maker and product development manager, and has worked in the golf industry for more than 30 years. He joined EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) as Equipment Editor in 2006 and has worked for both Today’s Golfer and Golf World.

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Ping’s Dr. Paul Wood told me “Research shows a really good match between players who describe a putter matching their eye, and aligning consistently correctly with those models.” So there’s a real link between finding a putter that’s easy to align and putting well with it.

“We want to work with forward-thinking companies that understand the importance of being part of a community and work with them to create new business models in the market. We think Lamello is a perfect fit for us and its experience in the sector shows commitment to the industry.”

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.

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“There’s also been great interest from high-production companies who are looking to improve productivity and reduce labour costs. We’ve calculated that this machine can insert one Cabineo every three seconds, making it extremely efficient. It’s this level of flexibility and innovation that makes Lamello an ideal partner for us.”

There’s a mountain of putter grip options to choose from, whether you want to explore the size, shape, profile, or material of your putter grip my best putter grip page will help you decide which best suits you.

Predominantly, think of the golfers who gravitate to this style of putter as liking simpler, traditional blade designs with less going on cosmetically and you won’t go far wrong.

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“This kind of player wants lines to indicate where the outer edges of the ball should be in relation to the putter’s body, like tram lines running straight from the putter’s head out to the edges of the golf ball that’s sat in front of it,” Ping’s Dr. Paul Wood told me. The putter may have a clean top rail, but golfers aren’t using it to align.

Blades are the most traditional-looking putters. They are typically quite slim, with a small profile. Blade putters tend to have quite a lot of toe hang, which means they suit golfers with an arced putting stroke, although some face-balanced blade putters are available for those with a straight back-and-through stroke who want a blade style.

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.

Putters are typically 33″ to 36″ long (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.

“Our software, which can be used remotely, makes it really easy to select or adjust a cabinet’s dimensions – it even calculates how many Lamello connectors you will need to use on each design – simplifying the whole process. Once the data has been transferred to the machine, the CNC will format and drill all vertical holes and grooves and will cut-out the necessary channels for the connectors on the edges or in X and Y directions on the surface.

This area of the market has really taken off in the last decade as golfers realise the performance benefits of super-stable putters.

There’s a growing consensus of not going too large as you can lose feel and distance control. As a very general rule, oversized grips with flat fronts typically will suit straighter stroke players whereas smaller more pistol-shaped grips can be a better fit for golfers with arc and/or release in their putting stroke.

The biggest decision when choosing a new putter is whether you want a blade putter, a mallet putter, or a super-stable high MOI putter.

“We have been engineering solutions with Lamello for eight years. We were the first CNC producer to work with Lamello and at this year’s Ligna, we were pleased to present our first Centateq N-600 nesting machine, which has been designed to automatically insert the Cabineo.

Mallet putters tend to have a larger footprint than blades, although the blade length from heel to toe is often shorter.

With many of the best putters retailing for over £300, 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.

Other zero torque putters are available (like the Axis 1 used by Justin Rose) but L.A.B. models are different as they’re designed to resist twisting to the path of your stroke, not your target. So, where Ping founder Karsten Solheim invented the perimeter-weighted Anser to twist less on off-center hits, L.A.B. putters are designed to not twist to the path of your backswing and downswing.

“We were keen to show visitors just how versatile our products could be when partnered with Lamello’s P-System. Our stand featured several P-System-ready machines, including the NexTex 4.0, which can be modified to suit the needs of the customers. It has been designed to work with the Clamex and Cabineo and offers a completely digitalised production cycle.

The name Lamello is synonymous with jointing technology. On its Interzum and Ligna stands were solutions for fixing panels swiftly and easily, fixing shelves inside cabinets, jointing solid wood, and a full range of hand-held machines made by Lamello in Switzerland.

Having tested and played more than 10,000 clubs in his life, what Simon doesn’t know about golf clubs isn’t worth knowing.

Expect a Zero Torque putter to need some bedding in time, they are the hottest trend on tour right now, my best L.A.B. putter page will help you decide if you like the concept and establish which model is for you.

Out-on-tour stability putter shafts have their place, but they’re certainly not mainstream, so I’d advise not getting too bogged down in deciding whether or not you need one. Other much more important factors need your full attention. If though at any point you want to go full out and create your ultimate flatstick then absolutely a stability putter shaft should be on your radar.

Choosing the best putter for your game comes down to many factors, including price, the head shape, what alignment aids suit your eye (if any), whether you have a straight or arced putting stroke, whether you prefer a firmer or softer feel, the length that suits your height and setup, and what type of grip feels best in your hands. We’ve discussed every factor in our guide to choosing the best putter for your game.

“Building a partnership with Lamello is extremely important to us. Our aim is to connect the industry and create an ecosystem especially for the wood industry. Think of it as a digital shop floor that is open 24/7.

Tiger Woods uses a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Prototype putter, which has been in his bag for most of his career. Check out all the clubs and other equipment Tiger Woods uses here.

Quite simply, you’re making the game harder by using a narrow blade putter rather than an MOI Putter, especially on longer putts.

Putters, particularly mallets and MOI models, come with all sorts of different visual aids to help you align putts and strike the ball in the middle of the face more often. A lot comes down to personal preference, so it’s a good idea to pick up as many putters as you can to see what sort of alignment aids suit your eye. Here’s my guide to finding your perfect alignment aid.

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While we normally share all the data from our golf club tests, we don’t do that with putters. Whilst we do use a Foresight GC Quad launch monitor in putting mode to measure and gauge the roll, topspin, and skid of every putt hit, over the years we’ve learned that putting data is more player (and day-dependent) than any other club in the bag. So, whilst we use this data for analysis, we don’t base big decisions or recommendations on it, as history shows data is very likely to be different on another day’s testing. Essentially, we’re not comfortable making huge claims that one putter rolls better than another, because we know that on another day’s testing, the rolls could be reversed.

As you’ll see from our selections above, brands including Scotty Cameron, TaylorMade, Odyssey and Ping make what we feel are the best putters in golf.

Golfers who like a clean top rail use the perpendicular line created by the blade sat behind the ball to square up to their target. A lot of putters combine a clean top rail design with other alignment features, but players who like models in this category will often find the extra cosmetic shapes or lines distracting.

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 that you like the feel of is key to confidence and consistent pace control.

It’s a difficult one to answer, as so much of putting comes down to confidence, which makes it important to choose a putter you love the look and feel of. That said, a high-stability MOI putter will offer greater performance benefits than any other type of putter. If you’re struggling with your putting and have only ever used a traditional blade, it’s well worth seeing how much a forgiving MOI putter could help you.

“We are the first machinery manufacturer to create an aggregate that not only drills and routers the panel but also inserts the fixings, offering an extremely efficient way to use Lamello’s connectors. In this case, one machine really does offer a complete solution and we were excited to show live demonstrations throughout the show.

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Lamello users can now avail themselves of fast drilling and insertion on a variety of CNC machines made by Lamello’s partners that have been fitted with special aggregates and suit the needs of small craftsmen right through to flat-pack producers. We took the opportunity at Ligna to talk to several:

The wider body offers greater distance consistency on off-centre strikes than you get with a blade, which can really help as you’ll be surprised how often you miss the middle of the face, particularly on longer putts.

TG Equipment Editor Simon Daddow and Test Pro Neil Wain both putted to a hole 15 feet away and hit at least 20 putts with each model tested. We’re listening for sound, looking for how putts roll across the surface of the green, and gauging the feel and feedback off the putter face. We consider the grip size, shape, and texture, whilst also paying attention to the shaft and the stability on off-centre hits.

“This is one of many innovations we’ve designed to work with Lamello which is, in part, due to the growing number of our customers using Lamello fixings. Homag has been a driving force behind automisation in the industry for many years and partnerships such as this add value to our product line and benefit our customers massively.”

“All of Biesse’s machines are predisposed to work with Lamello’s connectors due to the volume of interest in its product range. We offer complete flexibility across our range and as such, we have the possibility to create solutions that can work with one or more of Lamello’s connectors.

It means the company insists golfers get fit for each model as it’s vitally important to match the lie angle of the putter to how you putt, to ensure maximum effectiveness. The idea also does away with the fitting of putters to stroke type, so don’t expect to hear toe hang mentioned by L.A.B.

Don’t forget also 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 too.

Stability putter shafts have grown hugely in popularity over the last decade, as engineers have realized when premium carbon fiber (like with the graphite KBS GPS) is wrapped correctly in the right areas, graphite shafts can resist twisting better than steel.

Having the original headcover in good condition is always desirable and a good sign the putter might well have been cherished by its previous owner. I’d always recommend factoring in the cost of a new grip too just so you get the feel and feedback you want. Our selection of the best putter grips can help you decide which will best suit you.

There’s a reason most beginners don’t pick up traditional blades with no sightlines; they’re not so easy to line up. It’s natural, then, for less skilled and less confident golfers to go for wider body, longer sightline models because there’s more insurance. Mallets are more stable and forgiving, but you also get more help lining up, too.

Ping’s Dr. Paul Wood told me “There’s a real trend of more skilled players wanting fewer alignment features, which sort of makes sense as the better you are at lining up, the less help you need.

Take your time, look at the condition, and get a feeling for how the putter may have been looked after by the previous owner. If the finish is chipped or there are dinks in the top edge it’s highly likely the putter has had a tough life, which could mean it might no longer be at its original spec.

You may have heard about face-balanced, toe-up, and torque-balanced putters before, but L.A.B. Golf’s Zero Torque putters and the new PXG Battle Ready Allan work differently from anything you’ve seen before. The idea came about when Directed Force (the company acquired and relaunched by now L.A.B owner Sam Hahn) built a device called the Revealer, to better understand how putters torque and rotate during the putting stroke. Only by inventing the device, which allows putters to hang freely while being swung, was it possible to spot how putters rotate during the stroke, but also to design a putter that didn’t torque or spin at all.

All of the leading manufacturers – including TaylorMade, Odyssey, and Ping – offer a wide range of putters in different shapes, sizes, styles, and types, so how do you know where to start?

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“It makes the whole process extremely efficient and Lamello’s connectors are the ideal solution for customers who need the flexibility to flat pack their furniture without the quality being affected.”

There is a clear trend towards wider-bodied blade putters, which sit between a mallet and a blade and offer a bit more forgiveness and reassurance than a very slim blade.

Typically, this feature is only really found on mallet-style putters, because blades don’t have the body width to create a long sight line. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it often tends to be less skilled putters who like this style of alignment aid most.

“At Ligna, we presented the Brema Vektor 15 CS vertical boring machine. It features a built-in unit for inserting glue and dowels but the beauty of this machine is its flexibility. It has already been customised to insert Lamello’s Cabineo and Clamex connectors automatically, making it the ideal solution for batch one manufacturers.

Stability putter shafts improve the consistency of off-center hits as the face deflects fractionally less at impact, so the idea has the potential to shave shots from your scorecard and help cut your three-putt percentage.

A sightline like this leads the eye all the way to the back of the ball, and I’ve always felt it gives the impression of hitting a nail in with a hammer when putting. The alignment feature doesn’t have to be a line – it can be another design – but explicitly this style of putter doesn’t have a top rail.

Pre-loved putters can be a fantastic option as they offer the opportunity to save considerable amounts of cash buying a model somebody else no longer wants. Make sure you’ve tried and tested the putter you want before buying, it’s much less likely you’ll get fitted to any second-hand model.

Finding the best putter for your golf game is hugely important, as it’s the club you use more than any other. There’s nothing more frustrating than hitting a great approach or chip to close range and then missing the putt. Plus, holing a few more putts is a quick way to lower your scores.