Putter Review: TaylorMade Spider 5K ZT

Should I (re)join the zero torque revolution?

The TaylorMade Spider 5K ZT is one of the better-looking ZT putters on the market

Zero Torque putters are taking the golf world by storm at the moment, and it seems you can't go more than a week or two without another one coming to market. J.J. Spaun winning the US Open with a L.A.B. DF3 will only boost the popularity even more, and the new TaylorMade Spider 5K ZT is one of the most eagerly anticipated new releases. It has been teased in the media for a couple of months. Justin Rose already has it in his bag (despite his involvement with AXIS1), and most of the big YouTubers have already released review videos.

Despite what I may think at times, putting is one of the strongest parts of my game, as demonstrated by the Tangent stats below. These are relative to a scratch handicap player, are from 201 recorded rounds, and demonstrate good (but volatile) performance. Most of these rounds are with one of my two Toulon Atlanta putters. If I have a dominant miss, it's short and right. Green reading? Stroke? Putter?

As regular readers know, I owned a L.A.B. DF3 last year and, after a great initial start, ultimately found that it didn't work for me (initial review HERE, follow-up report HERE). Given this previous zero-torque experience and the data above, why would I want to try another similar putter now? Well, there is always room for improvement, and as I keep telling my kids, it's good to challenge your prejudices. Who knows, maybe this one will be better? I also simply love trying putters and writing product reviews!

This review is written with thanks to Adam Legg at Auchterlonies for the extended use of the demo putter and the use of SAM Puttlab to get objective data.

First Impressions - good looking, for a ZT putter!

Despite having seen the putter online, I was still pleasantly surprised when I removed the head cover and saw it "in the flesh" for the first time. It is a great head cover with excellent padding and a secure magnetic fastening. Scotty Cameron, please take note of how to produce a good mallet cover! The SuperStroke grip is excellent. I wonder how TaylorMade got them to make a "press" grip, as I thought L.A.B. may have some patent protection on that. I much prefer the SS grip over the L.A.B. options.

At address, I like the solid silver "blade" look as well as the central black section and find it quite easy to aim. Despite not favouring centre shafted clubs, I also like how the black shaft almost disappears into the black rear section of the head. There's less shaft lean than with the DF3, which I also prefer. The new LAB OZ1 also comes with a no-lean shaft option, which allows you to use any grip you want with it.

The putter feels good in the hands. While it's surprisingly heavy, it feels easy to swing and is nice and stable through the stroke. Perhaps it's just the familiar Spider shaping, but I much prefer its looks over my old DF3. The new L.A.B. Oz model is probably a fairer comparison. Some alternative ZT putters are shown below, and there are some good-looking options available now. With most ZT putters, I don't like the visual aspect of how the shaft attaches to the head. It's similar to what I disliked with the SeeMore (review HERE). PXG and AXIS1 use a twisted hosel to create a different appearance at address, which I prefer (AXIS1 not shown here).

The testing process - SAM Puttlab, followed by practice green testing

Testing started with a SAM Puttlab session. We used my Atlanta as the baseline and then compared it to the Spider. I've got mixed views about SAM as I don't like the impact of the sensor that attaches to the putter shaft. But it's an industry-standard piece of equipment and provides robust analysis of your putting stroke. The results for the Spider were mixed. While my average face aim and path at impact were better, my consistency was very poor, and I had a distinct two-way miss. My initial impression of the face insert was also poor, but to be fair to the Spider, I'm comparing it to a milled face that I'm very familiar with, so the real test will be on grass.

The practice green sessions were conducted over 2 days, first at The Duke's and then at the St Andrews Links Academy. It was good to test the putters on two very different surfaces. I put the putter through similar tests to the SeeMore. Specifically, 6 putts, repeated 3 times from 3', 6', 9', 12' and 15', followed by a lag putt test from 30', then a start line gate test. On the first day, I used a "round the clock" drill for the tests, but on the second, I took all putts from the same start point to reduce green reading variations. Green reading is something I am working hard on and will be the subject of a future post.

	Atlanta (day 1)	Spider (day 1)	Atlanta (day 2)	Spider (day 2)
3 foot	6/6/6	4/5/6	6/6/6	6/6/6
6 foot	2/2/4	2/3/1	3/5/5	4/6/4
9 foot			2/3/3	3/3/3
12 foot	2/2/2	3/3/1	3/3	3/4
15 foot			1/0	3/2
30' to inside 3'	4/4/3	4/2/4	6/5	4/4
Start line	4/5/6	6/6/5

What was quite apparent during testing was how badly I was putting from 6-9' on day 1, although it improved on day 2. Maybe I just picked an easier putt on day 2 with less break? When I got to the start line drill, I remembered a comment a YouTube reviewer made about adding a little extra forward-press with the Spider. When I did that, its performance improved markedly. Remembering that on day 2 saw the Spider's performance continue to improve. It would be fair to say that the more I used the Spider, the more I came to like it. Is that a placebo effect, or could this genuinely be a better option for me?

Pros and cons

The SuperStroke grip is excellent, and I much prefer it to the LAB press grip on the DF3 and the Lamkin Deep Etched grip on my Atlanta. I've subsequently swapped the Lamkin for the same SS grip. My biggest frustration/dislike is the way the face feels. I don't like the polymer insert and found it difficult to judge my pace with it. Pace control was the cause of many of the misses with the Spider. Long putts were especially poor, producing both long and short misses. With shorter putts, I found I hit many of them too hard and either bounced over the hole or lipped out. That did improve as I got used to it. But, I know that I would get annoyed with the feel of this putter, the same way I have with other insert models I've owned. I prefer a milled face.

Unsurprisingly, there were many similarities to my initial findings with the DF3. I liked the Spider for shorter putts where it felt "point and shoot", but found it tricky on longer ones, although it was better than my DF3. The more I used it, the more confident I got with it, especially when using some extra forward press. But I remain cautious due to the poor SAM results and my longer-term DF3 experience.

Pricing and competition

If you buy into the "lie angle balanced" concept, then you may be disappointed to find that despite the £499 price tag, the Spider 5K ZT comes with no customisation available, just three length options and one lie angle. However, it does have a cambered sole, so there is some wiggle room with the lie. Saying that, aside from L.A.B., I'm not aware that other manufacturers offer much customisation either.

If you are happy with a manufacturer standard length and lie option, then the LAB OZ1 is £449 and £499 with the milled face insert. You can also customise L.A.B. putters to your exact specification for length, loft, lie, alignment lines (at a not inconsiderable cost!). Other options are also more competitively priced, with the milled face Bettinardi Antidote at £439, the PXG Bat Attack and Adam at £429, and the Odyssey "Square to Square" putters ranging from just £249 to £329. A standard Spider is £299.

The conclusion - Would I buy one?

The more I used it, the more I liked it, but ultimately it's not for me. SAM sessions always recommend heel-shafted putters with a lot of toe hang, and I have to remember that my DF3 experience started well and finished badly. Putting guru, Bruce Rearick, has written an interesting series of articles about torque that are available HERE, and it's worth reading them before buying a zero torque putter.

But, I'm also a total nerd when it comes to putters, and I can't resist trying them out (more reviews to come). Zero torque has the golf world in a spin, and it's hard to ignore that trend. But, is it just a gravy train that allows them to charge premium prices, or will the concept really help you? You need to try it for yourself to decide, but make sure you're honest with yourself about your green reading skills and pace control first! No new putter will make up for being poor at those.

The Spider 5k ZT is an interesting putter, made with premium materials that give it a quality feel, especially the SuperStroke grip and the head cover. But it should be at that price point. While this putter isn't for me, it's gone straight into Justin Rose's bag and should definitely be on your "must try" list if you're looking at zero-torque putters.

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