High-MOI putters – Syndication Server

Cobra 3D Printed putters (2024)

Learn how Cobra’s 3-D Printed putters shift weight to help golfers putt better.

Gear: Cobra 3D Printed putters (2024)
Price: $349 each with KBS CT Tour 120 shaft and SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0 grip
Specs: Carbon fiber crown with 304 stainless steel body, milled 6061 aerospace grade aluminum face insert and 3D-printed features.
Available: February 23, but NOW via pre-sale

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Who it’s For: Golfers who want extra stability and modern design with enhanced alignment features.

The Skinny: By 3D printing a significant portion of the body, Cobra designers can radically shift weight to enhance performance while the variable-loft face encourages a more consistent roll.

The Deep Dive: When you make a new golf club, whether it’s a driver, a wedge or even a putter, one of the biggest challenges is to manipulate weight and remove it from places where it doesn’t do anything to areas when it can improve performance. As much as any brand in the industry, Cobra has aggressively used exotic materials, not just because they are cool, but because things like carbon fiber, tungsten and other things aside from stainless steel can make clubs perform better.

In 2021, Cobra released its first 3D Printed putters, taking the concept of exotic materials to a whole new level. Now, Cobra is releasing an updated family of 3D Printed putters.

Like the first generation of 3D Printed putters, the new offerings are aggressively shaped and made to be ultra-stable on mis-hits to keep putts you hit outside the sweet spot rolling on your intended line.

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At first glance, you will see a carbon fiber crown and a four-level face that is made from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, an exceptionally light material. Made in partnership with L.A. Golf, the top portion of the hitting area has 4 degrees of loft, but each section drops in loft by 1 degree as the hitting area lowers, leaving the bottom with just 1 degree of loft. The idea is to create a consistent amount of loft on every putt, so if your hands are forward on one stroke, which would naturally de-loft the face, the 4 degrees of loft on the top can help to counteract it. If you swing up into a putt, which would add loft, the lower-lofted bottom of the face accommodates that type of stroke.

That’s what you see, but looking closer at the body of the 3D Printed putters reveals what makes them unique. Each head has a dark nylon area in the center that is made using 3D-printed nylon that is shaped into a lattice. This technique allows designers to make shapes and structures that could not be produced by forging or milling, while saving weight. The nylon also absorbs vibrations to improve sound and feel.

The rest of the body of the 3D Printed putters is made using metal-injection molded (MIM) 304 stainless steel.

The result of opting for all these high-tech materials is Cobra removed weight from the top, middle and face of the 3D Printed putters and shifted more of it to the back in the heel and toe areas, which boosts the moment of inertia (MOI) and helps the putters resist twisting on off-center strikes.

On the bottom of each club are weight ports that can hold weight screws ranging from 5 grams up to 25 grams. Custom fitters will be able to use these weights to adjust the swing weight of each putter based on the length that is ideal for specific players.

The 3D Printed putters are available in three different head styles, including the high-MOI Agera, the smaller Agera RS, the fang-style SuperNova and the blade-style GrandSport 35.

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New TaylorMade Spider Tour putters for 2023

TaylorMade’s new Spider Tour putters boost stability while making it easy to aim your putts and get the ball rolling more quickly.

Gear: TaylorMade Spider Tour Series putters (2023)
Price: $349.99 each with KBS shaft and SuperStroke Pistol 1.0 grip
Specs: Steel body mallet putters with grooved Surlyn insert, internal polymer and steel weights. Lengths: 33″-35″
Available: Oct. 27, but available for pre-order NOW

Who It’s For: Golfers who want more stability and consistency on mis-hit putts.

The Skinny: Blending traditional Spider shapes with multimaterial constructions, the updated Spider Tour Series putters aim to help golfers achieve better distance control, a higher-quality roll and easier alignment.

The Deep Dive: In the world of golf equipment, the term ‘golden handcuffs’ refers to when players love a product so much that they don’t want brands to change it or update it. You never hear it used about drivers because everyone wants to hit the ball farther, but elite golfers often bristle when they hear companies are tweaking muscleback blades. You hear the term batted around in putter discussions, too. While TaylorMade has offered several versions of Spider putters over the last few years, Spider Tour putters have remained among the most popular. So, instead of fighting that popularity and trying to convince players to use something else, TaylorMade is leaning into the size and shape that has brought it so much success and spawned so many imitators.

The new Spider Tour family is comprised of five clubs that have similar shapes and that share several common technologies. For example, a gunmetal-finished aluminum wireframe body that helps to reduce weight in areas of the head that don’t impact performance, and designers have added a new Hybrar Echo Damper behind the leading edge in the sole. It’s an internal piece of polymer with an accordion shape, similar to the Hybrar Echo Damper found in the Stealth and Stealth HD irons. As it does in those clubs, the polymer soaks up excessive vibrations that are created at impact to improve sound and feel.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop all TM Spider Tour Putters” link=”https://pga-tour-superstore.pxf.io/rQR6eQ”]

TaylorMade Spider Tour (2023) — The Spider Tour’s True Path alignment system makes it easier to aim and start putts in your intended line (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Each of the new Spider Tour putters also has TaylorMade’s True Path alignment system on the top, comprising a white area with a single black line extending from the topline and forks in the back. The white is designed to grab your eyes’ attention and make it easier to focus on your putt’s intended path.

Finally, TaylorMade gave each Spider Tour putter its Pure Roll insert. The Surlym insert features a series of grooves that point down at a 45-degree angle designed to encourage a forward roll and topspin off the strike instead of skidding and bouncing.

The standard Spider Tour has a classic boxy shape, and with its small slant neck, the hosel has about 30 degrees of toe hang, so it should be ideally suited to golfers with a slightly arched putting stroke. The Spider Tour has weights in the back heel and toe area that pull the center of gravity back to the head’s perimeter. This weight distribution also increases the moment of inertia (MOI), which helps the Spider Tour resist twisting on off-center hits and keep putts on their intended line more effectively. According to TaylorMade, the new Spider Tour’s MOI of 5,700 g/cm2 is 700 g/cm2 higher than the original Spider Tour, so golfers should find it more stable and forgiving.

The Spider Tour X has a similar shape, but instead of having the back weights project out, they have been designed into the sole, under two small block pieces in the heel and toe. With the weights slightly more forward, the Spider Tour X has a slightly lower MOI (5,000 g/cm2).

One of the new shapes is the Spider Tour Z. Its chassis has been designed lower to the ground and the center area, where the True PaAth alignment system rests, is slightly higher. It has small blocks in the back, like the Spider Tour X, but its weights have been designed in the front heel and toe areas of the sole. This shifts the CG location forward, to make the Spider Tour Z’s face rotate like a blade-style putter. Its MOI is nearly identical to the Spider X’s MOI.

The Spider Tour V is like a Spider Tour Z with the back blocks in the heel and toe removed. Its weight is forward, to encourage face rotation during the stroke.

Finally, the Spider Tour S, which will be released in the Spring of 2024, is the largest and heaviest Spider Tour putter. It will be available as a 35- or 38-inch club and be counterbalanced.

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Here are several close-up images of the new Spider Tour Series putters:

LA Golf Bel-Air, Malibu putters

LA Golf’s Bel-Air and Malibu putter heads are made using carbon fiber instead of steel.

Gear: LA Golf Bel-Air, Malibu putters
Price: $499 (Bel-Air, Malibu), $599 (Bel-Air X, Malibu X)
Specs: Carbon fiber heads with grooved stainless steel face inserts, tungsten weights and graphite shafts

Who it’s For: Golfers who love technology and want extreme perimeter weighting and forgiveness in a traditional-sized putter.

The Skinny: LA Golf’s Bel-Air and Malibu putter heads are made using carbon fiber instead of steel, which allowed designers to add large tungsten weights in the heel and toe for stability while a variable-loft face helps to improve the consistency of your roll.

The Deep Dive: LA Golf is an equipment company that has made a name for itself by not only making high-performance graphite shafts for woods and irons but also specializing in graphite shafts for putters. The company has also signed several well-known players as brand ambassadors, including Bryson DeChampeau, Dustin Johnson and Michelle Wie West.

Last year, LA Golf released its first club, a $1,500 blade putter that was made from carbon fiber instead of steel and that came with one of the company’s graphite shafts. At that price, the brand knew it would not sell many putters, but like a concept car, it showed what LA Golf could do. Now, with the release of its GEN 2 putters — the Bel-Air and Malibu — LA Golf is bringing the technologies it debuted last year to a broader audience.

LA Golf Malibu putter. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

It is likely that every putter you have ever used is either made from stainless steel or a combination of stainless steel, aluminum and tungsten, but LA Golf makes its putter heads using carbon fiber. In the case of the standard Bel-Air blade and Malibu mallet, the carbon fiber is compression molded, a process that involves heating the carbon fiber and pressing it into the desired shape. For the Bel-Air X and the Malibu X putters, the carbon fiber is forged into a block before getting milled into the final shape by a computer-guided bit.

In both cases, the carbon fiber is five times less dense than the stainless steel often used in putters, resulting in a huge amount of discretionary weight that can be utilized to improve performance.

Much of that weight is concentrated in a 106-gram tungsten weight in the toe and an 88-gram tungsten weight in the heel of the GEN2 putters. Those weights create extreme perimeter weighting, which enlarges the sweet spot and helps to keep the Bel-Air and the Malibu stable on off-center hits.

To further help the putter resist twisting on off-center hits, each Bel-Air and Malibu putter comes fitted with an LA Golf P-Series SoHo graphite shaft. It is very stiff and designed to decrease excessive vibrations, and when combined with the perimeter weighting in the head, it should help putters roll in your intended target line more often.

LA Golf Bel-Air putter — LA Golf uses a grooved, descending-loft face insert in the Bel-Air and Malibu. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Finally, both the Bel-Air and the Malibu have a grooved stainless steel face insert that has Descending Loft technology. This is a feature that came from a brand called SIK, which LA Golf purchased. There is 4 degrees of loft on the top quarter of the insert, but it decreases to 3 degrees, then 2 degrees and finally 1 degree of loft in the bottom quarter.

If you make contact with the ball and your hands are pressed slightly ahead of the putter’s head, that would ordinarily de-loft the face and result in the ball going down, into the ground, and then popping up like a chip. The extra loft at the top of the insert reduces that effect. Similarly, if your strike your putt on a rising path and in the lower portion of the face, the reduced loft helps can help keep the ball from hopping. The result is more consistency in the roll, putt after putt.

While the GEN 2 Bel-Air has the same shape as the original LA Golf Blade putter, it is smaller. However, the club is still slightly longer from heel to toe than most blade-style putters, and larger from face to face. The fang-style Malibu mallet is also slightly larger than other mallets of its type. Both have a unique finish and look that comes from the compression and forging of the carbon fiber, so no two putters are exactly alike.

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Cleveland Frontline Elite putters

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.

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.

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Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K mallet putters

Odyssey’s mallet-style additions to the Tri-Hot 5K family offer extreme levels of forgiveness and stability in classic head shapes.

Gear: Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K mallet putters
Price: $399.99 each with Stroke Lab graphite/steel shaft
Specs: 303 stainless steel and 6061 aluminum bodies with tungsten weights and urethane face insert

Who They’re For: Golfers who want a mallet putter that maximizes stability and forgiveness.

The Skinny: The Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K mallet putters have extra weight positioned in the front of the head to increase the moment of inertia and boost stability, while the White Hot insert delivers a sound and feel many players prefer.

The Deep Dive: Odyssey, the putting division within Callaway, launched a new family of blade-style putters last season. The Tri-Hot 5K offerings looked like traditional blade putters in the address position, but they were popular because Odyssey used multilateral construction to make them play like high-MOI mallets. The trick was to shift as much weight forward as possible so the clubs would resist twisting on off-center hits.

For 2023, Odyssey is broadening the Tri-Hot 5K lineup to include two traditional mallet shapes – the #7 and the Rossie – and using the same multilateral construction to boost stability without increasing the head sizes.

The front of each Tri-Hot 5K mallet is made from 303 stainless steel, a commonly used material in premium putters, and the backs are made from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, which is significantly lighter than steel.

Going with aluminum allowed designers to shift even more mass to the front of the putters in the form of two tungsten weights. The exact amount of tungsten varies by head shape, but it averages around 120 grams and helps to pull the center of gravity even more forward.

So while the overall head weight has not increased and golfers will see familiar shapes when they set a Tri-Hot 5K mallet behind the ball, the putters are more stable, resist twisting on off-center hits more effectively and should help improve distance control.

Each of the Tri-Hot 5K mallets also has Odyssey’s popular White Hot urethane face insert. On short putts the material feels soft and creates a low-pitched sound, while on longer putts the sound has a higher pitch that matches the amount of force golfers put into the shot.

Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 700 Series putters

The Exotics 700 Series is for golfers who want forgiveness and increased consistency on the greens.

Gear: Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 700 Series putters
Price: $199.99 with KBS CT Tour shaft and Lamkin Jumbo Sink Fit Pistol grip
Specs: Mallet putters with interchangeable sole weights, carbon fiber sole plate and grooved, thermoplastic polyurethane face insert
Available: August 1

Who it’s For: Golfers who prefer the look and forgiveness of a high-MOI mallet that want to improve their alignment and increase consistency on the greens.

The Skinny: The three new Wingman 700 Series putters have a softer face insert than the original Wingman for enhanced sound and feel, but still offer a lot of forgiveness thanks to extreme perimeter weighting and a multi-material design.

The Deep Dive: The first Tour Edge Exotics Wingman putter was released in 2020, and now the company is looking to expand the popularity of the mallet by offering it in three different head shapes, each coming with two hosel options. The key technologies, however, carry across all three clubs.

Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 700 Series — The Lock-On Alignment system helps players set up to the ball more consistently. (Tour Edge)

Each of the 700 Series putters has an angular shape, and the first thing most golfers will notice when they set one down and address it is the Lock-On Alignment technology. It’s a pair of black areas on the top of the club, and each has a single white alignment line in the center. The idea is that when your eyes are in the proper position over the ball, the lines will appear joined, but if you are standing with your eyes either too far to the inside or the outside, the white stripes will not appear to touch. It can be a helpful, easy way to ensure that you are set up to the ball, and in a good position, before every putt.

Each of the three 700 Series mallets is cast from stainless steel, but a large portion of the sole is covered by a carbon fiber plate that reduces the amount of stainless that would be used by 34 percent. That does two important things. First, it takes weight out of the middle of the club and creates perimeter weighting. Second, it allowed designers to take the discretionary weight saved by using the carbon fiber and repurpose it in the form of interchangeable sole weights in the back heel and toe areas. The 700 Series putters come with 3-gram weights, but 8- and 15-gram weights are available in separately-sold kits. The weights further boost the moment of inertia (MOI) to help the clubs resist twisting on off-center hits.

Finally, the MicroGroove face is designed to encourage the ball to start rolling instead of skidding for better speed control, but Tour Edge opted to use a softer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to create a softer feel.

The Exotics Wingman 701 and 702 have the same head that features a pair of extensions on the heel and toe wings that hold the sole weights. They have the highest MOI and most stability, with the 701 having 30 degrees of toe hang thanks to a short slant neck hosel. It should be ideal for players with a slightly-arched putting stroke, while the 702’s double-bend hosel makes it face balanced for golfers with a straight back, straight through stroke.

The Exotics Wingman 703 and 704 have a slightly-smaller head that lacks the extensions on the back of the heel and toe wings that the 701 and 702 have. The sole weights are also forward in the head. The 703 has a short slant neck hosel, while the 704 has a double-bend hosel.

Finally, the 705 and 706 are the most compact, with sole weights in the front. The 705 is designed for golfers with an arced putting stroke, while the 706 is face-balanced.

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LA Golf Blade Putter: Can a $1,500 flat stick help your performance on the greens?

The LA Golf Blade is made from carbon composite, has extreme perimeter weighting and comes standard with a graphite shaft.

Gear: LA Golf Blade putter
Price: $1,500 with graphite shaft and Winn Jumbo Lite DRI TAC grip
Specs: Milled carbon composite head with milled 303 stainless steel face insert and adjustable tungsten sole weights. 33″ to 36″

Who it’s For: Deep-pocketed golfers who want extreme forgiveness and stability on the greens with a more consistent roll.

The Skinny: Designing the head using carbon composite allowed LA Golf to make a massive heel-toe weighted blade putter with extreme perimeter weighting for increased stability and forgiveness.

The Deep Dive: For the past few years, LA Golf (LAGP) has been making a name for itself by making high-performance graphite shafts for Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and a growing number of tour players. Many of them not only use those shafts in their woods but also in their putters because the ultra-stiff graphite shafts can help reduce twisting on off-center hits.

LAGP recently purchased SIK (Study In Kinematics) and now has released its first tip-to-grip club offering, a blade-style putter that blends LAGP’s expertise with carbon materials with one of SIK’s key technologies.

Ping 2021 putters

Using multi-material constructions and high-tech polymer inserts, Ping’s new 2021 putters can enhance performance on the greens.

Gear: Ping 2021 putters
Price: $270-$380 each
Specs: Stainless steel, aluminum and tungsten heads with dual-durometer polymer insert

In recent years Ping has become known for making some of the most stable and forgiving drivers in golf, but the company was founded on putters. Karsten Solheim’s designs, dating back to 1959, have always tried to help players obtain more consistency on the greens and enhance their sense of touch. Now, with the release of the 2021 family of putters, Ping continues those efforts with multi-material constructions and a new face insert.

There are nine 2021 putters, ranging from three versions of the iconic Anser to mid-sized mallets to larger mallets. All of them have a few things in common.

Each putter has a new Pebax elastomer insert that has two levels of firmness. Pebax is a polymer that Ping has used in select putters before, such as the Sigma 2 family. It is light, feels soft at impact and does an excellent job of returning energy to the ball. In the 2021 putters, Ping used two Pebax layers, with the outermost layer being soft for better performance on short putts and the back layer being firmer for a more solid feel on long putts. This soft insert complements the Heppler putters that Ping released last season, which have a smooth stainless steel face designed to feel firm and crisp.

Ping 2021 putters — The 2021 putters have a dual-durometer Pebex insert. (Ping)

The materials used to make each putter vary based on the head’s size, but all of them were made to deliver more stability and forgiveness.

The Anser, Anser 2 and Anser 4 are smaller blades made from stainless steel with tungsten weights in the heel and toe to increase the moment of inertia without making the heads larger. They are the most forgiving Anser putters Ping has ever made.

The Kushin 4, GS 72 and Tyne 4 are midsize mallets with a steel weight in the heel and tungsten in the toe to move the center of gravity into the ideal spot. The Fetch and Oslo H mallets have stainless steel bodies with aluminum soleplates. The use of aluminum shifts more of the overall weight to the perimeter, making the mallets more stable without becoming overly large.

The new CA 70, which is slightly larger, has an aluminum body and a heavier, stainless steel soleplate to drop the center of gravity, while the Harwood, which has an aluminum body and 93-gram tungsten weights in each corner of the head, has the highest moment of inertia of any putter in the lineup.

Each 2021 putter has a dark PVD finish, white alignment features and comes standard with a black-chrome shaft. They also come standard with 3 degrees of loft except the armlock version of the Harwood, which has 6 degrees, and the lofts can be adjusted by a custom fitter.

Tour Edge Exotics Wingman putters

Combining steel, carbon fiber and interchangeable weights, the Wingman mallet putters boost forgiveness and stability.

Gear: Tour Edge Exotics Wingman putters
Price: $199.99 with black KBS CT Tour putter shaft and Lamkin Sink Fit Straight Jumbo grip
Specs: High-MOI putter with carbon-fiber soleplate, grooved face insert and interchangeable weights
Available: April 1

The new Exotics Wingman putters are the most technologically advanced flat sticks Tour Edge has ever released, combining multiple materials with a unique shape to create clubs that offer an extremely high moment of inertia in a compact mallet.

While the body of each Wingman is made from stainless steel, the putters have a large carbon-fiber soleplate on the bottom. The carbon fiber is significantly lighter than the steel it replaces, which creates discretionary weight and shifts more of the head’s overall weight to the perimeter, which enhances stability.

Tour Edge Wingman 01 putter — The carbon-fiber sole plate in the Exotics Wingman putters shifts weight from the center of the head to the perimeter. (Tour Edge)

Tour Edge further boosted the stability and MOI by adding a pair of interchangeable 3-gram weight screws to the winged areas in the back of the sole. For golfers who prefer a heavier putter or fitters who want to adjust the swing weight based on the club’s length, 8- and 15-gram weights also are available.

To encourage the ball to roll instead of skid after it is hit, Tour Edge gave the Wingman putters a grooved Surlyn face insert. The soft material enhances sound and feel to help golfers develop better distance control.

Tour Edge opted to make the black KBS CT Tour putter shaft standard to compliment the dark PVD finish of the Wingman and make its alignment lines stand out.

The Wingman-01 has 30 degrees of toe hang, making it ideally suited for golfers who have a slightly arced putting stroke, while the Wingman-02 is face-balanced for players with a straight-back, straight-through stroke. Both putters have a thick white line on the top that is split by a thin black stripe, with the same pattern appearing low in the putter’s tail section.

Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 03 — Tour Edge Exotics Wingman-03 (Tour Edge)

The Wingman-03 is a face-balanced, center-shafted mallet that features a single, thin white line on the top to help golfers aim the face. Like other center-shafted putters, it is best suited for straight-back, straight-through strokes.

Ping Heppler putters

Ping’s Heppler putters are designed using aluminum and steel for golfers who like a crisp, firm feel at impact.

Gear: Ping Heppler putters
Price: $245-$270 each
Specs: Mallets with cast-aluminum and stainless steel heads; blade-style putters in all steel. Adjustable-length shafts.
Available: Jan. 20

While there has been a significant trend over the past few years to softer-feeling golf balls, many players prefer a firm, solid-feeling putter. To them, a crisp strike feels better and allows them to develop a better sense of touch. With the new Heppler family of putters, which contains nine head shapes, Ping is using a new manufacturing technique to deliver a firmer feel and more forgiveness at the same time.

Ping has designed grooved faces in all of its recent putters, such as the Sigma 2, Vault 2.0 and Sigma G families, and some putters also have backings and inserts to soften feel. The Heppler blades, mid-mallets and high-MOI mallet putters – named for Rick Heppler, an employee who joined the company in 1966 as it started and was with Ping for nearly 50 years – are different.

The putters have a smooth face that produces crisp contact and were designed using a multimaterial construction that is new for Ping.

Seven of the nine Heppler putters can be classified as either mid-size mallets or high-MOI mallets, and each has a chassis dye cast from ADC12 aluminum. Ping said the material is 10 percent softer than the 6061 aluminum used in other putters. The pressure-casting process allowed Ping to get more details into the heads during the casting process instead of machining and milling after the heads are created.

Other areas of the heads are made from cast stainless steel, a material that is much heavier than aluminum. In the mallets, the steel was given a copper tone that contrasts with the black-finished aluminum.

The combination of aluminum and steel allowed Ping to concentrate weight more precisely for increased perimeter weighting and forgiveness without making the heads significantly larger.

For example, the Heppler Tyne 3 putter is the higher-MOI version of the Tyne that Ping has produced, even though it is not bigger than previous models and does not have a ball-speed-normalizing face insert.

Ping Heppler TomCat 14 putter — The black portion of the Tomcat 14 is made from aluminum while the copper-toned piece is steel. (Ping)

The Tomcat 14 putter has the highest moment of inertia in the Heppler lineup, with half its weight coming from aluminum and half coming from steel. The rails are a ball’s width apart and covered in white dots that were inspired by the lights that flank an aircraft runway.

The remaining two of the nine putters in the Keppler family are blades and made using only steel. The Anser 2, which is ideally balanced for golfers who have a slightly arced putting stroke, is the latest edition of the classic putter that put Ping on the map, while the ZB3 is for players with a strong arc. The copper-colored topline helps the blades match the rest of the family and acts as an alignment aid.

Each Heppler putter comes standard with a black chrome shaft that is adjustable. Using a tool that inserts into the grip, the putters can be made as short as 32 inches or as long as 36 inches, making it easier for players and fitters to create a Heppler putter that is the ideal length for any player.