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TaylorMade launches TP putter line, enters the “classic” category

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The putter category can be broken down into two general categories: “technical mallets” and “classic putters,” according to Bill Price, Director of Product at TaylorMade.

Technical mallets would include high-MOI (moment of inertia) performance-first putters — such as TaylorMade’s popular Itsby Bitsy, or its newest Spider Red Limited putters that Jason Day has popularized — that work to stabilize the putter head throughout the stroke, and have greater forgiveness on off-center strikes.

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On the other hand, however, TaylorMade did not previously satisfy the needs of golfers searching for classic-looking, precision-made putters, according to Price. With its TP, or “Tour Preferred” line, TaylorMade will enter that category for the first time.

“Rolex and Breitling (watches) are classic designs that don’t change over time,” Price said. “This (classic) category is precision-based.”

The TP line features putters made of 303 stainless steel that are machine-milled to achieve the precision and classic look that Price says is crucial to the category.

“The toe hangs, sightlines, bumpers, they will all be perfect,” Price said. “In this category, you can’t have 90 percent (of the putter design and manufacturing) be perfect, it has to be 100 percent… there’s another guy out there making classic, precision putters, so we know we have to be perfect.”

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Although the classic look and attention to detail are of top priority to Price and TaylorMade, the putters also have performance and feel benefits thanks to TaylorMade’s new PureRoll insert, which is inspired by the insert in Day’s Spider Limited Red. It’s made from 6061 aluminum — like PureRoll inserts of previous TaylorMade putters — but the filler between the grooves uses a softer polymer for a softer feel. The direction of the grooves, which each face 45 degrees downward, help impart higher launch and forward spin on the golf ball to get it rolling faster along the ground.

If your ball currently jumps and skids along the surface off the putter face, that may be because you’re not launching the ball high enough, or with too much backspin, or both. The PureRoll insert in the TP putters is designed to offset those issues.

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Movable weights on the heel and toe of the soles control head weight, balance and feel.

TaylorMade will release four TP models — Juno, Soto, Mullen and Berwick — on December 1, and then two more models — Ardmore and Chaska — in April 2017. Each of the names are inspired from “areas, regions, and landmarks of some of the world’s greatest golf destinations and historic courses,” according to the company. More on those later.

The putters will be available in 33- (special order), 34- and 35-inch lengths, and will all sell for $199 with Lamkin’s Sink Rubber grip, or $219 with SuperStroke’s 1.0 GT Pistol grip.

Find out more about each putter offering below, and see what GolfWRX members are saying about the TP putters in our forums.

Juno

The Juno, which references Juno Beach — home of Seminole Golf Club in Florida — was put into play by Sergio Garcia at the 2016 Ryder Cup. It has squared-off and elongated contours with a single sightline on the top line, a plumber’s neck, and has 10-gram stock movable weights in the heel and toe that can be interchanged for customization.

Soto

The Soto, which is short for Sotogrande — home of the “Real Club de Sotogrande” — has shorter, rounder edges than the Juno. It has a plumber’s neck with a “scalloped” hosel for a lighter head weight, and also comes with 10-gram stock weights that are interchangeable.

Mullen

The Mullen, which is a reference to Mullen, Nebraska, that’s home to Sand Hills Golf Club, has a compact mallet design with an “S” hosel, 38 degrees of toe hang, and two sightlines on the back cavity. It comes stock with 5-gram movable weights in the heel and toe of the sole.

Berwick

 

The Berwick, which gives a shoutout to Scotland’s famed North Berwick Golf Club, has a more compact and rounded mallet shape than the Mullen, and has a “step-down” cavity. The single-bend hosel has 0.75 degrees of offset, creating face balance. It also comes stock with 5-gram interchangeable weights.

Ardmore and Chaska

Reminder: The Ardmore and Chaska models will not be available until April 2017.

The Ardmore, a name inspired by Merion Golf Club which is located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, is a 355-gram mallet cast from 303 stainless steel. It has dual sighlines, a double-bend shaft with 0.75 degrees of offset, and is face-balanced with 3.5 degrees of loft.

The Chaska, which references the city in Minnesota where Hazeltine National Golf Club is located, is modeled after TaylorMade’s Corza Ghost. Unlike the rest of the TP line, the Chaska is made from aluminum zinc alloy, but like the Ardmore, the Chaska is face-balanced, with 0.75 degrees of offset.

Click for more photos, and see what GolfWRX members are saying about TaylorMade’s TP putters here.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

17 Comments

17 Comments

  1. VanSEGA

    Jan 3, 2018 at 11:44 am

    You have the Mullen and Berwick mixed up I believe. Could be wrong but Mullen is the toe hang model with 2 lines. The aluminum tru roll insert is one of the best out there IMHO. DJ, Rahm, Rory and Hideki wouldn’t use it otherwise.

  2. Dylan

    Oct 19, 2016 at 9:31 pm

    TaylorMade is hoping that their TP logo still means something. It stopped meaning something the second you stopped using the badge the way it was designed to be used. These putters have appeal in the sense that they have a non-glare finish and the best insert TaylorMade ever made in it. The shapes are industry standard anser-style and mallets used by all the other manufacturers. At best these butters limp by as “usable” putters but I doubt their Tour players even touch them. Sorry TaylorMade you haven’t made a decent putter since Kia Ma.

    • richard patten

      Oct 21, 2016 at 12:17 am

      Taylor: Samo-o, same-o: A Taylor putter needs a distinctive, patented, priority look or feature and a solid feel-not like your thin, clanky Ghost blade.

  3. Dave r

    Oct 19, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    Are you sure Scotty didn’t design these looks like something he would make only for Costco or Wally World .

  4. B. Parsons

    Oct 19, 2016 at 7:14 pm

    Those TM weights look an awful lot like a Cameron CT weight.

    Insert = FAIL

  5. Will Skeat

    Oct 19, 2016 at 11:02 am

    re: “”If your ball currently jumps and skids along the surface off the putter face, that may be because you’re not launching the ball high enough, or with too much backspin, or both.

    It is physically impossible to put backspin on a ball while putting.

  6. ian

    Oct 19, 2016 at 9:35 am

    Sweet

  7. Taylor59

    Oct 19, 2016 at 7:31 am

    No roho??? boooo

  8. Mikko U

    Oct 19, 2016 at 3:34 am

    They look like Walmart Camerons to me. No thank you.

  9. cgasucks

    Oct 18, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    TM is still trying to find its place in the putter market…they did ok with their Rossa line and I thought their Kia Mia association was putting them in the right direction (whatever happened to that relationship?) and now this?

  10. TD

    Oct 18, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    Classic TM is the old TP badge. Like on the Rac TP MB heads. Not that…

  11. NoDoubt Stout

    Oct 18, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    The Ardmore and Chaska look so good…

  12. Jnak97

    Oct 18, 2016 at 4:50 pm

    the top lines on the mallets look a little too thick for my taste, but the proof is in the putting. Let’ see how they perform come December!

  13. JGOLF

    Oct 18, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    I respect what TaylorMade is trying to accomplish, but these putters, in my opinion, are ugly and cheap looking.

  14. Tp

    Oct 18, 2016 at 4:22 pm

    Let the Putter Wars begin! Scotty Cameron take down here we come! Yeah!

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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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