On average, around half of a golfer's shots hit during 18 holes come on the green and so having a putter that you feel comfortable over and that works for you is extremely important. The phrase ‘putt for dough’ is thrown around regularly by club golfers so it's interesting to see which professionals are rolling the rock better than most at the highest level.
Putting styles and putter models are two very personal choices and finding both that feel comfortable for you will undoubtedly help you hole more putts. There are mallet style putters which often offer high MOI and forgiveness and then blade putters that offer a lot of feel and feedback.
WATCH: Joel Tadman tests and talks through the best putters of 2024
While some of the best drivers and fairway woods often steal the limelight technology and design, more and more is being put into the design of some of the best putters. Subsequently, putters such as the Odyssey Ai-One range that features AI technology and L.A.B golf putters that are designed to be lie angle balanced, have come to retail. That said, many of the best practitioners are using very old putters bereft of this cutting-edge innovation, as you will see below!
While ultimately playing at the top level requires the ability to perform well in every part of the game, getting the flatstick hot can help players turn average shots into birdies and make crucial up-and-downs to keep the momentum of their round going.
Below you will discover the current top 10 putters on the PGA Tour based on Strokes Gained Total: Putting as of the conclusion of The Open Championship, looking at what model of putter each of them are using as well as what grip they have adopted. While some of these players are known as world class putters, some may just surprise you.
1. Denny McCarthy
Denny McCarthy is number one on the PGA Tour for the Total Putting Statistic. This is a calculation that combines six putting statistics such as how many putts from five specific ranges and three-putt avoidance. McCarthy uses a Scotty Cameron GoLo N7 putter with a Scotty Cameron ‘Baby T’ putter grip and uses a conventional putting grip style to roll the rock. While he has gamed this putter for some years now, he has mentioned on camera how he sometimes will change the weights in the sole depending on the speed of the greens at each tournament.
2. Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele’s remarkable rise continued after winning The Open Championship at Royal Troon. While the American has gained some significant clubhead speed over the past few years, his putting has remained extremely solid. Schauffele leads the PGA Tour in three-putt avoidance and comes in second this season in the Total Putting statistic.
Schauffele has been using the same style of head (Odyssey #7 CH) for some time now and has been swapping in and out of different finishes and faces. After the Ai-One launch in October, Schauffele made the switch to the same model with the new tech and white hot insert but has since changed back to his trusty Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas design with a milled crosshatch face and iconic red paint blast. He uses a really unique interlocking left below right putting grip, that he clearly feels is super stable and repeatable.
3. Thomas Detry
Detry has really become a force on the PGA Tour over the last season and currently sits third in Total Putting and 32nd in the FedEx Cup, despite being yet to win on tour. The Belgian has a silky smooth golf swing and a putting stroke to match. He has used the same Odyssey O-Works Black #7 for the majority of his professional career and has it equipped with a SuperStroke 2.0 Tour grip. Detry uses a left-below-right grip style while also adopting a two-thumb style hold on the club.
4. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
While Bezuidenhout has tinkered with many putters over the past couple of years including the Odyssey number 7 and the Odyssey Jailbird putter, he has recently reverted back to his old trusty - the Odyssey Works #5 Big T. The South African is the only player in the top 3 to move away from a conventional putting grip style and uses a Two Thumb Snug Daddy 30 grip to do so. He runs the index fingers down the side of the grip and both thumbs down the front in an attempt to place the grip more in the palms of his hands and simply rock the shoulders to create a stroke with minimal wrist hinge.
5. Jason Day
In 2016 Jason Day switched from his stealthed out TaylorMade Spider putter and moved into an eye-catching, TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Limited, coated in a matte red finish. Day had actually been struggling with form since his maiden major win in 2015, testing various putters, such as a Scotty Cameron GoLo with a short sight line, similar to the model Denny McCarthy actually uses. The Australian showed glimpses of the golf that saw him become world number one in early 2023 and reverted back to the ‘old trusty’ red Itsy Bitsy Spider. Day went on to win the AT&T Byrson Nelson in 2023 which was his first win in five years and currently sits 23rd on the FedEx Cup during the 2024 season.
6. Peter Malnati
Despite it being a fairly turbulent year on the course for Peter Malnati, his putting has remained solid. He comes in at number 6 on the list for Total Putting this season on tour. Malnati uses a Scotty Cameron TourType Special Select Prototype with a Scotty Cameron ‘dancing letter’ grip. As you would expect from a traditional looking putter and grip combination, Malnati uses a conventional grip style when putting. Malnati is well known for using a yellow Titleist Pro V1x golf ball and used this alongside his putter to claim victory at the 2024 Valspar Championship in Tampa, Florida.
7. Taylor Montgomery
Coming in at number seven is Taylor Montgomery. The Las Vegas native like McCarthy is using an older model of putter that he clearly feels extremely comfortable with. Despite his putter looking in need of a serious paint-job and a potential re-shaft due to some shaft pitting, Montgomery trusts in his TaylorMade Spider Ghost S. This was one of the first Spider models released and as the ‘ghost’ in the name suggests, this putter has a white coat. It also has a single long sight-line and he also uses a conventional grip style while holding onto an Elite Grips putting grip.
8. Mackenzie Hughes
The Canadian will be hoping the putter stays hot for the next couple of months on the PGA Tour so he can force his way into the Presidents Cup. Hughes uses a centre shafted Ping Piper C putter, which is a half moon shape and has it loaded with lead tape on the sole. This is something players using putters without portable weights will do to make the putter heavier and swing a little more easily. He uses a Ping PP58 grip and grips it like the majority of the players in the top 10, with a conventional (reverse-overlap) grip.
9. Andrew Putnam
Putnam is heavily relying on his putting this season to keep himself in a position to keep his card for the following year. He currently sits 74th in the FedEx Cup and has amassed just two top-10 finishes this season so far. Putnam has rocked the same Odyssey White Hot Stroke Lab Rossie with standard Odyssey crossline grip for some time now. While he just remains inside the top 10 in Total Putting, the appropriately named Putnam, ranks just 167th this season on Strokes Gained off the tee and that will no-doubt be somewhat of a focus moving forward.
10. Aaron Baddeley
The Australian may not be setting many leaderboards alight at the moment but his putting alone has him keeping his card and still picking up the odd T-25 finish this season. Baddeley averages 1.546 putts per hole and sits 4th on this list. He currently uses an Odyssey White Hot Versa 1 with a short sightline on the top of the blade. The sweet-swinging Aussie uses an Odyssey pistol putting grip and uses a conventional putting grip style.
