TaylorMade’s second low-torque release is supercharging one of the most popular low-torque options already on the market. And just because you might not see it on the PGA Tour, that doesn’t mean it can’t help you make more putts.
The company announced today, along with the revamped 2026 Spider Tour Torched lineup, the new Spider ZT Max, which represents something of a split between TaylorMade’s Spider ZT brand and the rest of the Spider lineup.
Where the Spider Tour lineup will take cues from Tour, Spider ZT-5K and ZT Max are aimed more at the recreational golfer who wants the game to be as fun and easy as possible.
“We’ve learned that consumer demand for the first time in my career has moved in a different direction than what the Tour player has traditionally wanted,” TaylorMade Director of Product Creation, Andrew Oldknow, told GOLF. “A lot of our athletes can feel and nuance all these things, and using torque to their advantage has been a benefit for them. But for consumers, a lot of us just want to point, shoot, aim it and swing it.
“Spider ZT set a high bar for what a high-MOI mallet could do. With Spider ZT Max, we took that foundation and expanded it — literally.”
The new Spider ZT Max features a head shape very similar to the original Spider ZT but is now 20 percent larger to increase MOI. Spider ZT Max launched on Tour last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Keep reading below for more on the TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter, including my take on the release.
What’s actually new with TaylorMade Spider ZT Max — and why you should care
Going all-in on MOI
TaylorMade took the original ZT design and essentially put it on steroids by making it 20 percent larger and adding heavy steel and tungsten weighting to the corners to push mass to the corners and increase MOI.
The original Spider ZT had roughly g/cm2 5,000 MOI, hence the 5K moniker, right in line with the Spider Tour X, while the new ZT Max pushes that number to around 7,000 g/cm2 in a standard configuration. The extreme MOI is one reason the new 2026 Spider Tour lineup does not feature the ultra-high-MOI Spider Tour S.
“We wanted to put that number [5K] on there because we thought that’s sort of the minimum starting point for a zero-torque putter,” Oldknow said. “And since then we’ve been working on how much MOI can we get? … We decided let’s take these really high-MOI products and put them into the zero-torque line.”
TaylorMade saw that most players seeking an ultra-high MOI putter were gravitating toward low-torque models for greater ease of use.
With the increase in size also comes a deeper CG. Thus, the new ZT Max has a 2˚ shaft lean instead of the 1˚ shaft lean on the ZT-5K to accommodate the 9 mm deeper CG.
Like the rest of the Spider family, however, the centerpiece of the ZT Max is TaylorMade’s PureRoll insert, made from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum with 45-degree grooves designed to get the ball rolling forward of the face.
Different strokes for different folks
They’re also seeing that while low-torque usage has somewhat stabilized on the Tour, it still accounts for a huge and growing sector of the consumer marketplace.
Many golfers can benefit from playing putters like the Spider Tour line, which has been widely adopted on Tour, but many don’t practice much. They want something that is essentially point-and-shoot.
The ZT Max caters to that point. Oldknow doesn’t expect to see many ZT Maxes go in play on the PGA Tour, but the consumer market will be a much different story.
“We don’t expect to see a lot on Tour,” Oldknow said. “All these ball strikers are looking for feel more so than they are looking for a toe-up, face-forward product.
“We think this is going to be something that’s going to work well in the marketplace.”
The TaylorMade Spider ZT Max lineup
Spider ZT Max is available in either a standard configuration, 36″ and 38″ counterbalance lengths or a 46″ long build.
What is it: A large super-high MOI low-torque mallet with a center-shaft design. The putter is 20 percent larger than the original Spider ZT and, with the addition of heavy steel and tungsten weighting in the corners, pushes MOI to between 7000 g/cm2 in the standard model and nearly 9000 g/cm2 in the long model.
Who it’s for: Players who want the most stable putter that will naturally stay square throughout the putting stroke.
My take: Low-torque putters are bifurcating putting, and TaylorMade sees that
Low-torque putters are certainly not a fad, but the way Oldknow speaks about the ZT Max seems to indicate a bit of maturing in the marketplace.
The message is now that low-torque putters aren’t for everyone, and likely not for players who rely on feel. But for those who don’t have the reps to develop that feel or want something that is point-and-shoot, low-torque can be the solution.
That’s not to say Tour pros are abandoning low-torque putters in droves, but even if they did, consumers would likely still go for putters like the ZT Max because, for the right person, they can make the game easier.
I’ve typically steered away from extreme shaft lean, which is one reason I, and many others in this space, really like the ZT-5K. But even with the 2˚ shaft lean on the ZT Max, it’s so large and looks similar enough to the ZT-5K that it’s harder to distinguish.
ZT Max is a great example of a putter I’d want if I took six months off from the game and then played half-asleep. The putter requires very little thought to hit on a straight line. Where things become an issue for me is when you introduce a break, but that’s why I prefer a higher-torque putter like the Spider Tour.
But for anyone who can putt point-to-point, the Spider ZT Max is going to be a great match.
Price, Specs and Availability
TaylorMade 2026 Spider ZT-Max Custom Putter
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TaylorMade 2026 Spider ZT-Max Counterbalance Custom Putter
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TaylorMade 2026 Spider ZT-Max Long Custom Putter
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TaylorMade’s s new ZT Max putters are available to order starting June 4 online and at retail locations.
