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Since the huge success of the Spider franchise, Taylormade have pretty much become an MOI putter company. Jason Day and Dustin Johnson battling it out for the World No.1 spot in
TAYLORMADE SPIDER EX
£299
Since the first model arrived in 2008, the Spider franchise has always been about forgiveness and stability. They come with wire-frame bodies and/or multiple-material constructions, to free up and relocate inefficient weight from the centre to the edges, improving stability.
The Spider is also famous for being the putter (by introducing slant necks and toe hang to bigger body MOI models) that convinced tour pros to ditch the blade for more forgiving models. The EX features an all-new Pure Roll insert for increased topspin and better roll, along with a lightweight aluminium, heavy steel and tungsten construction to deliver the renowned consistency and stability of the Spider family. 2017-18 wielding Spider Tour putters was the breakthrough they dreamed of, and the success hasn’t stopped there. Rory Mcilroy had his best putting year ever in 2022 using a Spider X, so Taylormade are riding a wave of
SPIDER GTX
£299
The GTX, with its back wing structure, deepens the centre of location to increase MOI and create one of the most forgiving Spiders of all time. It’s available with three different hosel set-ups, so it can suit all types of strokes.
Expect the 154g steel backweight and wing structure, that creates a deeper centre of gravity (38mm, which Taylormade say restricts face rotation), to offer up a very stable putter. True Path alignment frames the ball and helps you visualise the path to the hole, while the Pure Roll insert is made from black TPU urethane.
GT MAX
MOI success. They also make a TP Hydroblast Collection of traditional blade and mallet putters, but be under no illusion – it’s the Spider that gets the most focus and attention at TM HQ.
£379
Taylormade say face angle is responsible for 90% of the result of any putt. That’s why the GT Max is designed to help overcome your miss tendencies and get the face pointing in the right direction more often.
Two 40g, sliding tungsten sole weights give control over the CG location, toe hang and face rotation. Available with a small slant neck or single bend shaft, and thanks to the adjustability, you can tailor toe hang from 17° to 20° or 23°.
TP HYDRO BLAST COLLECTION
£199
Over 65% of tour pros use Moistyle putters today, but that leaves 55 players at any given tour event earning their keep with a blade. So, to satisfy all comers, Taylormade also offer the sevenmodel TP Hydro Blast family.
The current TP family is two years old so it’s likely to be freshened up this year, but the franchise is all about taking traditional, familiar, tour-proven head shapes and putting a Taylormade stamp on them.
The heads are cast from 303 stainless steel, before being surface milled and sprayed with water at high power to create an attractive and premium finish. Each head is fitted with a 45° grooved surlyn face insert to optimise launch and roll.