Finding the ideal putter for your stroke is a complex task with several factors to consider before purchasing. Arguably the most important is your putting stroke and the type of hosel and weight bias it suits.
In this post, I discuss the best toe hang putter for players with minor, moderate, and extreme arch strokes. The putters featured below range from entry-level budget-friendly putters with a face insert to premium-priced flat sticks with a milled surface.
What Is A Toe Hang Putter?
A toe hang putter carries extra clubhead mass in the toe and is designed to open on your backstroke and lag behind on your forward stroke. This suits golfers with arched strokes who open the putter on the backstroke and close it on the forward stroke.
The TaylorMade tutorial below gives you a clearer picture of the stroke path:
Putters have varied levels of toe hang, starting with minor toe hang, which works for golfers with a straight-arch stroke. These golfers require minimal lag on the forward stroke and can straighten up on the way through.
Next, we deal with moderate toe hang, which usually features 20 degrees, like the Odyssey Eleven 2 Ball Tour Lined putter. Moderate toe hang works best for players with a medium arch stroke, requiring some lag assistance on the forward stroke.
Finally, a putter with 40 degrees of toe hang is considered too extreme and is built for golfers with exaggerated arched strokes. These golfers open the putter face excessively on the backstroke and snap the putter shut to square it up into impact.
An example of an extreme toe hang putter is the Odyssey White Hot OG Seven Nano, our top pick on this list below.
What to Look for In a Good Toe Hang Putter Head Shape
Your first port of call is to determine whether your personal preference is mallets or blades. Mallet-style putters feature an oversized head design with a wide active zone to deliver consistent spin, even on heel and toe mishits.
In addition, they offer a higher degree of moment of inertia (MOI) to help you square the clubface at contact.
Conversely, a blade putter head is compact, attractive to look down on, and delivers a superior feel and feedback. But, the reduced design leaves less mass in the club head for perimeter weighting and forgiveness.
Hosel
Next, your hosel personal preference should be guided by your putting stroke. Different shafts tip the weight balance in the putter, creating less or lots of toe hang. Toe hang putters suit golfers with an arched stroke, but there are different choices for the severity of your arch.
In my experience, a short or flow neck hosel performs best for players with a high arching stroke. However, a plumbers-neck design works for golfers with a hybrid arch-straight putting stroke.
Best Face Material
Once you have the nitty gritty out of the way, think about your preferred face material. My first choice is always a milled surface, as I appreciate the feel and friction it generates for a pure roll. Understandably, these putters often carry premium price tags and fall out of the budget of most golfers.
Alternatively, you can opt for a polyurethane face insert, which neutralizes vibrations on mishits, and encourages consistent topspin.
Grip Size
Your grip is the final factor to consider, with options ranging from a slim pistol design to a jumbo construction, which limits wrist movement. I find many average golfers perform best with the thicker grips because it limits face twisting and helps reduce grip pressure for a fluid stroke.
Top 5 Toe Hang Putters to Consider
1. Odyssey White Hot OG Seven Nano – Best Overall
Pros
- Excessive toe hang
- Forgiving
- Encourages greater distance control
- Durable
- Clean finish
Cons
- Moderately expensive putter
- It produces severe lag on your forward stroke, making it difficult to square up.
The White Hot OG Seven Nano packs a punch with 40 degrees of toe hang designed to perform for golfers with an extreme arching stroke. In addition, I appreciated the smooth feel on every touch and the consistent forward spin generated on all shots.
This is a challenging putter to square up at impact so only those with extreme arches should play with it. Besides its stroke preferences, you will enjoy the soft feel and amplified acoustics as the ball leaves the clubface en route to the cup.
Next, I produced consistent topspin off the rich PVD milled surface, which enhanced my distance control for fewer three-putts. This was a massive help on longer putts when I struck the ball off-center.
Finally, the mallet putter head possesses ample weight, which expands the sweet spot and provides superior forgiveness on all shots.
2. Wilson Harmonized M3 – Best Budget
Budget pick
Pros
- Rock bottom price tag
- Forgiving
- Provides consistent forward roll
- Enhances feedback
- Pleasing red and white finish
Cons
- Not the prettiest-looking putter head design
- The alignment aid is basic
Wilson has always impressed me with their forgiving, affordable golf clubs that add value to the average player’s game. The Harmonized M3 follows this mission, as it carries an entry-level price and delivers consistent results to high handicappers.
Granted, the M3 is not the best-looking putter in the world, but exceptionally toe-heavy and waiting for golfers with arched strokes to give it a go. I feel the alignment aid is simple, efficient and gave me a clear idea of where my ball was aiming at address.
I appreciated the work of the micro-injection polymer face insert, which boosted feel and improved feedback. Plus, it carries an attractive black and white pattern that is pleasing to the eye at address.
Finally, I felt the M3 did well encouraging forward roll and ensuring consistent distance control on all putts.
3. Odyssey Eleven 2 Ball Tour Lined – Most Forgiving
Pros
- Exceptional forgiveness
- Encourages a square face at contact for accurate roll
- Pure feel
- Preserves topspin on off-center strikes
- Glare resistant finish
Cons
- Moderately expensive
- Not the prettiest putter from the brand
The Odyssey Eleven 2 Ball Tour Lined putter offers the highest forgiveness among their toe hang counterparts in 2022. Odyssey employed 20 degrees of toe-hang for moderately arching strokes. Added to the forgiveness of these mallet putters are a glare-resistant finish and increased MOI to deliver more accurate putts.
Odyssey’s classic two-ball alignment aid is backed up by an additional line to give you a clearer picture of where your putter face is aiming. Plus, its enlarged head carries a high degree of MOI, which helped me square the face at impact for an accurate putt.
I welcomed the added leniency and tighter dispersion, onset by the placement of a forward center of gravity (CG), which maintained topspin on off-center misses.
Lastly, the Eleven 2 Ball Lines feature the famed Odyssey White Hot Insert for a pure feel and soft acoustics at contact.
4. TaylorMade Spider X HydroBlast – Most Consistent Topspin
TaylorMade Spider X HydroBlast Putter
The “Y” design shape allows for all golfers to center the ball and clearly visualize the path to the hole. White TPU Pure Roll insert for softer feel. The Pure Roll grooves are at a 45° angle encourages optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics.
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Pros
- Produces consistent topspin on heel and toe mishits.
- Attractive finish and putter head design
- Soft feel on all putts
- Suits golfers with a slight arc stroke
- Expanded sweet spot
- Impressive alignment aid
Cons
- Moderately expensive
- Traditionalists may disapprove of the bulky clubhead design
I find the TaylorMade Spider X HydroBlast with a flow neck hosel offers golfers with arched strokes the most consistent rolling toe hang putter. In addition, this putter sports an advanced alignment aid to help golfers aim better.
I felt the Pure Roll insert did well to soften the feel of every contact and deliver a faint sound. Next, the expertly positioned 45-degree grooves helped maintain topspin across the face and provided consistent distance control.
TaylorMade engineers applied a HydroBlast finish to this putter, which issues it with a premium look at address. In addition, the club head is streamlined to help you deliver consistent topspin and accuracy on all strokes.
Finally, the Spider X HydroBlast carries a 320-gram steel frame and 15-gram sole for perimeter weighting. This increases the sweet spot and stability of the clubface at contact for superior distance control and accuracy.
5. Titleist Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11.5 – Best Premium
Pros
- Delivers a pure roll
- Buttery soft feel
- Elevated forgiveness
- Promotes straighter putts
- Built for a golfer with a moderate to high-arched stroke
Cons
- Premium price tag
- You need to purchase the adjustable swing weights separately
Scotty Cameron needs no introduction. They have been crafting soft-feeling and smooth rolling putters for as long as I have lived. The Phantom X 11.5 offers the buttery-soft feel enjoyed in their blade putters without sacrificing forgiveness.
I have always loved the feel and roll produced by a milled putter face, and this putter is no different. It is delightful to see the purity of the ball roll you generate as the ball glides swiftly across the dancefloor towards the cup.
The low bend shaft design suits players who produce excess face rotation during the stroke. However, an exceptional MOI setup guides you to square the clubface at contact for a straight putt.
Lastly, I felt the alignment aid provided a clear and concise view of my aim, thanks to the black back flange with a white stripe.
The Case for (and Against) Toe Hang Putters
What I Like About Them
Lag On Forward Stroke
The extra mass in the toe of the putter forces it open on the backstroke and maintains this position through to the golf ball. This suits players with an arched stroke, who tend to close the putter face at impact to square it up.
I feel the added open angle of the clubface prevents players with arched strokes from shutting the clubface violently at impact. Instead, the lag on the forward stroke causes resistance and promotes a more gentle closure at contact.
What I Dislike About Them
Difficult To Square The Putter Face
Putter toe hang increases the angle at which you open your clubface on the backstroke. In addition, it encourages lag on the forward stroke to resist snapping shut at impact. While this is golden for arched strokes, it causes players with a straight back and forward setup to leave the face open when impacting the ball.
Exacerbate Pushed Putts
Since a toe-hang putter is difficult to square at contact, some golfers may leave the face open and push putts to the right of the hole. If you struggle with sending your putts to the right, a toe hang design will only worsen the outcome.
Who I Think They Are Best for
In my experience, toe-hang putters best suit golfers who open the putter face on their backstroke and shut it closed at impact. However, the degree of toe hang depends on the intensity of your arched stroke.
For example, if you rotate the face excessively during the stroke, you need a lot of toe hang. Conversely, if you deliver an arch-straight combo stroke, you require minimal to moderate toe hang.
The added weight in the toe keeps the face open at the top of your backstroke and causes it to lag on the forward stroke. As a result, you enjoy greater control over the putter, and the putter face does not shut closed rapidly and cause your golf ball to hook left of the cup.
Matt Stevens
Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.