The Power Fade Golf Blog

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 1,000 times. Someone, trying to give a glowing review of a new flatsick to make others understand the new piece of equipment in its fullest, praises about how the putter has exceptionally “soft feel” at impact.

Ever wonder how a piece of steel could feel “soft?” I do.

Even though I know that steel is not truly soft–at least, not as compared to pretty much anything on this earth–I myself have used this phrase, as it’s understood in the vernacular of the golf industry to mean “that felt really good.”

The fact of the matter is that the hardness of the metal is fairly immaterial to whether a putter feels “soft.” There is one caveat–if the material is so soft that you can tell by feeling it with your finger that it’s soft, then it probably can affect the way the putter feels. However, that is not the case always, which leads me to the question–if someone could choose between a noticeably soft material and steel, why would anyone choose steel if the goal is “soft feel?”

The answer is that what “soft feel” really means is “how does this thing vibrate?” It is far more than just what your hands feel. It’s about resonance frequencies, amplitudes, and so much more.

The most often repeated myth about feel is that the hardness of the metal determines what is felt. I’ll explain shortly why that is incorrect. But a close second is the myth that “feel is ONLY sound.” I’ve heard this often from the great Scotty Cameron, and others, who claim that of you put headphones on and putted, then you would not be able to tell the difference between putters. This is inaccurate.

While sound does play a large role in the process, it is only because the sound is at the same frequency (or, in other words, same type of vibrations) as what you feel in your hands. You see, putters–like any other object–have a resonance frequency at which they vibrate. It’s a naturally occurring phenomenon that all things, regardless of size, have a certain vibration that they like. Like striking a bell, a putter will “ring” at its resonance frequency by default. It’s pretty difficult to get a bell to ring at a pitch other than its resonance frequency…..same thing with putters. Like a holding a bell, what you hear in your ear will be vibration at the exact same rate as what you are holding in your hand. In other words, what you feel in your hands is the same as what you hear in your ears. It simply can’t occur any other way.

Now, some have said that the effect of what you feel in your hands is so little that the sound really is all that matters. To those folks, I challenge them to play baseball in the winter time with an aluminum bat and tell me there’s nothing to feel in your hands. What you perceive as tactile feedback is far more precise than what you hear. If you don’t believe that, run your hand over a bumpy surface and tell me what it feels like. Then, sing against it and tell me if you can pick up the bumps with your ears. There is a great deal to be felt with your hands.

If that’s true, then what exactly is it that “feels soft” when it comes to a putter–or any club–striking a golf ball?

The answer is that there are two ways to create “soft feel.” The perception that something is “soft” is based on the idea that impact to soft things is typically low energy. Low energy is typically associate with lower frequency vibrations or very low amplitude–or, in other words, quiet. High energy impacts are loud (high amplitude) and high-pitched (high frequency).

Low energy impact feels like you’re making contact with a pillow. It feels like what you’re hitting is “soft.” High energy impact feels like you’re making contact with a brick. So the way to make a putter feel “soft” is to have a low frequency (i.e., low pitch) or low amplitude (i.e., quiet) impact.

To achieve the low frequency impact, it is important to make a putter that has a particularly low resonance frequency (the resonance frequency being the “ringing” frequency, at which a putter rings like a bell, as discussed earlier). Typically, a dense material will have a low resonant frequency by its nature. However, when a putter is designed to incorporate other factors–like, for example, making a 350-gram head–the design of the putter itself may become a factor in how much the putter vibrates. For example, copper putters often feel ringy and loud because they typically are made with thinner faces. Copper is a dense material as compared to steel, so it is difficult to achieve a comparably-weighted putter head with a similar design to a steel head, which is what most golfers are familiar with. As such, putters made of copper often have thin faces or extra ground soles to try and remove weight where the player will not visually notice it. However, both of these design elements result in a higher resonance frequency. Even though most bells are made of brass, which is a very dense material, small, thin walled bells can resonate at high pitches while large, thicker-walled bells resonate at lower pitches. As such, the design has a lot to do with how a solid (i.e., no insert) putter resonates and with what the player feels.

So, designing a putter to have low frequency resonance is one element that allows a putter to “feel soft.” However, the other option is just to make a putter that doesn’t really vibrate that much. This results in a different feel, but not a materially different one. Because the low resonance frequencies are typically low energy, they don’t typically feel very different from a putter that has a high resonance with very low energy or just no resonance at all. As such, one way to get a putter not to resonate at all is to put a soft insert material in it, such as plastic (Odyssey) or something even softer, such as STX putters, which were made with a deformably soft material. No one thinks of plastic as being soft or associated with low resonance. If anything, plastics have very high resonance frequencies, as they are very low density (light weight) and hard as compared to their weight. However, they can be engineered so as not to transmit vibrations very easily. That means that, even if the insert material has a high pitched resonance, it never gets transmitted to the user because it is almost no energy.

The same thing works with grooved or deep milled putters. The reason they feel “so soft” is that they do not transmit a much energy, as the impact with the ball must travel through the relatively small contacts with the ball to be transmitted up to the user and ring the putter head. Even some of the old putters–like the Scotty Cameron TeI3 series–felt soft only because they had a layer of “elastomer” (rubber) between the insert and the rest of the putter head that dampened the vibrations.

But why do golfers want something that feels “soft?” There are many explanations, and none of them definitive. One is that a well-struck ball will always have a relatively low resonance frequency because–if the club is designed correctly–that is the point of most efficient energy transfer. When you hit the sweet spot, it feels good; when you don’t, it feels bad. That’s because hitting the sweet spot doesn’t waste energy on twisting the club head, making an odd sound, and vibrating–at least, if the club is designed correctly. Another explanation is that golf has changed over the years. In the “old days,” golf balls were made differently. The old balata covers were much softer as enjoyable to putt with as compared to today’s so-called “soft cover” balls that would only pass as an intermediate ball back in the days of yore. Although the performance and durability of modern golf balls make it worth the changeover, players seeking that “old time feel” must change the putter, not the ball, to achieve what they’re “used to.”

What you like is up to you. Most players will like a low-pitched and/or low energy impact, but some don’t. I personally have a slot cut in my putter that intentionally reduces the thickness of the face, making the putter resonate a little more, and giving me a little more feedback on how I struck the ball. I don’t want it to feel ringy, but I do want to be able to feel the impact, so I’ve selected a putter that I believe meets my personal preference for feel. Many Tour pros play Odyssey putters, even though golf purists tend to scoff at insert-based putters. Many purists say that insert putters are not responsive. There is some truth to this, as inserts are there to dampen vibrations, not to give feedback. However, if it’s good enough for Tour pros, I’m not sure what everyone is complaining about.

In the end, every putter will have its own signature sound and feel because very few are designed exactly alike, and even those that are designed alike are typically made of slightly different materials or with slightly different processes. However, knowing and understanding the differences will help you find what it is you like and what helps you feel the best about your putting, which is the key to gaining confidence on the course.

A lot has been made recently about the importance of “good roll.” Desperate to infuse technology into a club that is usually too simple to get too techy, golf companies sell “good roll” or “hole-seeking spin.” The promote technology that, they say, improves a golfer’s ability to putt a ball and have it hold its line.

While grooves can provide some benefits, they do not necessarily provide the type of benefits that a big company marketing department might try to sell you. The same benefits of a “grooved” style putter can be had with other equipment tweaks that, if you know them, can help expand your universe of putter options, assuming you were liking the way you putted with a grooved putter.

LG and I are big fans of Dr. Bob Rotella. Ask Dr. Bob about hole-hunting spin, and you’ll get a response that measures it as something along the lines of a Paul Bunyan tale. Ask the golf companies–and even some well-known pros–and you might get a different reaction, one full of buy-in. The truth, I’m afraid, is somewhere in the middle.

Golfers have been taking high speed video of putting for years. The purpose of this is to understand how the ball comes off the face of the putter. A ball that starts rolling earlier has a better chance of staying on line. This is physics.

OK, for those who want to tune out of the math discussion, now is the time

Have you ever noticed that it is extremely difficult to sit on a bicycle without moving? However, when you ride a bike, it’s much much easier to stay on the bike if you are already moving.

This is because of a gyroscopic effect produced by the rotation of the bicycle wheels. The wheels maintain their angular momentum unless acted upon by an outside force. However, when the wheels aren’t in motion, there’s no angular momentum, so they fall much more easily. See below

For a physics explanation, see

It works the same way with a golf ball. The angular momentum created by starting a golf ball rolling earlier will keep it rolling unless acted upon by an outside force. If the ball starts by skidding, there is no angular momentum until the ball contacts the ground and starts to rotate.

OK, done for those skipping

So there is some merit to the idea that a golf ball that starts rotating sooner will hold its line. However, a golf ball that starts rolling sooner also will go further because it doesn’t lose as much energy turning a skidding motion into rolling. As such, when you hear about players hitting the ball further with better roll, it’s because they’re used to losing energy, so they instinctively swing harder than needed.

OEM putter makers who make putters with grooves will have you believe that a grooved putter will help you create this overspin. Just like grooves on an iron create backspin, the theory goes that the upward motion of the putter head at impact will allow the grooves to bite into the ball and cause it to spin forward.

This is hogwash, for a number of reasons.

First, a putter is not traveling fast enough in 99.99% of situations for the grooves to actually impact the ball. With iron shots, there is at least mild compression of the surface of the golf ball (and sometimes more than that) that causes the ball to spin. In most cases, large amounts of spin can be produced without grooves, at least in the fairway. Multiple tests have shown that an iron without grooves struck purely on a golf ball will have the same spin profile as an iron with grooves struck purely if the contact is efficient (i.e., from the fairway). Grooves on an iron help when there is a potential of inefficient contact, such as out of the rough, in giving a chance for the uneven surface of the face to make some contact with the ball. With putting, the club is not moving 60+ mph…it’s moving on the order of 10 mph. There is almost no compression of the golf ball, even on really, really long putts.

The second issue is that, for spin to occur, there must be some mismatch between the impact direction and the ball flight. With a wedge, it’s easy to see the ball pop out spinning because the club is moving in one direction and the ball must roll up the face by simple physics. There is no such effect on the golf ball with a putter. The only way to impart upward glancing blows on a golf ball with a putter is to perform an unnatural motion that requires some pretty faulty mechanics and lifting the putter up in the air at impact.

As such, regardless of the marketing, grooves on a putter DO NOT IMPACT THE ROLL.

So what does?

Dynamic loft–in other words, loft at the point of impact. It only makes sense that a putter with lower loft will cause the ball to jump up in the air less than a putter with higher loft. The sooner a ball contacts the ground, the sooner the ground starts to put friction on it and cause it to rotate. The only thing that causes a golf ball to roll forward is its friction with the ground.

Don’t believe me? Watch:

Here’s the rub–a typical off-the-shelf putter will have between 3 and 5 degrees of loft. Many grooved putter will have less than 2 degrees of static loft. So, for a player using the exact same stroke, the dynamic loft (loft at impact) will be lower, regardless of that player’s stroke. I dare say that if a player with a typical putter (e.g., a Scotty Cameron, which are typically 4 degrees) reduced the loft to 1 degree, he/she would see similar playing characteristics to most grooved putters. In other words, it’s not the grooves that promote good roll; it is just that the dynamic loft is lower.

So if grooves don’t actually help putting, what do they do? What are inserts for anyway?

In many cases, grooves, like inserts, can change the feel of a putter or make it possible to have a putter that feels a certain way made out of less costly materials. A Scotty Cameron milled putter is made of 303 stainless steel, milled on a precision CNC machine, the same as an engine block or an aircraft part. An Odyssey insert putter is made of cast 17-4 stainless steel (cheaper metal, cheaper processing), finished by rough bead blasting (cheap process), with a layer of plastic poured in the face, and maybe a quick mill pass on the face to make sure it’s all flat. This process is much cheaper, but it leads to a soft and responsive feeling putter. The end result, a player can get a much less expensive putter (Cameron is typically over $300, Odyssey is typically under $150) that is every bit professional quality equipment.

A lot of press has been put out there for deep milling the face of the putter. Particularly with the newest release of Scotty Cameron putters (see below), deep (or aggressive) milling on the face of the putter has become more popular as many people believe that it makes the putter feel softer.

Both grooves and deep milling alter the contact of the ball and the putter face. Effectively, grooves and deep milling give the ball fewer places to make contact with the face of the putter. Natural frequencies cannot be transmitted as efficiently through the putter head, up the shaft, and into the grip, so the feel changes a bit. Additionally, because the contact is smaller and more localized, there is less of a “ringing” effect, so the amplitude (or strength) of the sound emitting from the putter head is much lower. As a result, there is less vibrations, which makes the putter feel and sound muted. To many players, that is a “soft” feeling that helps them determine whether they made good impact. While this is generally personal preference, it is by and large desirable to have a “soft feeling” putter face to help understand where the impact was made.

So while grooves, inserts, and deep milling do not affect roll, they do affect putting. Your confidence depends at least in part on your making consistent impact, but it is also true that your making consistent impact depends at least in part on your confidence. Grooves, deep milling, and inserts can increase the chances that you will feel that “soft, pure” feeling of a good shot off the face of the putter, giving you confidence that you performed the shot correctly. So there is some good there. But to truly improve your roll, grooves, deep milling, and inserts will not help.

One side note before the finish: although these items do not help roll, position of the center of gravity within the putter head DOES affect roll. Direct placement of the COG on the impact point can greatly increase the efficiency of contact and lead to a lower flight off the face–in other words, the misalignment of the COG and the impact point can cause the ball to fly up in the air, while an aligned COG and impact point would obviate this reaction. However, almost all putters do not position the COG high on the face, and, thus, it is nearly impossible to find a model that does this. One such model is the MACHINE “prize” putter by Dave Billings, but there are not many of these around (see below).

Today we’re going to talk about weight. No, I won’t be telling you how unhealthy you are and how you need to work out. Rather, we’ll talk about weight as it relates to putters and how different weights affect the putting stroke.

In golf, there are two types of “weight”–actual weight (which is usually measured in grams) and swingweight (which is not really a weight but more-so a balance of weight). Both are important to putting, although personal theories vary about how much importance should be placed on one over the other.

Swingweight is simply a measure of balance of weight from the grip, shaft, and head of a putter–or any golf club for that matter. If a club has a light total weight, but 70% of its weight is in the head, then the club will feel relatively heavy and have a high swing weight. However, if a club is relatively heavy but has only 30% of its weight in the head, it will feel relatively light and have a low swing weight. As such, swingweight really tells you only about the balance of weight in the club, not the total weight. For putting, some commenters believe that swingweight is an important aspect. While it does play some role in how a putter feels, I have always felt that it is of relatively little importance because the hands do not hing in a putting stroke. If you have trouble preventing your hands from hinging, you may seek out a putter with a higher swingweight to try and make it more difficult for you to force the putter forward. However, it is unlikely that simply balancing the weight differently (i.e., by getting a lighter shaft and grip) will result in any material change.

The far more important feature is head weight. Head weight is exactly what it sounds–how much the putter head weighs without the shaft or grip attached. Putter head weight is typically measured in grams, and most technical spec sheets will say to the gram how much the head weight might be. Most production model putters are 330 or 335 grams. I say “most” because some recent models, such as the Odyssey Black series and some newer Scotty Cameron putters, actually have varying weights for varying lengths. This is an attempt by the putter maker to keep a consistent swingweight regardless of the putter length. Because one inch of shaft length is about the same (for swingweighting) as adding 10 grams of head weight, you will see that many putters now have a 10 gram relationship per inch of shaft length. Scotty Cameron’s 2010 models include interchangeable weights. 35 inch putters are 330g; 34 inch putters are 340g; 33 inch putters are 350g. Obviously, some putter manufacturers believe that swingweight is important, and they try to keep this consistent among the series.

However, how Scotty Cameron believes a putter should feel should not dictate what you like. Many players today are opting for heavier putter heads in general, realizing some of the benefits that “heavy” provides. What is “heavier?” Well, that’s up to you.

For starters, the standard for smaller, custom-made putter heads has risen to 350g. Most players using Sunset Beach, Kari Lajosi, Byron Morgan, Tom Slighter, and a host of other “custom” putter manufacturer’s models are opting for 350g as stock weight. In addition, many putter makers are going even heavier. Piretti offers putters heads at 370g stock weight, and LaMont Mann customs go upwards of 400g on occasion.

The trend in increased head weight can be attributed to a number of factors. Most notably, better greens mean faster greens, and faster greens need higher head weight.

wait…what did he say?

You read that right. Fast greens need heavier putters.

Many people don’t understand this. They inherently think that if a putter is heavier, it will automatically force a ball harder because of “conservation of momentum.” Well, first, there’s not really such a thing as conservation of momentum. But, even if you have a hard time following that, here’s how it works–there are two explanations; one is scientific, one is not. Either way, I think you can understand. But since I have an engineering degree, I’ll start with the science.

First, force is equal to mass times acceleration. Look up Sir Isaac Newton for more reading.

F=m * A

Next, kinetic energy of any object in motion is equal to one-half of the object’s mass multiplied by the square speed the object is traveling. See Newton, again, for reference.

E= 1/2 m * V^2

Energy must be conserved at all times, so the amount of kinetic energy the putter head travels with will be very important for determining how hard you hit the ball at impact.

so here’s how it works. Most people, mistakenly thinking that higher weight leads to a harder hit on a putter, believe that they will accelerate the putter with the same acceleration regardless of how heavy the putter is. Well, let’s try this out. Take a wiffle ball bat and try to swing it. Now take a cinder block and try to swing it the same speed. The amount of force you have to put in to accelerate the objects the same way is so great that it’s virtually impossible to do. Of course, this is an exaggeration to show the point, but it works the same with smaller differences in weight as well. Simply put, it is very difficult to change your force input on a putter to achieve consistent acceleration regardless of the weight.

So if acceleration isn’t constant, then what is? If we assume that force the user imparts on the club is the same from one stroke to another (which is much easier to accomplish), then a heavier putter head will lead to less acceleration (see F=m*a). If there’s less acceleration–and we’re starting from a still position, which we are in golf–then there is less velocity. Because velocity goes down, energy goes down (see E=0.5*m*V^2), but the energy goes down at a proportion squared to the decrease in velocity. Now, because we have higher mass, the energy will go up per the increased mass, but it only goes up directly with the increase in mass. In other words, velocity is much more important since any change in velocity will have a squared result on the energy. Thus, the increase in mass is easily negated by the decrease in velocity. This leads to less energy at impact, resulting in a slower ball speed coming off of the putter face.

science explanation over

For those who skipped below, the second (easier to understand) answer is that a heavier putter head is simply more difficult to move, which is what you want with a fast green. Fast greens require very small putting strokes to keep the ball from getting away from you. It is much easier to make small movements accurately with heavy weight, as lighter weight tends to float around and get jerky.

As such, the trend toward heavier weight has a lot to do with modern greenskeeping making even the local muni course run at speeds that would be tour-caliber just two decades ago.

As with all other sections we’ve described, it is very important that you don’t lock yourself into thinking that one weight is good and another is bad just because someone else says so. You must play with the equipment that gives you the best chance to play good golf. Mark O’Meara recently had a putter made that was 315 grams, an absurdly light weight by today’s standards. Why? His old PING Anser putter that he grew up with was right around that weight, and he felt most confident that he could make putts with that weight. That’s a full 35 grams difference (3.5 swingweight points for those that were paying attention) away from what I play, but if it helps him make putts, it’s the right move.

What this section is meant to show you is twofold. First, you must know that there are other options out there besides what you might see in a big box store. Take some time to test out different options. You might really like that new Scotty Cameron, but it might be that the only reason it feels so good is that it’s so much heavier than everything else on the rack (some new 2012 Scotty Camerons are as much as 360g head weight!). Even with your own putter, you can experiment by adding lead tape to increase the head weight. If the other specs of your putter are properly fit (as we’ve been discussing throughout this series), then you should be able to dial in the head weight without much fanfare.

However, the second point is that you should find weights that work for you, but be willing to mix it up if the green speed is dramatically different. I recently played on greens that ran upwards of 15 on the stimpmeter. I wish I had had a little extra lead tape in my bag to help me slow down the putter head for those greens. Similarly, when I play a particular muni down the street from my house, I always bring a back-up putter that’s a good 15 grams lighter than my current putter so that I can properly hit through the shaggy greens on the course.

Now, you may find you play better on slow greens with a heavier putter and vice versa for fast greens. If that’s the case, go with it, and understand that that is your game. This post, however, shows you the reason for the common knowledge as it stands today.

You may have asked yourself at some point in the last decade, “why am I seeing so many putters that look like space ships? I guess people are really into mallet putters.”

If you’ve said this to yourself, your observation is certainly accurate. In recent years, mallet putters have started to take greater and greater market share from more traditionally-styled putters like the PING Anser and Wilson 8802 styles. The reason? Well, that’s a bit more complex.

As pointed out in the last chapter (see https://thepowerfade.com/2012/09/17/understanding-putters-offset-face-progression-and-various-neck-styles/), traditional Calamity Jane style putters were heel-shafted blades, just like every other iron. This putter was used by virtually everyone–Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Walter Hagen, etc. Aside from the advances already mentioned in this series (toe hang, offset), the Calamity Jane style putter was, well, tough to hit. Anyone who’s tried to roll a heel-shafted blade (i.e., Wilson 8802) knows the feeling. You think you’ve hit a good putt, but the feel is like you missed the face, and the club twists so much in your hands it almost falls out. In all honesty, I personally have great admiration for anyone that can play well with the true blade style putter. It is an extremely difficult piece of equipment to use effectively.

In the late 50s, Karsten Solheim joined the game of golf. Perhaps his greatest contribution was in crafting the PING Anser. Karsten learned golf later in life, but was not good at putting. He did what golf equipment lovers everywhere have been searching to do since–fix the equipment rather than the stroke. Now, a good stroke works with a lot of putters, and every person who reads these posts is encouraged to take a putting lesson with a PGA pro just to make sure you’ve got everything right.. However, this entire series is about maximizing the stroke you have by choosing equipment to match it, so we agree with Karsten’s approach (at least to some degree).

With an engineering mind, Karsten reasoned that he could make putting easier if he changed the balance of weight on the putter. He reasoned that if he moved the weight from the center of the putter to the outside, the putter would not twist as much if it were not hit perfectly. His “Anser” was to make a putter with a cavity between two weight pads. It’s now the standard of design for putters:

What Karsten reasoned was actually a concept known in engineering as “Moment of Inertia”–“MOI” for short. Without getting too technical, MOI is an object’s ability to resist twisting based on its geometrical shape. Typically, this is achieved by rearranging weight. If you think of it this way, think of a bar with two 5 pound weights. Put the weights at the center and then try to turn it with your hand; it’s not too difficult. Now put the weights on the end of the bar and try to turn it. The task becomes more difficult. Even though nothing has gotten heavier or lighter (the weight is the same), you have made it harder to turn. Or, think of it this way: grab a club by the grip and try to swing it; then, grab a club by the head and try to swing it (with the butt end facing the ball). Which can you swing faster? The weight hasn’t changed. The arrangement of the weight has.

In engineering, MOI is the counterpart of mass in an angular analysis. When you’re pushing an object, the more mass, the harder it is to push. When you’re turning an object, the higher its MOI, the more difficult it is to turn. Mass plays a part in MOI, but the arrangement of the mass can greatly change the result.

So, you’re saying “OK, once again JK, what does this have to do with putters?”

If a club head is designed with higher MOI, it automatically becomes harder to turn than a club head with lower MOI. If it’s harder to turn, that means that a less-than-pure strike of the club will not cause as bad of a result. Here’s an example: let’s say two putters are identical except for the fact that putter A has a lower MOI than putter B. A player using either putter can strike either one purely and the result will be similar. But no one (not even the pros) hit every ball perfectly. So, let’s assume the player hits a putt one-half inch from the center of the putter face. This is where the difference shows up. Putter A will twist more, go further offline, and lose more energy than putter B in the same situation. Because putter B has a higher MOI, a miss is less costly than with putter A.

But what does this all have to do with odd-shaped putter heads?

Typically, putters with more weight balanced away from the center of gravity result in higher MOI. Since a typical putter is about 330 grams, a blade putter (like a Wilson 8802) is made of steel, with all the mass right beside the ball. Since there’s less volume, a relatively high density material (like steel) is needed to get enough weight to make the putter usable. See photo below:

With a typical mallet, the material might be aluminum, have plastic parts, or be some other lighter material with heavier weights positioned at extreme points on the putter head. For example, the TaylorMade Ghost Spider, LG’s putter:

Do you see how, looking from the bottom, the putter is hollow with some plastic (i.e., lightweight) material filled in? Do you see how the putter has air gaps in the middle of it? Do you see the two weights in the back? Those two weights are tungsten weights–they have very high density and represent a large part of the mass of the putter. The body of the putter is made of aluminum, which is very low density . All of this helps the putter resist twisting by increasing its MOI.

The reason why these putters are getting so big, therefore, is the attempt to move the weight to the perimeter of the club, as far away from the center as possible, to prevent twisting on off-center hits.

Many people mistakenly believe that a mallet putter has higher weight than a blade putter. Many people will buy them because they think they want something heavier than they’re used to. However, most mallet putters are about the same weight as blade putters–right in the 330-gram range. The reason for this is that the typical putter manufacturer wants most putters to feel about the same in the player’s hands regardless of head shape. The distribution of the mass, however, changes.

Now, none of this is meant to say that you’ll be a better player with a higher MOI putter. I personally use an Anser-style putter and prefer its look and feel to almost any mallet. However, for someone who may be having a bit of trouble making a consistent strike on the center of the putter, the following options may be helpful…

for those looking to learn more about MOI, please visit Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_inertia