W

hyincludetheSpiderX

withinanA-Zof

putting?Wellbecause

it,anditspredecessor

theSpiderTour,arethe

puttersconvincingTourprosintheir

drovestoswitchfrombladestomallets.

TenyearsagowhenTaylorMade

launchedthefirstSpiderputter, 75

percentofTourprosusedbladeputters.

Adecadelater, 60 percentnowuse

malletsandMOI-styleputters–and

partofthereasonRoryandCohave

madetheswitchisduetothetech

wrappedupintheSpiderX’sdesign.

TheoriginalSpiderwasdesigned

withoutmuchthoughtforlooks,

asTaylorMadechasedastableand

forgivinghighMOIdesign,whichthey

knewcouldhelpgolfersholemore

putts.Overthelastdecadethough,

they’vestudiedmorethan10,000putt

impactsfromthegame’sbestputters

andspottedhowon12ftputts,even

playersasgoodasRorytypicallyhit

theball3mmoŠcentre,andspread

impactsacrossa29mmwindowontheface.

Theresultsconfirmedtheirsuspicions,

thatmalletsandMOI-styleputterscanhelp

everybodyputtbetter.Sotheysetouton the

Spider X journey to bring together the best

stability and forgiveness performance available,

and combined it with a focus on improving

alignment and wrapping the whole package up in

a head design that’s acceptable to the

best in the business.

Wind the clock forward to Spider X

and we have a head that’s fi ve percent

smaller (than the previous Spider

Tour). Yet it boasts extra stability

thanks to a 64g lighter carbon fi bre

core and heavier stability frame,

which helps the very best, and club

golfers, hole out more often.

It’s Spider X’s small slant hosel,

though, that’s convincing Tour pros

to ditch blade putters in favour of

forgiveness. It means advocates

of arcing strokes (like Rory), who

traditionally suited blade putters,

can now use the forgiveness-rich

Spider X.

The tech doesn’t end there, either.

Input from optical specialists at

Indiana University sees the Spider X

sport a Y-shaped sightline, half the

width of a golf ball at the impact area

and the same size as a golf ball at the

rear – apparently the most e— cient

alignment aid for hitting a target.

All the extra tech means Spider X pushes the

boundaries of forgiveness and alignment to

the limit, whilst remaining acceptable to

super-demanding Tour pros.

TaylorMade Spider X $549

Models: Single bend shaft (face balanced),

Small slant neck (moderate toe hang)

Finish options: Copper, Copper/White,

Midnight Blue, Midnight Blue/White

Grip: Superstroke Pistol GTR 1.0

SPIDER X

The putter that convinced

Rory to ditch his blade

S

ITMEANS

ADVOCATESOF

ARCINGSTROKES

(LIKERORY

MCILROY),WHO

TRADITIONALLY

SUITEDBLADE

PUTTERS,CAN

NOWUSETHE

FORGIVENESS-

RICHSPIDERX

64 AUGUST 2019 | golf australia

A Z OF PUTTING