Equipment
Rose breaks through with a counter-balanced putter
To the untrained eye, the putter Justin Rose used to win the 2013 U.S. Open looked much like the black-and-white blade putters he’s used in the past. But even though it looked almost the same, it was the most distinct putter he has ever used.
Rose used a TaylorMade Spider Blade putter to win his first major championship at Merion Golf Club, TaylorMade’s newest putter that has a heavier head and heavier grip to give the putter more stability than the company’s standard putters.
According to Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s product creation manager, Rose loves the look and the feel of the Spider Blade. But what he likes more is the ease with which he can “release,” or square up the putter at impact.
To fine tune the release, Rose had the putter made to 37 5/8 inches. But Rose doesn’t play the putter at that length. He does what he likely did the first time he ever picked up a putter as a child; he chokes up.
According to Bazzel, choking up on a counter-balanced putter gives the putter more stability, as the added weight of the grip and shaft above the hands raises the putter’s balance point. Since Rose prefers standard putters that measure 34.5 inches, he chokes down about three inches, which makes the putter feel normal to him.
The last thing Rose needed to do before putting the Spider Blade in play was deciding on a neck for the putter. TaylorMade offers two different necks for the Spider Blade — an “L,” or “plumber’s neck,” which is better for straighter strokes, and a “short slant” neck that is better for strokes with more face rotation. Rose’s putting coach, David Orr, said that Rose needs the added rotation that the short slant neck provides because it improves the consistency of his release.
Rose feels more confident with the Spider Blade than his other putters, Orr said, because instead of trying to release the toe of the putter during the stroke, he feels like he can “release the entire putter.”
“We’re really pleased with the putter,” Orr said. “It made his posture better, so he can see his line better. And it lets his stroke flow a little better.”
According to Bazzel, Rose’s U.S. Open-winning Spider Blade is the most off-the-rack putter that Rose has used in his career. It features the same PureRoll Suryln insert available on the retail Spider Blade, and aside from a slightly different graphics scheme, the same 15-inch, 130-gram grip.
For golfers seeking even more stability than the Spider Blade can provide, TaylorMade offers its Daddy Long Legs putter (Click here for our full review). The Daddy Long Legs is larger, and has a heavier head than the Spider Blade. It is not available with a short slant neck, however, meaning it is best for straighter strokes. Both putters cost $199, and are available in 35- and 38-inch lengths.
Rose’s Spider Blade Putter Specs:
- Loft: 3.5 degrees
- Lie: 70.5 degrees
- Head weight: 358 grams (3 grams heavier than retail)
- Shaft: 122 grams (TaylorMade tour-only matte black shaft finish)
- Grip: 130 grams
- Total Weight: 610 grams
Click here to see the specs of all the clubs in Rose’s bag.
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
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Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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PuttingDoctor
Jun 20, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Glad to see so many now jumping on what I’ve been doing for the past six years. I use a 32.5″ putter but due to a need to let folks putt with my stick I left it at 34″. I have had a 75G counterweight in it for about five years.
As great as the putter is in and of itself Justin made some stroke changes to accommodate the David Orr tells me.
We’ll look for more success from Justin as he and David tweak this setup for even better results as they test and train on their SAM PuttLabs.
It really is about the #1 club in the bag….the putter!
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jun 28, 2013 at 11:08 pm
@Gulpeg and PuttingDoctor
Not only did I invent counter-balancing in the 20’s, I invented the first version of golf to the native Americans before vacationing in Scotland and explaining it to them. Of course, before all of this I created energy and then made it blow up causing all the matter in the universe to randomly configure itself into the world you all enjoy today. So, I guess you are all very very welcome and no thanks is needed. The journey was the reward.
Ric Flair
Mar 19, 2014 at 4:29 pm
That is absolutely hilarious. A+
Hootiecrash
Jun 20, 2013 at 3:18 pm
it appears in the article that the putter grip itself and his gripping down is what causes the counterbalance. is Rose using a backweighted putter grip? if so, how much weight is being added in the grip?
gulpeg
Jun 19, 2013 at 9:02 pm
oh, the new revelation of a counter weighted grip. sorry, been doin’it for almost 8 years already. i guess some of the personal custom fitters are way ahead of the big boys. but it works
Juan
Jun 19, 2013 at 2:16 pm
So how is this different from the Heavy-putter series?
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jun 28, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Oh, didn’t you get the memo? It’s got DragonBall-Z graphics that your kid will enjoy! AND its fortified with Vitamins A,B and C! Yay!
…that was sarcasm. Its not different. It just won the US Open though so maybe the only good clubs are those that win majors.
Dave
Jun 19, 2013 at 1:23 pm
How much is TM paying all of these golf blogs/websites?! Every single one has an article about this new putter. It’s as if Justin Rose, the #5 ranked player in the world, just came out of no where to win the US Open b/c he switched putters. He also hit a ton of fairways (4th in FIW) and his ballstriking was suburb (9th). His putting was actually only ranked 16th so you could argue it was the least important of these stats (esp at Merion where a missed FW accounted for approx .6 of a stroke lost (the highest of the last 5 US Opens). But for some reason (hmmm) we’re all talking about this putter… the TM PR machine is running at full steam apparenently…
Blanco
Jun 19, 2013 at 2:34 am
what makes this works is despite the counterbalancing, neither side of the club is overly heavy… plus the stepped shaft is extremely soft to flex for a putter shaft.
Joe Golfer
Jun 19, 2013 at 2:08 am
Sounds like a great putter. Thanks, GolfWRX for the new info on this little beauty.
I like that it is counterbalanced.
I’ve tried a counterbalanced driver shaft and a slightly heavier grip, and I like the results. Makes it easier to control the head.
I think this idea will catch on with a lot of other companies also.
Sean
Jun 18, 2013 at 10:46 pm
I’ve been using one for five weeks. Great balance, weight, and feel. It almost putts itself. Nothing is forced.
Harrison
Jun 18, 2013 at 8:25 pm
I just got the putter – switched from a custom shop scotty – I took most of the loft off and made it more upright. It sets up extremely flat, however, all in all sweet putter!
Tate
Jun 18, 2013 at 11:43 am
Bet those 3 extra grams of headweight made all the difference.
DenverB
Jun 18, 2013 at 11:38 am
Please tell me TM is going to release a “JR” version of this putter, with the black shaft and red/yellow grip!
Chuck
Jun 18, 2013 at 11:37 am
He is not anchoring this putter.
Liz | Breaking Eighty
Jun 18, 2013 at 11:12 am
Was curious about this myself, if the counter weighted putter is something that will be deemed illegal down the road.
Brockohol
Jun 18, 2013 at 10:31 am
Yes he was…at least to my interpretation of the new stupid rules.
This thing will fly off the shelves this summer just like the 2 Ball, Ghost, etc…Its a weird feel but I have tried the longer ones and they do feel great choked down like Rose does. Almost impossible not to have a smooth pendulum motion. Now we just need a putter that reads the break and how hard to hit it.
cnitty
Jun 18, 2013 at 11:18 am
Wait… how was he “anchoring” it?
Brockohol
Jun 19, 2013 at 11:16 am
I meant yes, he was using in accordance to new rules.
Mat
Jun 17, 2013 at 11:59 pm
Just for clarity, was he using it in a 2016-legal way?
G
Jun 18, 2013 at 2:54 am
Jack
Jun 18, 2013 at 4:52 am
Why not? He wasn’t anchoring it I don’t see.