Equipment

TaylorMade TP Patina putters offer seven options with thicker insert for improved feel, roll

August 12, 2019
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The TaylorMade TP Patina putter collection may get attention for its distinctive tarnished finish, but it’s what’s not seen that is the hallmark for improvement in the company’s lineup of traditional putters.

While TaylorMade’s putter lineup has gotten the majority of attention for its high-stability, alignment-focused Spider mallets, including this year’s Spider X, the company also has offered the more traditional TP collection of blades and smaller mallets. But within the TP lineup is some of the same technology now found in the Spider X. Specifically, one key to the Spider X is the grooved face insert that was thickened in this year’s model to enhance feel. The TP Patina putters, a followup to 2018's TP Black Copper collection, utilize that same thicker face insert with screws tightening the soft aluminum insert to eliminate voids between the body of the putter and the insert for a more solid feel. The new insert is five millimeters thicker than past versions.

The face insert also features the groove technology (now called “PureRoll”) that TaylorMade has developed over the last 15 years. The key element to the grooves is their 45-degree downward angle to reduce backspin on the initial launch of a putt, said Paul Demkowski, senior product development manager. The grooves are designed to get the ball into a forward roll orientation quicker compared to traditional flat face putters.

“What we see with a neutral attack angle with a putter is on average 25 rpm’s of backspin on a flat putter face,” he said. “With our surlyn inserts that we have on the Spider putters, we see about 25 rpm’s of forward roll, and with the aluminum, we’re seeing about 45 rpm’s of forward roll.”

The TP Patina collection comprises seven models and all models vary in weight depending on putter length (slightly heavier heads with the 34-inch models vs. the 35-inch). Under separate purchase, each features adjustable screw weights (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15 and 20 grams) to vary the weight by user preference through a custom fitting. The seven heads include three blades (Soto, Juno and Del Monte) and four mallets (Ardmore 1, 2 and 3 and DuPage). Each also utilizes a Super Stroke Pistol GT 1.0 grip.

The TP Patina putters will be available at retail Sept. 6 ($250).