Is putter tech a myth?

Joe Ferguson pits two classic putters against the cutting-edge L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max to see if modern technology actually makes a difference on the greens

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Golf equipment has slowly but surely undergone a revolution, with technology making every club from driver to wedge more forgiving and better-performing than ever before. But I was curious to know, does this technological advancement hold true for the putter?

For decades, the accepted mantra has been that putting is all about feel, instinct and creativity. To test this theory, I decided to purchase two of the most iconic putters of all time from GolfClubs4Cash - the elegant, pure blade Wilson 8802 with its heavy toe-hang, and the game-changing, perimeter-weighted, mid-toe-hang-orientated Ping Anser. I then put them head-to-head-to-head with the modern phenomenon of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max zero-torque putter. My mission: to see if nearly 60 years of R&D can really be quantified on the green...

To test what differences their contrasting designs made, I started out by checking their holing-out performance from eight feet. This distance is a crucial barometer because, statistically, it is the range from which PGA Tour pros hole 50% of their putts. I hit ten putts with each model to give me a total.

Stability shines through

The Wilson 8802 managed to hit the PGA Tour average, holing five out of ten putts. While relatively functional, in truth, I found the severe toe-hang and its associated torque quite difficult to manage in terms of keeping the face square and felt it required precise timing to try and return the blade to the right place at impact.