Check out Golfweek’s list of the best putters available to purchase in 2024.
The big trend in drivers this season is adding stability and boosting the moment of inertia (MOI) so tee shots that you mis-hit fly straighter and farther. The big trend in putters in 2024 is similar — more forgiveness and stability.
Twenty years ago on the PGA Tour, most players used heel-to-toe weighted blades like the classic Ping Anser, Scotty Cameron Newport and Odyssey #1. Then, in the mid-2000s, the Odyssey 2-Ball putters exploded and mallets found their way into more and more bags on tour and in local clubs. Fast forward to the mid-2010s, and TaylorMade’s Spider Tour putter, a mid-size mallet with a high MOI but some toe-hang for golfers who have an arced stroke, takes the putting world by storm. Odyssey’s #7 and Scotty Cameron’s Futura X 5, with stability-boosting extensions in the heel and toe became more popular over the last decade too.
Plenty of golfers still love the look and feel of classic blades, but mallets, often made with multiple materials, are here to stay because they allow designers to shift weight into performance-enhancing areas and create bolder alignment features.
The best putter for you is waiting at your local shop, and after going through a putter fitting that includes discovering your idea putter length, lie angle, loft and balance, you will know exactly what it is. The putters listed below can give you a starting point to learn more about clubs you might want to try.
Note: Putters are often released on two-year product cycles, which means updates are released every two years. For that reason, you will see several 2023 offerings alongside new 2024 putters.
The Never Compromise putter franchise returns with several classic-looking models.
Gear: Never Compromise Reserve putters Price: $449 each Specs: Milled 303 stainless steel with adjustable sole weights Available: February 16
Who It’s For: Golfers who want a premium milled putter that is precisely fitted to match their setup, stroke type and visual preferences.
The Skinny: The Never Compromise putter franchise returns with several classic-looking models to choose from and a commitment to helping golfers find a putter that is personally sized and balanced to help them hole more putts.
The Deep Dive: Most avid golfers have accepted the idea that getting custom fit for woods and irons is the best way to ensure that the clubs in your bag match your swing and help you hit lower scores, but too many players fail to get fit for the club they use the most, their putter. Under the best of circumstances, elite players will hit more than twice as many putts as drivers, so they demand a putter that combines the perfect length, balance and looks, but recreational golfers may need to use their putter 35 to 40 times per round (or more). Yet, they still buy putters off the rack.
Dunlop Sports, the parent company of Cleveland, Srixon and Xxio, is bringing back the Never Compromise putter family in 2024, and in addition to offering meticulously made flat sticks, Never Compromise wants to help more golfers get fit for their putter.
The gray area on the dark-finished Never Compromise 3 putter is the width of a golf ball to help golfers align shots more easily. (Cleveland)
Never Compromise Reserve putters, which will only be sold in select pro shops, will come in a Tour Satin finish and a black with a golf ball-width grey area in the center that will be familiar to golfers who remember players like Vijay Singh winning with Never Compromise in the 2000s. Each of the four different head shapes will look familiar, and all the Never Compromise putters are milled from 303 stainless steel for a soft, premium feel.
But instead of picking up a Never Compromise Reserve putter, hitting a few putts with it on the pro shop carpet and walking to the cash register, golfers will need to go through a fitting process before making their purchase. Once they get into their putting posture and setup, the fitter will have them hold the top of an NC Fitting Tool, which is basically a putter on a sliding stand. It allows the fitter to measure the ideal length and lie angle for each player.
In the sole of all Never Compromise putters, like these #1s, are weights fitters can change to adjust the club’s swing weight. (Cleveland)
Once the ideal length and lie angle are discovered, golfers can pick between three toe-hang blades and two face-balanced offerings based on their swing type (slight arc or straight) before the fitter swaps out adjustable weights in the sole to create the ideal swing weight.
At the end of the process, the player will have a putter that not only is appealing to his or her eyes but also is made to their precise specifications, which should put them in a position to make a better stroke and hole more putts.
The Cleveland HB Soft 2 putters have classic looks and a budget-friendly price.
Gear: Cleveland HB Soft 2 putters Price:$149.99 Specs: Cast stainless steel heads with grooved faces and counterbalanced shaft Available: January 24, but available via pre-order NOW
Who It’s For: Golfers who want a classic-looking putter with a soft feel at impact and budget-friendly price.
The Skinny: The nine HB Soft 2 putters are designed for players with specific stroke types — straight or arched — and feature speed-normalizing grooves in the face for better distance control.
The Deep Dive: At a time when the golf market is filled with drivers that cost about $600, iron sets that are over $1,000 and putters that will run over $350, Cleveland has updated its HB Soft line of putters and dropped the price $50.
The original HB Soft putters that were released in 2022 were made with classic shapes and retailed for $199, but the nine new HB Soft 2 putters are $149 and still retain the timeless looks. Heel-toe weighted blades, fang-style mallets and compact mid-mallets, they’re all here.
The HB Soft 2 putters are divided into clubs designed for two different stroke types, straight and slight arc. The putters designed for straight-stroke players are face-balanced and come standard with an oversized pistol grip that should help golfers use their hands and wrists less when they putt. Putters made for golfers who have a slight arc in their stroke have some toe hang and come with a standard-size pistol grip.
The Speed Optimized Face Technology (SOFT) helps to normalize ball speed over a large portion of the hitting area. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
All nine HB Soft 2 putters, however, have been given a grooved face that has a tight groove pattern. Cleveland refers to it Speed Optimized Face Technology (SOFT). The pattern is tighter in the center, but in the heel and toe, it is open. As most golfers know, when you mis-hit a putt in the heel or toe, putts lose energy and do not roll out as far as center-struck putts. According to Cleveland, the tight groove pattern in the center slows the ball slightly as it comes off the face, so golfers can expect the ball to roll out to nearly the same distance across a more significant portion of the hitting area.
Golfers would want more forgiveness and stability on mis-hit putts, this is for you.
Gear: Cleveland Frontline Elite putters Price: $249.99 (steel shaft), $299.99 (ALL-IN steel/graphite shaft) and Lamkin Sinkfit Pistol grip Specs: Stainless steel body with aluminum sole plate, tungsten face, vibration-dampening tape and steel weights Available: February 22
Who It’s For: Golfers would want more forgiveness and stability on mis-hit putts.
The Skinny: The Cleveland Frontline Elite putters have tungsten faces and forward-positioned sole weights to shift the center of gravity to the front of the heads and boost stability.
The Deep Dive: Tungsten is a very handy material for golf equipment designers to use when they are making drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons because it is extremely dense. Heavier than stainless steel and significantly heavier than titanium or aluminum, tungsten allows designers to concentrate a lot of weight into a small area and shift a club’s center of gravity (CG) location without making the club bigger.
Cleveland Golf is now using tungsten in its Frontline Elite putters to do the same thing but in a new way. There are five different head shapes in the Frontline Elite family, and all of them have been made with a 30-gram metal-injection-molded (MIM) tungsten face. Combined with milled steel weights that have been added to the front heel and toe areas of the sole, the tungsten-weighted face helps to pull the CG location significantly more forward, which according to Cleveland’s research, reduces face rotation and twisting on off-center hits. That should result in putts that roll along your intended line more often, even when you hit the ball outside the center of the face.
Cleveland Frontline Elite putters have a tungsten face that helps to shift the CG location forward. (Cleveland Golf)
To soften the feel of impact, Cleveland added a layer of vibration-dampening tape behind the tungsten-infused insert. There is also a vibration-dampening adhesive layer under the aluminum sole plate.
To enhance distance control, Cleveland made the Frontline Elite putters with its Speed Optimized Face Technology (SOFT) grooved face. Each club has a unique groove pattern that is designed to reduce ball speed in the middle (where the strike is most efficient) and enhance ball speed in the heel and toe areas, effectively normalizing ball speed over the entire hitting area.
To help golfers create a more-consistent stroke, Cleveland has added weight under the handle of the Frontline Elite putters to counterbalance them and reduce the usage of your hands and wrists.
Cleveland Frontline Elite 1.0, 8.0, Elevado and RHO. (Cleveland Golf)
Finally, in addition to a standard steel shaft, the Frontline Elite putters are available with a UST Mamiya ALL-IN shaft that combines graphite and steel to create more stiffness and consistency.
The Frontline Elite putters come in five different head styles, ranging from the heel-toe weighted blade 1.0 and 8.0 to mallets like the wing-style Elvado, semi-circular CERO and square-style RHO.
Cleveland’s newest putter family blends the precision of milling with unique face technology.
Gear: Cleveland HB Soft Milled putters Price: $199.99 each with steel shaft, $249.99 with UST Mamiya All-In graphite/steel shaft Specs: Stainless steel with CNC-milled faces Available: November 18
Who It’s For: Golfers who want the look and feel of classic milled putters but at a more budget-friendly price.
The Skinny: Instead of milling the entire head, which is costly, Cleveland has milled the faces of the HB Soft Milled putters to enhance feel and create a more-precise hitting area while also offering a more-stable shaft option.
The Deep Dive: Many of the highest-quality putters on the market are milled from a single piece of stainless steel. This process involves a computer controlling a fast-spinning bit as it passes back and forth, shaving tiny pieces of metal off the block. The process often takes hours, but the benefit is a putter head made as precisely as possible. The downside is milled putters usually cost $350 or more, putting them out of reach for many golfers.
For several years, Cleveland has been offering tried-and-true putter designs at prices that most golfers can afford. With the release of the new HB Soft Milled putter family, the brand is trying to bring the high quality of milling to the masses.
The grooves in the HB Soft Milled putters are designed to improve distance control. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
There are 10 different head shapes in the HB Soft Milled family, and each head is cast, which involves pouring melted metal into molds to create the clubhead. However, the back and front of each head are then milled. This blend of casting and milling reduces waste and costs but elevates precision.
All 10 putters feature Cleveland’s Speed Optimized Face Technology (SOFT), a milling design added to the hitting area of each club. The circular milling pattern is designed to normalize ball speed over a more extensive portion of the hitting area, with densely-packed grooves in the center and grooves that are farther apart in the heel and toe areas. Each pattern is slightly different on each head, based on the stroke type each putter is designed for (slight arc or straight).
While custom fitters can give the HB Soft Milled putters any grip you like, Cleveland offers the clubs with different grips based on the swing type each club is optimized for. Heel-toe weighted blades like the 1, 4 and 8P, along with the 5, 10.5 and 11S mallets, are ideal for slight-arc strokes, so Cleveland gave them Golf Pride PRO ONLY Red Star grips that have a pistol-shaped grip designed to help turn the putter over through the putting stroke. The 8P blade, 10.5C, 11 and 14 mallets are better suited for golfers who make a straight stroke, so Cleveland gave them Golf Pride PRO ONLY Green Star grips that are ovular-shaped to help quiet the player’s hands.
The Cleveland HB Soft Milled 10.5 putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Finally, Cleveland offers all the HB Soft Milled putters with a steel shaft and an optional graphite and steel shaft designed by UST Mamiya. The All-In shaft is 26 percent stiffer to reduce flex and increase stability. According to UST Mamiya, golfers using it see up to 10 percent more consistency in face angle at impact.
Cleveland’s newest putter family boasts a variable-density face pattern that helps golfers improve their distance control on the greens.
Gear: Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters Price: $159.99 Specs: Stainless steel heads with variable-density grooved faces Available: Aug. 21
There are few things more frustrating for golfers than leaving a 15-foot putt way short, then racing a 12-footer well feet past the hole on the next green. Reliable distance control not only results in more holed putts, it helps avoid card-wrecking 3-putts.
To help golfers improve distance control, Cleveland has developed a new family of putters, the Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters.
The Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters have a milled face pattern that is tightly packed in the middle and more open in the heel and toe. (Cleveland Golf)
SOFT stands for Speed Optimized Face Technology, so while the gray satin PVD finish will make a white or yellow golf ball’s color pop, the differentiating feature of these putters is their milled faces.
Cleveland packs the milling pattern more tightly in the ideal hitting area and loosens its configuration in the heel and toe areas. The tightly packed grooves reduce the energy transferred to the ball, so the difference in speed between a putt hit perfectly in the center and one hit slightly toward the toe or heel is reduced. The result is a normalization of ball speed across the face, leading to better distance control and consistency.
Taking the concept a step further, Cleveland designed a unique variable-density groove pattern for each of the eight putters in the lineup.
Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier 11 putter (Cleveland Golf)
There are three heel-toe-weighted blade style putters in the Huntington Beach SOFT Premier family and five mallets. The blades each come with a Lamkin SINKFIT Skinny Pistol grip designed to enhance an arched stroke, while the mallets come standard with a larger Lamkin SINKFIT Pistol grip that many golfers with a straight-back, straight-through stroke prefer.
