Equipment
Spider Tour: TaylorMade releases Jason Day, Dustin Johnson putters
Ever since Jason Day started using a red TaylorMade Spider prototype putter in 2015, golfers have been demanding it — even fellow Tour players. While TaylorMade did release a red version of its Spider Limited putter, it was not a replica because it had a sight line and a different hosel. That has changed.
Jason Day, Spider Tour (Red)
With its newest release, golfers can have the same putter Jason Day uses and the same one Dustin Johnson uses (as of late 2016). That includes the same shafts, face inserts, hosels, head shapes and colors.
According to TaylorMade, there are two general categories of putters available in today’s market: classic shapes and technical mallets. Technical mallets are a way to raise moment of inertia (MOI), which is a measure of forgiveness, to help golfers increase their consistency on the green. With its new TP line, TaylorMade satisfies the demand for classic shapes, while the Spider Tour putters are for those who seek technical mallets.
Related: Did Jason Day just have the best putting year of any Tour pro ever?
The most notable of the new releases is Day’s Spider Tour Red, which has been in especially high demand among GolfWRXers. TaylorMade says Day selected his particular shade of red from a group of about 20 different colors. It just so happens to be the color of a venomous Spider that inhabits his native Australia.
Dustin Johnson, on the other hand, started using a prototype Spider Tour Black putter because it’s what his brother had in the bag, and he took a liking to it. According to TaylorMade, he was ecstatic about the performance of the Spider Tour Black after playing with it for just four holes in a pro-am at the 2016 BMW Championship, so he put it in play that week. And he won.
Dustin Johnson, Spider Tour Limited (Black)
There is a slight difference between Day’s Spider Tour Red and Johnson’s Spider Tour Black, and it will be reflected in the retail releases. The Spider Tour Red uses a Pure Roll Surlyn insert, which offers a softer sound and feel at impact than the Pure Roll 80/20 insert Johnson uses in his Spider Tour Black putter.
The Spider Tour Red putter will be sold with a custom Jason Day putter cover, while the Spider Tour Black will have an all-black putter cover. Both putters are equipped with short, slant-neck hosels and will sell for $299.
Spider Tour Platinum
TaylorMade will also be releasing a new putter along with the Spider Tour Red and Black on March 1. It’s called the Spider Tour Platinum ($219), and has a double-bend steel shaft and a black sightline on its platinum-colored body, which features red “wings.” It also has a 6061 aluminum face insert. Its putter cover is red and platinum, and it will be sold with a SuperStroke Pistol GT 2.0 grip.
All three putters have head weights of 355 grams, and will be sole with 34- and 35-inch standard lengths. Want one? You can currently pre-order from TaylorMade.
Related: See what GolfWRX are saying about TaylorMade’s Spider Tour Limited putters here.
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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.
On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag.
Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious “Proto” irons. Rory McIlroy first switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open, and Collin Morikawa followed suit at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though, he’s using a full set to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron.
Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory.
“I hit a couple super “Proto” irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was … It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy.
“I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday…
“They go further, and they go higher … that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.”
With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new “Proto” irons.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Rory McIlroy outlasted Phil Mickelson at the 2014 PGA Championship. It’s even harder to believe McIlroy hasn’t hoisted a major trophy since his 2014 victory at Valhalla.
After a slow start to his final round, McIlroy tallied an eagle and two birdies on the back nine and his fourth major championship. Take a look at the clubs he played a decade ago in Kentucky.
Driver: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70X
3-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0
Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Nike RZN Black
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.
WITB Time Machine 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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- Tiger Woods WITB accurate as of the PGA Championship. In-hand photos from 2024 Genesis Open. Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (10.5 degrees @9.75)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 X
5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees @18.25)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Irons: 2023 TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7TW (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 Raw (56-12TW, 60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype
Grip: Ping PP58 Blackout
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (2024)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
More Tiger Woods WITBs
- Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (February)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2023 (November)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2023 (February)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2022 (December) (new in-hand photos)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2022 (July)
- Tiger Woods WITB at the 2022 PGA Championship (with a new 2-iron!)
- Tiger Woods WITB: 2022 Masters
- Tiger Woods WITB 2021 PNC Championship (new in-hand photos)
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Hedge Hog
May 23, 2017 at 10:53 pm
Ron Jeremy uses his Johnson for putting. He’s got a
Fatso SuperStroke ..keeps his hands out of the equation. He holes out everything..
Lambo
May 13, 2017 at 12:25 am
Does both the black and red come with black shafts as stock shafts?
Lambo
May 13, 2017 at 12:23 am
Does both the black and red come stock with a black shaft?
rodger Davidson
Jan 7, 2017 at 1:22 am
Can you still pre order ?
Brent
Dec 31, 2016 at 10:55 am
Just got mine…great putter! Really like the looks and feel.
TexasSnowman
Nov 17, 2016 at 10:50 pm
I like the absence of the Sight Line on the Black and Red: I prefer to aim the face if that makes sense.
MG2
Nov 17, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Do folks on eBay know that these are about to be $300? Yet they’re still listing for thousands?
Jas3
Nov 18, 2016 at 8:56 am
Haha thought the same hope the wakers get stuck with them…
Ryan
Nov 16, 2016 at 10:01 pm
Thank you Taylormade !! You listened and delivered. Bravo !
Joe Perez
Nov 16, 2016 at 7:20 pm
Looks like TM really -is- feeling the finiancial pinch, since they’ve apparently decided to cut back on options, specifically abandoning the 33″ inch market. Would’ve liked to get one.
JJ
Nov 16, 2016 at 8:49 pm
Dumbest comment ever.
Last year TM was selling this exact JDay version for $750 custom orders only.
nick
Nov 16, 2016 at 6:01 pm
what a riot… now there’s the “real” JD putter without the sightline and the slant hosel… TM is a joke…
Mongoose
Nov 16, 2016 at 4:18 pm
Let’s not forget who made these putters popular. If DJ and Jason were using a pitchfork we would buy that too… It’s not the putter, it’s the player…
Someone
Nov 16, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Black sightline, not white.
I like dj’s, but I wonder what the inserts feel like in comparison.
peter collins
Nov 16, 2016 at 1:52 pm
one minute wonder, EVNROLL is the way forward imo
new stuff!!
Nov 17, 2016 at 5:16 pm
whatever man – you see how well these guys putt with wedges?
bh
Nov 16, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Looks good to my eye, but $300? When it’s on sale for $75 in a couple years I’ll pick one up.
Warren Schroer
Nov 16, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Day putted better wit the black one before switching to the red and DJ putted better than ever with the black – I’ll wait until these are under 100 and have a sight line….bout 1 year.
BradT
Nov 16, 2016 at 12:03 pm
id give em my money but apparently I stand on the wrong side of the ball.
Rafibomb
Nov 16, 2016 at 11:38 am
Well TM just got my money. One black version please.
Tony Rich
Nov 16, 2016 at 9:33 am
Why does the red one have to be so ugly? It will be distracting to look at.
The black is not so bad and DJ makes almost anything look cool.
But Day’s putter is ugly on TV let alone in your own bag.
Jackson Galaxy
Nov 16, 2016 at 12:21 pm
Let’s be honest, nobody buying these putters for the looks.
Jas3
Jan 9, 2017 at 8:19 am
Speak for yourself I love the look! ????
JayG
Nov 16, 2016 at 9:25 am
THANK YOU!!!!!!
MR B
Nov 16, 2016 at 9:11 am
about darn time!