Written by John VanDerLaan
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Are you looking for the Best Counterbalanced Putter? We have all of the information you need, including all of the top rated counterbalanced putters and grips with reviews by the experts.
In the constant search to shore up their short ones, golfers are always seemingly coming up with new modifications and tinkerings of the most basic piece of equipment in the bag: the putter. One of those has been dubbed “counterbalancing” and had become especially popular after anchoring was banned as an alternative for players who want to feel maximum stability in the stroke above all else.
While counterbalancing was once the hot “fad” in golf and other things have taken over, such as arm locking, it has definitely had some staying power. Today you will find several offerings on the market, as well as Odyssey’s continued commitment to the Stroke Lab shaft technology, which is a form of counterbalancing.
Best Counterbalanced Putters At A Glance
What Is A Counterbalanced Putter?
Technically, all putters are counterbalanced to some extent. Anyone who has ever tried to swing a putter with no grip on it can attest to this fact. While a traditional standard weight pistol grip and head are not considered counter balanced, it’s the distribution of weight in the putter that counter balancing tries to maximize, and just like you can feel how much more difficult and awkward it is to swing a putter with no grip on it, counterbalancing a putter hopes to achieve a measurable improvement in balance and stability in the stroke.
Many counterbalanced putters achieve this by varying the weight of the club head, and as the club head goes up, adding a significant weight to the butt end of the club. Sometimes these are removable weights, sometimes they are built in.
Some counter-balance putters are built with longer-than-normal shafts so that the weight actually is completely behind the hands, but others are meant to be gripped normally and still achieve a counter balancing effect.
Last but not least, the Odyssey “Stroke Lab” technology attempts to use a shaft that is part graphite and part steel to redistribute the weight even more, allowing them, with the exceptionally light shaft, achieve a counterbalancing effect without adding too much extra total weight to the club.
Will I Putt Better With A Counter Balanced Putter?
Improving your putting is one of the best ways to get better at golf, but the putter alone is may not be the answer you are looking for.
The old adage; "It's the indian, not the arrow", holds true for putting as well as most things in life.
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Using a counter balanced putter reminds me of the feeling I used to get when I used a belly putter. Anchoring the belly putter above my hands gave me the same counter balanced feeling.
Using an anchored putter made putting easier and that is why belly putters are no longer legal in competition.
The good news is that counterbalanced putters are legal and you can take advantage of this technology.
Counterbalancing, for most, is a love-it-or-hate-it affair. There are many data-driven explanations that attempt to demonstrate that the putter will be more stable and consistent in the stroke. However other golfers anecdotally say that they feel they have less control over the speed of the putterhead and less touch on distance control.
Putting is so individual, some people use counter balanced putters and fall in love with them while others actually despise the high moment-of-inertia feel in their hands.
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Pros And Cons: What Are The Benefits?
Counterbalancing a putter is another attempt at redistributing the weight of a putter in order to achieve a higher MOI or moment of inertia. Sir Isaac Newton explained to us in his laws governing inertia that once an object is in motion, it tends to stay in motion, and once it is at rest, it needs more force to start it in motion. In layman's terms this means that the putter head will not twist or swing off line as easily once it is moving, and also directly relates to the weight of the putter.
The advantages of this approach are a putter that should be harder to manipulate off-line or rotate the face inadvertently during the stroke, which translates as stability and control and consistency for the golfer, at least on paper.
The drawback of counterbalancing is that subjectively, golfers sometimes feel like it is harder to develop precise speed control. Technically, counterbalanced putters add overall weight to the club, and that affects everything from how the putter feels in the hands to the tempo of the stroke.
Odyssey has invested heavily in their Stroke Lab shaft technology to create shafts that attempt to give the golfer the best of both worlds by creating a putter that is counterbalanced but doesn’t add as much total weight to the club.
Counterbalanced Putters vs Standard Putters
The main difference between a counterbalanced putter versus a standard putter is going to be the overall weight, the distribution of that weight, and thereby the feel. The weight is increased in the putter, but with emphasis on the head and the butt end of the grip instead of evenly distributing it throughout the club by changing the grip, shaft, and head in proportion to one another.
The technical effect of this is that by adding extra weight to the butt end of the grip, which a standard putter generally does not have, the balance point of the putter is moved closer to the hands. This makes it feel as if you are controlling something that is much closer to your hands rather than nearly 3 feet away. Also adding more head weight and overall weight encourages a slower tempo stroke and creates a putter that has some resistance to micro-movements and can mechanically swing on its pendulum arc more consistently.
In theory you could turn any standard putter into a counterbalance by adding weight to the butt end of the club. Many companies sell removable weight sets for this or make special grips with attachable weight sets and there are also many home-made experiments done by golfers simply fixing some spare hardware inside the butt end of their putter shaft and regripping it.
Reviews And Recommendations
Best Scotty Cameron: Futura 6M
When the anchoring ban was announced in 2013 (set to take effect in 2016) Scotty Cameron started releasing “Dual Balanced” putters, their version of counterbalancing. The idea was that the physics might represent an effect similar to an anchored putter, but in a conventional putter and appeal to players who had seen success with the stability provided by anchoring.
The Futura 6M Counterbalanced putter represents probably the peak of these offerings, as many players to whom anchoring appealed also liked the idea of a high-MOI, heavy putter head.
The Futura is an excellent choice for the average golfer that wants to make more putts with a standard length putter.
Best Scotty Cameron Blade: Select Newport 2 Notchback
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Not to be limited to one style, Scotty Cameron also made sure to release “Dual Balance” putters in a variety of flavors and styles. While many seeking stability in the stroke go for large mallet or even more elaborate putter head styles, some want the same feel and performance while still maintaining that classic blade putter look that they may have grown up with or are used to aiming behind the ball.
These putters also appeal to conventional putters who may never prefer the look of an anchored or belly or arm lock putter but want to keep everything the same, including their Anser-style head shape, but experiment with a little more weight and stability in their stroke.
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Best Budget Pick: Tour Edge N1 Putter
Always a go-to product for maximum value, the Tour Edge N1 Counterbalanced Putter really does check all the boxes for anyone who likes to change putters a lot or wants to experiment but isn’t sure if the feel of counterbalance is for them.
Tour Edge is known for providing products that can go toe-to-toe with the top brand names in golf, and especially has a following amongst some PGA Champions Tour golfers. Their offering here is a very straightforward introduction to the counter balanced genre. All for $99.99 which is insanely cheap for a brand new putter of this quality.
Best For beginners: WILSON Infinite Golf Putter
Wilson is a company that has held on to a good reputation despite a reduced market share in modern times. While operating in a space secondary to the “big 5” manufacturers, they produce lines of equipment that are both affordable and attempt to match the quality and act as replacements for the top brands, and not a step down, with Gary Woodland even gaming their equipment on the PGA Tour.
This “Infinite” line of putters are all counterbalanced designs. The big advantage for the beginner is that despite the value price, they feature brand new technology such as 3 parallel sight lines for aiming, akin to Callaway’s “Triple Track.” This is said to optically help players aim and perceive the line properly from address, and can be a help for beginners. Add to that 9 styles to choose from and a milled face and this is a great entry point for any golfer.
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Best Soft Feel: Tour Edge N2 Putter
The Tour Edge N2 Counterbalanced Putter rounds out the company’s offerings with an oversized mallet, high-MOI design to complement their blade-style N1 putter.
Tour Edge is known for providing equipment that suits the competitive player for some of the best value in the industry. The N2 putter packs a punch with an oversized head that is balanced out by a 60g weight added to the butt of the club, but softens the blow with a modern-day polymer insert in the face, which is microgrooved to help get the ball rolling and gives the putter a more buttery feel on contact.
Best SeeMore Blade: SeeMore Pure Center Blade Putter
SeeMore putters are a unique option in the putter market. A standalone company that specializes in putters, they have lots of features but their most distinguishing characteristic is their “RST” or Rifle Scope Technology alignment aid. This is a unique design on the top of the putter head that is meant to be hidden by the shaft when viewed from the address position. Whether or not the sight markings are fully hidden by the putter shaft indicates if the putter is perfectly squared up at address.
They make a wide variety of putters all featuring this unique alignment aid, as well as with and without counter balance weights. The blade putter featured here is useful for players who like a blade design but also prefer a straight-back-straight-through putting stroke, as the center shafted putter will not have the toe hang that a more conventional blade putter will typically have.
Best SeeMore Mallet: SeeMore Black Mallet
Like all the other SeeMore putters, this counter balanced mallet has the signature RST technology for perfecting your setup. As well as that, it is a slightly longer putter at 37 inches, so most players will grip this putter a few inches down on the shaft, making the built-in weight in the butt of the club protrude out and provide a true counter balancing effect.
Otherwise, this putter is basically a higher-MOI mallet design that mimics their counter balanced blade offering above.
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Best Ping: Ping Sigma 2 Valor 400 Stealth
The Ping Sigma 2 Valor 400 Stealth is a variation on their Sigma 2 line of putters. The Valor head is a full mallet style and the 400 denotes a 400 gram headweight, which is considerably heavier than even most other mallet putters. This is specifically a counterbalanced model featuring a 38” shaft and a 50g weight in the butt end of the club to balance out the extra head weight.
This is a full-on top of the line offering from the engineers at PING featuring all the scientific advancement they can fit into one club. One other standout feature of the Sigma 2 line is they feature a polymer face insert (instead of a milled steel face) which promotes a much softer feel off of the face while still providing some “life” to the impact.
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Excellent Value: KIRKLAND SIGNATURE KS1
Kirkland has really made a name for itself in the golf equipment space, with their products being some of the most sought-after on the market. While they carry the reputation of a discount brand, their “signature” line in any category is supposed to only contain products that can perform the same or better than the major national brands.This is a bold claim when it comes to selling a putter for an almost impossible price that is 100% milled from a block of stainless steel. All for well less than half the price. You can add an adjustable weight kit for an extra charge and the putter comes with a top-of-the-line Superstroke CounterCore grip, rounding out the claims that they are offering a thoroughly premium product, not just a look-alike.
Whether or not it can duplicate the subjective feel and aesthetics of a Scotty Cameron is a contentious claim to make at best, but the sales numbers indicate that most consider it more than good enough for the price.
Best Odyssey: Odyssey Stroke Lab
The Stroke Lab technology from Odyssey represents a huge investment into what is essentially counterbalancing at its finest from the largest putter-maker on the planet. Odyssey has refined the counterbalancing design by using lightweight carbon fiber in the shaft to be able to put more weight in the butt and the clubhead both without increasing the overall weight of the club as much.
This represents a breakthrough technology that gives the stability of counterbalancing without sacrificing the feel and responsiveness of having a lightweight putter.
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What Is A Counterbalanced Putter Grip?
A counterbalanced putter grip is a grip that is going to contain extra weight in the butt of the club. This usually comes in the form of a weight added to the butt of the club, but also many manufacturers are selling grips that can feature adjustable weights that attach to the butt of the club and can be traded out for fine-tuning.
Best Counterbalance Putter Grips
- SuperStroke Counterbalance Putter Grips (CounterCore Pistol GT 2.0)
- Winn Excel Pistol Putter Grip
- SuperStroke CounterCore Slim Golf Putter Grip
- SuperStroke CounterCore™ Flatso™ Putter Grip
- Arm-Lock Golf Professional Oversize Putter Grip
- Gravity Golf Putter Grip
- Grip Boost Golf Putter Grip Pendulum Midsize Putter Grip
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does A Counterbalanced Putter Grip Do?
A counterbalanced putter grip adds more weight to the grip or specifically the butt of the grip of the club. Technically the effect is that the center of mass of the club is shifted farther up the shaft, closer to the hands, so there is more potential for stability in the stroke. Some counterbalanced designs include a noticeably longer putter shaft that puts this weight entirely behind the players hands, but there are designs that incorporate counterbalancing in regular-length putters as well as the added weight in the grip-end still has an effect.
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Who Should Use A Counterbalanced Putter?
The players who are drawn to counterbalanced putters are typically seeking more help starting the ball on line and making a repeatable stroke with repeatable loft. Counterbalancing is sought after as a stabilizing method and tries to take advantage of physics to make the putter swing more easily on a dedicated pendulum path without deviation.
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Who Uses Counterbalanced Putters On Tour?
The exact number of players who use counterbalance putters on TOUR cannot be exactly known, partly because guys who use counterbalancing are usually tinkerers and change their setups periodically. The other reason is because counterbalancing in some respects has reached the point where many of the guys are playing modified and prototype models of putters we may see on the shelf, and may or may not have had counterbalancing added. Additionally, some players like to use counterbalance grips with the weights out, just because of the shape. There are lots of peculiarities. All that said, we know that Shane Lowry, Abraham Ancer and Francesco Molinari are using Stroke Lab putters from Odyssey and that Viktor Hovland is very fond of counter balanced putters and has some built in to his current PING setup.
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How Can You Tell If A SeeMore Putter Is Counterbalanced?
In theory without seeing manufacturing specs or documentation for the putter or grip, it may be difficult to tell just by sight. SeeMore putters can be counterbalanced with grips they have designed to be heavier in total, or also with a TourLock Counterbalance weight add-on that screws removable weights into the butt end of the club. This should be noticeable but otherwise the grips could look the same or be customized with a built-in permanent internal butt weight.
One universal test you can do is to attempt to balance the putter shaft over two fingers, and find the balance point on the shaft. The balance point on a normal putter might be 12” up the shaft give or take a few inches, and a counterbalanced putter will be noticeably higher than this, but still closer to the head than the grip.
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Final Thoughts
Counterbalanced putters have gone from the hot new thing in golf in the 2000s, peaking during the era where ex-armlockers were scrambling for alternatives around 2016. Since then the technology has blended more into the putter landscape, with the concept being used to varying degrees by players changing to larger grips or grips with weight add-on options as well as many putter brands offering counterbalancing customizations to their stock models.
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The peak of this is the Odyssey Stroke Lab shafts that have become options on many of their putters which incorporate the most advanced counterbalancing attempts to date.
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Like most trends in golf, the technology has not evolved overnight and there is much debate over whether it is an advantage that everyone should be taking or another fad that will soon be replaced. It’s definitely earned enough merit though that anyone who is searching for a bump in the consistency and stability in their stroke should give it a serious look.
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