Equipment

The inside story on the LA Golf putter shaft Bryson DeChambeau tested at The Players

Published

6 years ago

Mar 12, 2020

This week at the Players Championship Bryson DeChambeau was spotted testing a new putter shaft. Like many of his clubs already, the new putter shaft from LA Golf is 100 percent made from graphite, which allows engineers greater control over the parameters of the shaft. The other benefit to the graphite construction is that compared to steel, graphite has a much higher strength-to-weight ratio, which allows it to offer greater stability.

Speaking of stability, there is one more unique design feature of the putter shaft and that is it’s almost constantly thick diameter from top to bottom. We reached out to John Oldenburg, Chief Product Officer and shaft designer at LA Golf Partners, to help explain how this design is beneficial to Bryson’s putting.

“All shafts, or structural tubes for that matter, decrease in stiffness as the diameter decreases. With putter shafts this occurs at the tip end of the shaft as it tapers down significantly to fit into standard hosels that are typically 0.350 to 0.370 in diameter. This causes the tip half of all putter shafts to be more flexible than the butt end where diameters run from 0.580 to 0.620″ and from a putter head control standpoint it’s not at all a beneficial attribute.”

“Bryson’s new constant diameter putter shaft is 0.580 to 0.600 the entire length of the shaft. It is extremely stiff along the entire length to provide extreme flexural stability both in the hands and at the most important section, down by the putter head. Where typical steel putter shafts have torque ratings around 2.0 degrees, the torque of this new shaft is 0.75 degrees and provides Bryson with ultimate control of the putter head throughout the stroke.”

“Just like with his previous LA Golf putter shafts he has used for 3 top 5 finishes in his last 3 events, his new constant diameter putter shaft utilizes a proprietary internal laminate material technology that gives this extremely stiff, extremely low torque shaft, a smooth, pleasing, highly responsive feel at impact.”

LAGP furnished the image of the shaft below.

Considering Bryson’s attitude towards experiments with his equipment and his current run of great play, it’s going to be interesting to see if he puts the shaft in play at TPC Sawgrass.

As you can see from the image below, BAD appears to be sticking with his Ozik shaft through round one, but we’ll see if that changes.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 12: Bryson DeChambeau of the United Staters lines up a putt on the 11th green during the first round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Either way, it’s another fascinating experiment for the Golf Scientist.

Equipment

TaylorMade launches Spider Tour Torched putters

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 4, 2026

Brian Knudson

TaylorMade has dominated the mallet putter market with their expansive Spider putter line over the last few years. From players on professional tours to us everyday players, you will see a lot of Spider putters in bags. For 2026 TaylorMade is updating the Spider line with the new Spider Torched series that features a new torched PVD finish and some new head shapes.

The first thing you will notice about the Spider Torched putters is the bronze color finish. This finish takes inspiration from Rory’s custom Spider that is heated with a torch to get a multi-color bronze finish. When you heat stainless steel to around 600°F to 900°F it will change to this bronze color in a process called temper color. This happens because very high temperatures cause the metal’s surface to react with oxygen in the air, creating a thin transparent layer that gradually becomes thicker over time. Instead of using the time-consuming torching process, TaylorMade went with a more durable PVD finish to get a similar look.

Rory’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X

With the new launch we get the familiar Spider Tour head shapes that we know and love with the Spider Tour and Spider Tour X. Both are offered with different hosels as well to give looks that golfers will love and influence the toe hang of the putters for fitting different putting strokes. It doesn’t stop there as TaylorMade is also giving us the new Spider Tour V and Spider Tour F shapes that offer a different look and alignment at address. All of the heads stay true to being a Spider by their high MOI design for stability and forgiveness. A sole plate with updated graphics moves weight away from the center of the club head and out to the perimeter.

“The Spider Tour putter family represents the very best of what we do at TaylorMade. Nearlytwo decades of engineering, refinement and Tour feedback have gone into building thisfamily—and this new finish brings a level of visual sophistication that matches theperformance underneath it. These are putters that belong in the hands of the best players inthe world, and they’re proving it every week.”–Andrew Oldknow, Senior DirectorProductCategory and Design

More Photos of the TaylorMade Spider Tour Torched Putters

For lining up the putter we see the tried and true True Path alignment that TaylorMade has been using on Spiders for what feels like forever. This high contrast line makes it faster and easier to get the putter pointed towards your target for more accuracy. You can also see the legendary Pure Roll insert that is made from white TPU for a softer feel. Each insert contains horizontal 45 degree grooves that put more forward roll on the ball and reduce hopping and skidding. Behind the insert is a Hybrar Echo Dampener that will reduce unwanted vibrations for a softer feel and sound at impact. On the sole TaylorMade kept the TSS weights so that you can dial in the head weight in order to get the perfect feel out of your Spider Tour Torched.

Spider Tour

Spider Tour F

Spider Tour V

Spider Tour X

Spider Tour Counter Balanced

More Photos of the TaylorMade Spider Tour Torched Putters

All of the new Spider Torched putters are offered with a premium KBS CT 120 putter shaft that features a gloss black finish. This upgraded shaft features a stiffer feel and low toque for added stability and consistency. The stock grip is a Super Stroke Pistol 1.0 while the counter balanced models get a Super Stroke 2.0 XL grip that is longer, 13.75″, in order to grip it further down easily. A new brown head cover has a leather texture and looks really good with the brown and light blue accents on it.

The new Spider Torched putters will have a $349.99 price for both the standard and counter balanced models.

Whats in the Bag

Sungjae Im WITB 2026 (June)

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Sungjae Im had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist TSi2 (8 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7 X

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X

Hybrid: Titleist H2 818 (19 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD Hybrid DI 105 X

Irons: Titleist T100 ’19 (3-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (48-10F, 54-14F), SM7 (60-04L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putters: Scotty Cameron Special Select F-5 Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype
Grips: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos of Sungjae Im’s clubs here.

Whats in the Bag

Lucas Glover WITB 2026 (June)

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Lucas Glover had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (10 degrees, B2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS2 (15 degrees, B2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

7-wood: Titleist GTS2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

Irons: Srixon ZX5 (4), Srixon ZX7 (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (52-10 MID, 56-12 FULL,60-12 FULL) Cleveland RTZ Tour Rack (54-12 FULL, 60-12 FULL)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400