Most Forgiving Putters

The putter is the most important club in your bag. This is because it’s the most used club in a round of golf, and you’ll hit half of your strokes with a putter. The putters’ clubface is often flat and is designed to get the ball rolling forward instead of lifting it from the ground to take flight.

The putter is usually used to finally hit the ball into the cup on every hole. The expression “Drive for show, Putt for dough” sums it up pretty well. A good drive can be impressive, but if you want to lower your scores and win titles, putting is more crucial.

A forgiving putter will help reduce the effects of bad strikes or off-center hits and help keep the ball inline and close to the cup. Here are some vital factors to consider in a forgiving putter and a review of the 7 most forgiving putters to help you in your decision.

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Vital Factors for a Forgiving Putter

Blades vs. Mallets

The classic blade putter is usually toe-balanced and suited for more experienced golfers with an arc stroke putting swing. Mallets are designed to be more forgiving than blade putters. They feature an oversized clubhead with hollow construction and weighting on both the toe and head.

Mallets have a more prominent sweet spot and alignment lines on the upper surface to aid in aiming. Mallets are more forgiving when the stroke is not perfect and help prevent the putter from twisting for more accuracy and control.

Face Insert

Putters can either have a milled face or have a face insert. Forgiving putters offer different types of face inserts to help you control distance, enhance feel and keep your putts along the target line to the cup.

The face insert can improve response and interaction with the golf ball to give you a forward roll that doesn’t bounce or skid.

Alignment

Alignment guides on the putter will help you line up your putt to the hole. Forgiving putters will have great alignment lines that can go up to three to help you ensure the ball and putter head are aligned, and you’re swinging on the correct path.

A precise alignment on the putter head provides confidence. It helps get the ball to the center of the putter’s face as often as possible.

Balancing

The balance of the putter relates to the position of the center of gravity (CG). In putters where the CG has been moved forward, you get more power with reduced balance as the forward CG allows the head to direct more energy to the ball.

A forgiving putter will have a deep CG for more balance and strength behind the club’s face. The deep CG can help stabilize the putter on off-center strikes for a more reliable roll on the intended path.

Length

Although the length is not directly tied to the forgiveness of the putter, the wrong height can affect how the putter performs. You should be able to get your sight over the ball at set up with an appropriately lengthed putter.

With the wrong length, you’ll find it challenging to use even the best of putters.

Review of the 7 Most Forgiving Putters

1. TaylorMade Spider X Putter

The TaylorMade Spider X Putter is manufactured with revolutionary design changes and modifications to give you more forgiveness. It’s one of the most forgiving putters featuring high MOI, alignment features, a profoundly grooved insert, and perimeter weighting.

Pros:

The weight is moved to the back of the putter for a deeper CG to give you enhanced control.

The clubhead is heavier, with more mass distributed to the edges for increased MOI to enhance forgiveness.

The face insert is thicker and allows deeper grooving so you can get the ball rolling quicker with less backspin, so it stays on the line.

It has an excellent alignment system, and you can choose a single line down the central section length or a black line on a white background.

Perimeter weighting and repositioning mean you’re less likely to lose speed or contact on your putts so you can make more holes.

Cons:

Offers a minimum loft option.

2. Odyssey Triple Track Putter

The two-ball putter design of the Odyssey Triple Track Putter has been around for over 20 years because it works. The Triple Track is the most forgiving putter with a long-lasting insert that doesn’t wear out even after years of use.

Pros:

A multi-material shaft redistributes weight to the grip end and head of the putter for increased rebalancing and stroke consistency.
Three Triple Track lines are prominently featured at the top to help you improve your putting accuracy.
Vernier Hyper Acuity is used in the Triple lines with red and blue tracks for more consistent and better alignment.
The mallet design makes it very forgiving on mis-hits to help you if you struggle with putting consistently.
It’s excellent in soft and fast greens, and the insert provides a firmer feel and superb sound while still rolling the ball perfectly.

Cons:

The alignment feature is most useful with corresponding golf balls.

3. Odyssey Hot Pro 2.0 Putter

The Odyssey Hot Pro 2.0 Putter is the most forgiving putter with a blade design and shape. The clubhead design offers optimal performance for players of all levels. The forgiveness and responsiveness of the club are enhanced with a milled insert and the toe/heel weight placement.

Pros:

A compacted mallet design still offers a large clubface with a large sweet spot for enhanced forgiveness.
The tour-level face is balanced to enhance contact and forgiveness, and feel for all types of golfers.
The laser-milled insert provides you with high tolerance levels or MOI for reduced twisting of the putter.
The crank neck hosel and complete shaft offset provide incredible balance to improve your accuracy when putting.
Alignment is made easy with sighters at the top of the clubhead that clearly contrasts with the club’s color for improved confidence at address.

Cons:

Putter’s head can feel a bit lighter.

4. Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft #12 Putter

The Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft #12 Putter is the most forgiving putter from the Cleveland brand. It offers a great mix of forgiveness, stability, and feel for any level golfer with CNC milling, deep grooves, a large head design, and easy alignment.

Pros:

It’s a mallet putter with a large head design that gives you a large sweet spot for maximum forgiveness on off-center strokes.
The face is optimized with speed technology to ensure you get consistent distance on every putt, even when you mis-hit.
The Diamond CNC milling pattern with deep grooves ensures you get a proper roll that keeps the ball inline from the start.
The 304 Stainless Steel used in construction ensures improved strength for durability and better feel and sound.
You can choose different head shapes according to your preference for enhanced confidence at address and forgiveness.

Cons:

The clubhead can feel a bit light.

5. PowerBilt RS-X M200 Putter

The PowerBilt RS-X M200 Putter is a trustworthy and excellent choice for budget-conscious golfers. It’s one of the most forgiving putters with a reasonable price and is suitable for beginners and high handicappers.

Pros:

The mallet head design gives you a large sweet spot for more increased forgiveness when you mis-hit.
Increased MOI or resistance is ensured with perimeter weighting for decreased twisting of the putter.
A grooved face design ensures you can launch the ball forward with straighter rolls to the cup.
3D design alignment aids make it easy to correctly line up with the ball for improved accuracy.
A plumbers neck hosel improves confidence by promoting the correct hand placement at the address.

Cons:

Roll-off from the clubface could be better.

6. Pinemeadow PGX Putter

The Pinemeadow PGX Putter is the most forgiving budget-friendly putter in the market. It’s made with good quality and offers a tremendous of forgiveness considering the price. The PGX putter is most suitable for beginners and high handicappers looking to improve their putting.

Pros:

The mallet design ensures you get a large sweet spot for more forgiveness on off-center hits.
Aiming lines on the club’s white finish makes it easy to correctly align the ball with the sweet spot for improved accuracy.
The contrast of the color with grass on the green also helps maintain focus on the target for straighter shots.
The mallet putter has an additional 40g weight which helps increase MOI and reduces the CG for more balance.
The insert reduces skid and increases stability to give you a smooth forward spinning strike.

Cons:

Only available in a standard 34-inch length.

7. Wilson Staff Infinite West Loop Putter

The Wilson Staff Infinite West Loop Putter gives you a premium feel and quality at a reasonable price. It’s one of the most forgiving putters from the Wilson line featuring a large clubface, counterbalancing technology, and a premium black finish.

Pros:

A large clubface ensures you get a large sweet spot for forgiveness on off-center hits.
The face is double milled to ensure you get consistent impact with the ball for adequate roll and distance control.
The counterbalancing technology helps you achieve a smoother, more controlled putting stroke by moving the balance closer to the hands.
Rotation during the stroke is limited thanks to oversize design construction, giving you a stable feel.
The ultra-dark PVD finish accentuates the sightlines for better alignment and also reduces glare on sunny days.

Cons:

Only one color available