There’s a stubborn myth in UK golf that a sub-£150 putter is doomed to be a wobbly, hollow-feeling thing that mishits every other 6-footer. Testing covered five of them last month on the practice greens at the home club in Kent — drier-than-usual April conditions, fast-rolling surfaces — and the gap between the cheapest of the five and a £250 brand-name putter was a lot smaller than the price tag suggests.
A tester on the panel had been gaming a £230 mallet for two seasons. He swapped to one of the putters on this list for a four-round trial and lost 0.4 putts per round. Make of that what you will.
Top Picks at a Glance
| Putter | Best for | Head style | Price (UK) | Rating |
| Wilson Staff Infinite South Side | Best overall under £150 | Mallet | £145 | 8.5/10 |
| Wilson Harmonized M3 | Best feel on a budget | Mid-mallet | £79 | 8.0/10 |
| Ben Sayers XF Pro Tour Mallet | Best alignment aid | Mallet | £69 | 7.5/10 |
| MacGregor Tourney Reaction MT | Best for slower greens | Mid-mallet | £64 | 7.0/10 |
| PowerBilt TPS Black Ops Anser | Best blade under £100 | Blade | £49 | 7.0/10 |
All five were in stock at American Golf, Direct Golf or Amazon UK when testing wrote this. Prices are typical UK street; the Wilsons are occasionally a few pounds cheaper in the Boxing Day to early-January sales.
Why £150 Matters as a Cutoff
Three things change as putter prices climb past £150: better face inserts (milled aluminium, polymer-backed), better stock grips (a Super Stroke or Lamkin instead of generic rubber) and tighter tolerances on shaft offset and head weight. All three are noticeable to a sensitive feel player, and none of them matter much if your problem is starting putts on line.
Under £150, you can still get a cast or milled head, a face with grooves or polymer for soft feel and a reasonable steel shaft. What you give up is mostly cosmetic and the grip — both fixable. A new Super Stroke costs £25 and takes 15 minutes.
1. Wilson Staff Infinite South Side — £145 (Best Overall)
Testing had this one in last year’s beginner round-up and it’s earned its place again. South Side is a fang-style mallet with a counter-balanced feel, a milled aluminium face and a double-bend shaft. The stock oversized Wilson grip is actually decent — similar in feel to a Super Stroke 2.0, which is rare at this price.
On the greens at Knole Park in early April it was noticeably more stable on toe strikes than the comparison putter on test. Rolls a Pro V1x with a faint click — softer than a milled blade, firmer than an Odyssey White Hot insert. Distance control on 30-foot lag putts was the surprise. The catch is the look: the satin finish picks up scratches quickly and the alignment line is subtle. Testing covered the full range in the [best beginner putters UK 2026 round-up].
2. Wilson Harmonized M3 — £79 (Best Feel on a Budget)
Harmonized is Wilson’s long-running budget line and the M3 is the heel-shafted mid-mallet. Half-moon shape, single alignment line, polymer-backed face. The feel is the standout — softer than the South Side, closer to what you’d expect from a £150 Odyssey.
Testing took this one to a damp February session at Princes Risborough and the soft feel became a problem on slower, wetter greens — hard to feel putts coming off firmly enough to gauge pace. On the drier April surfaces it sang. So a putter the recommendation goes to for southern-UK heathland summer golf, and hesitate to recommend for winter on northern parkland greens. Stock grip is the standard rubber and the first thing buyers should swap.
3. Ben Sayers XF Pro Tour Mallet — £69 (Best Alignment Aid)
Ben Sayers is a Scottish brand most golfers under 30 won’t have heard of, but they’ve been making clubs since the 1880s. The XF Pro Tour Mallet is their take on a Spider-style high-MOI mallet at a budget price. The alignment system — two parallel white lines on a dark crown — is genuinely the best on this list, and arguably better than anything recent observation has been under £150.
Where it gives up ground is feel. The face is unmilled mild steel and the stock grip is firm. Off-centre hits give you a tinny feedback that the Wilsons mask. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing — some players prefer feedback to forgiveness on shorter putts — but it’s a stylistic choice. Best for golfers whose miss is starting putts off-line because they aim wrong at address; not for feel players.
4. MacGregor Tourney Reaction MT — £64 (Best for Slow Greens)
MacGregor is another heritage brand selling through Direct Golf and Foremost. The Tourney Reaction MT is a mid-mallet with a milled face and a heavier-than-average head (about 365g). On slow UK winter greens — soggy December surfaces where you have to hit putts firmly to get them to the hole — the extra weight does some of the work for you.
On fast summer greens that same weight became a hindrance. Testing three-putted three times across two rounds because the head wanted to run the ball long. Firmly a putter for winter, or for golfers on consistently slow greens. If your home course rolls 10+ on the stimp in summer, look at the Wilsons instead. Shaft is a touch flexier than buyers should like, but at this price you accept that.
5. PowerBilt TPS Black Ops Anser — £49 (Best Blade)
If you’ve decided you want a blade and you’ve decided you want it cheap, this is the one. An Anser-2-shape blade, plumber’s-neck hosel, slight-arc-stroke fit, all-black finish. £49.
Testing covered it against a £235 Ping Anser 2 on the same day. The PowerBilt was noticeably tinnier on contact, the grip was poor, and the offset was a degree or two more than buyers should have liked. But the geometry — head shape, length options, toe-hang — was correct. With a £25 Super Stroke grip swap and 20 minutes on the practice green to settle into the firmer feel, it’s a perfectly playable blade for under £75 all-in. Not for anyone who’d be bothered by the brand name on the head, or any feel player who needs soft-milled feedback.
Testing Method
Six rounds across four UK courses between mid-March and late April 2026: two at the home Kent parkland, two at Princes Risborough (slow spring greens), one at West Hill (Surrey heathland, fast greens) and one at Knole Park. Same ball each time (Titleist Pro V1x). Drills: 10ft straight (20 balls), 6ft breaking left-to-right (20 balls), 30ft lag for distance control (20 balls). Testing tracked make percentage at 6 and 10ft, and average proximity on lag putts.
Buying Notes: Length, Lie and What to Skip
Most budget putters ship in 34″ only. Under about 5’8″ you’ll want a 33″; over 6’1″, consider 35″. Lie angle is usually around 70° — if you stand close to the ball, ask whether the retailer will adjust for £10–£15.
Skip any putter under £40. Testing tried two of those for comparison (own-brand pieces from generic retailers) and they were unusable — heads twisted on off-centre hits, grips slid in damp conditions. £49 is the floor for something that will hold up for a season.
FAQ
Can a £150 putter really compete with a £300 one?
On make percentage from 6ft on flat greens, almost. On feel and resale, no. On long lag putts, the £300 putter has a small edge because milled faces give more consistent distance control. For most club golfers the practical gap is 0.3–0.5 strokes per round, not the 2-3 strokes the price gap suggests.
Which one should I buy if I have to pick blind?
Wilson Staff Infinite South Side at £89. Most forgiving, best-feeling, easiest to live with. If you specifically want a blade, the PowerBilt at £49 with a grip swap.
Should I buy used instead?
Often, yes. A two-year-old Ping Anser 2 in good nick sells around £120 used; a Scotty Cameron Newport around £200. Both are better putters than anything on this list. If you’re patient — Replays in Surrey, eBay listings from PGA pros — the £100 used budget often beats the £100 new budget.
Final Word
The Wilson Staff Infinite South Side is the pick of the five — the putter put in the bag if testing had to play tomorrow’s medal with £100 in the pocket. The Harmonized M3 is the soft-feel alternative for summer greens. The PowerBilt is the outlier: flawed on feel, near-perfect on shape, and at £49 it leaves you enough to fix what’s wrong. Skip the MacGregor unless your greens are slow.
One piece of unsolicited advice: spend 10 of the £100 you saved on a putting lesson. A budget putter and a square face will beat a tour putter and a wobbly stroke every time.
