Taylormade Spider OS putter review

I was a blade fan from birth, graduated to a half-moon style in my early twenties, but not I can confess to being a mallet man after using TaylorMade’s Spider OS putter.

Also Read: Best Golf Putters

Mallet putters are best suited to a straight back, straight forward putting stroke, and this face balanced putter follows suit. However, some golfers with a slight arc may find the Spider OS works for their stroke – the only way to find out is to give it a test.

Looks

This has a more compact, chunky look compared to most over-sized putters, particularly the TaylorMade Daddy Long Legs. 

From the top, you can almost see parallel lines from the edge of the face to the back of the putter, which helped me line up to the hole.

The red alignment line contrasts with the black featured on the main body, and the splashes of silver, and red on the backside, are appealing. However, we did prefer the all-black look of the Spider OS CB, although this comes down to personal preference.  

The finish on the silver parts of the putter is sleek, while the more matted finish on the black areas are a pleasing added extra. The large face area should inspire confidence in the most nervous of putters.

The overall design is beautiful, especially to look down upon. 

Performance

Most players reach for the mallet to help them hole more short putts, and the TaylorMade Spider OS will not let them down in this respect. 

From ten feet and in, this putter is lethal. Boasting a high MOI, you shouldn’t suffer from any twisting of the face through impact – it even managed to stop my yips, which is a truly herculean effort. 

The raised, red alignment aid makes this particularly easy to line up with the hole, and the entire design of the putter seems to work its way towards the hole. 

This was particularly useful on lag putts, as I could easily envisage the line I needed to follow in order for the ball to bend into the hole. 

The head feels weighty, and tips the scales at 350 grams, which promotes a smooth and fluid stroke, which will help route out and jerky, nerve-induced jabs. 

Short putts are clearly a strong area for the Spider OS, but the most impressive aspect are its areas of perceived weaknesses – feel and performance from distance. 

The deep milled 6061 aluminium insert produces a soft but crisp feel, which offered enough feedback from distance to promote confidence matter how far you find yourself lining up from. 

The insert has been vertically milled to reduce backspin, and we were particularly impressed with how quickly the ball starts rolling end-over-end off the face.  

There is a large amount of forgiveness on offer, thanks to a huge sweet spot on the face. The insert spans the entirety of the face, and while distance control and feel reduces as you stray from the centre, there is still a staggering amount of performance on show as you stray from the middle of the bat. 

Verdict

The TaylorMade Spider OS is lethal from close range, but also performs admirably from distance. It boasts a crisp feel, and the large sweet spot offers help on off-centre hits. 

A leader in the mallet category for 2016.

Head to the TaylorMade website for more information.