TaylorMade’s Spider putter line keeps racking up majors, although this time it’s not from Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler or any contracted TaylorMade player.
The TaylorMade Spider Tour V Flow-neck putter Aaron Rai used to nail the 68-foot birdie putt on the 71st hole to slam the door shut at the PGA Championship is a putter he uses completely by choice.
Rai’s Spider Tour V was part of the 2024 edition of Spider putters and has found the bags of several players at times, including Collin Morikawa and Nelly Korda. Shane Lowry has had one in his bag since the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won with McIlroy. The Tour V model has a more tapered body than the Spider Tour or Tour X models and features adjustable weights just behind the face, giving it a more forward CG.
In using a TaylorMade Spider Tour V, Aaron Rai is going to become the fifth major winner in the last six to use a Spider putter in the last six.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy won the other four with the Spider Tour X.
That more forward CG helps to emulate the CG location of blade putters, making the Tour V a great option for players seeking to move into the Spider platform from a blade.
Rai’s putter features a unique flow neck, similar to the one Morikawa has on his Spider Tour X, that gives the putter a bit more face rotation to the stroke.
The 31-year-old switched to this putter late last August from a face-balanced TaylorMade TP Hydro Blast DuPage mallet, which also featured a Pure Roll insert. This past week at Aronimink, Rai was fifth in SG: Putting, gaining 1.7 strokes per round on the field, including nearly four in the final round.
With the victory, a Spider Tour putter has not only won five of the last six majors, dating back to McIlroy’s 2025 Masters win, but it’s also won eight events already this season, including both major championships.
While the Spider Tour V Rai used is no longer available at retail, the Spider Tour and Spider Tour X head shapes are currently available and feature much of the same technology, most notably the Pure Roll insert. TaylorMade putter rep James Holley credited the insert with much of the Spider’s success on Tour.
TaylorMade Spider Tour X Custom Putter
THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION
We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance.
STEEL WIREFRAME
Allows engineers to better control weight distribution and CG location.
HYBRAR ECHO® DAMPENER
HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feel on every putt with the best possible sensation.
DIFFERENT CG LOCATION
Each Spider Tour model features different CG locations for optimal putter fitting.
TSS WEIGHTING
TSS weights provide balanced weighting and help optimize performance for all various putter lengths.
GUNMETAL PVD FINISH
The durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish.
TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT
The patented alignment system provides visual clarity and helps golfers better envision the line to the hole.
WHITE TPU PURE ROLL™ INSERT
Made from a combination of Surlyn and aluminum, the white TPU Pure Roll™ insert creates a softer feel. Grooves are angled at 45° to encourage optimal forward roll as well as better sound, feel and overall roll characteristics. The white insert also creates better symmetry with the white True Path alignment.
REFINED HOSEL DESIGNS
Spider Tour Series includes two different hosel shapes and designs. The small slant produces toe hang, and the double bend produces a face balanced design.
“Any of the guys that have switched like Scottie or Tommy, they see such a big improvement inside that 20 feet,” Holley, who fit Rai into his Spider, told GOLF. “Especially out on Tour, that’s where those guys make their money. Statistically, the best putter and the worst putter from 30 feet, there isn’t that big of a difference from a strokes-gained perspective.”
There’s also a new Spider Tour V shape that debuted on the PGA Tour last month, in what appears to be the next generation of the putter. Brooks Koepka put that model in play last week, which appears to also have the forward weighting based on the weight placement.
