Often, a red-hot putter is the difference between winning and losing a Major championship, as shown by Wyndham Clark at this year's US Open.
Using a Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset, the American gained 1.52 strokes on the greens, ranking inside the top 5 for the whole field, with the incredible play coinciding with an historic deal.
Switching to the putter at The Masters, Clark signed a single-club endorsement deal with Ping, which so happens to be the first in the company's history.
The victory for the flatstick continued a trend in the men's Major game, as another mallet-style putter earned one of golf's big four championships, a trend that stretches back to the US Open in 2024.
Over the last eight Majors, the mallet has dominated and, in terms of the last player to win a trophy with a blade, that would be Bryson DeChambeau, who used a SIK Pro C-Series Armlock.
That putter was also used for his 2020 US Open success, and has been a prominent feature in his set-up for a lengthy amount of time, first appearing in 2017.
Featuring Descending Loft Technology, DeChambeau's model has a thick and stiff graphite shaft that measures 43.25 inches. By implementing the armlock method, there are fewer moving parts, thus causing a more consistent stroke and contact.
A mallet may provide more forgiveness and weight, but a blade gives the player more feedback at contact and, prior to his win at Pinehurst No.2, a blade-style putter was used by Brooks Koepka for his 2023 PGA Championship victory, while Cameron Smith had a blade in-play for his Open Championship win in 2022.
Both of those were Scotty Cameron models, specifically the Teryllium TNP2 for Koepka and the 009M Prototype for Smith.
In fact, as early as 2022, three of the four Major triumphs involved blade-style putters, as Matt Fitzpatrick used a Bettinardi DASS BB1 at the US Open and Scottie Scheffler a Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS Prototype at The Masters.
Even the previous year, blades made up 50% of men's Major wins, with Phil Mickelson and Hideki Matsuyama using an Odyssey Milled Blade and a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS for their triumphs at the PGA Championship and The Masters.
The men's game may not have seen a blade-style putter win one of its Majors in the last eight starts, but what about the women's game?
Well, that's a completely different story, as Nelly Korda wielded a TaylorMade NK Proto blade for both her Chevron Championship and US Women's Open wins in 2026.
Looking at 2025, two players had blade putters in-play for their Major wins, as Grace Kim and Maja Stark had the flatsticks in the bag for the Evian Championship and US Women's Open.
For Kim, her model of choice was the Scotty Cameron Squareback Plus, while Stark used a Ping Anser 2 to win at Erin Hills.
Blade putters may be becoming less popular on the professional circuits but, as Korda has shown, they are still garnering success.
More and more players are opting for mallets, but don't expect blades to disappear off the face of the earth anytime soon...
