MIZUNO Bettinardi Black Carbon Putter

Mizuno has the reputation of producing some of the best-feeling irons on the planet, and they’ve extended that to their putters with the help of renowned putter designer Bob Bettinardi.

These clubs are milled from a single piece of carbon steel and outfitted with their Feel Impact Technology face. The FIT face area reduces the surface area of where the ball makes contact, delivering what Mizuno says is a solid, yet soft feel to every putt.

The black carbon finish is designed to cut the glare.

Pinfire J1 Mallet Putter

Pinfire J1 Mallet Putter J-Series putters offer a high MOI (Moment of Inertia—resistance to twisting) and swing stability. The bore through milling removes weight from the putter center, which then is redistributed to the outside and rear of the putter. The J series also features adjustable weights, which allows golfers to adjust to different types of greens. The putter is milled from anodized aerospace aluminum, and has an adjustable weight from 340 - 440 grams.

I like the heavier putters because they take the wrists out of the stroke, forcing me to use my big, more stable muscles.

Heavy Putter D3-DF Putter

I love my Heavy Putter. It’s a B-1 model from a couple of years ago and is the best I’ve every played. It’s astonishingly heavy (as the name implies), and as such encourages a smooth, wristless putting motion. It’s deadly from ten feet in, and once you get used to it, pretty good on the lag, too.

The D3-DF model shown here is the latest from the company. It’s humpback design raises the center of gravity which, together with the deep face, is supposed to encourage better contact with the sweet spot. The rails on the bottom of the club are supposed to make it sit perfectly on the green, eliminiating stubbing.

But here’s the main feature: the head weights 465 grams, and there is a 250 gram weight in the grip end of the shaft that creates a balance point that is 75% higher up the shaft than a conventional putter.

He ain’t heavy ... he’s my putter.

Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Odyssey Sabertooth Putter

I think that Odyssey’s new Sabertooth Putter takes the award for coolest looking putter of the year.

Those weighted fangs contain 37% of the putter’s weight, increasing the Moment of Intertia, and thus the putter’s stability. The body of the putter, it seems, is constructed somewhat like a golf ball, with an elastomer core, and a urethane outer striking surface.

Odyssey Golf Marxman X-Act Putting Wedge

Designed to help your short game, the Odyssey Gof Marxman X-Act is a chipper—a club that looks like a putter with an angled face. The idea is that when you get to those tricky, just off the green shots, you can use this club with a relatively straightforward and safe putter stroke. The angled face will pop the ball up and then quickly get it rolling toward the hole.

In addition to the putter length and the angled face, the X-Act has a wide sole to help eliminate stubbing, and a two-stripe alignment system. A polymer insert like other Odyssey putters has no grooves and is supposed to limit backspin, allowing the ball to roll more true.

I had the opportunity to try one of these and really liked it.  The only question would be which club you would remove from your bag to put this one in. I’d actually suggest the driver, since most higher handicappers—the ones who most need a chipper—should be teeing off with a three wood anyway. But if you really can’t give up the big dog, you could get rid of that lob wedge you can’t consistently use.