Choosing a putter used to be a relatively easy task simply because there were not that many options available.
In today’s game however, as with everything in golf, the models of putter available are almost endless and it can make your head hurt sometimes trying to work out which one will work best for you.
But with close to 40% of any golfer’s shots, irrespective of their standard, being played on the putting green it makes sense that a lot of attention is paid to putters and especially on the PGA Tour.
So to see what the best pros in the business consider to be the best putters we analyzed in detail which model each of the top 100 golfers on the PGA Tour is using.
Odyssey putters are the most used by the top 100 PGA Tour pros with 33 choosing one including Jon Rahm and Sam Burns. Scotty Cameron putters are the next most popular with 32 using them. PING models are chosen by 15 with TaylorMade putters used by 9. Bettinardi and LAB Golf putters are played by 3 and 2 pros respectively.
While you would think the make and model of the putters used by some of the best players on the planet is where the putter story would end in the modern game things are never that straight forward.
And as we went deeper into our analysis the specialisation of putters grips as well as the putters themselves also became clearly apparent in addition to the frequency with which the top 100 will use custom made prototype putter models made specifically for them.
It was also interesting for us to see what has changed since we last carried out this detailed study a couple of years back!
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Most Popular Putters Used by the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros
If the top golfers on the PGA Tour want a new putter they simply have to wander to the nearest tour performance truck of one of the main manufacturers and they will be able to pick up and test out whatever model they want.
It is therefore not surprising that our research found 75 different models of putter being used by the best players on the Tour.
TaylorMade’s Spider X putter is the most popular among the top 100 PGA Tour pros with 6 using it, including Rory McIlroy. Scotty Cameron’s Phantom X T5 is the next most common with 4 using it. Their Circle T009 and Newport 2 putters along with Odyssey’s White Hot OG #5 & O-Works #1W are the next most used with 3 users each.
That there are so many different putters being used is just one indication of the depth the pros will go to in ensuring the smallest club in their bag (assuming it’s not a broom handle putter!) is going to deliver the goods on the greens.
When it comes to the weight of the putter for example some players will not accept anything less than perfection.
Bettinardi for instance has a tolerance of plus or minus 1 gram on the putters coming off their production line.
And what that means is that if the head weight of a putter is 360g some customers would get a putter weighing 359g while others would receive one of 361g.
Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick however will not use his Bettinardi DASS BB1 Flow Tour Dept putter however unless it is exactly 346g which gives an indication of how exacting the top pros are when it comes to their putter design.
In addition we found the majority of the top 100 PGA Tour pros – over 55% based on the data available – using ‘prototype’ putters that have been set up specifically for that individual player.
What was also noticeable however was that the dominance of Odyssey and Scotty Cameron putters among the top 100 PGA Tour pros remained from the last time we did this in-depth study two years ago.
Both increased their market share among this elite group with 65% of the top 100 using one of these two brands compared to 60% a couple of years back.
PING and TaylorMade putters we found once again made up the best of the rest although TaylorMade’s share dropped back to 9% from 14% even in spite of their Spider X model once again topping the charts as the most used among the top 100.
Despite all the variety in the putters we found though it was also interesting to note that not all the golfers in the top 100 automatically used the latest models of putters produced by the main manufacturers and continue to use older putters on the greens.
That being said when it comes to their putters it seems there remains a consensus among this group that Odyssey and Scotty Cameron putters are better than the rest.
| BRAND OF PUTTER | NO. OF TOP 100 PGA PROS USING BRAND | MOST USED PUTTER MODEL(S) |
| Odyssey | 33 (inc. Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Kevin Kisner, Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, Maverick McNealy, Adam Hadwin, Joel Dahmen) | White Hot OG #5 Check e-Bay O-Works #1W View at PGA Tour Superstore |
| Scotty Cameron | 32 (inc. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Jordan Speith, Cam Davis, Daniel Berger, Kevin Streelman, Brooks Koepka) | Phantom X T5 View at PGA Tour Superstore Circle T 009 Check eBay Newport 2 Check eBay |
| PING | 15 (inc. Tony Finau, Joaquin Niemann, Billy Horschel, Viktor Hovland, Corey Conners, Sahith Theegala, Seamus Power, Tyrrell Hatton) | PLD Anser 2 View at PGA Superstore PLD Oslo 4 View at PGA Superstore |
| TaylorMade | 9 (inc. Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tom Hoge, Aaron Wise) | Spider X Check eBay View on Amazon View at PGA Tour Superstore |
| Bettinardi | 3 (Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Kokrak, Matt Kuchar) | DASS BB1 Flow Tour Dept Check eBay Studio Stock 38 Check eBay |
| L.A.B. Golf | 2 (Adam Scott, Lucas Glover) | Mezz.1 View at PGA Superstore Mezz.1 Max View at PGA Superstore |
| SIK | 2 (Lanto Griffin, Brendon Todd) | Flo Check eBay Pro C-Series View at PGA Tour Superstore |
| Axis 1 | 1 (Justin Rose) | Rose View at PGA Tour Superstore Check eBay |
| Yes! | 1 (Troy Merritt) | C-Groove Mollie Tour |
| SeeMore | 1 (Russell Knox) | Black Model B P1050S |
[Note – Just so you know, and we are upfront as an affiliate program participant, Golfing Focus earns from qualifying purchases made through links on this page.]
Do Pros Use Blade or Mallet Putters? It’s Still Majority Mallet!
When Golfing Focus first looked in detail at the putters being used by the top 100 PGA Tour pros a couple of years back one of the key elements we wanted to investigate was the split between mallet and blade putters.
Back then we discovered 65% of them favoured more forgiving mallet style putters over the traditional blade putters but would that trend still be the case now?
60% of the top 100 PGA Tour pros use mallet putters including Rory McIlroy & Max Homa. In this majority group some choose smaller ‘mid-mallet’ putters including Jon Rahm & Viktor Hovland while Adam Scott’s broom handle is also a mallet design. The other 40% which includes Scottie Scheffler & Jordan Speith use blade putters.
While some pros, including the great Tiger Woods, almost never change their putter – Woods used his famous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS in 14-of-his-15 major championship victories – many other pros are constantly experimenting with different makes and even between mallets and blades.
Rory McIlroy for example switched out his normal TaylorMade Spider X putter prior to this year’s Masters reverting back to the blade Scotty Cameron Newport 2 he used to win his first two Majors.
He has since switched back to the mallet Spider X but it just serves to highlight how the top pros will not only change putter but also between blades and mallets as their confidence on the greens ebbs and flows.
Justin Thomas, who often tinkers with his putters, normally puts a mallet Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5 in play but also travels with the old-school Circle T 303 SSS blade he first used in middle school because “… it’s good for practice.”
Former Masters champions Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama are also well known for constantly testing different putters from week to week on tour.
Indeed Matsuyama is probably the most constant putter switcher of the current crop of top PGA Tour pros and can sometimes have 4, 5 and even 6 different putters in his bag during practice rounds.
In fact he tests so many putters that according to Scotty Cameron he has the ‘coolest’ putter collection on Tour!
What Putter Grips Do the Pros Use?
When I took up golf a few decades ago I would never have imagined that what grip you put on your putter was something for which you would have many options.
Putters came with the grip that they were made with and that was it.
And beyond wanting the classic ‘PING’ grip which seemed to be used by all the major champions at the time it just wasn’t something you paid attention to.
Fast forward to today and there are now 16 putter grip manufacturers each offering sometimes more than a dozen options in multiple different sizes.
So what putter grips are the top pros now using?
Superstroke putter grips are the most used by the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour with 40% choosing them. The Traxion Pistol GT 1.0 grip is their most popular grip model but the most used putter grip among this elite group is Scotty Cameron’s ‘Dancing Cameron’ grip. It is chosen by 10 of the top 100 including Justin Thomas.
While Superstroke putter grips clearly find favour amongst the top pros on Tour putter grips produced by PING and Odyssey are also picked by close to a quarter of the top 100.
Scotty Cameron putter grips meanwhile are chosen by 20 of them.
Indeed our detailed analysis of the putter grips used by the top 100 PGA Tour players found close to 50 different putter grip models and sizes being used.
Justin Thomas for example once again demonstrated his inclination to play around with his putter set up when he changed from the oversized SuperStroke Traxion Pistol GT Tour grip he has used for most of his career to a Dancing Cameron just prior to this year’s Masters.
Clearly the days of the putter grip not being something to even consider are long gone and the pros spend a great deal of time selecting the grip and not just the putter that will help them hole as much as possible on the greens!
| BRAND OF PUTTER GRIP | NO. OF TOP 100 PGA PROS USING BRAND | MOST USED PUTTER GRIP MODEL |
| SuperStroke | 40 | Traxion 1.0PT Check e-Bay |
| Scotty Cameron | 20 | Dancing Cameron Check eBay |
| Odyssey | 13 | Pistol Check eBay |
| PING | 9 | PP58 Check eBay |
| Winn | 3 | Long 15-inch Pistol Check eBay |
| Golf Pride | 3 | Pro Only Cord Check eBay |
| L.A.B. Golf | 2 | L.A.B. Golf Split Grip |
| SeeMore Danny Edwards Bettinardi Lamkin Garsen Golf Piretti The Grip Master SIK Wilson | 1 each |
[Editor’s note – To find out what grips the top 100 PGA Tour pros use on the rest of their clubs check out our in-depth look at them here.]
What Putter Length Do Pros Use? That’s Not Always the Full Story!
The final element of the putters the top pros on Tour use that we looked at was putter length.
Given the importance of the correct putter length in relation to helping ensure you are in the best position with your eyes straight over the ball at address we wanted to see whether there was any consensus on this among the best players in the world.
As a whole the most common putter length among the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour is 35 inches. Sam Burns, Max Homa, Jordan Speith and Billy Horschel are some of the players choosing this length of putter. Tyrell Hatton uses a much shorter 32 1/8″ putter while Aaron Wise uses a long 46-inch broom handle model.
The standard length of the average putter is between 33 and 35 inches but as you would expect we found a number of players outside that band.
Scottie Scheffler for example chooses a longer 36″ length for his Scotty Cameron Timeless TT putter while both Tony Finau and Jon Rahm opt for 37″ putters.
Given these three are all tall men measuring 1.9m and above this is to be expected but it is important to remember that ‘optimal’ putter length is not just solely based on height with arm length, personal preference and putting style also needing to be taken into consideration.
For example although Viktor Hovland is around 10cm shorter than Scottie Scheffler he also chooses a 36″ putter length.
However if you look closely when Hovland putts you will notice that he grips his Ping PLD DS72 putter down the grip around 1 to 2 inches so his personal preference means he is in effect ‘playing’ a shorter putter than the simple length measurement would indicate.
It is also interesting to note that the top pros can also adjust their putter length depending on their health.
The great Tiger Woods for example, having used a 35 ¼ inch putter length throughout his career, extended it to 35 ½ inches a couple of years ago in an attempt to ease the pain of his constant back problems.
So when you see what length of putter a pro is using that information alone may not tell the whole story!
Before you go …
Do you ever watch TV coverage of the pros on Tour and come away thinking that the top players hardly ever miss a putt?
Read our next article to take a closer look at how good they really are and to discover how amateurs by comparison are not that bad at putting themselves!
What Percentage of Putts Do Pros Make? TV Does Not Tell the Story
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