By Ed Travis
For over 10 years TaylorMade has made one of the game’s most popular putters and consistently leads the field as the most played model on the PGA Tour. TaylorMade Golf was pushed from the top metal wood sales by Callaway, plus they have not been successful expanding their golf ball sales to compete with Titleist’s Pro V1, but the Spider putter has been a smashing success.
Bill Price, TaylorMade’s Senior Director for Product Creation for Putters & Wedges expressed it well, 
“When we first introduced the original Spider putter in 2008, we never could have anticipated the global phenomenon it has become. With widespread adoption on tours around the world, not only has it become one of the company’s top-selling putters of all time, it has truly shifted the paradigm of putter design toward high-MOI mallets. I’m proud to have played a role in the evolution of Spider and what it has become today.”
The new Spider X follows the basic ideas that made all the Spider models so effective. Extremely high resistance to twisting coupled with a Pure Roll insert face gives excellent distance control–the key to making more putts.
The weights in the rear have been more integrated to the body with a more streamlined shape. The original weights used in the Spider models have been replaced with three choices: 2-gram aluminum, 6-gram steel or 12-gram tungsten.
Design of the new Spider X was done in conjunction with the Vision Sports division at Indiana University and augments the single alignment line of the old Spider Tour with a rather bold strip half the width of the ball. According to the research this is the best for an improved path, clearer vision and better perception due to the contrasting white color.
TaylorMade’s extensive testing of more than 12,000 12-foot putts, proved that 66% of the time, the weight distribution of the Spider X with the new visual alignment received more center-face putts.
The Pure Roll surlyn face on the Spider X is thicker than its predecessor, plus the grooves are cut deeper to give more “grip” to the ball, thus top spin is more readily imparted. Additional weight on the outside of the frame was achieved with a slight alteration to the overall shape. The head is slightly smaller, but with the heavier steel frame and lightweight composite keeps the Spider X comfortable to use.
Summary:
The TaylorMade Golf Spider X putter has a more compact head and changeable rear weights. The thicker surlyn face has deeper grooves for better contact with the ball. It retails in shops for $349.99.
