The alignment of the Spider TourX is what appeals to me most.
Sean Zak
Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists’ and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), Sean Zak details the one club he can’t live without from Fully Fit 2026, his TaylorMade Spider Tour X. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:
I arrived in Carlsbad ready for a week full of fittings, tearing apart my entire golf bag and offering me a new lease on equipment. Little did I know my favorite part of the entire week would come in the first few minutes.
Before I did any full-swing testing, my first hour was spent in TaylorMade’s putting studio, spending a full 60 minutes analyzing my stroke, my former gamer putter and working me through TaylorMade’s suite of flatsticks. I learned quickly just how much can be overlooked in the typical putter decision. People meander to Dick’s Sporting Goods and roll a couple of putts with different putters and make a choice on the spot. It’s all feel. TaylorMade — like all manufacturers — doesn’t want you doing that. But not everyone gets the full putter fitting treatment.
After rolling a few 10-footers with my former putter under super slo-motion cameras, it was clear that I often make a very smooth, neutral path at the ball, but have a tendency to leave the putter face open ever-so-slightly. On occasion, as much as 3° open, which, with a 7-iron, might not be a big deal. From eight feet and with the match on the line, 3° open might offer you a 10-percent make rate.
I was gaming a wider version of a blade putter, mostly because I enjoy the look and feel of what that offers. But when it came down to performance with my stroke, the blade was finicky. On long putts, I had the tendency to hook putts at times — again, every so slightly — which would result in starting my strokes way left of target. For really long putts, that just means the ball is moving further and further from the target the longer the putt is.
But that’s where a fitter comes in. TaylorMade’s genius putting staff put a bunch of mallets in my hands that day, and the squareness and size of the putterhead closed down the face a sizeable amount in my stroke. Suddenly, my most “open” strokes were 1.5° open. The make rate on those misses is bound to increase. But the important point was that the majority of putts were now less than 1° open.
Sean Zak
An added benefit of the larger head has, in recent weeks, shown itself more than it ever could in an indoor studio. Those 30- and 40-footers, where I would occasionally force the face closed (and putt some tiny draw spin on putts) — I was subconsciously lining up on the toe end of the putter head. That causes all sorts of lag-putt issues, leaving so many six-footers for par. No one wants that grind.
Thankfully, the larger head and weight of the mallet has made setting up to the ball very easy and allows me the feeling of my putter being a pendulum — the little white ball at the base of the stroke just gets in the way, and the putter does all the work. That kind of simplicity is something my short game has been looking for — and one my scores have no doubt appreciated early this season.
Specs TaylorMade Spider Tour X Length: 34″ Loft: 3° Lie: 70° Hosel: L-neck Grip: SuperStroke Flatso 2.0
SPIDER TOUR X L-NECK For nearly two decades Spider putters have been delivering championship-winning stability and performance to professionals and amateurs alike. Scottie Scheffler recently joined this group by stepping into the winner’s circle for the third time in four starts with a Spider Tour X L-Neck in the bag. TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT Navigate the greens with clarity with the optically-engineered True Path™ Alignment system. This legacy tech from TaylorMade helps you better visualize the line to the hole while also making it easier to aim the putter towards your target. WHITE TPU PURE ROLL™ INSERT Experience a softer feel with our White TPU Pure Roll™ insert. Crafted from a blend of Surlyn and aluminum, it features grooves angled at 45° for optimal forward roll and better overall roll characteristics. PRECISION WEIGHTING AND DESIGN A thin wall undercut and steel wireframe allow for precision CG placement, creating a superstructure with enhanced stability and forgiveness.
Sean Zak is a senior writer and author of Searching in St. Andrews, which followed his travels in Scotland during the most pivotal summer in the game’s history.
