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Scheffler switched to TaylorMade’s Spider Tour X putter on the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
TaylorMade
On a cool Tuesday morning at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Membership and Lodge, Scottie Scheffler strolled over to his workers bag and unsheathed a TaylorMade Spider Tour X putter that was hiding beneath a black headcover emblazoned with a multi-colored Spider emblem.
The sight of the previous Masters champion wielding another putter began to assemble steam and rapidly grew to become a full-blown story on social media. Scheffler could also be golf’s “most charming” participant, but when there was a subject the 27-year-old had grown uninterested in discussing, it was the balky putter.
It additionally didn’t assist that Scheffler’s ball-striking was in a stratosphere as soon as reserved for Tiger Woods. Scheffler was gaining strokes on the sector in bunches from tee to inexperienced. Then he’d choose up the putter and begin giving them again at an alarming fee.
If you’re the top-ranked participant on this planet, downside golf equipment and equipment adjustments are magnified and dissected by speaking heads and friends — including Rory McIlroy — which isn’t perfect whenever you’re attempting to focus by yourself sport and block out the noise.
Scheffler’s choice to make use of a mallet at Bay Hill made some surprise if McIlroy’s recommendation had hit residence. Had it actually come to this? By the top of the week, the chatter round Scheffler’s putter had all however disappeared following a five-shot win over Wyndham Clark on a demanding Bay Hill format the place No. 1 gained greater than 4 photographs on the sector with the putter. Sure, gained photographs.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
“I used to be with him that entire week and he didn’t make one adjustment [to the putter],” TaylorMade Tour rep Adrian Rietveld instructed GOLF.com. “He was able to go the second he stepped foot on the grounds.”
The putter remained heat the subsequent week throughout one other win on the Gamers Championship. And identical to that, Scheffler was being in comparison with “peak Tiger.” It’s humorous how narratives can change within the blink of an eye fixed.
Throughout his post-round press convention on Sunday night at TPC Sawgrass, Scheffler was requested what had immediately modified together with his placing. Positive, the putter swap performed a job in his resurgence on the greens, however as Scheffler famous, work during the last six months with putting coach Phil Kenyon had made him “extra engaged within the [putting] course of.” This was merely Scheffler attempting one thing totally different that labored.
Ask Rietveld concerning the work that went into getting Scheffler a profitable putter and he chuckles.
“Oh, there’s extra to it than merely getting a single Spider in Scottie’s fingers,” Rietveld mentioned. “What everybody sees is Scottie exhibiting up at Bay Hill with one thing totally different. However loads went into that second.”
Answering the bell
It began with a putter request, however not the type Rietveld is used to receiving. Placing coach Phil Kenyon joined Scheffler’s group after the 2023 Tour Championship and instantly began making changes to his new pupil’s setup and putter. It started with an Anser-style Scotty Cameron Tremendous Rat 1 that includes a bigger SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 grip on the Ryder Cup.
A famous blade putter person for many of his profession, Kenyon needed to see how Scheffler responded to the adjustments in Rome’s cauldron. However he hadn’t given up on the thought of getting Scheffler take a look at mallets as nicely. Specifically, TaylorMade’s Spider mallet.
Rietveld remembers the request that originally got here from Kenyon: 15 Spider putters with totally different hosels, sight traces, face designs, toe hangs and heart of gravity places.
The request bordered on extreme, however TaylorMade’s putter group obliged.
“Phil needed to see how he reacted to totally different mixtures,” mentioned Rietveld. “It was a trial and error experiment.”
TaylorMade
Earlier testing and conversations led Scheffler to present Spider a go throughout final 12 months’s FedEx Cup playoffs. Solely this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill Spider. The Spider Tour X Proto he employed in Memphis on the FedEx St. Jude Championship boasted a milled face and ahead CG that allowed the top to rotate like a blade with mallet properties.
“I’ve at all times favored the visible of that Spider putter, however I actually simply didn’t like the texture,” Scheffler mentioned in the course of the occasion. “That’s one thing we mentioned, sort of the texture.
“… I’ve at all times struggled with putters which have a variety of weight within the again facet of it, and this one is a bit totally different than a variety of the Spiders that they’ve made, and the load is extra within the entrance so it has the texture of a blade putter that I like but it surely additionally has a variety of that visible on the highest the place it’s simpler for me to line up.”
The putter didn’t final lengthy in Scheffler’s bag, which led some to surprise if the famous blade person was higher off returning to a well-recognized appear and feel. Recency bias says Scheffler prefers blades over mallets, however in the event you dig into his historical past, you’ll discover two of his largest junior wins got here with a mallet in his fingers.
“I keep in mind in junior golf I used sort of a mallet sort putter head and I believe it was the putter I used after I gained the [2013] U.S. Junior [Amateur] and I gained the [2014] Junior Invitational, which on the time have been sort of like the 2 largest junior tournaments,” Scheffler mentioned.
TaylorMade Spider Tour X Putter
$349.99
STABILITY FOR THE WIN
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.
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Even Rietveld believed Scheffler was destined to finish up in a mallet, even when the primary one didn’t land.
“He can learn and hit putts nearly as good as anybody on this planet,” mentioned Rietveld. “I keep in mind watching him putt [with the TaylorMade Spider Tour X Proto] throughout final 12 months’s playoffs and selecting up on how good he was in these areas. I had little question he had it in him. It was merely discovering a mallet that labored.”
All set
Within the months that adopted the playoffs, Scheffler continued to check totally different putters, together with a custom offering from Logan Olson that performed a job in his 2023 Hero World Problem triumph. Scheffler felt as if he was trending in the suitable course on the greens, however the putter remained on a good leash.
Unconvinced he had the most suitable choice within the bag, Scheffler made a name to Rietveld on the Thursday earlier than the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a request: he needed to present the Spider Tour X Proto one other probability.
“He known as me and mentioned, ‘Do you’ve got any extra of these prototype putters?” Rietveld recalled. “He needed a pair at totally different lengths as a result of he was toying with the size of the putter.”
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Then got here the ask Rietveld didn’t see coming: “Proper on the finish of the decision, he mentioned, ‘Do me a favor and make me an all bells and whistles Spider putter.’”
In Scheffler-speak, this meant an L-neck hosel with all the pieces Spider needed to provide by way of know-how, constructed to his present specs. As a substitute of attempting to get Spider to carry out like a blade, Scheffler was now prepared to present the off-the-rack model a shot.
Usually Scheffler’s ask would been a layup for TaylorMade to meet, but it surely was 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon at headquarters and transport was closed.
“After I went to the putter group on Thursday, I felt actually unhealthy asking for greater than Scottie was already asking for,” Rietveld mentioned. “We had despatched so many putters to him up to now, and it was on very quick discover. However they nonetheless put collectively the additional choices with out fail.
Winner’s bag: Scottie Scheffler’s winning gear at the Players Championship
“I used to be tremendous pleased with the work our guys did. To have the ability to flip these putters round with the suitable sight traces and specs and get them there by 10 a.m. on Saturday was unimaginable. Simply a tremendous turnaround.”
With the putters in Scheffler’s fingers, Rietveld waited to see how issues performed out. Then got here the textual content: “I’m all set. Thanks for the work.”
“I didn’t know what that meant or which putter he’d flip up with,” Rietveld mentioned. “What he says he’s all set, he really means he’s all set and that’s that. I didn’t know if he was turning up with one of many preliminary 15 that have been set or the final batch. At that time, I simply notified our group that they may anticipate a Spider turning up at Bay Hill.”
Second of reality
Curious to know the place he landed with the Spider, Rietveld made his strategy to the follow inexperienced at Bay Hill on Tuesday and noticed Kenyon standing behind Scheffler as he rolled putts with an off-the-rack Spider Tour X. Higher often known as the “oh-by-the-way” putter Scheffler requested as he obtained off the telephone with Rietveld.
After initially balking on the concept of utilizing one thing with a PureRoll insert and perimeter weighting, Scheffler discovered the top, together with a single sightline, to be the very best match for his stroke.
“This wasn’t a one-hit surprise,” mentioned Rietveld. “We didn’t simply get fortunate. When Scottie turned up at Bay Hill, he was set. It simply so occurred to be the putter you should purchase off the shelf.”
TaylorMade Spider Tour X Proto Putter
$499.99
SPIDER TOUR X PROTO
Originally a Tour exclusive, Spider Tour X Proto is now available in limited quantities. This rare design is meticulously crafted to shift the center of gravity (CG) as far forward as possible, while preserving True Path™ Alignment and structural stability of the Spider franchise.
BLADE-LIKE FEEL, SPIDER STABILITY
Deliberate weight distribution places the CG in a forward position for increased face rotation (similar to a blade) while still maintaining stability and control during your stroke. This fusion of material and CG placement provides a unique advantage to golfers who prefer blade-like performance without compromising forgiveness.
ADVANCED ALIGNMENT: TRUE PATH ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Precision putting starts with perfect alignment. With TaylorMade’s True Path Alignment system, the Spider Tour X Proto helps you visualize the ideal line to the hole while matching your club face to the path.
FINE-TUNED PRECISION: TSS WEIGHTING
Consistency is key in putting, and the Spider Tour X Proto ensures it with TSS weighting. Precision-engineered weights create optimal stability and pinpoint swing weighting for enhanced consistency.
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Watching Scheffler from residence over the previous couple of weeks, Rietveld has witnessed the advantages a mallet putter can present, even for probably the greatest gamers on this planet. There’s validation in understanding you have been heading in the right direction.
“You knew he was doing the suitable factor,” he mentioned. “[Scottie] does mishit putts occasionally, and the forgiveness of the mallet putter — there’s not an individual on this planet that may inform me a mallet doesn’t outperform a blade on off-center hits. It’s an absolute truth. And Scottie isn’t the one one who mishits putts.
“I noticed it on the Gamers. Watching his spherical, there have been some putts the place his fingers lifted and he obtained that heel strike. The putter nonetheless obtained to its quantity, identical to a forgiving iron.”
Whereas Rietveld is fast to present Spider its due, he is aware of that success in the end comes all the way down to the participant and their skill to make the membership work for them. There’s no such factor as a magic bullet. Requested to call the variety of gamers he’s labored with who commit absolutely to the product the second they put it within the bag, Rietveld got here up with 5 names: Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen.
“They offer the product its respect and due diligence, however as soon as that’s set, it’s again to them,” he mentioned. “They’re the expertise. The gear is the gear. It doesn’t even matter that the putter is there. It may very well be in his fingers for someday or 5 years. It’s now about him. I’m the putter. I’m the expertise. I’m the one who’s going to win this event. Not that membership. There aren’t many who assume like that.”
If there’s one factor that group has in frequent, it’s main championship {hardware}. With Spider within the bag, Scheffler is hoping to extend his haul with the Masters rapidly approaching.
Wish to overhaul your bag for 2024? Discover a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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