Blade vs. Mallet - Am I a bit crazy?

[RatFink]

After playing with my brother's Cleveland Classic #4 and my Odyssey #5 for the last couple weeks, I've noticed a few things.

-With the blade, I am much more accurate within 10 feet.
-With the mallet, I am much more accurate outside of 10 feet.
-With the blade, I can't get the right speed to save my life - it just beckons me to swing hard or something.
-With the mallet, I can have my balls stop right where I want them to without much effort. It's like the mallet encourages me to be gentle and loving to the ball. This could be attributed to the insert in the Odyssey, compared to the milled face of the Cleveland.
-Despite having the same headweight, the mallet feels much heavier than the blade.
-The mallet looks TINY after staring at the blade for awhile.

Is this a trend, or am I nutso, and bound to "wearing two shoes that fit"

[edit]
I use the same attempt at a straight back, straight forward stroke for both.

 

[JB]

Putting will eventually all come down to speed control. So if the mallet is the one that gives you the best speed control, it could be your answer.

 

[RatFink]

Putting will eventually all come down to speed control. So if the mallet is the one that gives you the best speed control, it could be your answer.

That's what I was thinking - my friend told me that a proper weighted putt should stop 2 feet past your target if there was no cup to fall into. That being said, if my in-house putting has anything to prove, I will come up short with the mallet, and potentially rocket by with the blade, but stop closer to his target than stopping at the hole. Is there any truth in this?

 

[All4's]

JB speaketh the truth. I have the experiences as you RatFink, but in reverse. I had to drop the mallet to get the distance control I needed despite preferring it for being the one I "liked" better.

 

[the_paulo]

For me, a mallet or semi-mallet style putter allows me better distance control, even though I'm a bit more inconsistent with it from close. With practice, my alignment on the short ones should improve, so I'm going with the better distance control overall.

 

[Johnboy12.5]

My recent fitting resulted in a mallet style putter in my bag. I've never tracked my putting stats, but this putter does help with my overall speed control versus my older Ping putter which was more of a blade shape. Have I found the right putter for me, only a little more time and stat tracking will tell, but I really like my #9 so far!!

 

[Jeanthemachine]

That's what I was thinking - my friend told me that a proper weighted putt should stop 2 feet past your target if there was no cup to fall into. That being said, if my in-house putting has anything to prove, I will come up short with the mallet, and potentially rocket by with the blade, but stop closer to his target than stopping at the hole. Is there any truth in this?

According to Dave Pelz the magic distance is 17 inches. Putts passing the hole at this speed have the greatest chance of going in ght hole.

 

[thedue]

I'm similar to the op in that a mallet gets the long lags, while the blade fits much better for anything 12 feet and in. This is the year of the mid mallet I hope. I'm trying to get my hands on a Bettinardi Studio #7 mid and see if that seals the deal.

 

[jnug]

Another significant aid to speed with either kind of putter is forward shaft lean that is maintained through the stroke. Every once in awhile I find myself not maintaining the forward lean that I have established. Invariably it becomes more of a problem the lighter the head of the putter. While my distance control will be effected in either case it just seems to be more telling if the putter head is relatively light or if whatever weight there is in the head is spread over a large area.

Due so far the putter that I own that is producing the best result (practice only in frozen New England) is the all copper Mini.

 

[thedue]

Another significant aid to speed with either kind of putter is forward shaft lean that is maintained through the stroke. Every once in awhile I find myself not maintaining the forward lean that I have established. Invariably it becomes more of a problem the lighter the head of the putter. While my distance control will be effected in either case it just seems to be more telling if the putter head is relatively light or if whatever weight there is in the head is spread over a large area.

Due so far the putter that I own that is producing the best result (practice only in frozen New England) is the all copper Mini.

Good to hear buddy. I knew from the start that was a special putter.

 

[blugold]

I have problems with face balanced mallets. I really like my Cleveland Classic #2 and Odyssey White Ice #9. Both are heal shafted mallets. Putting and putters are so personal that all I can say is find one that feels and looks like you can make every putt with and go shoot low scores with it.