I have owned expensive and inexpensive putters over the years and have had good times with both. Putting feels personal and it’s easy to credit or blame the putter for a hot or cold stretch.
Our test takes the subjective part out of it. With PuttView, we tracked almost 50,000 putts in 79 blades, mallets and zero-torque putters in 2026. Every putter was tested under the same protocol, regardless of brand or price. That gives us a clear look at how each putter performs and allows us to answer a question that golfers ask all the time: Does spending more get you a better putter?
We looked up the current retail prices for the putters in our test and compared them with the results. If you’re like me and always looking for a deal, you’ll be happy with what we found.
All prices listed are retail. You can find some of these putters on sale or pay more for custom options, but this is what the data shows from a sales perspective.
Price did not predict performance
The best performing blades and zero torque putters cost less on average than the worst performers. In mallets, the top five cost only $17 more than the bottom five.
| category | Avg. price, top 5 | Avg. price, fund 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Blade | $320 | $509 |
| Mallet | $338 | $321 |
| Zero-torque | $305 | $344 |
Throughout the full test, there was no statistically significant link between price and performance. A higher price didn’t reliably mean a better fit.
The best blades were among the least expensive
U Mizuno M.Craft Osaka won the blade test at $299.99. U PING Scottsdale Anser 4 and Consider 2D finished second and third at $259.99 each.
Premium blades are mostly landed in the middle of the field or lower. Blades priced at $450 or more have an average PuttView Handicap of -2.2, compared to -3.9 for blades under $300. The $599.99 Toulon Hollywood finished 14th out of 24 and the Runner Pro Blade, which converts to about $740, tied for 19th.
If you prefer a blade, you don’t need to spend $500 to get one of the best performers in our test.
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The premium mallets performed but the value options were close
Mallets were the one category where the most expensive putters finished on top. U Bettinardi BB 6.0 and BB 7.0 ($494.99 each) took first and second. The BB 6.0 was also the only blade or mallet in any of our tests beats the average zero-torque category.
The putters right behind them cost half or even less. U Ben Hogan BHM02 and BHM03 ($249.99) and the Cleveland HB Soft 2 Black Retreve ($199.99) tied for third, just 0.6 shots behind the winner. Lower, the $139.99 Wilson Infinite Bean exceeded $499.99 Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.
Zero-Torque putters offer the most value
Zero torque putters led our 2026 test overall. If all 79 putters were ranked together, the top 15 would all be zero torque. Many of the best artists are also among the most affordable.
Three of the top four zero-torque putters cost $229 or less.
- Sub 70 011-SQ ($229): second place
- Deputy VGP03 ZT ($199): third place
- Wilson ZT Lakeview ($199.99): fourth place, with the best short-putt score of any putter in our 2026 test
The winner, the Odyssey Ai-Dual S2S #7retails for $449.99 but has been on sale for around $350. Two of the more expensive zero torque putters, the $650 Toulon Formula 90 and $549 Scotty Cameron Fastback OCfinished 17th and last respectively.
A $200 zero torque putter outperformed every blade and mallet in our tests.
Final thoughts
For a complete look at how all our top putters of 2026 performed here are the results: The best putters of 2026.
The place Expensive putters do better? We checked 79 from our 2026 tests appeared first MyGolfSpy.
