TaylorMade Ghost Spider S Putter Review
Last updated:
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At a glance
- TG Rating
- Owner Rating
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Pros
Ridiculously forgiving and although big, not intimidatingly so.
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Cons
Hardened blade fans might still struggle with the non-traditional appearance.
What we say...
First Hit October 2012
I’ve tried to get on with mallet putters in the past but with very limited success. It’s nothing to do with the shape – I don’t mind them at address – I just don’t feel as confident over short putts as I would with a more traditional blade. So when TaylorMade’s latest Ghost arrived, I was excited to see if I could generate any more success after three years with a Ping Anser in my hands.
The immediate feedback was encouraging – lag putts were generally efficient, and even shorter efforts (which I often slide by the hole) were finding the bottom of the cup.
At address, the putter is a marked improvement on a previous Spider model that I used – the basketball court alignment system may well have worked, but it baffled this punter. Now there’s a solitary white line on a black crown which helped with alignment but also seemed to help (perhaps strangely) with my stroke.
TaylorMade say the putter features a very high MOI, and I certainly found it forgiving, especially off the toe (which I stroked a few from), and the surlyn insert offered a great feel from the face.
This is comfortably the best-performing mallet putter I’ve ever had in my hands, but something still keeps me going back to the blade. Putters are such a personal bit of equipment though, and if a blade-lover such as myself can use the Spider S to decent effect, mallet fans are going to adore it.
The new Ghost Spider S putter has been designed to make it easier to square the face, while the high Moment of Inertia makes the head very hard to twist at impact.
Previous Spider putters have been (with the exception of the Itsy Bitsy) a little cumbersome, but this seems to sit better. The alignment system has been simplified to a white sight line on a black crown while the Surlyn insert gives a soft but predictable feel. Peter Hanson won the KLM Open with it at the start of September.
PGA Tour star Jason Day is another fan: “TaylorMade has taken what we’ve learned from previous Ghost Spider models to create the Ghost Spider S, which is the most stable, forgiving, easy-to-square putter I’ve ever tried.”
Contact: www.taylormadegolf.eu or 0800 072 8624
