TAYLORMADE SPIDER TOUR

TOTAL: 38/40

Options/components

The Spider Tour offers as many head and hosel options as the Phantom X, but what elevates it to a whole new level is the ability (for an additional £50) to customise your Spider’s colour, sightline, face insert, soleplate, back badge, shaft and grip. The colour is a durable PVD finish, so it won’t chip or peel. 10/10

Build quality

The whole reason premium putter makers use CNC milling is because it’s so precise and consistent, which is a finish level that just can’t be replicated with cast models that need hand finishing. That’s not to say the Spider isn’t well made, because it clearly is. The engineered sole plate is particularly impressive and overcomes the issues associated with how putters can sit inconsistently after hand finishing. 8/10

Feel/roll/innovation

It could be argued that Taylormade had no option but to innovate to get where they are in the putter market, as just a decade ago they were nowhere in terms of flatstick sales. Today, you’ll struggle to hit a smoother rolling or better feeling MOI style putter. 10/10

Alignment/cosmetics

Knowing a bit about Taylormade’s colour option capabilities, it feels as if the brand have held back with the Spider Tour and created a massmarket, non-offensive, stock PVD gunmetal finish. The single sightline and True Path alignment aid focus attention on the path and impact zone where you want to hit putts, all without feeling distracting. 10/10

TG verdict

What really impresses about the Spider Tour is the opportunity to customise the whole head through the Myspider platform. Being able to create your ultimate flatstick is a proposition many golfers shouldn’t ignore. Overall though, as the scores show, the Spider and the Phantom are both exceptional options.