TaylorMade drops an all-black version of the prototype putter Scottie Scheffler tinkered with.
Gear: TaylorMade Spider Tour X Black Proto putter Price: $500, equipped with a KBS CT Black PVD Stepless shaft and a SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0 Black grip Specs: Steel-body mallet putter with a milled face insert and black PVD finish. Available in lengths ranging from 33 to 35 inches. Who it’s for: Golfers seeking improved distance control, forgiveness, and a putter with an anti-glare finish.
What you should know: The Spider Tour X Black Proto retains the shape of the popular Spider Tour X putters, favored by both tour professionals and recreational golfers. Its milled face offers a firmer feel at impact while the black PVD finish minimizes glare and delivers a distinct aesthetic.
The deep dive: TaylorMade introduced the Spider Tour family in August 2023. Toward the end of the season, Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, used a TaylorMade Spider Tour prototype with a milled face at several PGA Tour events. While the milled-face Spider Tour X Proto has been available since September 2023, TaylorMade has now released the Spider Tour X Proto Black, featuring an all-black design.
The Black version mirrors the previously released Spider Tour Proto putter in having 3 degrees of loft and a 70-degree lie angle. It also includes both an L-Neck hosel and a short slant neck hosel, like Scheffler’s prototype.
The True Path Alignment system is blacked-out in the Spider Tour X Black Proto putters. (TaylorMade)
Unlike earlier Spider Tour Proto models with a silver-toned aluminum chassis and a white True Path alignment system featuring a single black line for aiming, the Black version incorporates a subtler design. The True Path alignment shape remains but is finished in black PVD, blending with the chassis. The alignment line from the topline to the back of the head also persists, but its black-on-black appearance is understated, requiring golfers to look closely to discern it at address.
From a performance perspective, the Spider Tour X Black Proto shifts more weight to the front of the head. The milled stainless-steel insert is heavier than the Hybrar Echo Damper material used in standard Spider Tour X putters. This forward center of gravity encourages a putter face rotation resembling that of a blade-style putter, ideal for golfers with an arced putting stroke.
Below are several close-up images of the TaylorMade Spider Tour X Black Proto putters.
TaylorMade’s new Spider Tour putters boost stability while making it easy to aim your putts and get the ball rolling more quickly.
Gear: TaylorMade Spider Tour Series putters (2023) Price:$349.99 each with KBS shaft and SuperStroke Pistol 1.0 grip Specs: Steel body mallet putters with grooved Surlyn insert, internal polymer and steel weights. Lengths: 33″-35″ Available: Oct. 27, but available for pre-order NOW
Who It’s For: Golfers who want more stability and consistency on mis-hit putts.
The Skinny: Blending traditional Spider shapes with multimaterial constructions, the updated Spider Tour Series putters aim to help golfers achieve better distance control, a higher-quality roll and easier alignment.
The Deep Dive: In the world of golf equipment, the term ‘golden handcuffs’ refers to when players love a product so much that they don’t want brands to change it or update it. You never hear it used about drivers because everyone wants to hit the ball farther, but elite golfers often bristle when they hear companies are tweaking muscleback blades. You hear the term batted around in putter discussions, too. While TaylorMade has offered several versions of Spider putters over the last few years, Spider Tour putters have remained among the most popular. So, instead of fighting that popularity and trying to convince players to use something else, TaylorMade is leaning into the size and shape that has brought it so much success and spawned so many imitators.
The new Spider Tour family is comprised of five clubs that have similar shapes and that share several common technologies. For example, a gunmetal-finished aluminum wireframe body that helps to reduce weight in areas of the head that don’t impact performance, and designers have added a new Hybrar Echo Damper behind the leading edge in the sole. It’s an internal piece of polymer with an accordion shape, similar to the Hybrar Echo Damper found in the Stealth and Stealth HD irons. As it does in those clubs, the polymer soaks up excessive vibrations that are created at impact to improve sound and feel.
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The Spider Tour’s True Path alignment system makes it easier to aim and start putts in your intended line (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Each of the new Spider Tour putters also has TaylorMade’s True Path alignment system on the top, comprising a white area with a single black line extending from the topline and forks in the back. The white is designed to grab your eyes’ attention and make it easier to focus on your putt’s intended path.
Finally, TaylorMade gave each Spider Tour putter its Pure Roll insert. The Surlym insert features a series of grooves that point down at a 45-degree angle designed to encourage a forward roll and topspin off the strike instead of skidding and bouncing.
The Spider Tour has a boxy, high-MOI design that has been popular and influential. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The standard Spider Tour has a classic boxy shape, and with its small slant neck, the hosel has about 30 degrees of toe hang, so it should be ideally suited to golfers with a slightly arched putting stroke. The Spider Tour has weights in the back heel and toe area that pull the center of gravity back to the head’s perimeter. This weight distribution also increases the moment of inertia (MOI), which helps the Spider Tour resist twisting on off-center hits and keep putts on their intended line more effectively. According to TaylorMade, the new Spider Tour’s MOI of 5,700 g/cm2 is 700 g/cm2 higher than the original Spider Tour, so golfers should find it more stable and forgiving.
The Spider Tour X has a similar shape, but instead of having the back weights project out, they have been designed into the sole, under two small block pieces in the heel and toe. With the weights slightly more forward, the Spider Tour X has a slightly lower MOI (5,000 g/cm2).
One of the new shapes is the Spider Tour Z. Its chassis has been designed lower to the ground and the center area, where the True PaAth alignment system rests, is slightly higher. It has small blocks in the back, like the Spider Tour X, but its weights have been designed in the front heel and toe areas of the sole. This shifts the CG location forward, to make the Spider Tour Z’s face rotate like a blade-style putter. Its MOI is nearly identical to the Spider X’s MOI.
The Spider Tour V is like a Spider Tour Z with the back blocks in the heel and toe removed. Its weight is forward, to encourage face rotation during the stroke.
Finally, the Spider Tour S, which will be released in the Spring of 2024, is the largest and heaviest Spider Tour putter. It will be available as a 35- or 38-inch club and be counterbalanced.
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Here are several close-up images of the new Spider Tour Series putters:
