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2014 Golf’s Most Wanted Blade: The Contenders

BY Dave Wolfe
Jun 9th 2014
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By Dave Wolfe

Which blade putter in 2014 actually performs the best?

Today we take a look at the 31 competitors who will battle it out for the coveted title of “Golf’s Most Wanted!” – Blade Putter for 2014.

We have thirty-one putters from from twenty-one putter makers going head to head, battling to see who is the most accurate.

Remember, that’s what the “Golf’s Most Wanted!” Putter competitions are all about: accuracy

You’ll get no points for aesthetics here. No points for the size of the company, or the number of pros on contract either. It’s performance, not pedigree that determines “Golf’s Most Wanted!”.

We have an amazingly diverse field this year. We have putters from most of the big players that are known to all, and also some putters from manufacturers who you may be learning about for the first time today. Again, our playing field is level. All putters have an equal shot at being the Most Wanted Blade Putter.

The simple truth is that the “Golf’s Most Wanted!” – Blade Putter earns its title by being the most accurate of the group.

Testing Parameters:

Location of Testing: Outdoor Practice Green at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex
Ball Used: 2014 Wilson Staff FG Tour
Number of Testers: 10
HCPs of Testers: 2-20+
Putters Tested: 31
Total Balls Rolled Per Putter: 150
Total Balls Rolled Per Tester: 360 over two sessions
Time for each tester to complete test: Approximately 4.5 hours

Accuracy Scoring

Like in previous “Golf’s Most Wanted!” putter tests, blade accuracy was measured by having the testers roll five putts from three distances; five, ten, and twenty feet. The distance from the closest edge of the cup was then recorded for each miss. To normalize the results, all of our testers used the same ball, the 2014 Wilson Staff FG Tour.

Because we know that missing a five-footer by two feet is not the same as missing a twenty-footer by two feet, the values were adjusted for distance as follows:

:: 5-Foot Score = Miss Distance (inches) x 2.0

:: 10-Foot Score = Miss Distance (inches) x 1.5

:: 20-Foot Score = No Adjustment

Once the values were adjusted for distance, the numbers were added together to generate a putter’s Total Accuracy Score.

Example: Accuracy Scoring Protocol

PUTTER X Accuracy Scoring, Tester #1
:: 5-foot putts: (11″ miss distance x adjustment of 2.0) = 22″ total miss distance 
:: 10-foot putts: (16″ miss distance x adjustment of 1.5) = 24″ total miss distance 
:: 20-foot putts: (120″ miss distance with no adjustment) = 120″ total miss distanceTotal Accuracy Score for Tester #1 with PUTTER X would be = 166″ inches (total miss distance)

2014 “Golf’s Most Wanted!” Blade Putter: The Contenders

As I mentioned earlier, this year we have a very diverse range of blade putters from twenty-one different companies. Before we take a look at the putters, let’s address a couple of questions you may be thinking.

How do you define “Blade Putter”?

The simple answer to this question is that we don’t. Instead, we let each company decide what a “blade putter” is in their shop. Though perhaps not as physically diverse as the mallets, this crop of blade putters represents quite a range of metal morphologies. Some are traditional, and some are not even on the same planet as traditional. Regardless, in the eyes of their makers, and thus in our eyes, they are all blades.

Where is “Company X”?

We know that you have your favorite golf companies and that you want to see their putters represented in the competition. We do too! We sent contacts out to far more than twenty-one companies. Some declined, others never took the time to reply. If you want to win, you gotta play, and some just didn’t want to play.

Odyssey/Callaway Golf has chosen not to participate in any putter reviews or competitions so far this year.

If you would like to see Odyssey/Callaway back in the mix, head over to Twitter and send them a message telling them so. We hear they occasionally use social media these days.

Titleist/Scotty Cameron is the other noteworthy declining company.

They sit at the top of the market, they have the most to lose and the least to gain from a competition like ours. If they win, it’s expected, and should they not win, any other place amounts to failure. We understand why they would decline, but we also believe that if you’re going to charge the consumer $350 for a putter, the cost should be justified through performance.

However, we were also curious about how a Scotty Cameron putter would stack up against the rest of the field. Do Cameron’s putters pack a special level of performance, or do (lots of) golfers just pay for the Cameron name? Yes, Scotty Cameron declined to participate, but guess what, there is a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 in the competition!

Enough about who is not here, let’s take a look at this year’s “Golf’s Most Wanted!” – Blade Putter contestants:

Axis-1 Joey-C

Axis-1 Umbra

Bellum Winmore 747

Bettinardi BB1

Bettinardi BB1-CB

Bettinardi Sig 7

Bettinardi Sig 8

Byron Morgan 612

Cleveland Classic 1

Cleveland Classic 4.5

Edel E-3

Gauge Design Hex Mill

Gauge Design SPI-1 Joseph

Guerin Putters GR1.1

HeavyPutter K4-M Mid

Low Tide Fin

Mantis Mantis B

Nike MOD-30

Nike MOD-90

P&SI EGOS

Ping Karsten TR Anser 2

Ping Karsten TR Anser 5

Ping Scottsdale TR Anser T

Piretti Potenza 2

Scotty Cameron Newport 2

Scratch-James Ingles Prototype

SeeMore PTM2

SeeMore PTM2w

TaylorMade Daytona 12

TaylorMade Spider Blade 12

Wilson Staff Vizor Level 2 M1

Which will be the Most Wanted Blade?

Come back tomorrow and we will reveal which putter earned the title of “Golf’s Most Wanted!” – Blade Putter. Did a little shop out work the big companies, or will one of the heavy hitters take home the title. You will know for sure tomorrow, but in the mean time, let us know who you think will win in the comment section below. Take a blind guess, or back up your guess with logic. We are all curious who you think will win the title. See you tomorrow!

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Dave Wolfe

Driver TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus	Fairways TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus
Hybrid TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue	Irons Srixon ZX5
Wedges PING Glide Forged Pro	Putter Titleist Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2
Ball Titleist -Pro V1x

Dave Wolfe

comments

Join The Discussion

harley towler

9 years ago

very interesting !!!

Jim Lee

10 years ago

Awesome. Can’t wait to see the result. Too bad my putter company didn’t apply. Just hope that TP Mills can make it next time.

Tom

10 years ago

Edel. Best putter and fitting system out there vs “off the rack” big companies.

Joel

10 years ago

I didn’t see a single real blade… Like 8802 with no perimeter weighting. My 8813 still feels better than nearly anything to me. Real blades have gone the way of the dodo apparently. The TM Maranello 82 and Odyssey #8 and #9 are among good alternatives.

This test shoud be call Ping Anser clone competition though! Lol

Walt

10 years ago

Gentlemen…can we all agree alignment is the number one reason all putts are missed? Good, for those that don’t believe that’s true, you need to go educate yourself as to the “why” in putting. Einstein was quoted as saying, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d speed 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes about the solutions.” When we drill down and look at the “root of alignment problems” we find Pandora’s Box and a plethora of reasons golfers can’t putt…literally! However and for simplicity reasons I’ll quote you just ONE famous golfing engineer “Pelz” who wrote an entire article in Golf Digest on the subject of alignment 15 years ago, “The average player misaligns their putter at address by 75% @ 15 ft. and makes corrective adjustments to poor alignment DURING THE STROKE to get the ball back on the intended starting line!” Anybody awake yet? My point being, “Which one of these 31 putters, besides the EGOS PUTTER, can give you the “intended starting line” on every putt… before you stroke the ball?” I’ll save you some time …..None of them!” You can always find me @ [email protected] or check my webpage on “how to learn the art of putting” at http://www.Nside10.com No brag…just fundamentals! Wp in Augusta

Andy W

10 years ago

Outstanding Tony! Please save these detailed explanations, and cut&paste it on every blog that gets crazy negative. Maybe better yet, insert it as Comment #1 on each blog..

One could say MGS is the Bill O’Rielly of the golf world because both not only claim, but continually provide evidence that they are “looking out for us folk” and that’s how ratings and subscibers go off the chart…

jjd3535

10 years ago

My god mgs u suck… totally suck! All you f$$king do is complain about everything callaway. Dont be mad that they are standing up to the upset 2 year old throwing a temper tantrum! When you make a comment that they havent participated in any of the putter tests get your facts straight because they were in the mallet tests. If you want to call your projects “tests”.

Tony Covey

10 years ago

Be honest with us, are you on staff with Callaway?

Here’s the deal, there is a tremendous lead time for these tests. For example, clubs for the Most Wanted Driver test started arriving in November for our early February publish date. The same holds true for our mallet, fairway, and now blade tests. As it relates to Callaway, samples for mallet, fairway and driver shipped shortly before they made the decision to stop participating in our tests. To their credit, they didn’t request that we not include them in those tests. Since then Callaway has declined to participate in one-off putter reviews, The Pimp List, and this putter test.

We’re not complaining. Every company who declines to participate whether it’s Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Cleveland, or any other company whose uncomfortable with no guarantee of a typical fluff review is within their rights to decline. No hard feelings, and you can bet each and every one of the companies who declines will be invited back next time. We let our readers know when a company of consequence declines because our readers want to know.

As far as our “projects” go. We’ve discussed our testing protocols and methodologies with several OEMs. They don’t always like the results, nor do the ones who don’t win generally like that we place an absolute score on the results, that said, how we do things is very similar to how the OEMs do things when they test clubs.

golfer4life

10 years ago

Tony your wasting way too much time on these few d-bags. There are always people who will question certain things, but for the same few to keep saying the same stupid shit is ridiculous. They are people that will never be satisfied with your answers or explanations. I happen to disagree with some of your findings from time to time, but I don’t believe I’ve ever read that what is stated and tested here is the holy grail. I find it great to have different opinions about equipment, whether it differs from mine or not. Keep doing what your doing.
Cheers
G4L

i_golf

10 years ago

PS Wilson Visor is a blade? How many golf balls did they have to donate to get you guys to slide that one in? Wilson is great, but come on kids

i_golf

10 years ago

One of two ways this will go… the bitter approach: guess what Scotty, no pay, no play. Flunked! Or, the enterprising approach: Scotty wins! And, um, Mr. Scotty, this act of good faith will in fact require some gimmes in future tests, granted we get to bag some equipment… either way, not having the 1 and 2 biggest putter brands not being involved. Amateur hour, b league all star game. Ping is great, but we already know they’ve wined you up something nice. I guess, Go Ping!

Tony Covey

10 years ago

“rant, rant, rant, noise, unfounded accusation, bicker, bicker, whine”

Yawn.

Seriously. If you’re going to continue to conduct yourself here in this fashion, I respectfully ask that you sack up and stop hiding behind this “i_golf” name. If you’re going to continue to hurl baseless accusations, and essentially accuse us of being on the take, at least have the balls to post your real name and let everyone know who you are. I’m sure your potential customers would love to know more about the kind of person you are.

And seriously, I’d love to know which sites you approve of? I get that you don’t always love the content (that’s fair, we don’t expect to please everyone), but look around, man…Big OEMs are spending 6 figures to manipulate (basically control) content at sites smaller this one (and more money still at bigger sites). We turn that down (and I know you think that’s a lie too), so that we’re not beholden to anyone. There’s an establish system in place that wields tremendous influence over not only the content you see (what brands get features and what doesn’t) as well as how that content is presented (opinions vs. EXACTLY what the OEM states as fact).

At the risk of taking a rational approach with someone who has thus far presented as highly irrational… We’ve talked about it. Do we not make the trips to PING, TaylorMade, Cobra, Nike, Callaway (yes, we’ve been to Callaway and Titleist too), etc. when it’s one their dime? Our travel budget is next to zero (we pay our way to the PGA show annually, and it’s a TREMENDOUS financial hit for us, but we feel we have to be there). If we skip the media trips (media from several outlets present), we’re conceding content, knowledge, and opportunity to our competition. That’s just bad business. That said, we do often pass on invitations to smaller media events.

(by the way…are we on the take from all of the companies we visit, and who provide us with product for testing, or just a select few)?

As far as individual trips (like Dave and Tim to PING), there is no better way to learn about products, and for much of what I write, company philosophy and business practices, than spending one-on-one time with a company. To do this job, you need to have those conversations. It’s also your best chance to get *real* information from a manufacturer.

So where is the line? For us it’s like this…we don’t let anyone tell us what or how to write it. Within the last month I was contacted by PR/Marketing guys from two different companies who were unhappy with something I wrote. Both gave me an alternative suggestion for how I should have written it. Seriously “here’s what you should have written”. It happens after every Most Wanted Test as well (usually dependent on where a company finishes). Sometimes companies like what we write, sometimes they hate it. That’s how it works, and it applies to all of those companies we cover whether we’ve had a recent visit or not.

Here’s how the industry handles these conflicts. Big print publications…they pay their own way to the events. Their writers pay for the clubs they get on those trips (steeply discounted, but they pay something). The philosophy is that it’s a conflict of interest…and that’s not wholly invalid, but the hypocrisy comes is believing that it’s a conflict of interest to have INSERT COMPANY HERE pay for a flight and a hotel room, but a million dollar ad deal from the same company is completely on the up and up.

Smaller guys (all online, and even mid-tier print), we don’t (and we can’t) pay our own way to the big events, but here we make no promises about content, or test results, or anything else. We still piss golf companies off with our content. I promise you, there isn’t another site of this size (creeping closer to 1/2 million unique visitors per month), who can say that. Why? Because our business plan (such as it is) doesn’t rely on keeping the biggest companies in golf happy 24/7.

Big companies don’t get ads on the site (or on our vehicles), and nobody gets to tell us what to write or how to write it.

flaglfr

10 years ago

Gotta say this is a LOT of pent up angst. Is I_golf an ex employee who just can’t get past the fact he was let go? Is he a rival website writer? Is he just a PIA? Who knows.

Here’s a thought. If you are that dissatisfied, move on. Let it go. Take a break. Take a pill. Take something that lets you get by this and the other issues in your life that cause you to be so angry.

If you look at my post above, I don’t agree with this style putter being called a blade. But I do understand that others and many manufacturers do. Because someone choses to not participate is what it is. Their right to choose. I’m sure its disheartening for those who conduct tests like this, (and we who read them) but vendors will choose to do what they want just like we do. It is their choice.

Hell I’d even like to see a tournament on the PGA tour where the guys are forced to play with persimmon drivers and real thin blades again. Is this gonna happen? The odds are between slim and none and participation by the tour guys would probably be at the same level as the odds. The players would simply choose to not play.

Would I like to see tests with everybody playing in the sandbox? Absolutely. But I have great difficulty believing it will come to pass with today’s marketing machines. There is too much to lose for one small misstep. These guys are trying their best to do what they can to remain independent. Is this easy? No. Hell no. I truly applaud the fact they actually pay something for the clubs they get. It is tempting to take everything for free.

Passion is a good thing. Anger is not. They are trying to get information out in a way that is different from the other magazines and websites. If this makes you so hostile, find another one to read. You both will get by without each other. I guess the bottom line is why be so angry? Move on if it makes you mad.

Life is too short. Bothering with this sort of thing makes it shorter.

Chisag

10 years ago

How do you have 21 blade putters without a single heel shafted entry? Those of us with gate strokes have been using heel shafted only our entire golfing lives.

Chris

10 years ago

Photo array has been corrected. Looking forward to the results. I have previously gamed the Piretti CWll and currently game an Edel small mallet so I am curious as to how these Edel and Piretti versions test out.

chrisK

10 years ago

Wow, it’s amazing to me how many of these putters look so identical to the old ping anser putter of the 60’s & 70’s. I’m sure there’s different metal and inserts that are far better than the old days, but by looks alone, there’s a lot of copies out there. The test will be interesting just to see how closely the putters that resemble the old anser end up in the final stats. I’d be surprised to see any of the copies break away from the others that closely resemble it.

DL

10 years ago

As a 2 Bar Mallet owner, I’m rooting for the Guerin Prototype. But I dig the look of the Low Tide Fin and i want to roll a few with the Nike Mod-90 just to see what its like.

flaglfr

10 years ago

MAN!
You had my interest at an all time high. When I opened my browser it said blade test. I thought you were going to do a test on the newest blades. Oh well… I can still dream.

I must say it is sort of confusing to me as to how a heel-toe balanced putter can be a blade. Have we stretched the boundaries that far? It would be really interesting to have a test on “real” blades. My definition of a real blade is the 8802 style Wilson, the Cameron Napa, Cameron bullseye etc… It is my belief that there are few putters better for those with strong arcs than the classic blade design. My .02 for the group. Yes I use one. Mine is a Mizuno Bettinardi blade. 8802 style with the insert. Wish I could get my hands on a Napa for less than my first born.

flaglfr

10 years ago

By the way,
Piretti makes a hell of a putter. Have one of their copper models. softest putter I have ever used. it is the best on fast greens.

Joel

10 years ago

I agree, this test is just named wrong. Putting stroke style would be a more helpful way to divide up the tests. Ping divides their putters stroke style.

When it comes to putter opinions I only want to hear from other arc style people. Does the average golfer know what they are? Does MGS know what their testers are?

I grabbed the Ping that won the mallet contest and was instantly horrible with it. I’m the wrong guy for that shaft setup. But I can grab any heel shafted mallet and do well. The problem is beginning golfers can be mislead by tests like this. The putter grip alone could alter results significantly.

But I applaud MGS for putting together another interesting competition. And Video these things!

Mike H.

10 years ago

It’s great seeing Low Tide in the mix. Met one of the Low Tide founders at a tournament a couple of years ago when they were just getting started making putters. He showed me one of their first pieces and I was impressed.

Chris

10 years ago

Hark the photo under the gauge appears to be the sole of the piretti

Dave Wolfe

10 years ago

Which one Chris? They are looking OK from my terminal…

Aotearoabrad

10 years ago

Nice to see the SeeMore PTM2 in the test. I’m planning on ordering one this week

Con

10 years ago

Go Scotty!!!! But seriously that lowtide looks awesome at address.

Matt

10 years ago

I’m glad you are including a Scotty in the contest. Most overrated piece of golf equipment manufactured. Sure they are good putters, but they’re nothing special. There are so many options out there now. Explore.

Steve Barry

10 years ago

So Scotty didn’t send one in, yet you have one in. I’m assuming this means one of the testers (or MGS themselves) had one for the competition? How does no one around there have an Odyssey putter to do the same thing with?

Either way, that Low Tide Fin looks splendid. I immediately noticed that one on the putter quiz as it looked really, really good. I have a thing for #1W variety putters and I had never heard of them until your quiz..well, actually until you shared a few of the answers.

Dave Wolfe

10 years ago

Hi Steve
Odyssey has multiple lines of putters this year so it would be tough for us to select one to include. If we include the “wrong” Odyssey putter, many people would claim that we are biased if it didn’t do well.

The Cameron Newport 2 on the other hand is a fair representative of Scotty’s new line.

If you are a wide blade guy, I do recommend you check out the Low Tide site. Cool custom options there too.

golfer4life

10 years ago

Glad that you guys put a Cameron in the test but the same should have been done for Odyssey. Could have used a milled and/or a pro. Tough to leave the leader of the pack out of a contest. But I guess they’re still pouting from the driver test lol

TwoSolitudes

10 years ago

Axis-1 Umbra looks just crazy enough to work… that and the Egos are the most interesting looking ones to me.

My guess is the Scotty finishes middle of the pack.

MG

10 years ago

How can you say Odyssey has chosen not to participate in any putter competitions this year? By my count they had 4 putters in the most wanted mallet competition?

Dave Wolfe

10 years ago

The mallet test group was assembled prior to the current situation.

Cory

10 years ago

So one model of a Scotty Cameron and no Odyssey putters. I get that the companies declined but if you can’t really get the 2 biggest names in putters involved what is the point of the test? Any results or rankings have a HUGE asterisk

mygolfspy

10 years ago

As mentioned in the article, A Scotty Cameron putter is in the test:

Scotty Cameron Newport 2

“Yes, Scotty Cameron declined to participate, but guess what, there is a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 in the competition!”

drjacko

10 years ago

How does the Wilson Staff Visor offering sneak into the blade category?

blstrong (SeeRed)

10 years ago

I wondered the same thing.

michael L.

10 years ago

think of it as a blade with an extended alinement aid. Also, mallets generally have higher MOIs than blades and the visor doesn’t look as forgiving as a mallet such as a SC Kombi.

Sprout

10 years ago

How is Titleist going to feel about Scotty’s inclusion? As a wise man once said, “you can’t stop the bum-rush.”

Peter

10 years ago

Yes! Way to get the newport 2 into the mix. I was disappointed to see mr cameron decline the invitation. Let the best putter win.

Adam

10 years ago

Been looking forward to this one..excited for tomorrow.

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Buyer's Guides

2014 Golf’s Most Wanted Blade: The Contenders

Testing Parameters:

Accuracy Scoring

Example: Accuracy Scoring Protocol

2014 “Golf’s Most Wanted!” Blade Putter: The Contenders

How do you define “Blade Putter”?

Where is “Company X”?

Which will be the Most Wanted Blade?

For You

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comments

harley towler

Jim Lee

Tom

Joel

Andy W

jjd3535

golfer4life

i_golf

i_golf

flaglfr

Chisag

Chris

chrisK

DL

flaglfr

flaglfr

Joel

Mike H.

Chris

Aotearoabrad

Con

Matt

Steve Barry

golfer4life

TwoSolitudes

MG

Cory

mygolfspy

drjacko

blstrong (SeeRed)

michael L.

Sprout

Peter

Adam

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Golf Shafts

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