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Putter Buying GuideThe problem that makers don't publish head weight

Updated: Nov 3, 2026Contains affiliate links

You use your putter about 30 times a round, twice as often as your driver. Yet the numbers to choose one aren't all there. Reading spec sheets, head weight is a number that strongly shapes how a putter moves. Of the five major brands, only two publish head weight.
If you're torn on length, go 34 inches. You can choke down on a longer putter, but you can't make a short one longer.

Bottom line: if unsure, a 34 in. mallet

But this conclusion is "safe," not "optimal." To know the optimum you need numbers, and those numbers aren't public.

Only two makers publish head weight

I looked for head weight on the official sites of five major putter brands for 2026. Here are the results.

Checked on each brand's official Japanese site (Sep 12, 2026). "Not published" means the product page has no head weight entry.

Between the two that publish, it's 350g against 540g. A 190g gap. In terms of the whole putter's weight, that's more than 1.5 times.

That's how different they are, yet the current situation is being told to "try it and decide" with no numbers. Drivers and irons have total weight and balance published, but putters alone are treated differently. As a gear nerd, this is what bothers me most.

PING is an exception and publishes in detail. Even within one series, it publishes a different number for each model: 350g for the KETSCH ONSET, 360g for the HAYDEN, 365g for the KETSCH 4 and 370g for the ALLY BLUE line. It's one of the few brands you can compare when choosing.

How to choose length

The standard lineup at major brands is 33, 34 and 35 in.

You often see a quick-reference chart saying "if you're so many cm tall, so many inches." It isn't very reliable. Arm length differs even at the same height, and so does how deeply you bend forward. In fact, on golf forums, every time a height-based answer appears, a rebuttal makes that point.

The practical judgment that comes up again and again in those places is this.

The right length is really the one that puts your eyes directly over the ball at address and doesn't cramp your hands. You can't know that without actually setting up in a shop. Choose a shop that lets you address a putter on a putting mat.

PING's ALLY BLUE H CB / ONSET CB are a long 37 in. These are models meant for a setup where the putter is anchored along the forearm, which is a different matter from how to choose a typical length.

Blade and mallet

Head shape comes in two broad types.

Mallets have been mainstream in recent years. Scotty Cameron's 2026 PHANTOM is all nine models mallet-type. Even a brand traditionally synonymous with the blade. The trend is clear.

For golfers who want a blade, the company offers a separate series called STUDIO STYLE (12 models). Within the brand it has split into a "mallet series" and a "blade series."

The PING SCOTTSDALE TEC puts two blades, two semi-mallets and three mallets in a single series. If you want to compare across shapes, PING is convenient.

Zero-torque, a new trend

Since 2024, a new axis has joined putter choice: zero-torque.

It means a construction that puts the center of gravity on the shaft axis so the face resists opening and closing at impact. The leading example is L.A.B. GOLF, whose MEZZ.1 MAX stands out at a head weight of 540g.

Other makers offer products with the same idea. The names differ, but the aim is shared.

• PING: onset (ALLY BLUE ONSET, KETSCH ONSET)
• Odyssey: raquet hosel (triangular shape)
• Scotty Cameron: Phantom 5 OC (onset center, low torque)

But L.A.B. GOLF is ¥121,000. That's the most expensive of the five lined up here, two to three times PING's ¥71,500, TaylorMade's ¥53,900 and Odyssey's ¥44,000.

If you just want to try it, starting from each maker's onset models is more realistic. Buying the most expensive one before you know whether it suits you isn't something I'd recommend. It's fine to confirm zero-torque suits you first and consider the specialist brand after.

Five major models compared

Prices from each brand's official Japanese site or authorized dealers (checked Sep 12, 2026). Odyssey prices are authorized dealers' selling prices. "―" marks models that don't publish head weight.

Prices run from ¥44,000 to ¥121,000, about 2.8 times apart. But there's no public data to back that gap being a gap in how easy they are to hit.

In the used market, there's a tally putting the average winning bid for Scotty Cameron at about ¥20,800. A brand with an MSRP of ¥82,500 is a quarter of that used. A somewhat worn face doesn't affect distance, so a putter is a club with comparatively little reason to insist on new. If choosing used, I'd check for a bent shaft and the condition around the neck before minor face scratches.

By budget: from JPY 8,900 to JPY 121,000

Putter prices differ by more than ten times. Here are the putters whose official prices I have checked on this site, cheapest first. The "five main models" table above uses retailer prices, so the Odyssey price looks different.

Source: each maker's official Japan site (values checked on each maker page of this site; Mizuno and Cleveland checked Oct 30, 2026).

There is no figure showing that a more expensive putter holes more. The price gap comes from how it is made (milled or cast), the insert material and the brand. Decide length and shape first, then pick the one that fits your budget within that shape. That is the order least likely to go wrong.

What changes with the neck shape? Mizuno changes the weights neck by neck

Even with the same head, the neck shape changes the balance. A clear example is the Mizuno M.CRAFT X. With the same shape, the bend (B) neck has 21 g x 2 weights, the slant (S) neck 14 g x 2 and the plumber's (P) neck 7 g x 2, so the weight changes with the neck.

When the neck shape changes, so does where the weight sits in the head. That is why the maker matches it with the weights. Once you have the shape, the neck is next. If you try the same neck shape as your current putter, the view at address barely changes, so the difference comes down to weight and shape alone.

Choose by how you miss: big short, big long, pushed right, pulled left

Besides shape and price, you can choose a putter by the miss you have now. Golf Do's putter-buying guide sorts it by symptom as follows.

Source: Golf Do! ONLINE SHOP, "No. 52: Directly tied to your score! Choosing a putter by your miss." The article gives no publication date. Weight is described only as "lighter" or "heavier," with no gram figures. The wording in the table is my own rewording. Re-read on Oct 31, 2026.

There are two ways to read this table. First, look only at the side where your miss shows up. Big short and big long are handled by weight and depth, while pushes and pulls are handled by the neck shape. Second, check the numbers in the makers' spec tables. The original article doesn't say how many grams "heavier" or "lighter" is, so compare your candidates using the head weights lined up in the first half of this article. Only two makers publish head weight.

Zero-torque and center-shaft putters are designs separate from the neck types listed here. If you're curious, start with how to count your misses in the zero-torque putter article.

What I learned hitting the TRI-BEAM on a practice green

The only putter I hit was the Odyssey Ai-DUAL TRI-BEAM. I putted alone for about 10 minutes on the practice green of my local golf shop in September 2026, 10 balls each from 1 m, 3 m and 6 m, 30 in all. My stroke is an arc.

The number that went in was 8 of 10 from 1 m (80%), 3 of 10 from 3 m (30%), and 1 of 10 from 6 m (10%) (balls in ÷ 10, my calculation). From 6 m, 8 were short and 1 was long. The farther the distance, the more the shortness stood out.

What I liked was that lining up with the three lines settled my aim right away. What was hard was that I kept leaving 6 m putts short; when I made a bigger stroke, 2 balls ended up close. It seems to suit people troubled by aim, but distance control is a separate matter.

I do not own a putter right now. On rounds I use a blade-style putter. In June I switched from a different mallet. I wanted to see the aim more easily on short putts.

What I hesitated over was price and looks. What decided it was how easy it is to address. I have not bought one. If I chose again, I would try the TRI-BEAM. I recommend it to people troubled by the aim of short putts.

Conditions for the numbers: these are numbers from a shop practice green in an air-conditioned room of about 24°C. The speed and slopes differ from a green on a round.

How many times the cheapest putter does each cost, and how much heavier are the heads?

From the price table above, I divided each price by the cheapest, the Mizuno RV (¥8,900).

Prices are the makers' tax-included prices and head weights are the makers' published values. The multiples are my calculation.

Comparing the two with head weight figures, the L.A.B. is 170 to 190 g heavier than the PING, about 1.5 times. The price is about 1.7 times (¥121,000 / ¥71,500). Only two models in this table have a weight figure. Weight is what separates big misses short from big misses long, so for models with no figure, look for the published value or check in a shop before comparing.

About the writer and sources

I'm a golfer who averages a 72, plays about 150 rounds a year, and enjoys reading gear specs side by side.

What I hit is written in the section "What I learned hitting the TRI-BEAM on a practice green." The numbers come from the official materials, and the subtractions and re-sorting are mine. Last updated: November 3, 2026.

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Sources for this article

• Product specs: Scotty Cameron PHANTOM (Titleist official) / PING SCOTTSDALE TEC official / L.A.B. GOLF MEZZ.1 MAX official / Odyssey Ai-DUAL TRI-BEAM / TaylorMade Spider TOUR TORCHED
• Used market: Aucfan (Scotty Cameron winning bid tally)
• Golf Do! ONLINE SHOP: Directly tied to your score! Choosing a putter by your miss

Last updated: Nov 3, 2026

The figures in this article are the ones each maker published, not figures measured by this site. "Not published" means the product page didn't have that entry when I checked.