Published July 17, 2008 on April 1, 2019

TaylorMade Spider X Putters – Optically Engineered for Performance

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A decade after introducing the putter that shifted the paradigm of putter creation toward high-MOI design mallets and has since become the most popular putter in company history, TaylorMade Golf Company announced the 10thgeneration of its globally transcendent Spider putters with the introduction of Spider X.

Continuing the longstanding heritage of Spider performance in a completely redesigned frame, Spider X putters utilize a new dedicated weighting system and optically engineered sightline (OES) featuring TaylorMade’s new True Path alignment system.

 

“When we first introduced the original Spider putter in 2008, we never could have anticipated the global phenomenon it has become. With widespread adoption on tours around the world, not only has it become one of the company’s top-selling putters of all time, it has truly shifted the paradigm of putter design toward high-MOI mallets. I’m proud to have played a role in the evolution of Spider and what it has become today” said Bill Price, Senior Director of TaylorMade Product Creation for Putters and Wedges.

Bill Price made a special visit to MST Golf, TaylorMade’s exclusive distributor for Malaysia and Singapore and the TaylorMade Spider X putters was officially launched in Malaysia by Bill and witnessed by members of media, retailers, TaylorMade Home Pros and invited guests.

“We are very honoured with Bill’s presence in Malaysia to launch the Spider X as the #1 putter model on the PGA Tour. We are also very excited and confident that the Spider X will do really well in Malaysia and Singapore” said Ng Yap, Chief Executive of MST Golf during the launch.

 

The X Philosophy – True Path Alignment System


The genesis of the Spider X philosophy lies in research derived from more than ten thousand putts from a distance of twelve feet, with results illustrating that golfers strike the ball toward the toe of the putter 66% of the time – this is the result of a parallax effect. As a result, engineers strove to re-engineer the mass properties of the putter head while simultaneously introducing a new alignment system – True Path – for easier alignment enhanced focus, leading to more putts struck on the centre of the face and thus eliminating the parallax effect.

 

The X Design

The new Spider X features an optically engineered vision system designed for improved path, clearer vision and enhanced visual perception through colour sensitivity. The design of the Spider X features a more streamlined design than both the Spider Tour and Spider Mini putters that came before it. The more stable head shape provides more weight on the outside of the frame (36% on both perimeters v. 30%). The head design of the Spider X is more stable than ever, with a deeper centre of gravity (37mm), which is three times deeper than a traditional blade putter.

For the first time in 10 years, the new frame of the Spider X incorporates a modern, seamless and dedicated weight design featuring three new weights: aluminium (2 grams), steel (6 grams) and tungsten (12 grams) to allow for optimized weight preference.

Additionally, the Spider X features a composite core weighing a mere 15 grams. The putter’s new head design was created using multi-material construction, delivering a slightly smaller head shape compared to the Spider Tour. Engineers reduced the size of the Spider X by 5% but were able to maintain the same MOI as Spider Tour within its new construction.

 

Re-Engineered Pure RollInsert


Spider X putters incorporate a new, thicker 5mm Pure Roll white surlyn insert for improved sound, feel and roll characteristics. The 12-groove Pure Roll insert promotes forward spin for smoother roll, greater accuracy and better distance control.

The composition and construction of the new Pure Roll insert is specially engineered to bring the grooves into direct and active contact with the ball during impact, even on short putts. The grooves in the face — just .5mm deep — also serve in part to strategically soften the insert’s structure. Together, these factors are designed to make the insert deform at impact, putting the grooves into direct contact with the cover of the ball. Pure Roll inserts are played on the PGA TOUR by TaylorMade staffers Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, among many others.

 

Specifications, Pricing & Availability

Available at retail Spider X putters will be offered in two colourways with both right and left-hand options: copper & white or navy & white. The copper & white, navy & white, copper and navy model will be available in a short slant option. Each is available in 34” lengths and comes equipped with SuperStroke’s Pistol GTR 1.0 grip.

 

Interview with Bill Price, Senior Director of TaylorMade Product Creation for Putters and Wedges.   

 

Changing the iconic Spider design that comes with so-called jet-engines wings to what we have now as Spider X. Was it a difficult decision for the designers at TaylorMade?

We had a very successful product for 10 years and to change it, how much do you change it. And I have learnt my lesson over time. Sometimes too much is not good, people will go somewhere else. Probably the most important part of the putter was the engines. Everything else was pretty much the same. We wanted to address that and it was tough for us because those engines were iconic. We decided it was the right time to change it. We went through probably at least 90 different renderings to find the right one. Out of the 90 we had, we ended up with the one we have today. We did make some fine tunings to it. I love it because it is more modern, streamlined and contemporary. It was a good process for us.

 

How much were you involved in the new design of the Spider X? Were you sitting in the design rooms with them? Did the pros like Dustin Johnson and Jason Day and Tiger Woods spend time with the designers? How long did the entire design process take? And when did the putters finally make their appearance into the market?

Sometimes when you have too many people involved you end up with nothing. So you really have to be careful with that. The only negative that I have had in the ten years with the Spider putters were the jet engines. So I wanted to focus on the jet engines. To be quite fair and frank, we went outside our design company as the so-called TaylorMade designers were so close to the jet engines. I thought we needed a fresh eye, a fresh look. That was a great decision; to take something outside and let them with fresh eyes approach it. And basically, our design brief to them was we wanted to fix the wings, so what would you do? That’s how I ended up with 90 different renderings; some really wacky and way out there. We selected 10, got it down to five and finally to one. Then it was showing the players. I felt that if we went too wacky and too far out, I would lose a lot of the players, so these changes were so small and moderate to the wings that it was widely accepted right away.  So from acceptability on tour and the players that liked the current Spider, this one is getting newer players into the family.

 

When did the Spider X come out into the market in the US?

On Feb 15^th2019. We launched it on tour in Hawaii and right away Rory McIlroy had success and a few other players had success. And we had some wins right before its launch and then we have market share around the country. In the US, Spider X alone was 8 share points. The old Spider was around 8 – 9. So together the Spider is almost 15 share points.

 

How is the Spider X doing in Malaysia?

In Malaysia, they have already sold out the inventory, so that good to see. I asked why and was told that it’s because golfers have seen it on TV. Golfers have seen Rory and other players win with it and all those stories make people go buy it. It’s probably going to be a number one model soon.

 

What do you think your competitors are thinking right now with Spider being so successful?

I am pleased that I see Titleist has a Spider lookalike putter, and actually, that’s a nice compliment. You can’t live in the past, consumers always want something new and fresh. And in today’s market of putters, sometimes, odd shapes and sizes are accepted. When Spider came out, it made everybody rethink the putter design. And there are a lot of different sizes and shapes and if it gets the ball in the hole that all that matters.

 

How many pros are using the Spider Putters on all tours?

On the PGA Tour, if you add all the Spiders, we have probably between 10 -15 players using Spider putters, depending on the week. Malaysia’s Gavin Green is using our putter. We are just starting to get an inventory of the players using the putter on tours. The US Amateur champion won with a Spider last year. In the US junior finals last year, a junior won with the Spider. The junior he beat had a Spider as well. So you start to look not just at the tour but at colleges and junior players and then club professionals. We are the number one putter in the club professional level. In their championship, they called it Player’s Championship for club pros, we had more Spiders there than the Odyssey brand. That’s how successful Spider is. It’s the top three most successful putter ever. You try to equate a dollar figure to it. It’s a three hundred million dollar putter over the last ten years. There are a lot of players to thank, who have had it successful, tour players have used it and brought it success. So when the number one PGA Tour and the number one LPGA Tour players use Spider, it says it all.