TaylorMade Spider GTX, Spider Max putters

Price: $449 with Black steeped KBS shaft and SuperStroke 1.0 grip
Specs: Aluminum chassis with two 40-gram moveable weights and grooved face insert. 34-inch and 35-inch lengths with single bend and small slant hosel styles
Available: Feb. 24

TaylorMade began offering adjustable drivers in 2003 with the r7 Quad. That club allowed golfers to move weights in the head and shift the center of gravity.

Several versions of the TaylorMade Spider putters have used the same weights screws to shift the center of gravity and allow fitters to adjust the swing weight. The new Spider GT Max takes things to another level.

In the address position the GT Max is reminiscent of last season’s Spider GT with an aluminum top and a pair of black wing-style extensions in the heel and toe. But flipping the club over reveals two 40-gram tungsten weights that independently slide in tracks.

The GT Max has two 40-gram weights that slide in tracks. (TaylorMade)

Just as moveable weights shift the center of gravity in drivers, moving these weights to different positions in the rails moves the center of gravity in the Spider GT Max.

Why would you want to shift the center of gravity of a putter?

TaylorMade studies have shown that center of gravity can relate to players’ ability to square the face at impact. TaylorMade said golfers who tend to pull putts, which means missing to the left for a right-handed player, are over-rotating the face, so using a Spider GT Max with its weights in the back could be good because it will slow the putter’s face rotation. The result should be, TaylorMade said, that the putter’s face squares more often.

The weights can be positioned anywhere in the tracks. (TaylorMade)

Conversely, golfers who block putts or miss to the right need more face rotation. Positioning the weights in the forward positions should help reduce the right miss for right-handed players.

Players and fitters can fine-tune the weight positions to match the golfer’s needs.

It is important to note that the torque wrench that comes with the Spider GT Max is only to be used with the putter. Don’t use a wrench made for TaylorMade’s adjustable woods.

The Spider GT Max has TaylorMade’s True Path alignment system on the top. It features a wide white area with a single black line in the center, making it easier to get the sweet spot directly behind the ball and aim the face along your intended target line.

Finally,…