Putter Brands – Where To Spend Your Money

Putters come in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes. It can be quite confusing trying to decide which putters are worth your time and which to ignore. Here’s a rundown of the most important manufacturers both current and no longer trading. At the end of the day, you may still want to pick up a used putter to save some money!

Premium Brands

If you have the budget then you might want to treat yourself to a premium putter. While the performance gains aren’t necessarily as obvious as with the driver at least you will be using your putter a lot more during a round of golf!

Plus a top-quality putter has a bit of cachet!

Scotty Cameron

One of the most popular putter brands used by professionals. Part of the Titleist group of companies. Their putters are admittedly very expensive but they are beautifully made and perform well on the greens.

I currently use a Phantom X12.

Odyssey

The company was bought out by Callaway some years ago and continues to produce excellent putters. Originally famous for their soft insert faces. One of their biggest successes was the 2-ball line.

I have a DFX No.1 as my main backup putter.

Ping

Have been producing putters for major champions for around 60 years now. Every time a professional manages a win with a Ping putter a gold-plated version is made and stored in a vault at HQ. If a Ping player manages to win a major then a solid gold replica is made!

The Anser model is, without doubt, their most famous design.

Trying to up their prices recently by introducing a new line called PLD.

TaylorMade

They have had tremendous success with their Spider putters range and are among the most played models on tour. I’ve had a couple of Spiders down the years and still bring one out on occasion.

Mizuno

Obviously better known for their forged irons they also produce a solid range of putters.

Bettinardi

Bettinardi revolutionized the putting manufacturing process by crafting putter heads from solid blocks of metal rather than casting, forging or welding. His putters have now been used in more than 80 worldwide professional wins.

Envroll

Envroll is a new-ish putter company started by Guerin Rife, the original founder of the Rife putting company. He was among the first to use grooves on the faces of his putters. Has had a fair bit of success on tour with his new brand.

Sik

Starting to gain some tour validation including the one and only Bryson Dechambeau. Sik putters feature descending loft technology which is meant to help you present the same loft to the ball even as your stroke changes slightly every time you putt.

PXG

Parsons eXtreme Golf is renowned for coming to market at a pretty steep price point. However, their putters aren’t quite as expensive as Scotty Cameron for example. Some interesting designs on offer and plenty of “technology”.

XXIO

Probably more famous for their drivers, XXIO also produces a small range of putters. Ernie Els is on their playing staff.

Honma

Ridiculously expensive clubs that are probably more about status than performance. They have a couple of punters listed on the US website reduced from $950 to a mere $750!

See More

Some success on tour most notably with Zach Johnson. Features a unique red dot alignment aid.

Cobra

Cobra’s new 3D printed range has introduced some interesting new head designs.

Bobby Grace

Currently selling some very expensive putters over at Bobbygraceputters.com. His most famous creation was probably the “Fat Lady” that Nick Price used to win the 1994 PGA Championship. This generated 27,000 orders in the following week!

Mid-Price Brands

Less likely to have tour validation as these brands don’t necessarily have the budget for endorsement contracts. However, for the majority of golfers, you probably wouldn’t see much difference in terms of performance between these putters and their premium counterparts. However, you will be saving around $100-$200 in the process.

Cleveland

Their Huntington Beach range of putters offers a solid lineup of models at a much more achievable price point for most people. 

Rife

No longer owned by the founder Guerin Rife. Their original 2bar putter is one of the most famous models they produced. Still committed to using grooves to help even out the performance of your putts.

Tour Edge

With putters starting from as little as $50 you could argue Tour Edge belongs in the budget section. Template series models do look very nice for the money ($99).

Budget Brands

Being on a budget doesn’t always mean having to buy poor products. However, it’s generally true that you get what you pay for. You might want to check out the used options available as well as looking at budget options.

Wilson

Produced some great putters in the past, most notably the 8802 model and the TPA putter used by Sir Nick Faldo. Their Infinite series putters look to be fantastic value for money. Wilson also produces the Harmonized range with a variety of head shapes at an even lower price point.

Fazer

A long-time budget brand that now appears to be an in-house brand of American Golf a major golf retailer in the UK. If you are new to golf then you might want to check them out.

Benross

A budget British brand that has been in business for 25 years now. Usually produces decent equipment at prices that are easier to swallow.

MacGregor

At one time MacGregor produced clubs for major champions such as Jack Nicklaus. These days it’s very much focused on the budget end of the market.

Pinemeadow

Can often be found on Amazon and does offer very cheap putters which are often “copies” of famous models such as the 2-ball.

Longridge

Cheap and cheerful products in all sectors of the golf industry. You can usually pick them up on Amazon.

Brands No Longer Trading

Never Compromise

They produced distinctive grey and black putters during the 90s and 2000s and gained some success on the professional circuit. Were bought out by Cleveland and the brand subsequently died out.

Ram

The classic Ram zebra putter was wielded with great success by Tom Watson amongst others. You can still find Ram putters on sale however they are not the same quality.

Yes

Harold Swash was a British club designer who came up with the idea of C grooves. The company struggled and was bought out by Adams who of course eventually capitulated as well. 

John Letters

A famous Scottish club manufacturer whose Golden Goose putter was amongst its most well-known products. The brand was purchased by Direct Golf, one of the larger UK-based retailers at the time.

Swilken

Went into receivership in 1995. Had been making a variety of clubs including hickory shafted putters for about 30 years.

Snake Eyes

Snake Eyes were a brand you could purchase through Golfsmith. Golfsmith went bankrupt in 2016 and Snake Eyes is yet to make a reappearance anywhere else.

Slotline

Famous for the Inertial line of putters, the company fell on hard times. After being acquired by Dynamic Brands there was a relaunch in 2009 although it clearly hasn’t taken off as I haven’t seen any products by Slotline for many, many years.

Boccieri

Undoubtedly their most famous product was their “heavy” putters. I even had one for a while but never got on with it.

Ray Cook

Was once a well-respected name in putter design but is now just a brand name stuck on a range of budget clubs.

Putter Brands: Conclusion

So now you should have some idea of which brands you need to look at based on your budget. Don’t forget however that many of the premium putters can be picked up for significantly less in the used market. Unlike other golf clubs, putters don’t tend to get the same sort of beating so you should still be able to pick up something in reasonable condition.

It’s also useful to watch out when new models are released as stock of old products is usually sold off at a decent discount.

Frequently asked questions [FAQ]