Pick a Putter

Recent launches from three putter manufacturers have added to our vast number of options on the green

By Tony Dear

Odyssey, TaylorMade, and L.A.B Golf have all launched new models or added to existing lines in the last couple of weeks. Heel/toe-weighted blades are still being made for golfers who prefer a more traditional look, but mallet head shapes continue to dominate, and zero-torque’s presence in the market continues to grow.

Odyssey S2S Tri-Hot Black
Odyssey released its first S2S Tri-Hot putters at the end of last year. The four models were all center-shafted and had a distinctive red/black color scheme. In April of this year, the line expanded to include putters featuring a Single Bend in the shaft, allowing the shaft to enter the putterhead much closer to the heel and giving the putter a much more conventional look. Now Odyssey has added to the lineup again by giving two center-shafted models (#7 and Jailbird) and four SB models (Rossie, #7, Jailbird, and #7 Cruiser) an all-black finish. The tech is essentially the same as in the original putters. A combination of aluminum, steel, and 140 grams of tungsten in the head allows Odyssey to position the shaft much closer to the head than on other manufacturers’ zero-torque putters, pushing the CG forward. And both center-shafted and SB models feature Odyssey’s Ai-Dual insert, which has two layers (firm inner, soft outer) that enhance feel and combine to produce consistent ball speed no matter where the ball is struck. The insert’s Forward Roll grooves are angled at 19 degrees to promote roll rather than skid

$600
Shaft – black SL 120

The company’s White Damascus Steel putter was introduced around 2016 and was updated in April of this year with the milled Seven, which was available in both crank-hosel and double-bend models. It just released three new Damascus Steel putters featuring the high-end stainless-steel insert that’s made with multiple steel alloys that are forged, folded, and pressed together, then given a special heat treatment to produce a distinctive look and incredible feel. The back of the insert is shaped by AI to prevent loss of ballspeed on off-sweetspot strikes. The SL90 steel shaft has a 20-gram counterweight beneath the grip which promotes stability and helps you swing the putter with better tempo.
The three new models are the wide-bodied ‘One Wide’, the classically shaped ‘Two’, and the ‘Rossie S’, a familiar, compact, and rounded mallet shape that has been an Odyssey favorite for decades. These classy putters are more about craftsmanship, finesse, and precision than High-MOI or zero-torque.

$700
Shaft – SL 90
odysseygolf.com

In September of last year, TaylorMade entered the zero-torque market, which had been anticipating the company’s arrival for some time. When it did eventually release a ZT putter, it combined the zero-torque technology with its best-selling and beloved Spider mallet head shape, creating a Frankenstein of sorts. It proved irresistible and successful, Brian Harman winning on the PGA Tour with a prototype and Haeran Ryu following with a win on the LPGA Tour. Consumers gave it high marks, and sales were buoyant.
TaylorMade is following up with the Spider ZT Max, whose shape is similar to the Spider ZT’s but larger and with the hosel positioned a little further back from the face. What Spider fans appreciate about their putter of choice, though, is very much still a part of this club. With four steel and tungsten corner weights, a lightweight aerospace-grade aluminum body, and the noticeably larger footprint, the Spider ZT Max’s MOI is ultrahigh, and off-center hits are not unduly punished.
The shaft orientation of the original Spider ZT has been retained. The KBS, black PVD, steel shaft meets the head midway between heel and toe and a little back from the face, which prompted TaylorMade to give the shaft 2 degrees of lean and 34mm of offset. That produces a stable, toe-up head that promotes a repeatable stroke. Three TSS weights optimize the swingweight, giving you a profound sense of stability. Milled True Path alignment lines matching a ball’s width exactly will help you start the ball on the correct line. And the black Pure Roll insert, made with Surlyn and aluminum, creates a softer feel and satisfying sound. Grooves angled at 45° promote optimal forward roll. There are three models – Standard, Counterbalance, and the Long, which measures 46 inches top to bottom and has an upright 79-degree lie-angle.

$450 (Standard), $500 (Counterbalance), $550 (Long)
Shaft – KBS CT Putter 120 Black (Standard), KBS Custom Graphite (Counterbalance),  KBS GPS Custom Graphite (Long)

It’s not quite black or copper or brown or bronze…but somewhere in between all of them, depending on whether you’re stood indoors or out and how much sunshine there is (obviously the lighter it is outside, the lighter the hue of the putter)/ The look is called ‘Torched’ and it’s the color of Rory McIlroy’s Spider Tour X which he first put in play at the Tour Championship in 2024. For a while, McIlroy was the only TaylorMade player with a Torched putter, and it was available only in very limited quantities. TaylorMade recently released the Torched Spider Tour line, however, comprising four models – Spider Tour, Tour X, Tour F and Tour V all of which feature different CG depths ranging from 36mm behind the face of the Spider Tour (the deepest CG and, therefore, the most stable model in the lineup) to 21mm on the Tour V whose forward CG makes it feel more like a blade, than a mallet for many golfers. Three of the four come with various necks/hosels and alignment markings and, ideally, you’ll try them all before selecting which one fits your eye and stroke the best.

– Spider Tour – available with a slant-neck or L-neck, and while the slant-neck features the TruePath alignment, the L-neck has a single long alignment line.
– Spider Tour X – there are four models; three with TruePath (L-neck, slant-neck, double-bend) and an L-neck with a single alignment line.
– Spider Tour F – double-bend shaft for those who prefer the feel of a mallet, and L-neck which has more toe hang and feels more like a blade.
– Spider Tour V – available only with an L-neck.

All come with the familiar White TPU Pure Roll insert which combines Surlyn and aluminum with grooves angled downward at 45 degrees to promote roll, not skid. And behind the face of each is a strip of HYBRAR ECHO material which reduces vibration and improves the sound of impact.

$350
Shaft – KBS CT Putter 120 Stepless Black
taylormadegolf.com

Most readers will be familiar with the evolution of L.A.B. Golf putters. They started out fairly large and weird-looking and have grown somewhat smaller and more conventional-looking in the eight short years since Sam Hahn established the company. You get the impression L.A.B/ Golf putters will never look totally ‘normal’, but that’s okay; a little idiosyncratic is fine, within reason.
The company’s new VZN.1i putter is center-shafted, which might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s a fairly regular size and shape (for a mallet). And, after years of focusing on the Lie Angle Balance technology that distinguishes L.A.B.’s putters and made it the first company in the Zero-Torque space (actually the third after Dogleg Right and Axis 1 both of which still exist but without the marketing spend and high visibility of L.A.B.), it is concentrating more this time on alignment with a series of lines at the front, middle, and rear of the head.
The putter’s body is aluminum and a milled, 303 stainless-steel face insert gives impact a solid, yet responsive feel. Available with 0-degree or 1.5-degree of shaft lean.

$499 (Stock); $599 custom
Shaft – matte black steel
labgolf.com