Spider Tour X and Giveaway!

I can remember when I decided to really start taking golf seriously. It was 2015. I was in college pursuing a career and education in fire/EMS. The player at that time was Jason Day. He was winning everything, including the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights, and became #1 in the world. I still remember Day’s red TaylorMade Spider putter. It really stood out to me. Since then, the Spider putter has gone through many design changes. The mallet-style Spider putter; however, has been tested time and time again and has proven to be one of the most popular mallet putters ever. They have a high MOI meaning they have ultimate forgiveness, fool-proof alignment, multiple hosel inserts, and even customization with TaylorMade's MySpider option. I've tried a number of the different styles of Spider putters, but I think the newest Spider Tour is the best that TaylorMade has come out with so far.

Spider Tour has four different head designs: the Tour, X, V, and Z. All these heads feature a double bend or slant neck design. I got ahold of the X with a slant neck to test out. Right away I love the look of it. I think the head size inspires confidence, but it's not overly large. The Tour has the largest profile head. It's honestly too big for me. The V and Z models look a bit more rounded, but I prefer the square shape of the X. I also prefer the double bend insert, but I have used a slant neck and like that option as well. I tested these putters indoors and was amazed by the feel of the face. The TPU Pure Roll insert is made from surlyn and aluminum. Surlyn is often the cover used in 2-piece golf balls because it is durable and soft, which is what I felt when trying out this putter. It's not too soft though. I personally have a hard time with feedback from really really soft putters and often my distance control suffers. This was not what I experienced with the X. I got a soft yet responsive feel. The X was very easy to hit. I felt the weight was perfect for me. I would start putts in line and the roll was end over end. The distance control was also very good indoors. The Spider line also features a SuperStroke pistol grip as the stock grip. I have smaller hands and the grip did not feel too big or too small. For me, it was a perfect size. My initial thoughts were positive, but I am limited in that I haven't taken them out on the course yet.

UPDATE: I tried it out on the course and all the feels and looks that I enjoyed indoors were exactly the same. For me, the distance control stood out. Earlier in the round the greens were a bit slow, and I was able to give the stroke a little extra. I was no more than 18 inches from the cup for almost all the mid-range putts. As the day got warmer and the greens got faster, I still felt the distance control was spot on. I did have a few lip outs from 20+ feet and had one 28-foot putt drop. I do tend to struggle with lag putting on faster greens, and even worse with a mallet-style putter. The Spider X was the best putter I have used in some time for lag putting. I ended the round with 32 total putts, which is the second lowest I’ve ever had. The next two rounds with the putter were identical, with 33 and 35 total putts and the lag putting was almost perfect. Locals who have played Coyote Lakes Golf Course know how tricky those greens are, and this putter gave me the confidence to navigate those greens. I did not have any long putts drop, but I never found myself in potential 3 putt trouble.

Since I must find something to pick apart with this putter, I am not a big fan of the color. However, you can customize every part of the putter to your liking if you go through MySpider on TaylorMade's website. I prefer a solid black, single thin white line on top look. I was able to create that exact putter online, so my biggest complaint is addressed and can be changed if I wanted to spend the money. Also, I have one small gripe; the headcover does get dirty pretty easily, so if you have a mallet headcover, I would choose to use that one.

I loved this putter! So much so that I am going to be giving away this exact putter for our first-ever product giveaway. Enter your email and at the end of the month, one lucky fan will win this putter and headcover. I hope the winner loves it as much as I have, and has even more success with it.