Guide

Zero-torque putters: what they do and who they suit

A zero-torque putter is built so the head has no pull to twist open or shut as you swing it: the shaft lines up with the head's centre of gravity, so the face tends to stay square to your stroke. It helps when your putts start left or right of where you aimed. If your misses are mostly short and long, a high-inertia mallet helps more. We cover 10 zero-torque putters and the low-torque Scotty Cameron Phantom 11R OC, from $199 to $549, 9 of them sold left-handed.

How a putter twists, and how these stop it

On a usual putter the shaft joins the head away from its centre of gravity, most often at the heel. As you swing, the head's weight pulls against that joint and the face wants to rotate, open on the way back and closed on the way through, and your hands have to time it. Put the shaft in line with the centre of gravity and there is no pull: the makers below each do it a different way, set out in the table, and several add a little forward shaft lean so the hands start ahead of the ball.

The balance test

Balance the shaft on one finger, near the head, and let the head settle. A heel-shafted blade usually hangs toe down (toe hang); a face-balanced mallet points its face at the sky; a zero-torque putter points its toe up. Odyssey and TaylorMade print "toe up" in their tables for their zero-torque heads, which is the same test.

Who a zero-torque putter suits

Every zero-torque and low-torque putter we cover

Lowest price first. Each line restates the maker's own page; tap a putter for its full record, loft, lie and the price we checked.

Zero-torque putters: how each is built to resist twisting, the shaft lean, stock lengths, hands and price
PutterHow it resists twistingShaft leanStock lengthsHandsPrice
Vice Golf VGP03 ZT A CNC-milled hosel aligns the shaft axis through the head's centre of mass, in a classic blade shape (Vice: balance "Zero Twist"). not stated 34" right only $199, checked 2 Nov
Wilson Infinite Zero Torque The 606 The centre of gravity sits under the central shaft axis (Wilson's table: toe hang "Zero Torque"); a mallet with two lines that frame the ball. 1° forward 33", 34", 35" right and left; 33" right-handed only $199.99, checked 2 Nov
Wilson Infinite Zero Torque Lakeview The centre of gravity sits under the central shaft axis, in a half-moon head; Wilson's table calls its toe hang "Face balanced". 1° forward 33", 34", 35" right and left; 33" right-handed only $199.99, checked 2 Nov
Vice Golf VGP04 ZT Hidden geometry aligns the shaft axis through the head's centre of mass under a mallet shape, with weight in the wings. not stated 34" right only $239, checked 2 Nov
Odyssey Ai-DUAL Square 2 Square MAX 1/2 Ball Center Shaft Centre shaft set just above the centre of gravity; the head rests toe-up (Odyssey's table: toe hang "90 degrees UP"). 2° forward, with a grip shaped to offset it 33", 34", 35" right and left $299.99 at Golf Discount, checked 2 Nov
Odyssey Ai-DUAL Square 2 Square Jailbird Center Shaft Centre shaft set just above the centre of gravity, in Odyssey's Jailbird shape; the head rests toe-up (Odyssey's table: toe hang "90° UP"). 2° forward, with a grip shaped to offset it 33", 34", 35" right and left $299.99 at Golf Discount, checked 2 Nov
L.A.B. Golf DF3 Stock L.A.B.'s "lie angle balance": steel or tungsten sole screws set for each putter so the head "stays square by itself". not stated 33", 34", 35" right and left $399, checked 2 Nov
Evnroll ZERO Z1cs Mallet Centre-shafted for "ZERO torque", with a pin hosel that adjusts loft and lie. not stated 33", 34", 35" right and left $449, checked 2 Nov
TaylorMade Spider ZT Max Centre shaft bored toward the toe, near the centre of gravity, so the head sits toe-up (TaylorMade's table: "Toe Up"). 2° forward 33", 34", 35" right and left $449.99, checked 2 Nov
L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i Stock L.A.B.'s "lie angle balance" in a six-sided head, with crown lines parallel and square to the target line for aim. not stated 33", 34", 35" right and left $499 at L.A.B. Golf, checked 2 Nov
Scotty Cameron Phantom 11R OC Onset centre: a straight shaft fitted in line with the head's centre of gravity; Scotty Cameron calls it "very low torque". 1° forward 33", 34", 35" right and left $549 at Golf Discount, checked 2 Nov

"Not stated" means the maker's page does not give it. We hold no published inertia figure for any of them, so the table compares how each is built, not a measured result.