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Spider Tour: TaylorMade releases Jason Day, Dustin Johnson putters

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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)

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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)

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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

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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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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.

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. 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..

  2. Lambo

    May 13, 2017 at 12:25 am

    Does both the black and red come with black shafts as stock shafts?

  3. Lambo

    May 13, 2017 at 12:23 am

    Does both the black and red come stock with a black shaft?

  4. rodger Davidson

    Jan 7, 2017 at 1:22 am

    Can you still pre order ?

  5. Brent

    Dec 31, 2016 at 10:55 am

    Just got mine…great putter! Really like the looks and feel.

  6. 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.

  7. 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…

  8. Ryan

    Nov 16, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    Thank you Taylormade !! You listened and delivered. Bravo !

  9. 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.

  10. 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…

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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?

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. BradT

    Nov 16, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    id give em my money but apparently I stand on the wrong side of the ball.

  17. Rafibomb

    Nov 16, 2016 at 11:38 am

    Well TM just got my money. One black version please.

  18. 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.

  19. JayG

    Nov 16, 2016 at 9:25 am

    THANK YOU!!!!!!

  20. MR B

    Nov 16, 2016 at 9:11 am

    about darn time!

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

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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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Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

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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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Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

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With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

 

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play? 

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week. 

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

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