Equipment

Specs, story behind Dustin Johnson’s winning Spider putter

Published

8 years ago

Sep 11, 2016

As GolfWRX WITB enthusiasts know, Dustin Johnson has been using a Scotty Cameron Tour Newport 2 GSS Prototype for the past several years and some variety of an Anser-style flatstick since he joined the PGA Tour.

He was 71st in Strokes Gained: Putting last season and 82nd in 2014. Not awful, but barely above average. This season, Johnson has been putting a bit better, ranking 42nd in the category and picking up 0.257 strokes on the field average thanks to his work on the greens.

Still, there’s always room for improvement, and this week the long-hitting South Carolinian made an equipment switch aimed at getting better in the putting department.

Spotted by our Tour photographer practicing with a mallet-style Cameron model at Crooked Stick ahead of the BMW Championship, we thought a change might be in the works. And indeed, Dustin Johnson put a different putter in play during Wednesday’s practice round: a TaylorMade Spider Limited.

Through three rounds, Johnson led the field in Strokes-Gained Putting, picking up more than seven strokes on the field average. He was particularly good during the opening round, when he picked up an impressive 3.944 strokes.

Johnson rolled in six birdies with the Spider on Sunday, and ultimately finished second in strokes gained: putting for the week at 7.307.

Here’s how Johnson ended up with a Spider Limited putter in his hands: According to TaylorMade, DJ liked the look of Jason Day’s similar Spider putter while playing with the Australian during a couple of rounds at the Deutsche Bank Championship last week. He put in a request to TMag’s Tour Truck for something similar, and they got something in his hands during his Wednesday practice round, feeling the Spider improved his alignment and offered him more stability through the stroke.

However, that Spider Limited was the same Limited Red model played by Jason Day. Just before tee off Thursday, though, Johnson decided he didn’t want to use the exact same model as the world No. 1 and decided, if you can believe this, to ask his brother/caddie Austin for his Spider Limited with a charcoal grey crown.

Johnson said after his win:

“I had the same one that Jason [Day] was using, it was the red one. I don’t know, for some reason — well, I was putting with it and I was putting good with it and right before we were about to tee off on Thursday I’m like, ‘AJ, don’t you have the same one in black?’ And he says, ‘Yeah,’ and I said, ‘Go get it.'”

Here are the specs, per TaylorMade:

Length: 35.5 inches
Loft: 2.5 degrees
Lie: 69 degrees
Insert: Pure Roll 80/20
Swing Weight: E-0
Color: Black, No alignment lines

TaylorMade says Johnson is an extremely feel-based player, which is one of the reason’s he’s stuck with a flat-faced milled putter so long in his career. The Spider’s 80/20 Pure Roll insert results in a substantially different feel off the face than a milled putter, which is a lot to overcome, even though the insert does prove superior forward roll with less skidding, as verified by high-speed camera testing. TaylorMade also cites the slight toe hang of the Spider Limited as fitting well with DJ’s more traditional putting stroke.

Based on this limited sample, the Limited fits well, indeed.

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18 Comments

Tommy Tank

Dec 29, 2016 at 3:41 pm

TM released DJd putter to the public on 12/23
I just got mine.
Only came in 35″ so I sent it in to putterlounge to gave it shortened to 33″
And put a leather stitch back grip on it

Reply Report comment
Tommy Tank

Dec 29, 2016 at 3:38 pm

TM Just released the spider black … exact putter as DJ …. with slant neck… on 12/23.
I just got mine
$299

Reply Report comment
M Shmizzle

Sep 13, 2016 at 9:47 am

Very Nice

Reply Report comment
DB

Sep 12, 2016 at 10:00 pm

Why all this talk about slant necks? Flow necks are where its at!
Seriously though, I’ve always found TM putters to have such crappy finishes that no matter how good the design is or how well they might work, I don’t even consider them anymore. I do like the look of these new Spider putters, but I wouldn’t pay that much for a putter that the paint will start flaking off of in two weeks.

Reply Report comment
Zach Mayo

Sep 12, 2016 at 6:03 pm

Is DJ superstitious about his winning attire? Looks like the same outfit for his 3 big wins. Is this an accurate observation?

Reply Report comment
M Wizzle

Sep 12, 2016 at 4:10 pm

I like spiders

Reply Report comment
rich tran

Sep 12, 2016 at 12:18 pm

This putter is really amazing and easy to hit. I tried it at the PGA store and was sold…now I want a DJ limited edition in charcoal black..

Reply Report comment
M-Dizzle

Sep 12, 2016 at 11:54 am

Wait…You mean to tell me Cameron was upstaged by a Spider mallet putter?

SELL ALL THE CAMERONS NOW !!

Reply Report comment
Michael

Sep 12, 2016 at 1:05 am

Is his red one for sale? I’ll pay for shipping if DJ can give me a good deal.

Reply Report comment
KK

Sep 11, 2016 at 11:44 pm

Uh oh, not a tour issued putter. Call the PGA rules committee.

Reply Report comment
Mr B

Sep 11, 2016 at 9:39 pm

Will either taylormade or odyssey please read this and for gods sake make a mallet with slant neck available at a reasonable price to the general public.

Reply Report comment
- Nath
  
  Sep 12, 2016 at 6:20 am
  
  Yes
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jordan G
    
    Sep 13, 2016 at 8:56 am
    
    Double Yes
    
    Reply Report comment
snowman

Sep 11, 2016 at 9:02 pm

Yes, No Sight Lines! We need stock spec putters with No Sight Lines!

Reply Report comment
- Nath
  
  Sep 12, 2016 at 6:21 am
  
  And yes
  
  Reply Report comment
DJ

Sep 11, 2016 at 7:58 pm

Jonathan wall just posted it was actually in his brother’s bag. Who’s lying here?

Reply Report comment
- Otis
  
  Sep 11, 2016 at 8:55 pm
  
  Was the article too much reading for you before accusing someone of lying?
  
  Reply Report comment
Spy

Sep 11, 2016 at 7:18 pm

So, we can buy for $750? haha just joking…………..

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

6 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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