Equipment
Jason Day’s new putter inspired by venomous Australian Spider
With two wins already in 2016 (Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Match Play), and four wins late in the 2015 season that included the PGA Championship, you wouldn’t think Jason Day would change putters… but he did.
Day’s previous gamer (left) and his new Spider Limited Red putter.
Day has used a TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider prototype putter since 2015. He’s a huge fan of the color red, though, and made a special request for a matte red model, which become the “Spider Limited Red.” The particular shade of red employed is inspired by the venomous Redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), which, like Day, is native to Australia. After the 2016 Masters, where he finished T10, Day put the new putter in play at the RBC Heritage, where he finished T23.
Photo credit: China Insider (www.scmp.com)
It may sound like a ridiculous connection to make, but to be fair, the red spot on this particular Redback — which was actually found in Guangdong in a shipment of metal frames from Australia — looks like the putter itself. Impressive work from TaylorMade.
If you’re interested in buying one, TaylorMade will be releasing 15,000 Spider Limited (black-and-red) putters for $219, and 2,000 Spider Limited Red (all-red) putters for $299 on June 3.
Each release includes TaylorMade’s Pure Roll face insert. Both putters will be sold with a sightline, and in the following lengths:
- Black and Red: 33, 34 and 35 inches (RH only)
- All Red: 34 and 35 inches (RH only)
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
(Photo courtesy of TaylorMade)
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
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The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Myvoice
Aug 26, 2016 at 10:28 am
I purchased one of these putters from a previous run, made in Japan. It’s by far the best putter I’ve ever used. The main reason it works well for me is the balance and face loft; gets the ball rolling without skipping, which is what I’ve always noticed on Jason’s putts. After that, the most powerful thing is that you can change the weight of the putter using the Taylor Made standard weights. I purchased two kits. The putter comes standard with a 1G weight in each side. I ended up with 10G in each side as perfect for me and the greens I generally play on. It makes sense; pros are usually playing very, very fast greens, but the greens we play on are generally a lot slower. Heavier weight for slow greens and lighter for fast. All you have to do is unscrew the weights and replace for various conditions.
NOW, they come out with the new one for general release. Guess what? That’s right, they glued in a cheesy aluminum thing that resembles a weight, but it’s not, and there are no screw holes to use the Taylor Made weights with these new putters. For me, that defeats the best part about this putter.
gunmetal
May 1, 2016 at 1:04 am
Good idea for Day to switch his putter. With the season he had last year, 2 wins this year, and his shaky #1 ranking in the world, what better time to switch flatsticks.
Brian
Apr 30, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Is the one on the left modeled after an Eastern Grey Kangaroo?
GolfRocks
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:47 pm
Cool write up for Day. He ditched this putter already. Is it just me or does the spider that inspired it look burnt orange and the putter looks maroon? Seems a bit cartoonish. Taylor Made felt like having another reason to release something today. I’ll still take an old Scotty or a milled Miura putter any day.
Hooker T. Washington
Apr 28, 2016 at 6:09 pm
I enjoyed reading this, and always find it cool to hear the stories or reasons behind a player’s choice of club colors, stampings, etc. I myself carefully chose all of my different paint fill colors for various reasons.
…However, Day has already ditched this one and is back to using the matte black model this week at the Zurich…
Hooker T. Washington
Apr 28, 2016 at 6:06 pm
I enjoyed reading the article, and always think it’s cool to hear the story behind a player’s choice in club colors, stampings, etc. I myself carefully chose all of my different paint fill colors for various reasons.
…However, Day has already ditched this one and is back to using the matte black model this week at the Zurich…
RoGar
Apr 28, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Every company world wide does this!!! Who cares? If you like it buy it, if you don’t, don’t. TaylorMade makes very good products, so does Ping, Titleist, Callaway, etc. etc. If they release a new driver every week, great!!! I still game the R1, cause it gives me the best numbers, and I’m happy and confident with it…
Nick
Apr 28, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Im glad theyre re-releasing this. I used a friends itsy and it felt great. 15,000 more will be released… Ill take one ar two for sure
Rob
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:29 am
So, it’s the same putter he used before except it is red.
Jim
Apr 28, 2016 at 10:30 am
And again… The same worthless comment
mitch
Apr 28, 2016 at 9:44 am
and again taylormade flooding the market with “new” stuff that is the same just different color and name.
Jamie
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:59 am
You think the other OEM’s are putting out groundbreaking stuff that isn’t just repackaged/rebadged gear?
Jacob
Apr 28, 2016 at 2:20 pm
TM does a much better job of coming out with new putter designs than anybody else dude…