This is a review of the best putters for beginners and high handicappers in 2023.
When we’re at the golf course, most of our strokes will happen on the green. This is particularly true for beginners and high handicappers who often 3 to 4-putt which ruins their score for that hole.
As golfers ourselves who’ve played the sport for close to a decade, we know how frustrating it is to hit incredibly with your driver and irons just to bomb your blow up your score from bad putts. In that case, there are only two things to blame: 1. Your putting inexperience, and 2. The putter you’re using.
There are many things you need to consider when picking the right putter, as the length, heaviness, shape, and even the looks of the putter will affect your posture, alignment, and putting quality in some way.
That’s why we’ve come up with the best putters for beginners and high handicappers to tell you which are the best forgiving putters in the market right now, with the TaylorMade Spider X Putter as our number 1 pick.
After the list of putter reviews, we’re going to have a buying guide on what to look for in a great putter, and end with a FAQ segment.
Let’s begin.
Our Top 3 Picks
- TaylorMade Spider X Putter (Best Putter for Beginners)
- Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball Putter (Runner Up)
- PING Sigma 2 Anser (Best Blade Putter for High Handicappers)
The Best Putters for Beginners & High Handicappers
Every option in this list meets most of the criteria in our putter’s buying guide covered below.
1. TaylorMade Spider X Putter (Winner: Best Putter for Beginners and High Handicappers)
Pros
- One of the best looking putters out there
- Adjustable
- Many colors available
- High MOI
- Truth path alignment system
- Heavy with a great feel
Cons
- Priced at the premium end of the market
TaylorMade’s Spider X Putter series is the best putter available for beginners and high handicappers.
This putter is priced at the top of the market and we can see why. It’s one of the best-looking and high-quality putters right now and was unveiled at TaylorMade’s 10-year celebration for being the preferred sleek yet amazing performance putter choice for professionals and golfer’s of all skill levels.
They created this putter to be as stable as possible with its X-shaped design which forms its True Path Alignment system, helping you align the ball easier.
Something we love about this putter is how adjustable it is. Besides a plethora of colors for you to choose from, the Spider X putter featured three weight ports of 2, 6, and 12 weights. Simply slide these weights around to find the feel that’s your favorite.
How this beauty offers such a high MOI is from its heavy 320g frame and perimeter weighting, which reduces any twisting of the putter from mishits, straightening your putts and offering the optimal forgiveness for any beginner.
Lastly, its improved pure roll insert will give you a satisfying feel and sound on impact. Giving you the confidence to hit your putters effortlessly.
2. Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball Putter (Runner-Up)
Pros
- 2-Ball Alignment Guide
- Equipped with White Hot Insert that’ll give you a great “soft but firm feel”
- High MOI
- High Forgiveness
Cons
- Not the cheapest putter
Odyssey makes some of the most famous putters throughout the history of golf. Many golfers and professionals today, like Phil Mickelson, are still using their traditional Odyssey putters.
Not too long ago, Odyssey released their 2-ball mallet putters, and it has been a hit ever since. The newer White Hot OG 2-Ball Putter is by far one of the best putters for beginners and high handicappers with its incredible feel. Those who’ve used this putter will tell you about its iconic “soft but firm feel” which is made possible with Odyssey’s traditional White Hot premium inserts
It also has a 2-ball alignment guide which is popular even in the PGA. Why this 2-ball design on the mallet is so effective is from the increased visualization for the ball positioning and alignment to your target. Rest assured, this guide will allow any golfer to hit the center of the putter much easier.
Finally, what’s a beginner-friendly putter without forgiveness? The White Hot OG utilizes a high DFX falt-front grip that reduces any twisting or jerking from off-center hits. Making the White Hot OG 2-Ball putter one of the best putters to hit straight with.
3. PING Sigma 2 Anser (Best Quality Blade Putter for High Handicappers)
Pros
- Forgiving for a blade putter
- High-quality build
- Decent MOI
- Decent Forgiveness
Cons
- Not likely the best for beginners
Though we recommend beginners and high handicappers to settle with a mallet putter for the increased moment of inertia (MOI), it’s not to say that beginners won’t find blade putters beneficial. In fact, some of you may play better with the feel offered by a blade putter!
If that sounds good to you, then the PING Sigma 2 Anser is the blade putter you should pay attention to as a high handicapper.
PING became a famous golf brand from their line of blade putters, with the Sigma 2 Anser offering incredible feel and consistency.
The Sigma 2 Anser is a minimalistic putter that is perfect for golfers with a slight arc in their putter strokes. It has the traditional heel-toe ballasts that boost its MOI significantly for a blade putter.
If you want a forgiving but has the feel of a blade putter, try out the Sigma 2 Anser.
What to Consider when buying the best putters for beginners and high handicappers?
As mentioned, most of our strokes happen on the green so it’s important for any golfer, especially beginners and high handicappers, to find a forgiving and well-fitted putter.
That said, for those who often 3- to 4-putt on the green, getting a putter that focuses on forgiveness is key.
Don’t underestimate how your putter affects your ability to roll the ball. Too often, do golfers mistake a putter swing as just a left-to-right sway, and that the type of putter doesn’t matter as much as the quality of your irons and drivers. In fact, your putter’s forgiveness is extremely important.
Here, we’ll show you how each feature of the putter will affect the quality of your putt. But first, let’s start with what types of putters there are.
Mallet vs Blade Putters
If you’re a beginner you probably don’t even know there are different types of putters, but it’s important to know the difference between a mallet and a blade putter as they will dramatically influence the quality of your putts as a beginner or high handicapper.
Blade putters have a more traditional design and are designed to be less forgiving. They’re often shaped like a bar of steel, nowadays with a cavity at the back of the club to increase its MOI. Blade putters are best for low handicappers who have a solid contact at the center and prefer to have more feel for the ball with their putts as these putters tend to have a lighter club head.
By now, you should know that we won’t advise beginners or high handicappers to use a blade putter as we want all 14 of our golf clubs to prioritize forgiveness. Of course, you should still test which suits you more.
That said, beginners and higher handicappers should opt for mallet putters. These putters became popular in the 1980s and are designed to encourage more forgiveness for those struggling to hit a centered putt. They’re heavier and have a higher MOI, allowing golfers, especially those with a straight-through putt style, to really let the putter do the work for them. Skids and pop-ups are reduced leading to an easier ability to roll the ball on the green, allowing for better distance control.
Putter Grips
Putter grips are in a whole category of their own when it comes to size and shape/ type of grip. That’s why we have a whole list of putter gripping styles for you to read here.
That said, today there are so many options available, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to find a perfectly comfortable putter for you if you don’t explore your options.
For putter grip styles, there’s a couple. Some of them include the slim, fatso, mid-slim, pistol, square, square-fat, and mid-fat.
For putter grip sizes, there are the standard, midsize, jump, and fatso.
The Best Putter Grip for Beginners?
The main reason why grip sizes matter is due to how it affects the amount of grip pressure you have on the putter.
If you’ve been following our golf blogs, we’ve said that the ideal grip pressure is roughly thirty percent. What we want to avoid is a death grip, which is a very tightly held grip and results in too much tension in your forearms and will ruin the smoothness and feel of your putts.
For most beginners, it’s harder to reach that ideal grip pressure due to the incorrect grip size they have on their putters.
Generally speaking, for most seniors and beginners, a larger grip size is often the better option as it reduces the amount of wrist activity while putting (something beginners have too much off during their putts).
While a larger/ fatter grip is often the better choice, however, small grips provide better feedback and feel. Therefore, if you’re not struggling with too much wrist action during your putts and feel more comfortable when there is more feedback on impact, try a slimmer putter grip.
Putter Length
We don’t need to tell you how important the length of your putter affects your posture, alignment, stroke, and green reading abilities. But, we often see beginners and even mid-handicappers, playing with a putter that is too long or short for them.
While most putters are 33 to 35 inches long, it’s important for you to find the right putter length as even an inch difference will impact your performance significantly.
You may argue that you can compensate for this by gripping the putters lower or higher, but doing so will give you a false feel for the way the putter is designed.
The Look of a Putter
Playing good golf is all about confidence. You need to feel that your stance, posture, club, grip, ball positioning, and so on, are at the right place before you make your swing. This applies to your putts as well.
It may be surprising, but how the putter looks besides your ball when you stand over it will affect your confidence. Too often do golfers hesitate or doubt their putt while they swing, leading to poor contact and the ball skidding on the green afterward.
We don’t have an objective answer to which putter will look best for you. You’ve got to decide that yourself. That said, what we can say for most beginners and high handicappers is to go with a mallet putter that has alignment lines and dots on them to assist you during your putts.
Offset Putter
The concept of an offset putter is the same as an offset iron. That is, the club face is positioned behind the hosel to allow your hands to stay ahead of the ball during your swing. Doing so allows those who tend to have an opened club face on impact to square the club face from the split-second due to the offset. Also, with an offset putter, you can maintain your putter’s acceleration through impact instead of stopping or hesitating at impact which many beginners do.
Should you get an offset putter? Yes and no. If you’re not making a smooth swing and getting the ‘yips’ right before you make contact with the ball, then give an offset putter a try. On the other hand, we’ve also seen many golfers who end up hitting the ball more off-centered with an offset putter or topping the ball with the edge of the putter, in that case, an offset putter may not be for you.
Putter’s Loft
The average putter has a loft of 2- to 4-degrees. There’s no best loft for anyone as it really depends on the depth of your putting swing.
However, it’s always good to test out which loft works best for you. If the putter has too much loft, you may end up popping the ball up, while if the putter’s loft is too low for you, you may end up skidding the ball.
Why is the loft on a putter even necessary? Mainly because as the golf ball rests on the green, it is still pushing down on the ground. The loft of the putter is needed to ‘lift’ the ball up so that it can roll smoothly instead of being pushed into the ground even more.
Putter FAQ
Can I use mini-golf putters to play golf?
There’s no rule against using mini-golf putters to play golf. But, we’re standing against the idea of using a mini-golf putter to play golf as it’ll harm your game without you noticing. Though many online sources may tell you that it’s fine to do so, trust us, it’s embarrassing to have a mini-golf putter in your bag and it does not have the features to help you perform well on the green.
Can I have more than one putter in my golf bag?
According to the USGA, you can carry more than one putter in your golf bag as long as you don’t exceed its 14 club limit.
Are heavier putters better for beginners or high handicappers?
In most cases, yes. Heavier putters tend to require less effort when it comes to determining your distance control. As a result, heavier putters often promote a better feel for those with less experience on the green.
Do Professionals use mallet putters?
Yes, there are many Tour players who use mallet putters. Though they often change putters more frequently than most golfers, mallet putters are still a common go-to for Tour players.
Conclusion
Putting today has become much easier than ever before due to the advancement of golf technology. Putters today are equipped with all the features to make them extremely forgiving and will help straighten the ball out for you from off-center mishits.
That said, there are many great putters available in the market right now. For beginners and high handicappers, finding a putter that is forgiving, durable, and feels great is essential. What we found was the TaylorMade Spider X Putter meets all these requirements and thus is the best putter for beginners and high handicappers.
Regardless of which putter you end up picking, make sure to practice your putting often. We know it is boring, but it’s the best area of your game to lower your score if you’re not as consistent with your irons and drivers. Good luck!
Feel free to contact us with any of your questions!
