There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What We Tried
TaylorMade MySpider EX Custom putter interface The online design interface that allows golfers to create customized versions of TaylorMade’s new Spider EX putter.
Your Custom Builder
Dave Wolfe MyGolfSpy writer and putter fanatic. I’ve tested hundreds (maybe thousands) of flatsticks.
TaylorMade MySpider EX Interface
As I have mentioned, the number of options is the most significant feature of the digital putter design interfaces. If the Spider EX you build is going to be your Spider EX, then you need enough variation to make it just that. Here are the options available with the MySpider EX program:
Build Options: TaylorMade MySpider EX
- Head: Spider EX
- Dexterity: Right or left
- Head Finish: 14 different paint options
- Hosel: Single bend, flow neck, short slant, L neck
- Custom Engraving: Add up to 8 laser-engraved characters at 3 different spots on the putter sole. Choose from 14 different paint fills.
- Alignment Scheme: 4 different alignment options without the Sight Line Track. If you add the track, you have 2 options for sight dots. 11 color options for the dot and line alignment components and 14 for the Sight Line Track.
- Face Insert: 20 different paint options for the Pure Roll2 insert with co-molded grooves.
- TaylorMade Badge: 14 color options for badge at rear of putter
- Sole Plate Colors: 7
- Weight Color Options: 2 (black or silver)
- Shaft: Fluted Feel™ Shaft
- Shaft Band Color: 8 options
- Length: 32-37 inches
- Loft: up to +/- 1° weak or strong
- Lie: up to +/- 2° upright or flat
- Grip: Various SuperStroke, Golf Pride and Lamkin models. Most color options in SuperStroke 1.0 GTR.
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As you can see, the MySpider EX designer gives you a bunch of options. The math moves quickly into large number land when you try to calculate the total number of different putters you can make. The breadth of options has been a key feature of the other TaylorMade design interfaces and it is great to see that continue with the MySpider EX system.
Like the other putter designers, most of the options relate to color. However, there are a few new choices in the MySpider EX worth noting.
Left-Handed Options
I know that exclusion is always a point of contention for our left-handed golfers. This time around the lefties have the same options as the righties. This includes the neck options as well as all the color options.
Alignment Schemes
The TaylorMade MySpider EX designer features a bevy of possible alignment combinations. Three different components combine into the overall alignment scheme. First, you choose if you want the Sight Line Tracks or not. If you do, then you choose between two sight dot schemes. Naturally, your design need not include the Sight Line Tracks. In this case you have five alignment options: a single dot, three dots, no line, a short line, or a long line. Lastly, you pick the True Path color.
With the MySpider X designer, you had the option of white True Path or no True Path. Now you can make that True Path section any color you want. If you don’t like the True Path scheme, just select the same color as your body color and it goes away.
Combine all of those choices, adding in the color choices, and you have your personal aiming arrangement.
Face Insert Colors
The MySpider EX designer gives you 20 different face color options. First, you choose the main color. Then you decide to pair that main color option with a black or white border. Perhaps the new manufacturing process for the PureRoll2 insert gives them additional options for color. All in all, this is by far the most face options on a putter to date.
Loft, Length and Lie
One of the complaints that consumers had with the previous MySpider X and MyTP programs was the inability to customize the loft and lie of the putter. TaylorMade has fixed that with the MySpider EX designer, allowing you to order the loft up to +/- 1° weak or strong and the lie up to +/- 2° upright or flat. Unfortunately, this new option has yet to be added retroactively to the previous design interfaces.
Dave’s MySpider EX: The Purple People Eater
Based upon my previous TaylorMade custom build experiences, I had high expectations for the MySpider EX interface. So far, building custom TaylorMade putters has been quick and easy. Thankfully, the MySpider EX designer proved to be more of the same.
TaylorMade has done an excellent job of making sure that you can easily navigate all the options. Additionally, once you select an option, all photos update to reflect your choice. I did experience a bit of lag in the software here but nothing significant enough to produce frustration.
As always, you can probably expect to spend the most time on color selection. The True Path color choice was an interesting one as it wraps around the face rather than just sitting on top of the putter as it did with the Spider X. It is something to consider when you are selecting insert color. The potential for color clashes on the face is high. Still, it is yet another way to give your putter a unique look.
Ultimately, I went nearly all in on purple. I know, it’s a shocking decision for me as my purple-philia is well documented. It was actually the laser engraving that sealed the deal as I could give this purple people eater some defining ink.
The purple paint is actually amazing on this putter. Much richer than the purple on my Spider Tour. I don’t know if this new paint will hold up better than the old did. That said, it definitely looks better at this point.
TaylorMade MySpider EX Interface Issues: None
Like I said, the TaylorMade MySpider EX interface is solid. It’s easy to use and quickly shows you how changes in design change your putter. I think it is great that you can now have the putter bent to your desired loft and lie. Maybe the only lingering “ding” comes in the grip department. If you want a SuperStroke 1.0 GTR, then you have lots of color options. If not, you have two other grips to choose from.
Satisfaction and Value
Don’t tell the others but this is my favorite MySpider to date. The computer rendering was close but ultimately understated compared to the finished product. The purple color just pops. I can’t pin down a single element that did not meet or exceed my expectation.
The engravings on the sole are clean. The fact that you have three positions with eight characters each really opens your creative options. You can add your kids’ names to the bottom or your pet’s. You can almost write a haiku. Or you can skip that choice entirely if words on a putter are not your thing.
The cost of the MySpider EX putter is $450. This makes it about $100 more than a stock Spider EX and more expensive than the other TaylorMade MySpider and MyTP designers. You will need to decide if that extra hundred is worth it to you. I feel like the number of choices justifies the extra cost. If you don’t, then just buy a stock version.
In related news, the MySpider X and MySpider Tour designers are currently on sale. The MySpider X is $399.99 and the MySpider Tour is only $299.99.
The Takeaway
TaylorMade has a good thing going with their online putter interfaces. The MySpider EX is the best one so far and not just because the resulting putter is super purple. It’s the addition of lie and loft customization that is the most encouraging, showing how TaylorMade is listening to consumers and making the new incarnations of the designer better than the last. The full-spectrum lefty love is nice to see as well.
The big bummer is that it will take about four to five weeks for your putter to arrive. This shouldn’t be too shocking as we all know that supply chains are all messed up right now. This delay may put your putter arrival past your golf season but you still have lots of time to get one built for holiday fun. If you make a jack-o’-lantern themed MySpider EX, you should have it well before Halloween. Winter holiday putter gifts (to yourself or others) should arrive with time to spare.
Design your own at TaylorMadegolf.com.
JustOneMore
3 years ago
Like the look, but I would have to bend over to pickup my ball. Need to have a ball scoop ability :-)