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The Taylormade Spider Tour Red putter is one of the hottest flat sticks on Tour today, making it’s way into the bags of Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, and even a brief stint with Rory McIlroy.
Introduction
The Spider Tour putter is the latest iteration of putters from Taylormade’s Spider line. Jason Day was the first to put the Spider Tour Red in play, and it has found it’s way into quite a few more bags on Tour. The popularity among the pros has drawn a ton of interest into the new Spider Tour line, which also offers a black version (a la Dustin Johnson), so we wanted to see how if it might work for us too.
Looks
The TaylorMade Spider Tour putter offers a more compact version of the Spider. As someone who played the Spider Ghost putter, the head shape is noticeably more compact. It’s much closer to the size of the Itsy-Bitsy Spider that Taylormade released a few years back.
Another big difference is the slant neck of the Spider Tour, rather than the flow neck of the traditional Spiders. The big downside for some is that the Spider Tour features no alignment aids, although a DIY isn’t out of the question. The Matte Red finish combined with the black shaft gives the Spider an awesome look on the greens, and gives minimal glare on sunny afternoons.
Sound & Feel
The sound of the Spider Tour was the biggest adjustment for me. I traditionally use a more solid sounding putter, but the insert on the Spider Tour gives it a much louder “pinging” sound. It almost sounds like a ball striking aluminum and takes getting used to.
In regards to feel, the Spider Tour Red has a softer insert than its black counterpart. I love the soft feel off of the face on well struck putts, yet it provides enough feedback on off-center hits as well.
Performance
The TaylorMade Spider Tour Red putter’s performance was the biggest win for me, and it lived up to the Tour hype. I found speed control to be very consistent and easy to adjust to. Off center putts will hurt you, as with all putters, but the forgiveness levels were surprising. Due to the grooved insert, putts outside of center still found their way to the hole, and distance loss was minimal.
My favorite part about this putter is how it gets the ball rolling on line. On longer putts, I initially had the ball hopping off of the face, but after a few adjustments, I was able to get the ball rolling off the face smoothly and right on line. From a performance standpoint, this is my favorite putter that I’ve used in a while.
Conclusion
The TaylorMade Spider Tour Red putter gave me the looks, feel, and performance that one looks for in a putter. If you’re in the market for a new mallet putter, make sure the Spider Tour is in the lineup. It made it’s way into my bag, and it might be able to do the same for you.
Buy the TaylorMade Spider Tour Putter HERE
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I have always used blade putters, but after seeing this putter on tour I fell in love with the color and looks so I broke down and invested in one. It was a good choice, it feels great and rolls true. I got used to its mass compared to a blade ( I also picked up a Juno, another very nice putter) and enjoy using it. I feel I made a great investment.
Glad you found a putter that suits you Dave. I also made the switch to this from more blade-esque putters.
I was recently in Golf Galaxy (Katy,Tx) on 2/14/18 to purchase the new Red Taylor made Spyder putter ($299.99) for my boyfriend for Valentines Day. While looking @ all of the Taylormade putters, I noticed there was a red one that wasn’t wrapped with plastic. After putting it under the bright lights, I noticed , it appeared someone had played with this club. There were chips of red that had been worn off on the playing side. I decided not to buy it & instead went with the Silver/red one. for $219.99. I was very disappointed!
I picked up the Taylormade Spider Limited (itsy bitsy) at Golf Trader in Tamarac, Florida a year ago. Coming from an Odyssey putter (great putter) for 10 years, the Spider replaced my Odyssey putter after only 2 putts in the putting area at the store. The feel of the putt was a “golf equipment changing” event for me. I installed a SuperStroke FLATSO 17 (red, white and black) putter grip (only sold in UK at the time) and this putter became a beast. I am able to easily putt with my standard position or choked down when facing a tough lie. When I first started using the beast of a putter, I was complimented on the overall great look of the club, now my putting is also being complimented. This club has improved my putting by at least 10 strokes per round. I enjoy using it and have the confidence to execute a good stroke every time.
C’mon – Victor….my man….10 strokes per round? What were you putting with prior – a frying pan?
nobody improves 10 putts/round by buying this or any putter – sorry!
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