{"id":18699,"date":"2026-06-10T03:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T03:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/18699\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T03:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T03:04:20","slug":"zero-torque-putters-set-an-uncommon-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/18699\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero-torque putters set an uncommon trend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"The Odyssey Ai-One Square 2 Square Jailbird is one example of a zero-torque putter. Courtesy Odyssey<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: GGP+ is providing golf-industry coverage in conjunction with this week\u2019s PGA Show in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

When golfers make a putting stroke, the putter face naturally twists open and closed. This is what is known as \u201ctorque.\u201d However, torque can lead to inconsistencies. Zero-torque putters, the fastest-growing putter category, seek to limit torque by keeping the putter face square through the stroke.<\/p>\n

Now, almost all the major putter manufacturers, including L.A.B. Golf, Odyssey, Scotty Cameron and TaylorMade, have their own zero-torque putters to capitalize on the hot category.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole putter market has grown and within that it\u2019s being driven by zero torque,\u201d said Jacob Davidson, vice president of global tour, equipment product strategy and category management at Callaway Golf, which owns Odyssey. \u201cAt the off-course big-box retailers, roughly about 40 percent of their sales year to date have been in the zero-torque category.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that zero torque is not actually zero torque, it is just very low torque. Also, it\u2019s not exactly a new concept. Zero-torque putters are toe-up putters \u2013 the toe of the clubhead points toward the sky when the shaft is balanced on one finger \u2013 which have been around for 30 to 40 years, according to Davidson.<\/p>\n

\u201cOdyssey brought it to market under what\u2019s called toe up and it was used on tour,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cThen we went away from it and L.A.B. kind of brought it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, why [L.A.B. golf was] able to get so much success was using their revealer. It was a visual representation of what the putter actually does, which is an opposite torque of what traditional putters do.\u201d \u2013 Jacob Davidson<\/p>\n

When L.A.B. launched its original zero-torque putter in 2018, the company was able to show consumers what made its putter different with its revealer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, why they were able to get so much success was using their revealer,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cIt was a visual representation of what the putter actually does, which is an opposite torque of what traditional putters do. That revealer brought it to light in a meaningful way that consumers could understand there\u2019s something different there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The revealer showed that toe-down putters will often flop open and closed, making it difficult for some players to square up the face at impact. However, zero-torque putters\u2019 faces stayed mostly square through the stroke.<\/p>\n

Soon, almost all of the major putter manufacturers joined the zero-torque space, fueling growth in the market.<\/p>\n

But is that growth sustainable? Many would say no. Davidson said the average purchase cycle for a putter is about 6.2 years, and growth in the zero-torque category is being driven by people trying out a \u201cnew trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The zero-torque PXG Allan Courtesy PXG<\/p>\n

Steve Pelisek is the president of Titleist Golf Clubs, which is under the Acushnet Holdings Corp. umbrella along with Scotty Cameron, a brand that has its own low-torque putters. Pelisek offers a similar opinion to Davidson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market has overreacted,\u201d Pelisek said. \u201cWe think low-torque putters should fit about 10 percent of golfers. And so for that reason I think it merits about 10 percent of the market after golfers have a chance to try them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson believes it will get to a point where 20 percent of Odyssey putter sales are zero-torque putters. But there is reason to believe growth may be sustained for a while longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just starting to see innovation in this space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A complaint about L.A.B. putters was that people couldn\u2019t get used to the forward press that those putters are designed to promote. Odyssey got rid of the forward press, and other putter manufacturers are making their own adjustments such as moving hosels more heelward.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo really, [the market] could get bigger because you\u2019re bringing more innovation,\u201d Davidson said.<\/p>\n

The zero-torque category is growing in a way unlike any putter before, Davidson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that\u2019s interesting about it is that it\u2019s not being driven from tour success,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cYou really look back over history, every putter that\u2019s gotten hot has come from the tour and this one\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an age where people are increasingly falling more in love with distance, new golfers don\u2019t necessarily come into the game because of putting. They may not develop putter-face awareness, so these putters can offer more consistency without as much practice.<\/p>\n

While J.J. Spaun won the U.S. Open with an L.A.B. putter and some other pros have found success with zero torque, Davidson said on any given week on tour you see maybe 10 percent of the field using zero-torque putters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think zero torque makes bad putters better,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it makes good putters better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"L.A.B. Golf\u2019s OZ.1i Courtesy L.A.B. Golf<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s a reason zero-torque putters may be popular with the average consumer. In an age where people are increasingly falling more in love with distance, new golfers don\u2019t necessarily come into the game because of putting. They may not develop putter-face awareness, so these putters can offer more consistency without as much practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average consumer that\u2019s picking up the game may have never practiced putting,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cThey may warm up putting but they don\u2019t sit on a putting green for 30 minutes doing drills.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the tour level, blade-style putters have fallen out of style in favor of mallets. At the PGA Tour\u2019s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November, 79 percent of Odyssey\u2019s putters in play were mallets. It was the opposite 10 years ago in favor of blades, Davidson said.<\/p>\n

Callaway and other brands are now putting mallet putters in junior sets. If zero-torque putters show success in competition, that could change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf [top-ranked junior] Miles Russell was using a zero-torque putter I guarantee you half the AJGA would be,\u201d Davidson said.<\/p>\n

While club manufacturers have developed game-improvement drivers, irons and wedges over time, putters have largely stayed the same. Scottie Scheffler and a 30-handicapper can use the same putter. Davidson said zero-torque putters may signal a change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you could have a future where you have almost better player-style putters and you have more game-improvement putters,\u201d Davidson said.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 Global Golf Post LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Odyssey Ai-One Square 2 Square Jailbird is one example of a zero-torque putter. Courtesy Odyssey Editor\u2019s note:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3030],"tags":[3158,7816],"class_list":["post-18699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-odyssey","tag-odyssey","tag-zero-torque-putters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}