Taylormade TP Hydro Blast Putters £199
Aiming to deliver premium performance and aesthetics, Taylormade has launched the new TP Hydro Blast putter collection. It comprises seven designs to suit all strokes, including the Bandon shape that has already been put in play by Tommy Fleetwood and Dustin Johnson.
The new lighter, elegant finish is achieved by applying a high-pressure stream of water to 303 stainless steel. Each model is equipped with a white Pure Roll insert with grooves at a downward 45° angle. This enhances topspin and helps the ball start rolling end-over-end sooner.
The Soto is a classically shaped blade that features flowing, rounded edges. It boasts a single black sightline on the back cavity and an L-neck hosel, producing 40° of toe hang.
The Del Monte has a shorter blade length and a wider area from front to back, which translates into a more mallet-like feel while maintaining the characteristics of a blade. It comes in two models, one with an L-neck and the other a Single Bend hosel.
The tour-inspired double-wing design of the Bandon helps frame the ball at address and encourages forgiveness via optimised perimeter weighting. Tommy Fleetwood first put the L-neck version in the bag at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, after testing numerous configurations. He found it produced more centred strikes versus his prior putter, which he tended to hit out of the heel. Fleetwood has a long history of using blade putters, and because this model features 22° of toe hang, it made the transition to a malletstyle head seamless.
The Bandon 3 is the second iteration of this model. It features a short-slant hosel with an increased toe hang (32°), which produces even
more of a blade-like performance within a mallet design.
As a modern take on the traditional mallet design, the Dupage relies on unique visual alignment cues and a dual-slot cavity to help frame the ball at address. This face-balanced putter features a single-bend hosel and is better suited to players with a straighter stroke.
The face-balanced Chaska revisits the original Taylormade Corza Ghost design, with the familiar circular alignment aid in the back of the putter and three sightlines on top to help start the ball on line.
The Taylormade TP Hydro Blast putters are on sale now with an RRP of £199 each.
1. What was the thinking behind the concept?
The TP putters provide ‘classic’ performance vs our successful Spider line that provides more ‘technical’ performance. It is designed to provide performance with a simple approach focusing on mallets. Since mallets are played on tour between 65 to 70 per cent of the time, we wanted to make sure our mallet designs and shapes were tour preferred. The TP line is also the only line of putters where we sell classic blade putters.
2.
Did you consider having solid milled faces rather than an insert?
No – we have 20 years of research that shows how an insert can increase performance. Our Pure Roll insert can provide 25 to 50rpm of additional topspin. All golfers can benefit from increased topspin as the ball will bounce after it is struck. The goal is to reduce the bounce time and get the ball into a pure roll as early as possible.
3.
The lighter finish was something that our tour players preferred. They liked the simplicity of the light sandstone finish, especially with the white Pure Roll insert. The Bandon shape is an approved shape on tour and the simplicity of the head design allows the wings to create a good alignment feature for putting.
What input did tour players offer into the design?
The Chaska boasts adjustable sole weights to fine-tune the feel
“THE NEW FINISH OOZES CLASS AND THE BANDON 3 MODEL, IN PARTICULAR, SETS UP BEAUTIFULLY BEHIND THE BALL”
Joel Tadman, GM technical editor