Women golfers often think they are limited by the putters that are marketed directly to women players. Luckily this is not the case. There are many options for both blade putters and mallet putters that work for the woman golfer. Depending on your height, arm length and putting style, you may want to check if there is a 33″ or 32″ length option available, but many elite women golfers opt for the men’s standard 34″ length option.
We have recently tested some of the releases that came to market this year, as well as some options from the last year or two to find the best putters for women. Here is how they ranked.
Best Putter for Women are:
- Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball – Best for beginner & high handicap women
- Ping Anser 2 – Best for mid & low handicap women
- TaylorMade Spider GT Lite – Best for alignment
- Cobra King Vintage Nova – Best for the straight back straight through
- XXIO Eleven Putter – Best for feel
- Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier 4 – Best on a budget
Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball
The Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball putter head is our favorite woman’s golf putter for beginners and high handicap golfers. This is also a great women’s putter for a mid to low handicapper, but it has great forgiveness making it one of the better options for those that need help on the greens.
To this day, the Odyssey White Hot OG 2 Ball is one of the best golf putters that Odyssey ever brought to market. The putter head features the two-part urethane insert, a silver PVD finish, and fine milling on the surfaces.
You can get this with a traditional steel shaft or the Tour Proven Stroke Lab. If you are going to go for a great putter like this and want to benefit from its full capabilities, invest in the Stroke Lab Shaft. Odyssey put a lot of time, effort, and money into the development, and it worked out quite well.
Golf Insider verdict
The two ball does something quite powerful for a golfer when it comes to visualization. With this women’s golf putter, you can look down at the club head and envision the path the ball will take all the way to the hole. For the high handicapper and beginners ready to take their golf game to the next level, this putter will do it.
Ping Anser 2
- Feel 10/10
- Forgiveness 8/10
- Alignment 7/10
- Value 9/10
- Longevity 10/10
The Ping Anser putter has always been one of the best blade style putter choices on the market. Low handicap women players often want a new putter with a clean look and some great feel. What we love about this Ping Anser is that the MOI has been optimized, so there is much more forgiveness than what we saw in the past.
Women’s putters are almost always known to add a little forgiveness, whether it is necessary or not. However, when too much forgiveness is in place, some of the feel can be lost. Luckily with the Ping Anser, this is not the case.
This putter still has a soft and consistent feel. The 17-4 Stainless steel, tungsten, and aluminum combine perfectly to improve overall feel and consistency in the putting stroke. Similar to the Odyssey putter, you will find that this Ping Anser 2 has a soft insert. The dual durometer insert helps you develop some precision on those shorter putts.
Golf Insider verdict
A blade putter with built-in forgiveness, a strong combination for both male and female putters. The Ping Anser 2 is a classic golf putter that will perform well for all mid to low handicap women golfers.
TaylorMade Spider GT Lite
- Feel 8/10
- Forgiveness 8/10
- Alignment 9/10
- Value 8/10
- Longevity 9/10
Women’s golf putters tend to have pretty good alignment lines, but the paint and simplicity of this new TaylorMade Spider GT Lite seem to set it apart from an alignment standpoint. This is a modern looking design, maybe even a bit futuristic
However, the contemporary wing design allows for extreme weighting around the perimeter and incredible stability at impact. Some of the most important reasons for going with mallet style putters is to encourage a stable impact position; that is certainly the case with this new TaylorMade putter.
In addition, the Pure Roll 2 Insert only helps to improve roll and overall feel coming off the face.
Golf Insider Verdict
If you like the way, these new mallet putter options look, but they all seem a bit busy and over complicated, give the TaylorMade Spider GT Lite a try. This is a face balanced putter with a lightweight putter shaft and plenty of stability in the head of the club.
Cobra King Vintage Nova
- Feel 8/10
- Forgiveness 8/10
- Alignment 9/10
- Value 9/10
- Longevity 7/10
The Cobra King Vintage Nova is our favorite putter for the straight back and straight through putting stroke. Mallet putters tend to be the better choice when you keep your putting stroke a bit more stable and consistent. However, this particular model also is a forgiving putter with plenty of great feel.
With the Cobra King Vintage Nova putter, you will have an adjustable weighting in the club head. If you like tech and a modern look and enjoy when the golf ball rolls the same way every time, the Cobra King Vintage Nova could be a great solution. When we tested this putter, we noticed very few instances where the ball came off the club head with a less than ideal roll.
Golf Insider Verdict
This mallet head putter looks a little funky at first, but it has tremendous distance control and is one of the most consistent putter choices we worked with this year. If you aren’t a huge fan of the shape, there are a few other models that could work for you (even a blade putter option).
XXIO Eleven
- Feel 9/10
- Forgiveness 8/10
- Alignment 8/10
- Value 7/10
- Longevity 9/10
XXIO is a brand working to make a name for itself as having a great feeling and high performing golf club technology. The XXIO brand cares very much about feel, stability at impact, and overall premium performance. This premium putter is a traditional looking mallet putter that has great feel.
Putters for women tend to have a feel that is a bit too soft at times. A putter that is too soft can sometimes have trouble with distance control, but that should not be the case with this new XXIO Eleven. There are tungsten weights in the toe and heel. This helps to increase MOI for improved consistency.
This is a forged design made from 303 stainless steel. Although most golf putters that are made for women have a soft insert, the XXIO is something that is make from one solid piece of steel. This type of feature often appeals to the lower handicapper looking for some added performance and unique putter features.
Golf Insdier Verdict
The putter face of this golf club was well done. If the inserts in the Odyssey Putters or Ping putters do not appeal to you, give this XXIO Eleven a try. It’s a very classic looking design with plenty of stability and a great feel at impact.
Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier 4
- Feel 8/10
- Forgiveness 9/10
- Alignment 8/10
- Value 9/10
- Longevity 7/10
The Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft Premier is our favorite option for women on a budget. Buying golf putters has gotten considerably more expensive in the last few years. Let’s face it, this is a critical golf club, but its still hard for some people to spend $400 on a new golf putter.
Cleveland is a great brand to look for both blade putters and women’s mallet style putter choices that are high quality but fair in value. We liked this Huntington Beach Soft Premier 4. It came off the clubface really easily, and blade putters tend to have a cleaner and more sleek look than other modern mallet designs.
This particular model comes with a gray satin PVD finish that has a premium look to it. In addition, there is a diamond CNC milling pattern on the club face that significantly improves consistency.
One thing to take a look at is how many milled putters are from other brands. That is when you will start to see that the Cleveland Hungtington Beach Soft Premieris truly one of the best deals out there for women.
Golf Insider Verdict
For women golfers on a budget, the Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft premier is a great option to consider. We like the way the ball comes off the putter face and the sleek design of this putter head. Essentially you are going to get a lot for your money.
Choosing The Best Golf Putter For Women
Some golfers will say that they can’t tell the difference from one putter to the next and just want to be told which is the best putter for their game. However, if you really focus on this process and all that is involved, you can absolutely see the difference and find something that is a more specific fit for your game. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Shaft
Most golf putters for women come with a traditional steel shaft. However, the Stroke Lab option from Odyssey is an interesting option to consider. With the Stroke Lab being part graphite and part steel, brings a different feel and consistency.
You can also opt for a graphite shafted putter, but this will have to be custom-made. The shaft weight affects the swing weight and how heavy or light the putter head feels. Although subtle, this can help you reduce or increase the amount of release/wrist hinge you have when putting.
Blade Putter vs. Mallet Putter
A blade putter is a more traditional design whereas the mallet putters are larger and more modern and unique. It’s typically stated that the best putters for women with higher handicappers will be mallet style putters and those for the lower handicaps are blade style putters.
This just isn’t true anymore.
The blade style putter is being made to be considerably more forgiving. Mallet putters are working to be more versatile and allow performance for a range of players.
We like blade putters for those that keep things simple, play fast greens, and like a more streamlined look. The mallet putters are great for golfers that struggle with consistency and distance control.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness in a putter head will be called MOI or Moment of Inertia. If you are looking into putters for your game and find one that claims a high MOI, know that it is forgiving. Forgiveness in putters may not seem as important as it is in a driver. However, it is.
When you slow down a putting stroke and record what happens at impact, even the slightest miss hit can result in face twist and a putt that starts left or right of the target. Forgiveness is a golf putter will help you make more putts in the 10-foot and under range. It will also help your pace control with miss hits.
Grip
Many putter grips are larger to encourage players to use less of their hands and wrists and more of their larger muscles in the swing. The grip you choose on your putter should also match the size of your hands.
If you have very small hands, a jumbo golf grip will leave you feeling out of control as you make your putting stroke. Instead, go for a midsize or even a standard as opposed to oversized.
Also, don’t feel the need to use a larger putter grip, not all golfers need it, and women especially need to be careful of choosing something too big.
Putter Length
The proper putter length is determined by your height and the length of your arms. Most women golfers end up with a 33 inch putter. Taller women can get away with a 34 inch putter, and a shorter woman may need something custom in the 32 inch range. Your putter length should allow you to get into a comfortable posture, with your arms hanging in your desired position.
Bear in mind, you can grip lower down the grip if you are slightly in between lengths.
How To Know It’s Time To Upgrade Your Putter
Not many golf putters are marketed directly to women. Therefore we have found that one of the golf clubs that women are least likely to upgrade is their putter. They think that there just aren’t that many options out there, and it is not worth changing things up. Although this works out fine, there are times it can be a significant mistake.
Women golfers should at least test out new technology every few years. Golf club fittings have come a long way, and you can get a club fitting for a putter just as easily as you can get one for a driver.
If you make three putts or don’t feel confident standing over your current putter, it may not be the best putter out there for you. Equipment plays into the number of putts you take on the golf course, and women should be proactive about testing new equipment that could work for their game.
The standard length of a putter for women is typically 33 inches. However, there are custom options out there for less than 33 inches. Some men can hit the ball a long way, but with the right women’s putter in your hands, you can beat anyone in and around the greens.
Frequently asked questions
Here are a few questions that we are often asked about how to choose the best putters for women golfers.
How do I choose a ladies’ putter?
To choose the best putter for ladies, you will need to consider the putter type, shaft length, hosel connection, and putter grip size. Putters for women are typically an inch to two inches shorter than putters for men. Some of the best putters for women are also a bit more forgiving with a higher MOI and optimized entry of gravity.
What length putter should a woman use?
Most women should use a 33 inch putter. However, the best putter for your game could be 32 or 34 inches depending on your total height as well as your arm length.
What is the most popular putter on the LPGA?
The most popular putter on the LPGA tour is the TaylorMade Spider X. Women golfers find that the putter head is very stable and that these women’s putters also have a great feel.
What is the difference between a ladies’ and men’s putter?
The length of the putter and the grip size are the two biggest differences between a ladies’ and men’s putter. Most of the time, the weight is similar, and the overall technology built into the club head is quite impressive.
Can a woman use a man’s putter?
Women can use men’s putters, and they should seriously consider if the men’s putter could be the best overall choice for their needs as a player. Women golfers would be a bit limited if they chose from the few putters specifically created just for women. With differences between men’s and women’s putters being minimal, women should always look at men’s golf putters when shopping.
Summary
Hopefully, we picked some options you have not heard of or think could make a big difference in your golf game this year. The best putters for women mix in some great feel and consistency, but they don’t get enough attention from most women. If you haven’t updated your putter in quite some time, look at what is out there this year and see if it’s time for a change.
Happy golfing.
