Another major manufacturer has brought a zero torque putter to the retail market.
Following the momentum of what has been the hottest putter trend among both Tour pros and recreational players alike, TaylorMade has released its version of a zero torque putter with the new Spider ZT putter line.
“Spider putters — renowned for their stability, alignment, and roll — have been reengineered in the Spider ZT to feature a toe-up, or ‘face-forward’ balance configuration,” Andrew Oldknow, TaylorMade’s director of product creation for woods and putters, said in a press release. “This design minimizes torque and reduces the need for hand manipulation, promoting a more consistent stroke. As a result, the putter face remains squarer to the target line throughout the putting motion, enhancing directional control and building confidence at address and through impact.”
As with each company’s version of a zero torque or toe-up putter, which involves placing the shaft axis of the putter directly through the center of gravity, balancing it so the toe points up, TaylorMade has its own spin on the technology. The company chose to build off their popular Spider platform, which was the winningest putter on the PGA Tour last year.
Here are 6 things to know about the new TaylorMade Spider ZT putters.
1. 18 months in the making
While L.A.B. Golf, in 2018, became the first company to market a zero torque putter in the U.S., the trend really didn’t catch fire until a few years ago when Lucas Glover used one to capture back-to-back PGA Tour wins.
Oldknow said TaylorMade started the development of its own zero torque putter 18 months ago.
“We could see a trend with some of the players on Tour searching for something to help them putt with,” Oldknow told GOLF. “And then I would say back maybe 12 months ago, as we were starting down this path, we were starting to see a trend, especially in a retail environment. When consumers get excited about stuff, we need to pay attention.”
TaylorMade engineers quickly realized they couldn’t simply place the shaft of a typical Spider right behind the face to make it zero torque; they would need to redesign it from the ground up.
Oldknow said they also wanted to get the product to the marketplace quickly and that the initial reaction to the Spider ZT has been positive, leaving the door open for potential expansion of their ZT line into other shapes.
“We are going to use our tour [feedback], the research and find out what are consumers looking for,” he said. “Do they want bigger ones? Do they want smaller ones? Do they want more rectangular ones? So we’re doing that right now. We’re just sort of researching the market and what could be next.”
2. The sole was key
When Spider ZT first went on TaylorMade’s Tour truck earlier this year during the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing, TaylorMade Global putter rep James Holley said initial reactions were that the putter sat square at address.
“With some other putters in this category, they tend to look like a little left to address and they kind of sit a little funny,” Holley said. “So when we handed players ours and they set it down, it soled really square.”
Oldknow said that was a key design point in creating the new putter’s sole, which is cambered from heel to toe and has a specific draft angle, allowing it to sit square and players to play it from a variety of set-ups without changing the measured lie of the club.
“If you put one on the ground and it doesn’t seem to want to sit square, that, to me, is a red flag for this type of putting,” he said.
To get the putter to appear more square at address, the draft of the putter, where the sole begins to taper toward the back of the head, was positioned behind the CG and shaft axis. This makes it flatter toward the front of the putter. The Spider Tour and Tour X putters have soles that aren’t perpendicular to the ground because their hosels have a slight draft to help them sit more square.
Without a traditional hosel on the Spider ZT, the putter needs a flatter sole to sit square on the ground.
3. Individually balanced
To achieve the zero torque design and specifically place the CG on the shaft axis, the Spider ZT putters are 100 percent milled from 303 stainless steel for the face and 6061 aluminum for the back. Three strategically placed weight ports are used to balance the putter and are individually adjusted to each head out of the factory.
Oldknow stressed these weights cannot be adjusted by the consumer without taking the putter out of balance.
4. Milling a true path
One of the identifying characteristics of most Spider putters is the white True Path alignment aid on the top of the putter that is designed to frame the golf ball.
On the Spider ZT, the top of the face has marks milled into it that are the exact width of the ball and are intended to accomplish the same effect more subtly. Oldknow said the micro milling started as an idea that came from working with Logan Olson, the putter designer with whom TaylorMade partnered last year, as they were trying to help Scottie Scheffler line up more centered over the ball.
“We didn’t want to put like big white marks intersecting with the shaft,” Oldknow said. “So we weren’t going to go the traditional True Path route, but we wanted to make sure that the form itself works like True Path, and so it gives everything focused onto your alignment.”
Most people either align themselves using perpendicular lines and the face of the putter, a sight line going toward the target or both a sight line and a line on the golf ball. With the milled True Path and two-tone body construction, Oldknow said the Spider ZT has alignment options for all types of players.
5. Just a slight lean
As opposed to other zero torque putters on the market, Spider ZT putters have just 1˚ of shaft lean to help players get their hands back ahead of the face. Other zero torque putters on the market have anywhere from 1.5˚ to 3˚ of forward shaft lean.
This not only allows Spider ZT putters to use regular grips but also keeps the putter feeling more familiar to players, Oldknow said.
Players often play zero torque putters further up in their stance and hit up on the ball due to the onset, but the absence of the extreme shaft lean and TaylorMade’s pure roll insert, which has 45-degree grooves, helps players produce consistent launch and get the ball rolling end over end.
In my own personal testing, I found that the absence of more extreme shaft lean helped me avoid a left miss that I have seen with other zero torque putters.
6. Already Tour proven
Spider ZT has already won on the PGA Tour with Brian Harman switching from his trusted — and nearly decade-old — Spider OS CB for a Spider ZT counterbalanced prototype at the Valero Texas Open in April. Harman won in his first week with the new putter.
“He didn’t even really ask for the putter,” Holley said. “I just kind of thought this would be a good week to bring it out. I think it was just kind of right putter at the right time. And, of course, to get a win that early on in the season for him, and then also for us with this putter really not even being out yet…that was huge.”
Holley said the putter didn’t get a full launch on the PGA Tour until the Truist Championship, but some of the players he had shown it to previously started asking about it again after Harman’s win.
Less than a month after Harman’s win, TaylorMade staffer Hae Ran Ryu captured the LPGA’s Black Desert Championship with the putter.
Price and availability
TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT Custom Putter
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TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT Counterbalance Custom Putter
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TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT Long Custom Putter
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TaylorMade Spider ZT putters are available for pre-order on May 29 and will arrive at retail locations on June 5.
There will be three different configurations available with standard length models (33”, 34” and 35”) priced at $449.99, counterbalanced options (36″ and 38″) for $499.99 and a long configuration (46″) for $549.99. The long putter will be available for right-handers only.
Want to find the best putter for your game? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
