If you are new to the game of golf, you may have approached the game thinking that as long as you hit your ball on the green, then you are bound to score well. Once you start putting, you quickly realize that your one putt turns into three or four putts. Developing the putting skillset can be much more difficult than it sounds. The key to playing good golf is mastering the greens (and trust us, it’s something you will be mastering all your life).
One of our objectives in recommending the best putter for beginners was recommending a putter that will not only provide forgiveness, feel and accuracy, but maintain a spot in your bag for years to come. Golf can be expensive and our goal is to put a putter in your bag that you can trust far beyond the beginner phase of your game.
So check out below what we believe are the best putters for beginners!
8 of the Best Putters for Beginners
Wilson Staff Infinite Buckingham
Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier Number 10.5
Cobra KING 3D Printed Black Agera Armlock
Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S
If you are looking for a putter that combines classic design, legendary performance, and modern technology, you should check out the Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S Putter. This putter features the famous White Hot insert, which offers a soft feel, crisp sound, and consistent roll on every stroke.
This putter’s toe hang mallet makes it best suited for strokes with face rotation and arc. As a beginner, you may be working on keeping the face of the putter square through contact, and this putter helps keep you on track with less putter face rotation. The looks of the OG Rossie are immaculate with a rich silver finish and fine milling on all of the key surfaces, giving it a sleek and elegant look.
The putter comes with a stepless steel shaft and an Odyssey pistol grip, which provides stability and comfort. The Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S Putter is one of the best putters for beginners who want to experience the iconic feel and performance of the White Hot insert in a modern package. There is no doubt that beginners can rely on this putter for years to come.
TaylorMade Spider GT White SB
Beginner golfers want a putter that can handle any green and provide a smooth and consistent roll. The TaylorMade Spider GT has a modern wing design that provides extreme stability and forgiveness on off-center strikes. It also has what TaylorMade calls the “Pure Roll insert that is made from a firm TPU urethane material with silver aluminum bars angled at 45°. This insert produces a consistent roll time after time and helps you make more putts.
The Spider GT also features an open-frame multi-material design with two steel side wings that push 82% of the putter’s total weight to the perimeter. This design complements the ultra-lightweight top plate that is crafted from anodized aluminum for a premium look and increased durability. The ‘SB’ in this model stands for single bend. We recommend the single-bend version of this putter to beginners because it promotes a straight-back and straight-through putting motion with minimal face rotation.
The Spider GT is a great choice for beginner golfers who want to improve their putting with a stable and forgiving putter, a consistent and reliable insert, and a modern and sleek look. Remember, as a beginner, you may hit the ball off-center of the putter face. The Spider GT will provide more forgiveness with its weight distribution. This putter comes in a variety of colors from black, white, or silver.
Odyssey DFX 2-Ball
If you want a putter that is going to be there with you as you improve your putting skills, then consider the Odyssey DFX 2-Ball Putter. This putter has a soft DFX insert that is even softer than the aforementioned White Hot insert used in the White Hot OG Rossie.
Beginners will love the feel and feedback of this putter on every stroke. With the softer putter face insert, keep in mind that it will take some adjustments on putting speed. If you’re coming from another putter, allow yourself to get acquainted with the softer feel that may require a little more speed when making longer putts. Once golfers have acclimated to the feel of the DFX 2-Ball, they have great trust in taking this putter out of the bag to sink their putts on the green.
The Odyssey DFX 2-Ball Putter also boasts a premium all-black head design that will make you stand out on the course. The 2-ball alignment system will help you aim your putts with ease and confidence. The Odyssey DFX 2-Ball Putter is the perfect putter for beginner golfers who want to improve their putting skills with a soft and forgiving insert, a simple and effective alignment aid, and a classic and elegant look.
Wilson Staff Infinite Buckingham
The Wilson Staff Infinite Buckingham is a great mallet putter for beginner golfers who want to improve their putting with a stable and forgiving putter, with a soft and reliable face. This putter has a futuristic mallet shape that is packed with technology to improve your putting performance.
Wilson’s putter features a higher MOI with its counterbalance weighting system that moves the balance point closer to your hands for a smoother and more consistent stroke. Unlike some of the putters that have an insert in the club face, this putter has a double-milled face that provides a soft feel and a solid roll on every putt.
In the looks department, the Wilson Staff Infinite Buckingham does not shy away. It has an anti-glare finish that prevents any distractions from the sun and three white sightlines that help you align your putts with ease and confidence. With the technology and quality design that Wilson built into this putter, it is a great value for beginners when compared to some of the other best putters for beginners.
Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier Number 10.5
If there’s one word that we would use to describe this putter, it’s forgiveness. Cleveland Golf produced a putter that we think can transform your putting from pathetic to phenomenal. The Huntington Beach SOFT Premier looks amazing. It has a Gray Satin finish that makes it stand out in your bag. The finish also reduces glare and enhances contrast, so you can line up your putts with ease.
This putter also has a revolutionary technology called Speed Optimized Face Technology that makes every putt roll like a dream. Cleveland Golf says that its technology helps your ball roll at the same speed no matter where you hit it on the face. The MOI on this putter will be on the higher end which is helpful to beginners still working on their putting stroke.
Cleveland placed quality at the forefront of this putter with a diamond CNC milling pattern on the face, which creates more friction and a softer feel at impact. Beginner golfers will love that this putter is a blend of mallet and blade styles. This gives you a forgiving club head with optimal alignment lines and a single bend in the shaft. This putter is perfect for beginners who want to improve their putting with a stylish and reliable putter that has a lot of features that can help them make more putts and lower their scores.
Cobra KING 3D Printed Black Agera Armlock
The first thing you need to know about the Cobra KING Agera putter is that it is an armlock putter. This type of putter differs from others in that the shaft is taller than other traditional putters. The top of the putter rests on your left forearm (if you’re right-handed) and your hands grip at the bottom of the putter grip, which locks nearly ⅓ of the shaft in place.
As a beginner, keep this in mind before you go with the Cobra KING Agera putter. You should decide if you want to use the armlock style in your game before committing to this putter. With all of that said, let’s talk about why Cobra has knocked it out of the park with the KING 3D Printed Agera Armlock.
The putter features a multi-material OS mallet construction with a 3D printed nylon lattice cartridge, a steel chassis, a forged aluminum crown, and tungsten weighting that optimize the weight distribution and increase the MOI for more forgiveness and stability.
An important feature of a putter is the putter face. Cobra has created what is called the SIK Face. On the face, there are four different descending lofts which help produce a consistent roll and launch angle based on where the face of the putter strikes the ball.
This image shows how many separate parts Cobra built into this putter.
The main benefit of this putter is that it offers a high level of stability, forgiveness, and consistency for your putting. The armlock grip will help you eliminate wrist movement and keep your face square to the target. Beginners who adopt the armlock grip with this putter will also enjoy the high MOI to provide more forgiveness as they develop their putting stroke.
Ping Heppler Floki
One thing to know about the Ping Heppler Floki putter is that the Floki is one of many in the Heppler series. So why would we recommend the Floki model for beginners?
First of all, the Floki putter boasts the second-highest MOI of the nine putters in the Heppler series. We know the high MOI is a factor in determining the best putter for beginners. The high MOI is achieved by using a ⅔ steel and ⅓ aluminum construction.
Now, you may be asking why we wouldn’t recommend the Heppler putter with the highest MOI. After all, the higher the MOI, the better off a beginner golfer may be. However, when comparing the highest MOI putter with the Floki, there are a few differences that beginners should be aware of.
- The weight of the Floki is slightly lighter giving you more control over the putter
- The alignment line on the Floki putter is more defined giving beginners the edge on hitting putts on line.
- The Floki putter was designed for putters with a strong arc stroke type which suits mallet putters the best.
The face of this putter will produce a firmer impact feel and sound which can instill confidence in beginner golfers that they are making good contact with the ball. Overall, the Floki putter is a worthy putter for a beginner to take well into their journey to playing good golf on the green and easily merits a recommendation.
PGX MB Putter
We would be remiss if we didn’t recommend a putter for beginners that is a low-budget putter with adequate features to help a beginner improve their putting skills. This is where the PGX MB Putter comes in. With its mallet-style design, a wide array of alignment lines, and putter face insert with grooves, this putter will provide you with the features to learn to putt the ball well.
This putter comes with a Pinemeadow Spider grip which will prove satisfactory for most beginner golfers. The shaft of the putter also features a single bend which will help minimize rotation on the face of the putter.
In summary, the PGX MB putter is a simple, straightforward putter that golfers can pick up and get to work on putting improvements without breaking the bank. For golfers that want to move slowly up to more expensive equipment and don’t need as many of the features of other putters, the PGX MB is a solid choice, which is why it makes it on our list of the best putters for beginners.
Know Before You Buy
Blade vs Mallet
One of the key differences that most golfers will bring up when noting the difference between blade and mallet putters is that mallets are known to have less rotation of the putter face during a stroke. For beginners, this can go a long way in helping develop your putting skillset on the green.
Blade putters have been known to provide more maneuverability as they are typically lighter and you are moving less putter during your stroke. While a mallet putter will help you learn distance control early on, you may be able to take that skillset of distance control and hone it in on a blade putter.
Most commonly, you may see beginner golfers start out with a mallet putter and then move to a blade putter as their skills develop. We highly recommend getting each type of putter in your hands and test out the feel between the two.
Alignment Tools
For beginners, aligning the face of your putter with the path of your ball will lead to more consistent putting and lead to lowering your scores. Choosing a putter with the tools to help easily align your putts makes a big difference.
When it comes to learning how to putt better, marking your ball with an alignment line will provide a larger line between the ball and your putter that can make putting straight easier and more reliable. Alignment is a vital tool when utilized right and will help you avoid the dreaded three-putt more often than not.
Putter Length
As we recommended one armlock putter that beginners can benefit from, it is important to know the general guidelines when it comes to the right putter length for you. If you are using a traditional putter, here’s where your putter length should be based on your height:
- 6’ and taller – 35-inch putter
- 5’9” to 5’11” – 34-inch putter
- 5’3” to 5’9” – 33-inch putter
- 5’ to 5’2” – 32-inch putter
While these height recommendations may be helpful, there is another way to more accurately measure the right length putter you should use. Here’s what you can do to measure based on your body type:
- Get into a proper putting stance
- Slightly lean over as if you would hold a putter and hang your arms down so they are under your shoulders
- From your wrist, measure from the ground to your wrist to get your recommend putter length
Moment of Inertia (MOI)
When your putter makes contact with the ball, there is some degree of twisting/rotation on the face of the putter. If you make contact with the ball off center of the putter, there will likely be more rotation on the face of the putter, which can make your putts go off line.
If a putter has a higher MOI, that means it will be less resistant to twisting upon ball contact. If a putter has a low MOI, then the face of the putter will be prone to more twisting. For beginners, a higher MOI will provide more forgiveness as you develop your putting skills.
FAQs
What type of putter should a beginner use?
There are a wide variety of putters that a beginner could use and ultimately it comes down to what putter instills the most confidence on the green. To have confidence in your putter, keep an eye out for the following features in the putter you choose:
-Putter face quality
-Grip that is comfortable in the hands
-Alignment lines
-Proper length to your height
-Higher MOI
What type of putter is most forgiving?
Most beginner golfers will find that mallet putters are more forgiving due to a number of factors. Alignment lines on a putter’s clubhead is the first step in finding a putter that is more forgiving. The more you can make solid contact with the ball, the better you will putt.
Secondly, you will find that a putters with higher MOI are often mallet putters. Beginners can benefit from high MOI putters as they are more likely to not contact the ball with the center of the putter head. Bad contact leads to bad putts and this can be lessened with high MOI putters. While a putter with more forgiveness can give you an edge, it doesn’t replace the time you need to spend practicing. Whether that is with an office putting set during your 9 to 5 or the practice green, make sure you put the time in to practice your putting stroke!
How much should a beginner spend on a putter?
There is no perfect answer for how much a beginner should spend on a putter. Everyone’s budget is different and there are a wide variety of putters that a beginner can use to get started in golf. We recommend listing all of the features you are looking for as a beginner and then start looking for putters that satisfy those features you seek.
With a wide variety of putters from a variety of different makers, you are sure to find a putter that fits your requirements within the price range of your budget.