Throughout 2026, the putter has proven to be a critical component of winners on the PGA Tour, with one particular brand standing head and shoulders above the rest.
Featuring in five of the first six wins on the PGA Tour, the TaylorMade Spider range was in the hands of Rory McIlroy for his Masters title, as he used it for both his historic 2025 and 2026 Green Jacket victories.
The putter in question was the TaylorMade Spider Tour X, which was first introduced to his bag at the 2024 Tour Championship, where it has remained ever-since.
In fact, four of the current world's top 10 use a Spider model of sorts, and a total of 40% of the world's top 20 possess a Spider Tour putter in their bags.
Ranked among the best putters money can buy, it's understandable why they're so popular, and it's the launch of a new proto TaylorMade Spider Tour range that is catching the eye at RBC Heritage, this week.
The proto TaylorMade Spider Tour and Tour X are the main standouts, but it appears other shapes are forming, specifically the Spider Tour V and Spider Tour F, as photographed by GolfWRX.
Snapped pictures of all the new @TaylorMadeGolf Spiders here @RBC_Heritage📸 First the new Spider Tour F. Used by Pierceson Coody on Tour already and tested by Tommy Fleetwood. It’s a winged or fanged (F) mallet design. pic.twitter.com/0egWUKYFGbApril 13, 2026
As of now, little is know about the new prototype models, but the colorway appears to be similar to that of McIlroy's, a bronze-type finish that has yielded many excellent results.
Recently, Tommy Fleetwood was among the notable names to change his flat stick, albeit subtly. He had been trialing a TaylorMade Tour F, but the fang-shaped design didn't last long as he reverted back to his current Spider Tour gamer.
One slight change was the sightline on the crown. Previously, he used a Spider model with Sharpie marks but, at the Valero Texas Open, it was replaced by a putter with two parallel milled lines and a dot.
Speaking about the putter at the Valero Texas Open, the Englishman stated: "I haven't played how I wanted to and sometimes it's nothing more into it than you just need something different to look at, like a slightly different visual or something just to change up your mindset a little bit.
"That new Spider, beautiful putter. So I used to try the hundreds of different putters, but I used like the same putter for about eight years.
"I tried less putters over the last year, but I still enjoying just tinkering because you never know what you're going to find, even if it just makes you feel better about your putter.
"I just like hitting different putters. Who knows, it might be something."
One thing we do know is that Pierceson Coody seems to have put the new TaylorMade Spider putter in-play, using it for his last few tournaments.
The sole plate of the new flat sticks also appears to be similar to that of TaylorMade's zero-torque model, the 5K-ZT, with further information, likely, coming to light over the coming months.
