Ten of the Best: Blade Putters 2014
GolfMagic joins 10 testers at Horsley Lodge Golf Club in Derby to test some of the best new blades
In the seventh of our 2014 Golfmagic Club Test series, we survey ten top-end blade putters launched within the last 12 months.
What is a blade putter?
A blade putter has a simpler head design than a mallet putter.
Unless you're a new golfer who purchased a mallet as your first putter, it's highly likely that you have used a blade at some point in your life. This putter gets its name because it has a straight, blade-style clubhead attached to the end of the shaft. The shaft attaches either to the heel of the blade or closer to the centre of the blade.
Traditional thought is that a straight-back, straight-through stroke is better suited to a mallet, while an arcing stroke is better suited to a blade.
About the test
The test was carried out over the course of a day at Horsley Lodge Golf Club in Derby by Golfmagic Assistant Editor Andy Roberts (8-handicap) and Golfmagic Staff Writer Charlie Lemay (14-handicap) and ten other testers of varying playing abilities ranging from +3 to 26, aged from late teens to mid-60s.
We selected our ten blades and each of the 12 testers then struck 15 putts with each (five from 3-feet, five from 6-feet and five from 15-feet), meaning testers struck a total of 180 putts per putter. All of the putts were struck on the straightest possible line we could find on the putting green.
A range of premium golf balls were offered to each tester so that each golfer could putt using the ball they most frequently played.
Testers marked each blade putter out of five for appearance, ten for feel and ten for performance, using the sheets that we printed out prior to the test.
Each of the 12 testers scored separately without consultation and the score presented for each putter is an average of the 12. This generated an overall score out of 25 and the overall scores and conclusion can be found on the final page of the feature.
With each blade putter, we have also provided details of set price, available lengths and head weight. The test is presented in alphabetical order.
Click here for our Blade Putters Test 2014
(If you would like to skip straight to the results page, click here).
Click here for our Mallet Putters Test 2014
Click here for our Putters Test 2013
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
