Equipment
New TaylorMade Ghost Tour putters
Instead of focusing on enhancing performance, like TaylorMade has with its recent crop of counter-balanced putters, the company decided to turn its attention to detailing and craftsmanship for its new line of Ghost Tour putters, which will hit shelves on Aug. 30.
The Ghost Tour putters feature the same secondary alignment system as the company’s Spider Blade and Spider Mallet putters — white lines in the cavity of the putter head that are parallel to the putters’ dominant alignment line. But that and the putters’ black-and-white paint scheme are about the only things they have in common.
The white secondary lines in the cavity provide golfers with a “secondary read” at address, helping them fine tune the alignment of their putter face.
The new Ghost Tour putters have TaylorMade’s new 80/20 Pure Roll insert, which is made from 80 percent Surlyn and 20 percent aluminum. According to Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s product creation manager, it provides a feel that’s softer than the company’s Titallium insert, but not as soft as TaylorMade’s 100 percent Surlyn insert, which is used in the company’s counterbalanced putters because of their tendency to roll the ball farther.
Click here to see what members are saying about the putters in the forums.
The putters also swap the usual TaylorMade script in the back cavity for a button-styled TaylorMade logo with chrome and red piping. And instead of a brushed steel or white-painted sole, the soles of the new Ghost Tour putters have a high-polished black finish that offers more “bling.”
The new Ghost Tour putters will come in seven different models. Each will be available on Aug. 30 with the exception of the Corza, which will be released in November.
- Daytona 12 (blade, L-neck, 40-degree toe hang)
- Daytona 62 (blade, short curve, 57-degree toe hang)
- Fontana 72 (mallet, shaft in, face-balanced)
- Maranello 81 (small mallet, long curve, 65-degree toe hang)
- Monte Carlo 12 (mallet, L-neck, 25-degree toe hang)
- Sebring 62 (blade, short curve, 65-degree toe hang)
- Corza 72 (mallet, shaft in, face-balanced)
Model updates
According to Bazzel, the Maranello 81 (pictured above) has been updated to have less offset, using new hosel blend that gives the putter a cleaner look at address. The Monte Carlo 12 has been updated to have an “L” or plumber’s neck, which is similar to TaylorMade’s Spider Mallet putter used by Sergio Garcia. The Sebring 62 has also been modified to have more toe hang, which works better for golfers who have arching putter strokes.
All models will be available in lengths of 33, 34 and 35 inches and will cost around $150. The putters have head weights of 350 grams, 5 grams heavier than the previous line. But unlike the previous line, the new putters do not have adjustable sole weights.
Custom Options
For an additional $40, golfers can upgrade the putter’s stepless steel shaft for the matte black-painted version that has become popular with TaylorMade staff members on tour.
Click here to see what members are saying about the putters in the forums.
Click here to see what members are saying about the putters in the forums.
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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 set of Custom-Built Titleist T150s.
From the seller: (@boff2guy): “Custom T150s 4-PW built by People’s golf, w/Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100 Black Onyx shafts. MCC Plus 4 Midsize. Only a few irons have been hit off the mat. Specs and Pics below. $1,150 shipped
- 4) 39.25 21 61
- 5) 38.75 24 61.5
- 6) 38.25 28 62
- 7) 37.75 32 62.5
- 8. 37.25 36 63
- 9) 36.75 40 63.5
- PW) 36.25 45 64″
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Custom-Built Titleist T150s
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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- Kevin Streelman what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
5-wood: Ping G (17.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 10 X
Irons: Wilson Staff Model CB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Wilson Staff Model (48-08, 54-08), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-L @59)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (48), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (54, 58)
Putter: Scotty Cameron TourType SSS TG6
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Streelman’s clubs here.
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The year was 2012. Gangnam Style ruled supreme, its infectious beats and ludicrous horse-riding dance moves hypnotizing us with their stupidity. Everyone was talking about the Mayan calendar, convinced that the end of days was near. Superheroes soared on the silver screen, with the Avengers assembling in epic fashion. Katniss Everdeen survived The Hunger Games. And the memes! The memes abounded. Grumpy Cat triumphed. We kept calm and carried on.
In much the same way that automotive enthusiasts love classic cars, we at GolfWRX love taking a backward glance at some of the iconic designs of years past. Heck, we love taking iconic designs to the tee box in the present!
In that spirit, GolfWRX has been running a series inspired by arguably the greatest fighting game franchise of all time: Mortal Kombat. It’s not “choose your fighter” but rather “choose your driver.”
Check out some of the standout combatants of 2012 below.
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Nike VRS
Often harshly critiqued during its years releasing golf equipment (right, Phil Mickelson?), Nike’s tenure in the club-and-ball business gets a gloss of nostalgic varnish, with many of its iron and putter designs continuing to attract admirers. Among the company’s driver offerings, the 2012 VRS — or VR_S, if you will — drew high marks for its shaping and toned-down appearance. The multi-thickness, NexCOR face was no joke either.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Callaway RAZR Fit
Callaway’s first foray into moveable weight technology (married with its OptiFit hosel) did not disappoint. With a carbon fiber crown, aerodynamic attention to detail, and variable and hyperbolic face technologies, this club foreshadowed the tech-loaded, “story in every surface” Callaway drivers of the present, AI-informed design age.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Cleveland Classic 310
Truly a design that came out of left field. Cleveland said, “Give me a persimmon driver, but make it titanium…in 460cc.” Our 2012 reviewer, JokerUsn wrote, “I don’t need to elaborate on all the aesthetics of this club. You’ve seen tons of pics. You’ve all probably seen a bunch in the store and held them up close and gotten drool on them. From a playing perspective, the color is not distracting. It’s dark enough to stay unobtrusive in bright sunlight…Even my playing partners, who aren’t into clubs at all…commented on it saying it looks cool.” Long live!
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Titleist 910
While there’s no disputing Titleist’s “Titleist Speed” era of drivers perform better than its 2010s offerings, sentimentality abounds, and there was something classically Titleist about these clubs, right down to the alignment aid, and the look is somewhere between 983 times and the present TS age. Representing a resurgence after a disappointing stretch of offerings (907, 909), The 910D2 was a fairly broadly appealing driver with its classic look at address and classic Titleist face shape.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
TaylorMade RocketBallz
The white crown. The name. You either loved ‘em or you hated ‘em. TaylorMade’s 2012 offering from its RocketBallz Period boasted speed-enhancing aerodynamics and an Inverted Cone Technology in the club’s titanium face. Technology aside, it’s impossible to overstate what a departure from the norm a white-headed driver was in the world of golf equipment.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Ping i20
Long a quietly assertive player in the driver space, Ping’s i20 was more broadly appealing than the G20, despite being a lower-launch, lower-spin club. Ping drivers didn’t always have looks that golfer’s considered traditional or classic, but the i20 driver bucked that trend. Combining the classic look with Ping’s engineering created a driver that better players really gravitated toward. The i20 offered players lower launch and lower spin for more penetrating ball flight while the rear 20g tungsten weights kept the head stable. Sound and feel were great also, being one of the more muted driver sounds Ping had created up to that time.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
GolfWRXers, let us know in the comments who “your fighter” is and why!
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Russ
Nov 7, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Saying that the cosmetics of the putter doesn’t matter is a bunch of bull. It’s like buying a brand new car, driving it off the lot and then once you get home you see paint the paint coming off. Hey, but the engine is still good so the paint shouldn’t matter….LOL bull!
Todd H
Apr 17, 2014 at 12:27 am
These putters are great for making putts which is what matters. The paint doesn’t chip when you cover it and take care if it. The Manello 81 has been an amazing putter. What is more important paint or “cheap looking” putters or making putts. Enough said.
JJ
Mar 4, 2014 at 10:56 pm
You all sound like Joan Rivers reviewing the dresses on the red carpet. It is a golf club, get over it.
Chris Downing
Aug 27, 2013 at 3:00 am
Going to a putting specialist coach did more for my putting than a new putter. But that’s pretty old school thinking.
The paint issue is interesting – not sure I like paint anywhere it can chip off – paint in the cavity at the back of an iron – OK – paint anywhere round an edge – Bad – paint on the face – very bad. Maybe putter will go the way of guitars and have a relic option. You know, you pay extra for buying a new white putter that has been hammers and knocked about in the custom shop so on day one it pays just like a new putter, but looks like t’s been on tour for thirty years. It’s worked in the guitar market – perhaps putters as well?
Julian
Aug 26, 2013 at 2:52 pm
Putters are about FEEL, not about LOOKS.
Take that to heart and go drop some more putts.
heinz
Aug 26, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Totally agree with the almost everyone else. TM makes great drivers that focus on quality and performance but their putter line is waaaayyyy behind. Callaway seems to have figued out the sweet spot. Great looks and perfomance at a moderate price.
David
Aug 26, 2013 at 12:09 pm
They look ok if the white ghost coloring is your cup of tea, but I think I will stick with my 2009 Tour Rossa Kia Ma Monte Carlo, the best line of putters TaylorMade has ever produced.
t120
Aug 25, 2013 at 12:11 am
…zzzzzzzzz
Dallin
Aug 23, 2013 at 6:42 pm
I love, love, love taylormade, but it seems like the are too focused on appearance and less focused on performance.
chad
Aug 23, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Everything they make just looks cheap to me.
Harvey
Oct 26, 2013 at 5:21 am
+1
fsubaseball21
Aug 23, 2013 at 7:43 am
4 years ago I took my 33.5 center shafted spider and installed a belly putter grip. I used a little lead tape up the shaft for counter balancing and had to heavy layer the grip tape at the bottom so the grip would fit. Best combo I have ever used. The spider is the only putter they have ever made.
R
Aug 23, 2013 at 3:03 am
Silver. Why can’t we just have plain old silver putters like Ping. People seem to like them silver ones.
John
Aug 23, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Because if it didn’t have a gimmick it would be ping, not taylormade.
Honmagolfan
Aug 23, 2013 at 3:37 pm
Exactly!
kevin
Aug 23, 2013 at 1:14 am
“hey bob…..what do we do with all this excess inventory of putters?”
“we’ll just paint it white with new alignment aids and call it ghost putters”
“we already have putters that are called ghost”
“we’ll just add ‘tour’ after ghost and that should get’em”
John
Aug 23, 2013 at 12:14 pm
How did you come across such insider information? Sounds like the board meeting!!!
Nick
Aug 23, 2013 at 1:10 am
Introducing Taylormade’s New…..
CS
Aug 23, 2013 at 1:02 am
Awesome! I was wait for price drops so I can get another MA-81.
Ben Hudson
Aug 22, 2013 at 11:07 pm
pass. strong pass.
Taylor
Aug 22, 2013 at 10:43 pm
They really need to get rid of the white. White is a fad and it has already passed.
Steve
Aug 23, 2013 at 5:40 pm
Speak for yourself. I don’t like TM putters, but I like the looks. Clean, nothing over the top, but still some added flair.
Joe
Aug 22, 2013 at 9:49 pm
These look like total junk. Drop the white already.
John
Aug 22, 2013 at 9:39 pm
Taylormade, ease go back to making golf clubs that don’t look like something that doesn’t look like it comes from wal-mart.
Sincerely,
One of your biggest former fans. NOT A CURRENT FAN OR CUSTOMER!
J
Aug 22, 2013 at 9:11 pm
Paint chips off all their putters… Fix that… Until then.,, won’t happen. Horrible finish quality
DL
Aug 22, 2013 at 8:45 pm
Odyssey Versa.
Jeffrey
Aug 22, 2013 at 7:00 pm
I’ll stick with my counterbalanced Daddy Long Legs. I putt with so much more confidence. I really think there is something to the weighting.
Jeff
Aug 22, 2013 at 6:51 pm
i’ve rolled a few of these. they are really sweet.
Blanco
Aug 27, 2013 at 3:58 am
Not a good one. I use the headcover religiously on my spider blade. White paint chipping off the edge of the face and black paint peeling off the edges of the insert. Also signs of wear behind the grooved insert where the “foam” seems to be.
spank
Aug 22, 2013 at 6:43 pm
Yea all their white putters paint comes off and look like crap in a few weeks anyways. Garbage
Brian
Aug 23, 2013 at 12:17 pm
You may consider using the head cover that comes with the putter…..
Honmagolfan
Aug 23, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Good one!!!:)
Scotty B
Aug 22, 2013 at 6:39 pm
Eh. Not impressed