Ask any golfer whether hammers or blades leave shorter return shots and most will say hammer without hesitation. Data from our 2026 testing tells a more complicated story. After testing 29 hammers and 24 blades under identical PuttView conditions (same distances, same mix of straight, broken, uphill and downhill shots, complete randomization), here’s what 33,000 shots tell us.
Short shots: Blades win
On short shots, the blade leaves slightly shorter recoil on average. The blade leaves 16.1 inches versus 16.5 for the hammers. The best individual performer was the tiny Bettinardi BB 7.0 hammer at just 13.2 inches while the best blade was the Bettinardi BB-8W at 14.0.
On the other hand, the Evnroll Origin 8 was the worst little hammer at 19.2 inches. Interestingly, the Mizuno M.Craft Osaka, which led the entire blade test in production percentage, was the worst blade for return distance on short shots at 18.1 inches.
Medium long shots: Mallets win
This is where hammers have the clearest advantage. The mallets average 17.0 inches on the medium throw compared to 18.3 for the blades.
The Scotty Cameron Phantom 9 led all shots at 15.1 inches while the Bettinardi BB-8W was the best blade at 16.0. The worst performers were the PING Scottsdale TEC Ketsch Onset at 18.9 inches for the hammers and the Odyssey Ai-Dual DW at 19.9 for the blades.
Long shots: Too close to call
On long shots, both categories averaged exactly 20.1 inches of return distance. When you look at the averages, there may not be a clear blade/hammer winner, but there are big differences between individual models.
The Sausage Golf Boudin Noir led all shots at 17.3 inches and the Bettinardi BB-1 was the best blade at 18.0. On the flip side, the Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 800 Series left the most damage of any hammer at 23.0 inches, and the COBRA MIM Sport was the worst blade at 22.2.
Does the model stand among the best players?
To take it a step further, I looked at the top five overall performers in each test from PuttView Handicap and compared their return distances at each distance. Among the best pitchers in any field, the advantage of the short blade shot from full court disappears.
The best hammers leave shorter recoil than the best blades at any distance. The average putt distance is more surprising: more than two inches separates the top five hammers from the top five blades at that distance.
Takeaway
For the full 2026 results from both tests, see our full test data here:
