New Putters Trends in the PGA
As the PGA TOUR closes out the 2025 season, it’s clear that this year belonged to unexpected champions. A remarkable 35 different players claimed victories, making it tough to predict who would rise to the top. However, one consistent trend did emerge: mallet putters dominated. Across 46 tournaments and 47 winners (with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans counting as a team event), an eye-opening 35 champions used a mallet-style putter, while only 12 relied on a blade. The most recent blade win came back in July at the 3M Open, where Kurt Kitayama prevailed with a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Tour Prototype. The stats get even more compelling: following Ben Griffin’s late-season switch, every player currently ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking now uses a mallet putter.
"I actually looked a lot at the stats this year. I was 19th in Strokes Gained: Putting, and I believe I was the best blade putter on TOUR at No. 19, and all these guys ahead of me switched from blades to mallets," Griffin said after victory at the World Wide Technology Championship. "It was just something I thought about, what would happen if I used a mallet, and I felt like this was a good week for me to test it out.” It certainly was a strong week for Griffin, who earned his third win of the season, putting him in elite company with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as the only players to secure three or more titles this year. What advantages did the mallet putter offer that Griffin felt the blade couldn’t provide?
“He wanted to mallet for the forgiveness for the added benefit of the CG (center of gravity) to get a little bit more launch and consistency on speed,” James Holley, TaylorMade Tour putter rep, who cares for five of the top 10 players in the world. A bigger clubhead was necessary, allowing weight to be positioned farther from the center of gravity. This boosts the putter’s MOI (moment of inertia), resulting in greater stability and forgiveness on off-center strikes. That’s much harder to accomplish with a blade putter, which is restricted in its shape, size, and overall design options.
