Written by Michael VanDerLaan
*We may earn revenue from the products available on this site and participate in affiliate programs.
In today's game, golf club technology has come a long way. While the putter may seem like the simplest tool in the bag, there have also been great strides made in engineering new designs and subtle changes to classic models in order to give the golfer that all-elusive consistency. The reality is that the putters today really are more forgiving than the ones your grandfather used. In this article we’ll take a look at the most forgiving putters and what makes them different from their peers.
most Forgiving overall
Odyssey 2 ball tour lined
most forgiving mallet
Taylormade spider ex
our budget pick
cleveland huntington beach soft #4
Our Top Picks At A Glance
Most Forgiving Putters: Reviews And Recommendations
There are 2 things that are really important when talking about forgiving putters.
- A high Moment of Inertia (MOI) rating when compared to other similar putters on the market.
- A good looking putter that appeals to the eye of the user while incorporating forward thinking technology.
These are the main things we looked at while testing putters to compile this list. We discuss these factors as well as general feel to fully encompass the experience with each putter.
The 2 ball putter from Odyssey has by far the most history and recognition of the “modern” putter designs. The latest model - the Odyssey 2 Ball Tour Lined Putter, combines everything that the classic had to offer with the latest and greatest, making it the grand baby of one of the winningest putter designs in the past 20 years as well as one of the hardest putters to get out of somebody’s golf bag.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
All of its success on TOUR and what the putter might be most known for is its ability to help amateurs with aim and forgiveness.
The 2 ball design is laid on top of an exceptionally high-MOI putter head that helps improve forgiveness on off-center strikes but also features a revolutionary alignment aid with its signature “2 ball” circles on the back of the putter. This helps many golfers see the orientation of the putter head at address better than just aiming the face or a line, but their latest model gives you a line to work with as well.
RELATED: Best Counterbalanced Putters And Grips In 2023 With Reviews
For a long time, the cutting-edge putters have been dubbed “spaceships” for their large and elaborate designs often featuring intricate shapes. The Cobra King Agera putter really takes that to the next level, including some truly space-age designs.
This putter features a multi-material 3D-printed design, including a nylon lattice structure inside the body of the putter. This is remarkable because it allows engineers to move even MORE weight around to the outside of the putter, creating even more stability. This putter truly is maxed-out for forgiveness in 2023.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
The other very cool thing about this putter is they bring the SIK ascending loft face technology to a “big 5” brand in the form of an aluminum face insert. Not only does this insert give a different feel that some golfers may prefer to the more common polymer inserts, the ascending loft technology gives another level of forgiveness beyond just MOI by allowing for more even rolls no matter what loft is presented at impact.
Between the nylon lattice and ascending loft that are both geared towards making your ball roll straighter and more consistent, it's easy to see why the Agera is one of our top picks.
Before the advent of modern high-MOI putters, there was one putter design that revolutionized everything and changed the game forever. Enter the “Anser” style cavity back blade. This Odyssey White Hot OG Putter, like many, is based around that original cavity back blade style that has become the standard in golf for decades.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
This classic style is modernized and upgraded with Odyssey’s patented White Hot face insert in the form of their newest iteration, the White Hot OG. This two-piece urethane insert has been the gold standard since it was introduced 20 years ago, taking the forgiveness of the blade putter style and enhancing it with a soft yet responsive face insert that helps control speed, spin, and roll off of the face.
The Pinemeadow Golf PGX Putter is a great option for beginners of all ages.
In the putter industry, every single successful design is immediately copied far and wide. With this putter, you are going to get something that looks very similar to one of the most successful designs ever, the Odyssey 2 Ball mallet, but at a fraction of the cost.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
While it technically has all the factors of the 2 ball putters - including a high-MOI design - the durability of the Pinemeadow might not be the same as a putter that costs hundreds of dollars, and the face insert materials may not perform as well or for as long. This makes it the perfect putter for somebody who wants to try a new design, and invest more later if they like it.
RELATED: Best Putters For High Handicappers
In a world of putter manufacturing that is full of copycats and very subtle changes in designs, the S7K Standing Putter represents an almost shocking departure from the norm.
An attention grabber for any golfer, the putter earns its namesake by being able to actually be placed at address, and then stand there on its own without being held by a person, even on sidehill lies. The freaky scene on the greens allows the operator to actually place the putter at address, and walk around and check the alignment from behind if they so desire, and then walk back in and hit the putt.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
More than just a cheap trick, many golfers have enjoyed experimenting with the S7K putters and have had success aiming their strokes better. One caveat in that the way this putter is designed is that the shaft and grip are both extremely light, which gives it a different swing weight and feel in the swing than a conventional putter.
While the design lends itself to an extremely high MOI, like other high MOI putters, it can take on a mind of its own when it comes to speed control.
The S7K Standing Putter is one of the top forgiving putters due to its ability to be lined up perfectly every time, combined with an extremely high MOI rating. Due to its extreme swing weight, it takes some getting used to. This is the biggest hesitation for us to recommend it as the top option.
Alongside the Odyssey 2 Ball putters, the TaylorMade Spider design has been one of the most copied and most innovative putter designs in the modern era.
Taking the full mallet idea to an extreme, TaylorMade Spider putters are one of the original “spaceship” designs that really create a lot of space and widen the weight distribution as much as possible in the putter head, creating stability in the strike and consistency in the stroke with a low rate of twisting.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
The Spider EX in particular features a face insert that combines both aluminum and urethane, two of the most popular face insert materials, to create a unique feel that attempts to combine the softness of polymer with the responsiveness and familiarity of aluminum.
This version of the Spider EX also provides significant toe-hang for putters who want a max-MOI club head design but still naturally favor an arc stroke. It's no shock that the putter trusted by some of the top players in the world is firmly planted on our list.
PXG is a company who has staked their niche on appealing to golfers who want to spare no expense for the highest-performing technology, engineering, and materials available. Their flagship putter designs lead the charge in that regard.
The PXG BlackJack putter features “aircraft grade” aluminum in the body with tungsten weight bars bracing the now-familiar look of a modern full mallet putter. They have gotten really precise with the exact placement of the weights and distribution of materials to make one of the highest performing technical masterpieces on the market.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
The thing that stands out about the PXG is that it also offers the ability to customize the weight profile on the fly by moving weights around on the bottom of the putter, influencing both overall feel and strike conditions.
A putter with adjustability to pair with increased overall forgiveness is something we haven't really seen before. It makes the BlackJack a standout as the customizable performance of the club provides a unique competitive advantage.
Titleist Scotty Cameron Phantom X 12 Putter
While PXG putters might compete in the premium space as far as materials and price go, Scotty Cameron putters have basically invented an entire tier of their own when it comes to high-end putters. You are going to get the best of everything with a Scotty Cameron including collectability and resale value to go along with best-in-class feel, functionality, and looks.
RELATED: Evnroll vs Scotty
The Phantom X 12 from Scotty Cameron is their take on the futuristic designs that have dominated the high-MOI marketplace in recent years. The difference with Scotty Cameron’s design is that they attempt to take all of the technology of the large “Spider” or spaceship style putters and essentially hide that technology in a much more sleek, understated look, hence the “Phantom” moniker.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
A very simple and elegant look at address from the 100% milled putter belies the fact that it has one of the highest MOIs on the market and features two adjustable weight ports on the bottom.
All in all, a fantastic option for a forgiving putter if you are willing to fork over the cash.
RELATED: Kirkland Scotty Cameron Putter
Cleveland Golf has made a name for itself specializing in high-performing gear for players demanding forgiveness in all aspects of the game, while doing so at very competitive prices.
They’ve set their sights on the iconic Scotty Cameron Newport design with their appropriately-named Huntington Beach putters.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
While the body design is essentially a duplicate of the Newport and many other popular blade putters, the Huntington Beach Soft Premier #4 putter features a unique and patented “Speed Optimized Face Technology.”
This is proprietary technology pioneered by Cleveland and uses a 100% milled face to optimize ball speeds all across the face, giving it an edge in forgiveness over other blade designs at under half the price of a Scotty Cameron.
RELATED: Best Putter For The Money
L.A.B. Directed Force Putters present a unique twist (pun intended) on the traditional futuristic mallet designs with their special weighting known as Lie Angle Balancing.
These putters have the weight and shaft attachment point custom distributed to achieve a brand new effect known as lie angle balancing. Rather than having toe-hang or strictly face-balancing as most traditional putters are classed, these putters stay perpendicular to the arc due to their unique weighting that takes away twisting of the putter head, completely dialing in the effect sought after by the other toe hang option.
In simpler terms, the putter is designed to help you keep the face square to the arc of the stroke all the time.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
While the technology and unique design of the heads has not caught on on TOUR yet, it is used by some notable golfers at the highest level, such as Adam Scott.
The biggest caveat to this style of putter is that it needs to be custom-tuned to your exact setup and lie angle, so there is really no point in buying one without a custom fitting through the company, either in-person or online.
This is PING’s contribution to the futuristic designs category of putters, fitting in with the Spider and Phantom oversize mallet, maximum-MOI heads we have already discussed.
They take a page from the Scotty Cameron playbook and give the topside look a very basic aesthetic, hiding some of the technology in the undercarriage. That technology includes a wide-open putter body, moving a ton of weight to the outside for stability both in strike and path, but none of that space is visible from the address position.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
Traditionally known for pushing the limits of looks in order to get the most out of technological design advantages, this putter goes the opposite direction for PING, creating a very sleek look for somebody who still wants the most forgiveness out of an oversized mallet head.
To make it even more appealing, the Fetch stands up to the PING standard of excellence in feel and versatility. A very well rounded putter that is enjoyable to use.
RELATED: Best Ping Driver Of All Time
Things To Consider When Buying A New Putter
These are the things that you need to consider when shopping for the most forgiving putters. This buying guide will be especially important for beginners and high handicappers.
Head Design
The head design is the overriding determining factor between various putter “styles.” In general, the heavier the head, the bigger the head, and the more forgiving the putter.
RELATED: Blade vs Mallet Putter
Blade
Modern blade putters were once considered a huge improvement in forgiveness over their “bullseye” predecessors. The ability to carve some weight out of the back and move it to the edges and farther back in the body improved the ability of the putter to refrain from twisting during the stroke as well as through impact.
These modifications have basically been taken to more and more extremes as designers have come up with new metals to use and machines that can cut more and more elaborate designs, as well as ways to balance heavier and heavier putter heads, all in search of maximum MOI.
Nowadays, blade head designs are considered to be on the less forgiving end of the spectrum, typically, but have been enhanced by weight inserts, mixed materials, and face inserts milled in elaborate patterns all to make improvements in their forgiveness, as well, over past decades.
Mallet
The mallet is the first design to take forgiveness to the next level. The concept takes the ideas of the original Anser blade design and extends them to a whole new era of putters. These putters typically extend the rear flange of the putter well behind the head. This moves the center of gravity back and increases the moment of inertia - the tendency of the putter to stay on course during the stroke.
These putter heads also naturally are larger visually than blade putters, allowing for some very elaborate alignment aids, and weigh significantly more, lending themselves to shorter shaft lengths and larger grips, both of which also are considered to aid in forgiveness and consistency for many golfers.
Futurist(Extra Large)
The “Max MOI” or “Futurist” putter shapes are a brand new category that take the mallet concept into the next century and beyond with elaborate, intricate designs that often extend the putter head out into space and leave exotic holes with no material at all, again in an effort to distribute weight to the maximum degree while still not exceeding limits that feel balanced and controllable to the golfer.
These designs eschew all of the classic design norms to focus on one thing and one thing only: maximum stability. So why doesn’t everybody use these? Some golfers feel they sacrifice an ability to feel the putt, make athletic micro-adjustments in the stroke, and that the heavier heads limit their ability to control slight variations in touch required for lag putting on fast greens at a very high level.
Shaft and Neck Styles
Center Shaft
While a center shafted putter might seem like the most obvious and normal place to start, these are typically looked at as kind of an odd ball or quirky design in the putter world. Most center shafted putters are naturally face balanced, but since putters are by rule required to have some angle in the shaft, nobody has a truly straight-back-straight-through stroke in theory, making some degree of offset or toe hang the norm.
Plumbers Neck
The plumber's neck hosel might be one of the most popular, again an invention of PING founder Karsten Solheim around the same time he designed the revolutionary Anser blade. This special bend in the hosel - resembling an L-shape bend in a pipe joint - allowed the putter to feel as if their hands were slightly ahead of the face as well as visually frame the ball.
The popularity of this design with a cavity back blade putter head has been ubiquitous in golf for the past half-century and many golfers consider it the most normal, standard hosel design today.
Slant Neck
The slant neck hosel is a slight variation on the plumber’s neck. Instead of an L-shape the hosel bends at a consistent angle at the very end, creating an attachment point for the shaft that is again offset from the face. It is not mandatory but it is typical that a short slant neck will attach near the heel of a putter, creating a design with high toe hang.
Both the slant neck and plumber’s neck designs are not necessarily more forgiving on paper, but offset helps many golfers aim the putter at address and return the face square at impact.
Double Bend
It is one important point to note that the actual attachment point of the hosel to the putter face doesn’t necessarily dictate toe hang. It is actually where an extension of the shaft would intersect the face that determines the balance point. Enter the double bend putter hosel.
This genius invention allows the shaft to basically point near the middle of the putter head, creating a face balanced putter, but attach closer to the heel, giving a better visual. The DOUBLE bend allows it to also attach with some offset (one bend away from center, one bend in away from the face).
Twist Neck
One elaborate neck style that you will see mostly in custom hand-made putters is the twist neck. This is a purely aesthetic design that was invented by Scotty Cameron.
In the early days of his putter design business, he would heat the neck up red-hot and twist it around in a spiral to show the durability of the solid one-piece milled designs he was creating. This became popular, and in addition to being requested as a custom add-on for one-off Scotty Cameron putters has been copied by other boutique manufacturers as well.
Shaft Length
In theory, shorter shafts are easier to control. In reality everyone is going to putt better with a shaft length that is properly in harmony with the other components of their club, and matches their natural body setup.
That said, some players do prefer to go with the shortest shaft they can get into comfortably, without sacrificing balance or creating an uncomfortable posture.
Materials
Generally, extra-large club heads are going to be made from lightweight aluminum, while smaller blade designs will be made from steel. This is simply to achieve the right balance in the club while changing the size and shape of the head.
Additionally, many high-end designs include some amount of tungsten weighting, to further redistribute weight to the outsides of the club, either built-in or in the form of removable weights.
RELATED: Bettinardi vs Scotty Cameron Putters: Which Is Better And Why?
Inserts
Regardless of head shapes and sizes, the other area manufacturers have focused on to improve putting consistency and forgiveness is in the area of the putter face. There are a few main technologies to focus on here.
The first is “simple” face milling which can take on elaborate patterns these days, in an attempt to give an even amount of topspin and get the ball rolling consistently with the help of a little bit of friction.
RELATED: How To Spot Counterfeit Golf Clubs And Putters
The next level of this is the SIK face technology where they actually have a face that is four different segments with different lofts, with the idea being that no matter what degree of shaft lean is delivered to the ball, the face will present the same launch angle at impact, increasing consistency in roll despite an inconsistent stroke.
The other big advent of the 21st century is the use of polymer face inserts. Urethane, durometer, and other fancy words basically try to achieve a “softness” to the face while also providing the friction of a milled metal putter face. These are also used in an attempt to match the change in impact dynamics from the modern golf ball in the “Pro-V1 era” of golf.
The most advanced of these designs attempt to combine multiple layers of face inserts or combine polymer with aluminum in order to achieve a very specific combination of forgiveness and feel.
Alignment Aids
On a blade putter head style, this is limited to something as simple as a dot or a dash either on the top of the blade or on the back flange of the putter.
With the advent of the mallet and super-size mallets of today the alignment aids have become a huge focal point of the club. With more “real estate” we can see everything from a humongous line all the way down the back to sets of parallel lines - sometimes one large and others dashed, or three stripes as with Callaway’s “Triple Track” technology.
The most successful of all of these, however, may be Odyssey’s “2 Ball” design that presents a very unique way for the golfer to perceive alignment without feeling as technical as the lines and stripes of other models.
RELATED: Pelz Putting Tutor Review
Grip
While not a rule, in general, more forgiving putter heads tend to be larger and have more weight, and they tend to have corresponding larger grips. That said, blade putters can have weight added to match a large grip, and traditionally thin “pistol” grips once popular with blade putters can be weighted to match a modern high-MOI, extra-large putter head as well.
When it comes to forgiveness, there has been a huge shift in grip preference in recent years with the advent of the SuperStroke style putter grips. These have proven to be more than just a quirk or a fad and many rave about their ability to keep the hands stable in the stroke, improving forgiveness by using the “big muscles” in the shoulders to roll the rock.
Keep in mind, too, that the grip you put on your putter should match up with your putting grip style for best results!
Look
One of the main drawbacks of the high-MOI era, at least as far as traditionalists are concerned, is that some of the new-school putter head designs are quite elaborate. While TaylorMade has embraced this and dubbed their multi-flanged design the Spider, Scotty Cameron has gone the other route and attempted to hide the alien-like technology in their Phantom putter.
At this point in golf history, and given that the vast majority of golfers and iconic golf moments have seen a very narrow array of putter head designs, with the blade putter being the most common and also the thing that most golfers pick up first, it can be difficult for some to adjust. Others just feel more confident with a more streamlined design and feel they have greater control over their putts, regardless of MOI.
Generally, however, we can rest assured knowing that equipment manufacturers aren’t coming up with wilder and wilder designs unless there’s a technological reason to go with it, and there is probably little end in sight with people pushing the materials to make larger and larger mallets as well as other novel designs such as the L.A.B. technology that is now coming on the scene.
Feel
Feel vs. forgiveness is basically the age-old debate in any golf equipment sector. Generally most known club designs are going to represent a tradeoff between the two, with all clubs existing on a spectrum. And every year, manufacturers advertise that they are finally presenting us with a club that gives you the best of both worlds.
To this day, however, insistence remains that the larger putter heads that by the laws of physics give us a resistance to twisting and swinging off-track also by definition give us less ability to feel the nuances in the stroke and fine-tune speed control that lightweight blade head users crave. Obviously it is possible to become a near-master with either design, but that is the one thing that those who eschew the high-forgiveness designs will point to.
Budget
Nowadays, almost all putter manufacturers will create an entire line of putters, covering small, medium, large, and extra large heads that exist on a range of forgiveness levels, and each of those will offer various hosel shapes to match corresponding arcs as well as their own proprietary face insert or milling technology. Conversely, the biggest, most forgiving head shapes are definitely not confined to only the high-end manufacturers, and there are budget options for any style.
RELATED: Are Expensive Putters Worth It?
The bottom line, however, is that the more elaborate high-MOI designs cost more to manufacture, and the more different materials that are used in the form of multi-layer faces and weight inserts, etc., also drive the price up. As with most industries, the tried-and-true classics are going to be more widely available while the designs pushing the envelope of the latest technology are going to be on the more expensive side of the spectrum.
RELATED: Best Putting Drills
FAQs
What does a forgiving putter mean?
In general, a forgiving putter means the ability of the face to resist twisting during the stroke and to resist being swung off of the pendulum arc that it starts on. Physically, both of these are dictated by MOI or moment of inertia, which corresponds to the weight (and therefore size) of the putter head.
It’s almost possible to make the blanket statement that bigger is more forgiving. These putters also tend to create more consistency off the face since the distribution of the mass makes it less likely for an off-center strike to start on a bad line.
The other area where manufacturers try to turn the screws on the forgiveness meter is in the design of the face. This could be as simple as milling a pattern on the face to produce a consistent roll or the slightly more elaborate method of adding a face insert of various different materials or layers that creates similar “soft” impact dynamics across the face.
What putters are most forgiving?
The most forgiving putters tend to be the ones with bigger club heads, like mallets or the more futuristic styles.
The quest for forgiveness and consistency in the putter world has been almost synonymous with the quest to build bigger and heavier putter heads. This started when brands began going from bullseye putters to the cavity back blades of the Anser era. Then came mallet putters that pushed the limits of how big and heavy and widely distributed the mass of the club head could be with conventional materials. Recently manufacturers have started into aluminum designs with huge cavities and tungsten perimeter weighting and even 3D printing to make the most efficient use of materials.
While not a hard-and-fast rule, the reason for making putter heads larger in the first place is to improve forgiveness first and foremost so those head designs are favored by golfers looking for consistency in stroke over all else.
Which Scotty Cameron putter is most forgiving?
The most forgiving Scotty Cameron putter is the Phantom X 12. It is a super high MOI putter with face balanced technology. You can see it here at a great price - Ebay.
Is Scotty Cameron Newport forgiving?
The Scotty Cameron Newport putter is not very forgiving. While it is a great putter, forgiveness is not what it is known for. It is a blade putter that works best when you hit the ball with the sweet spot of the putter. The sweet spot is very small on The Newport and Newport 2 putters.
Is a mallet or a blade more forgiving?
A mallet putter is generally more forgiving than a blade putter.
The entire reason why mallet putters were invented was to continue to evolve the forgiveness both in the stroke and on off-center hits. While there may be some personal preference involved or something that matches well with the golfer who uses a blade design, larger mallet heads are technically more forgiving.
A blade putter demands more control over your stroke and an ability to strike the ball consistently in a smaller sweet spot.
Final Thoughts
It’s amazing how much engineers can come up with when it comes to the demands of the modern golfer to help them with their game. Both at the professional and amateur level, putting continues to drive golfers crazy. Putters are probably the number one most tinkered-with club in all of golf, at all levels of the game.
Equipment manufacturers have tried to filled this void, coming up with lots of tricks to tease more and more forgiveness out of putters each year. Some of the designs have become so outrageous looking that even the most die-hard traditionalists have surely picked up a Futura or Phantom or Two Ball putter and thought how ordinary even a regular mallet putter looked in contrast.
The reality is that these innovations have not just been in vain, they represent actual improvements in materials and the ability to shape those materials into shapes that are, by the laws of physics, able to offer more to golfers of all levels. That means an ability for the putter to start on line, stay on line, stay pointed where you intended it, and give a consistent roll no matter where you hit it on the face. These are all huge factors for the golfer, whether pro, beginner or high handicap, and there have been massive strides made in the past couple of decades when it comes to MOI and face inserts, with things like tungsten weighting and polymer and milled faces being incorporated to the most classic blade designs.
RELATED: Eyeline Putting Mirror Review
It’s safe to say if you’ve been holding out, there’s no better time than the present to take a peek at what some of the newest models have to offer, because they represent some very significant departures from what was capable even 15 years ago.
