Can a Zero Torque Putter Improve Your Game? – Golf Myths Unplugged

A Putting Panacea?

Based on the increased Tour play, the surge of new models, and the tremendous success at retail, you would think that bagging a zero torque putter is a surefire path to becoming a great putter.  But is there really a big advantage to zero torque putters or are they just the latest fad on the green?  We did the testing to answer that question for this edition of Golf Myths Unplugged.

If you’re unclear on what a zero torque putter is, we’ve got you covered.  Check out Zero Torque Putters Explained HERE.

Part Two of Golf Myths Unplugged: Zero Torque Putters can be found HERE

The Myths

Myth #1 – Zero torque putters produce better start lines

Myth #2 – Zero torque putters reduce face rotation

Myth #3 – Zero torque putters improve contact

Myth #4 – Zero torque putters change your stroke

Myth #5 – Zero torque putters make more putts

Myth #6 – Zero torque putters are more consistent

How We Tested

For this test, we brought together five golfers with handicaps ranging from 10 to +2.  Each player ran through two series of tests with an array of five putters: a traditional blade, a face balanced mallet, two zero torque putters, and their gamer.  The first test involved hitting seven short putts on SAM Puttlab.  The second test was hitting five putts from twenty feet.  In both tests, we tracked makes and misses.  For the longer putt, we measured the distance left to the hole if the putt was not made.  Each player tested the putters in a different order.

All testing was done at and with the help of Club Champion.

The biggest proclaimed benefit of a zero torque putter is that it keeps the club face square to the path.  In theory, this should result in more putts starting on their intended line.  We did not find this to be the case.

To test this myth, we looked at what SAM Puttlab told us about the face angle of the putter at impact.  This is a precision measurement (done to the tenth of a degree) that also removes the other variables that affect whether or not a putt goes in.  All of our testers had equal or better average face angles with the non-zero torque putters (NZTP) than with zero torque putters (ZTP).  In one case, the difference was almost an entire degree – enough error to miss an eight foot putt.

One thing to keep in mind is that no one in our test group games a ZTP, but the NZTP putter group did include every tester’s gamer.  This put the ZTP at a distinct disadvantage, so it may be fair to look at anything close to a tie as a win for zero torque.

Face rotation is the subject of endless argument and speculation in the putter world.  Whether players should strive for more or less is not in our purview today, we just wanted to see if the absence of torque reduced it.

We looked at three SAM Puttlab numbers to evaluate this myth: Amount of Rotation, Rotation to Impact, and Rotation Relative to Path.  On Amount of Rotation, the ZTP and NZTP were almost exactly equal.  Similarly, looking at Rotation to Impact, the difference between ZTP and NZTP was marginal – less than a tenth of a degree for each tester.

Where I expected to see a difference was in Rotation Relative to Path (RRtP).  In theory, the zero torque putters should have much “lower” scores here.  In reality, we saw a mixed bag.  Some players did have as much as one degree less RRtP with a zero torque putter.  However, one tester had equal RRtP and one actually had more RRtP with a zero torque putter.

Overall, we saw no evidence that a zero torque putter produces less face rotation than a traditional putter.

To my knowledge, makers of zero torque putters do not claim that their designs will help you to strike the ball better.  That said, we were curious to see if there was a connection between torque and strike quality.  We did not find one.

Our test group showed almost every conceivable mix when it came to strike quality and torque.  One player recorded his best strikes with a ZTP.  Another was lights out with a NZTP and could barely find the face with the ZTP.  With regard to strike quality, we found zero torque putters to be like any other: they were great for some players, bad for others.

After three misses, we have a myth that we can confirm: zero torque putters did have significant impacts on the putting strokes of our testers.

The first thing that I noticed was that ZTP changed our testers’ angle of attack.  Each one of our testers had a more negative (more downward) angle of attack with the ZTP compared to the three NZTP.  The average change was 1 degree, and the range was 1.2 to 0.8, so the effect was quite consistent.

Additionally, we saw players create more shaft lean with the zero torque putters.  The effect here was similarly consistent, ranging from 1 degree to 1.44 degrees with an average of 1.2.

Finally, we looked at our testers’ stroke shape.  With the zero torque putters, our testers had a more arcing stroke than with the traditional putters, on average.  There was more diversity in this sample – changes ranged from +4.3 to -2.8.  The average change was 1.58 degrees more arc with four of our five testers increasing their arc with the ZTP.

Stepping away from the fancy numbers for a moment, we counted the putts made both at close range and at long range.  At close range, the two zero torque putters made an average of 26 putts across our whole test group.  The non zero torque putters made an average of 27 putts.  Moving back to long range, the ZTP averaged 9.5 made putts to 8 for the NZTP.  This would indicate that there’s not a huge difference between the two groups but that the ZTP showed more promise at long range.

I think the better lessons are derived from looking at the testers as individuals.  Through this lens, we can see that there were players who absolutely loved the ZTP and some that either didn’t like them or needed more time to adjust.  One player averaged 6/7 makes at close range with NZTP but just 3/7 with the ZTP.  Another player made 4/5 putts from 20 feet with the L.A.B. putter and just 1 with all the NZTP put together.

In sum, this myth is plausible, it just depends on the player.

For this myth we turned to SAM Puttlab’s Overall Consistency metric.  For three of our five testers, the results were almost a perfect tie.  One tester gave up about 2% consistency when switching to the ZTP and our final tester lost 7% consistency.  Overall, the data shows that the zero torque putters are slightly less consistent than the traditional putters.

I will note again that the zero torque putters were doubly disadvantaged in this test: not only was each tester’s gamer included in the NZTP group, but most testers had minimal experience with ZTP.  The fact that three players were able to post equal consistency scores with the ZTP and NZTP may indicate something positive for the zero torque group.

Additional Notes

The players’ reactions to the putters were just as interesting as the data.  Almost universally, they found the zero torque putters easy to putt with.  One tester could not pick up the PXG Allan [review HERE] without gushing about how good it felt and how many putts he was making.  To hear the players tell it, there was no meaningful learning curve to the ZTP.

However, there was one tester who told us, “I would never game this” while testing a zero torque putter.  This player didn’t putt poorly with any putter, but he came in with a predetermined notion about what he could or would play.

Opportunities for Future Testing

As always, we would love to see these tests replicated with larger sample sizes.  We are not advertising these results as the final word but a step toward a better understanding of golf equipment.

For this test, we did as much as possible to normalize the specs between the putters, but there were still substantial differences in head shape.  It would be interesting to see if the results would be different if the zero torque and traditional putters looked the same.

Finally, as was mentioned earlier, each tester had more experience with traditional putters.  It would be fun to try this test again with an equal mix of players who game zero torque and non-zero torque putters.

Takeaways

While zero torque putters certainly bring something new to the game, they are not an automatic fix for your putting.  As with any other style of putter, you need to put in the time to master your technique.  Some players may experience a honeymoon period when switching to zero torque and some will see long term improvement from making the switch, but zero torque putters need to be properly fit to the player, just like any other flat stick.

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Matt Saternus

Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf

Matt has worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking.

He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.

Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

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