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TaylorMade Arc1 Putters spotted at Colonial

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TaylorMade always releases several prototype putter models throughout the year to gather feedback on their looks, feel and performance from its staff members. Its new Arc1 prototype putters, which we spotted on the practice green at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, are some of the most outrageously shaped putters we’ve seen from the company since its release of the original Spider putters in 2008.

According to a TaylorMade spokesperson, there are no current plans to release the Arc1, but I wouldn’t put it past the company to be seriously considering a launch of a similar looking putter in the near future.

TaylorMade prides itself on product innovation, and the shape of the Arc1 likely gives it an extremely high moment of inertia (MOI), the focus of its recent line of Daddy Long Legs, Spider Mallet, Spider Blade and Ghost Spider Si putters.

This is one that is sure to standout if it is used to win a PGA Tour event on Sunday. And you know what they say in the golf industry: What wins on Sunday sells on Monday.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Arc1 putters in our forum.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Arc1 putters in our forum.

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  1. Pingback: TaylorMade Japan 2015 ARC1 Putter

  2. Brian S

    May 27, 2014 at 9:27 am

    Hideous!!!

  3. J. T. Rathman

    May 22, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Nothing but flat fugly!!!

  4. renoaz

    May 22, 2014 at 11:58 am

    TM you got some tweaking to do. Don’t apply for the patent just yet.

  5. Jeff

    May 22, 2014 at 1:49 am

    If these were made by Scotty Cameron, would we be drooling vs. hating?

    Visually, to me, these are less ugly than the Futura X. But both are bad. I think one of the first keys to being a good putter is liking the look at address. For me, it’s about clean, simple lines and a feeling of confidence over the ball. These just don’t work for me at that level.

    I’ll stick to my Miura KM-350.

    • bradford

      May 22, 2014 at 2:29 pm

      KM-007 here, and I agree. But it’s all about loving your putter, so whatever floats your boat.

    • timbleking

      May 27, 2014 at 3:54 am

      “I think one of the first keys to being a good putter is liking the look at address…a feeling of confidence over the ball.”

      Amen!

  6. Charlie

    May 21, 2014 at 11:39 pm

    I hope the all black finish makes it to retail. It’s the only hope for these. Golfsmith will put them by the 50 daddy long legs they cannot sell for 149.99.

  7. Joe Loukota

    May 21, 2014 at 11:27 pm

    First glace screamed “Backstryke”. Not a TM hater but the latest putter offerings recall the Sabertooth & this???

  8. Scooter McGavin

    May 21, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    Bobby Grace Triumph, anyone?

  9. Jgpl001

    May 21, 2014 at 3:16 pm

    More TM nonsense

    I suppose you can change the loft, open/close the face and spin around in circles chasing your tail…

    I will keep my simple Scotty Cameron Newport thank you

    I just wish TM would go away and die peacefully

    • Mark M

      May 21, 2014 at 5:32 pm

      Thanks for the constructive comment. Sure the look of this putter might not suit your eye but to automatically dismiss it because it’s “more TM nonsense” is just as asinine if not more than automatically assuming every new taylormade release is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

      So sick of these comments. If you don’t like the putter, give actual reasons as to why you don’t like it. Please stop jumping on the anti taylormade bandwagon to try and impress strangers on the internet. And believe me I am not a “fanboy” for any brand. I’d play with a dog turd on a stick if it worked for me.

    • W

      May 22, 2014 at 2:30 am

      Yeah, at least TM isn’t over-priced and over-rated like Camerons

      • Freddy v

        May 25, 2014 at 9:17 am

        Hey I love my 349.99$ ping rip off… 😉

  10. Joe Gilbert

    May 21, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    I need a putter that allows me to use it’s head to pick up the ball after putting. With the raised circles on the back, I don’t see these ARC putters going in my bag.

    Joe

  11. Perry

    May 21, 2014 at 8:16 am

    Bloody ugly. But if it’s taylormade it will get loads of space on this site.

  12. michelle obama

    May 20, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    i buy everything from tm they are the worlds no1 they must be the best must be *opens wallet*

    • Mark M

      May 21, 2014 at 6:44 pm

      Do you play pro v1s? I’m willing to bet that you do or know someone that does. In fact the vast majority of those that frequent this site seem to game a pro v1. Why play pro v1s? Oh, number one ball on tour? So must be the best right? Worth the $5-6 per ball price, when most that play them couldn’t tell the difference in a blind test between a pro v1 and a ‘tour’ level ball from any other manufacturer that retails for $2 less a ball?

      Point I’m trying to make is that all companies hype their products and taylormade is by no means the only company to pay players to use their best selling product (like titleist does with their balls). If you’re going to comment on a product, comment on the product itself not on the brand based on ridiculous generalizations.

  13. You listenin', TM?

    May 20, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    TM needs to come out with these putters with no inserts, they’d win more tournaments with milled faces, they haven’t realized that yet may be they can hear me

  14. Travel RN

    May 20, 2014 at 5:47 pm

  15. PORORO

    May 20, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    i kind of like it, i’d almost be tempted to buy it.
    Hey Golf WRX, maybe you should have a poll. How many putters do you have? or club you upgrade the most.
    It’s by far the club I tend to buy the most. In the last 10 years, I’ve probably bought 5 putters, that’s not including the numerous grip changes, from stock, to iomic, to super stroke.

  16. Jive

    May 20, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    Odyssey two ball and Ping Craz-E sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G…

    • Golfraven

      May 22, 2014 at 9:33 am

      I can actually invision it.
      TM may sell a few and why not. I you build it they will come.

    • Golfraven

      May 22, 2014 at 9:44 am

      Go and see the Scotty Futura X7. that one is taken from a Star Wars movie. Looks more like a Spaceship. the ARC has a modest style in comparison.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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