Now is the time of year where we usually see players going through equipment changes, with new gear being released from the various brands.
Just recently, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood have been spotted with new TaylorMade Qi4D drivers and fairway woods, while another TaylorMade staffer has also changed his set-up, albeit not in the top section of his bag.
Collin Morikawa, who signed with the brand when he turned professional in 2019, has undergone numerous putter changes over the past 18 months and, just recently, revealed a new flatstick would be making its way into his set-up.
Posting to his Instagram, the two-time Major winner was spotted using an all-black TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT, with Morikawa writing a humorous caption that read:
"Dear Santa. First on my Christmas list is to make more putts. This is the (new) putter I’m currently gaming. Whether it’s in the form of a putter, no 3 putts or some lucky breaks on the greens, truthfully, I’ll take any. More to come on the wishlist…"
It's the first time that the American has opted for a zero torque model of putter, and is the sixth model he has trialed in 2025.
At the start of the year, he had the TaylorMade TP Soto in play, a blade-style flatstick. Although it remained in the bag, he swapped the silver finish to a matte black color in March, alternating between the two until the RBC Heritage.
During that Signature Event, a TaylorMade Spider Tour V with an L-neck made its way into his set-up for one round, before he returned back to the TP Soto.
Again, these models were regularly switched out until the Travelers Championship, where a Logan Olson blade-style was in the bag for the week.
That putter was swiftly changed to a prototype Spider at the Rocket Classic though, after admitting he "putted like a blind man" during the first round. Morikawa then moved back to his trusty TP Soto, a model that won him his two Majors.
Keeping the same putter in the bag, the next big change came at the Procore Championship, where Morikawa was pictured with a center-shafted TaylorMade Spider Tour V.
It remained in the bag for that event and the Ryder Cup, before the L-neck version resurfaced at the Baycurrent Classic, his last competitive start of the season.
For 2025, Morikawa ranked 156th in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour and 160th in Total Putting, with the 28-year-old claiming two runner-up finishes throughout the year.
Back in June, JJ Spaun claimed the first Major title for zero torque putters, wielding a L.A.B Golf DF3. He is one of many players to put the style of flatstick into the bag, with recent FedEx Open de France winner, Michael Kim, detailing the positives and negatives of using one.
Claiming "(It's) very easy to start putts online," Kim also added: "A ZT putter might only be a minimal improvement on that (start line) and until you fix your set up, it might not do too much good...
"A lot of pros have transitioned to one because it just feels easier to start putts online and more and more guys are transitioning."
