Best Putters For Beginners 2025

Arguably, the putter is one of, if not the most important clubs in your bag. Not just for beginner players, but for every golfer from the very top level, right down to those playing at club level. Let's face it, three-putting is one of the banes of any golfers game. Countless shots can be saved on the greens and when you have a putter that inspires confidence and consistency, you're bound save yourself countless shots off your round.

Ultimately, getting the right putter for your needs as a golfer can go a very long way in helping you improve. But what are the best putters for beginner golfers?

If you're new to the game, one of the biggest things to bear in mind when buying a new putter is forgiveness. Beginners often struggle to consistently strike the ball in the middle of the face and usually, they need help maintaining the clubface through the stroke, and not twisting it. As such mallet putters are the best way to go because they offer forgiveness on off-center strikes, have weight that can be distributed around the clubhead to help minimize twisting. They also tend to offer clear alignment benefits that can help you improve your accuracy on the greens.

So, in this guide, we'll be walking you through some of the top models that we think will benefit those who are relatively new to the game. Each club has been tried and tested by one of our Golf Monthly writers and we've also included some general buying advice lower down that'll help you in your buying decision. While there are plenty of excellent putters on this guide, why not also make sure the rest of your bag is fully stocked by checking out our guides to the best golf drivers for beginners, best wedges for beginners and best golf balls for beginners.

The Quick List

Best Putters For Beginners

Top pick

Our top pick is the Jailbird Cruiser putter from Odyssey's Ai-One Square 2 Square range, the brand's entry into the emerging zero-torque putter space. We were optimistic to see how it performed after we loved what was on offer with the standard Jailbird Square 2 Square model. While the looks are similar, so is how well this putter frames the golf ball at address - this is thanks to the Versa technology in the head as well as three little alignment dots on the crown that help you line the ball up with the center of the face.

The big difference between the Cruiser and the original model is the length - this putter is 38 inches long and features both a heavier head and a longer 17” grip that allows for counterbalance weighting. The weight of the head helped with my confidence over the ball and although the grip does feel weird when you begin using the putter, you familiarize yourself with it pretty quickly.

There's a number of reasons I think this is a good option for beginners - firstly, the Ai-One insert boasts variable face thickness which allows for more consistent roll, keeping mishits rolling off the face at a similar speed to putts hit from the center. It really helped me with shorter putts in particular, the type that can make or break a round for many beginners!

• Read our full Odyssey Ai-One Square 2 Square Jailbird Cruiser Putter Review

Best soft feel

One of the new mallet putter shapes in the Frontline range from Cleveland, this is a very forgiving flat stick that offers a lot of support for those looking for a little bit of help keeping the clubface open at impact. Akin to many of the best mallet putters, this club pushes the weight to the extremities of its head thanks to its winged design and two tungsten inserts that sit behind the face. Interestingly, while most putters would tend to sit these further away from the face, these adjustable weights sit close to the insert and prevent the face from rotating on impact. That makes it one of the most forgiving putters on the market.

Visually, the Rho's sole has a lovely contoured look to it and allows the Rho to sit very well at address as long as you get your hands in the right position as the weighting means it does want to sit back on its tail. The other great thing here is it comes in a number of different shaft options to help you maintain your rhythm and a fluid swing. The single bend shaft is great straight-arc putters, while the slant-neck shaft is better for arced putting strokes.

It does feel a little heavy in your hands, which for some beginners is a great way to help steady your stroke. But overall, this putter, rather cleverly if we may say so, has packed a lot of technology into a decent mid-sized head to maximise forgiveness for those struggling to hit the sweet spot on their flat stick consistently.

• Read our full Cleveland Frontline Elite Rho Putter Review

Best alignment

Beginners may be unfamiliar with the brand, but experienced players know exactly what SeeMore deliver - high quality, custom made putters. Their RifleScope alignment system is a big part of what separates these putters from others too, thus why we've selected the Mini Giant HTX for this guide.

Although it only looks like a red dot on the crown - when you set up square, the black bottom of the shaft "hides the red dot." So if you can't see the red dot at address (and throughout the stroke, for that matter) the putter is on plane and square to the target. This is really good practice for beginners to really nail a good setup over the ball for putting, one of the earliest parts of the overall struggle to find the perfect putting performance. The extreme heel and toe weighting combined with back-end weighting helps provide a a high MOI (moment of inertia). Without getting too technical, this means this is a very forgiving and user-friendly putter and thus should be considered by players only beginning the game.

There are cheaper options out there considering this putter retails for $400 but you would do well to find a better constructed putter that actively guides you to improved alignment and hopefully better performance on the greens.

• Read our full SeeMore Mini Giant HTX Putter Review

Best technology

Another model that we think beginners should try is the Agera from Cobra. With a large footprint, Cobra sought to create the highest MOI possible and attempted to do so with the 3-D printed insert and tungsten weights.

It is unquestionably one of the most forgiving putters on the market and this is further aided by SIK Face Technology which uses descending loft technology to produce consistent stroke through the ball. In testing we think it seemed to deliver as promised. It is also surprisingly lightweight although the sound was fairly loud on the green but it was particularly effective over long distances.

The putter certainly looks unique and futuristic. At address, the shape is very square and there’s an awful lot going on - you can see the 3D Printed lattice structure poking out the sides. We think it could take a bit of time to get used to but there are very few putters out there that help players as much as this model does.

• Read our full Cobra King 3D Printed Agera Putter Review

Best stability

The L.A.B. Golf DF3 mallet is forgiving and extremely stable, and “fully automatic” – meaning it feels as if it’s guiding itself on the correct path on the way back and through. That can be attributed to "Lie Angle Balance" technology which creates true zero-torque putters, which stay square by themselves.

Our testing backed up the brand's claims because at times it seemed like the putter was on autopilot, and let gravity take over. Now the head is pretty large even for a mallet so be aware there, but we didn't think it was a visual distraction at all. In fact, we were extremely impressed with how easy it was to control putt speed.

The forgiveness was good as well. Mis-strikes from the heel and toe still made it close to the target and this is one of the most forgiving putters we've tried. Putts sounded rather solid and felt stable, while the sheer size of the head no doubt enhances the forgiveness while the grooves on the face to a good job of dampening the sound.

Finally there are loads of options to choose from design wise here. There are lots of colors, standard length or counterbalanced models, and there are lots of grip and shaft options as well as different alignment markings.

• Read our full L.A.B. Golf DF3 Putter Review

Most forgiving

Fianlly we have the INOVAI 6.5, one of the most forgiving putters on the market this year. We would even go as far as to say it is one of the best putters for high-handicap golfers, even if that isn’t necessarily who it is aimed at. This is because in testing it felt incredibly stable throughout the stroke and there was next to no difference between pure and mis-strikes in terms of roll.

The hexagonal shape and fangs are designed to optimize the putter’s MOI (Moment of Inertia) thanks to triangular vents that save weight, which is then distributed to the perimeter to help provide stability and forgiveness. In our testing it clearly delivered here.

It sits nice and square at address and the visuals really look premium and inspire confidence. We liked the contrasting colors, which in tandem with the dual alignment lines really made it easy to frame the ball and start it on line.

• Read our full Bettinardi Inovai 6.5 Putter review

How we test putters

When it comes to product testing, our reviews and buyers' guides are built upon a rigorous testing procedure as well as the knowledge and experience of the test team. Several members of the Golf Monthly team contribute to the putter tests, and all our writers are able to test clubs sufficiently, and convey the testing experience properly as well. However, Sam De'Ath heads up the team and takes care of the majority of the reviews. As a +3 handicap and a former college golfer in the United States, we believe he's well placed to do so!

Our putters are tested aross multiple rounds of golf across different types of courses to put them through the most thorough testing possible and to give us a greater amount of information and experience with each club. Specifically for putters, we use them out on the golf course and on putting greens so we can gauge factors like feel, sound, looks as well as test design features and for overall performance.

We pride ourselves with our review methodology because it has been finely tweaked and tuned across well over a decade of testing some of the best (and worst) golf equipment on the market. Ultimately, we value our level of trust with our readership very highly and thus look to be as informative as possible without taking sides for any brand or model. No manufacturer ever gets preferntial treatment from us, nor can a brand simply 'buy' a good review. Instead, we simply call it how we see based on our knowledge of the golf club industry and market, our experience during testing and our general passion for the game. We're motivated by helping our readers make the best informed buying decisions at a time in which they game is only getting more expensive to play.

To learn more about our methodology, see how Golf Monthly tests products in our guide.

What to consider when buying a putter

It can be an overwhelming experience trying to choose the right putter for your game, especially if you're a beginner or relatively inexperienced within the sport. For that reason, we have set out below a list of five considerations you need to keep in mind when purchasing your next putter.

1. Head Design

As this guide shows you, there are lots of different head designs on the putter market right now. Blades, mallet and mid-mallets are the basic terms and all have positives and negatives. The most forgiving design, and one best suited to beginner golfers, would be mallets. This is because these larger head shapes have technologies to stabilize the head and increase MOI.

MOI stands for 'moment of inertia' and the higher the MOI, the less your club head will turn through impact, creating a more smooth and even stroke. Additionally mallets tend to have larger sweet spots which beginner golfers will like because they aren't as consistent from a ball-striking perspective.

2. Feel

Feel is one of the most important factors when buying a putter. Some models offer a firmer feel and others soft, some are lighter, some feel heavier, so it is a question of finding a model that feels right in your hands. The putter grip plays a huge part in the confidence you feel with a putter. As such find a model that feels right and sits nicely in your hands during the putting strike.

3. Looks

You have to like what you are putting with because this will give you confidence when you're standing over the ball. In terms of mallets, there are lots of designs out there ranging from the classic fang, to the more futuristic designs. Again, it is about finding a model you like the look of.

4. Alignment tools

Beginner golfers should also think about alignment as well because many putters help in this regard. Some models feature lines or specific head shapes to accentuate alignment which can help focus on the ball and help square the club through impact.

5. Price

Finally we all need to think about price too because there are models coming in at every price point these days. That is why we have included models above with a variety of prices so if you want a budget option, you can get one, or if you want a premium model, then you can go down the expensive route too.

If you're a beginner golfer looking at purchasing more equipment along with your putter, take a look at our guides on the best golf balls for beginners, the best golf club sets for beginners and the best golf irons for beginners.

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