First Look – TaylorMade Ghost Tour Series Putters

It’s Time to Come Clean

I have a confession to make. I don’t hate TaylorMade putters.

Actually…that’s not the complete truth of the matter. The full truth…and it pains me to admit this publicly…I actually like TaylorMade putters.

There…I said it.

I’m such a toolbag.

Look, I’m no different than a lot of you reading this. I love Bettinardi putters, and to a lesser extent Scotty Camerons too. Like most anyone else, I can see the beauty in a Gene Nead, or T.P. Mills design.

I’m not blind.

I would love to bag one of those semi-boutique to boutique putters. I’m not even put-off by the $350+ price tag.

I’ve tried a bunch, some with more success than others, and yet, try as I might to be one of the cool kids who putts with artwork, I keep finding my way back to less expensive, mass-produced (oh, the horror!), non-milled putters from the likes of TaylorMade and Odyssey.

Shame on me.

My only defense is that I like making birdies…and the occasional eagle.

We won’t talk about that 11 I carded during my Club Championship…except to say that it was a 1-putt, 11, which is nice.

She’s Got a Nice Personality

The story coming out of TaylorMade is that they took a full year working on the aesthetics of the new Ghost Tour Series. The goal was to create a stunningly beautiful lineup of putters.

Look, I’m not saying TaylorMade wasted their time, or failed or anything rotten like that, but the reality is that when it comes to the aesthetics of putter design, TaylorMade isn’t (and my hunch is they have no desire to) playing at the same level as some others.

If for whatever reason you find yourself disagreeing with that last statement, go check out BettinardiTourStock.com and then get back to me.

My point is that, for now anyway, TaylorMade has voluntary pigeon-holed themselves as a company who makes nothing but white putters with inserts. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does limit your options as far as getting creative goes, and it most certainly limits your consumer appeal.

Are they ugly putters? No (unless you despise white putters – in which case, yes, they’re hideous), but you’re probably not going to find the homecoming queen in this crowd either (unless you’re from Iowa).

Subtle Refinements

What TaylorMade has done (at least judging by the 3 samples they sent us) is make subtle refinements to what are admittedly the staples of most any putter lineup. Of the 3 models TaylorMade sent (Daytona 12, Seabring 62, and Fontana 72), the Daytona 12  (Anser 2 style) is the one that most appeals to me, perhaps because it’s not dissimilar from my current gamer.

Unlike the relatively bland (grey or black/white) finish on the sole of previous Ghost releases, TaylorMade chose to put a mirror-black, ion-plated finish on the new Tour series. While it’s a small detail, and largely inconsequential as far as functionality goes, it’s TaylorMade’s best sole work in recent memory…maybe ever.

If you can get past whatever issues you have with white paint, and inserts…strip all of that away and what you’re left with is a putter with soft flowing lines, a perfectly balanced sole, and (let me chose my words carefully) feel – at least for the 2 blade designs – that’s not unlike what you get from carbon steel millings.

Feel in the Fontana mallet is more muted, and insert-IER…more inserty…insertish…you get the point.

Sans the white paint, if the same designs came out of Cameron’s studio, nobody would think any less of him.

The feel thing might come as a shock to those of you who have experience with other TaylorMade inserts. Feel, in my opinion, has never been the strength of the TaylorMade putter line, but with the new lineup, that may have changed a bit.

The new Ghost Tour series features a new insert which TaylorMade is calling the 8020 Pure Roll. While the name 8020 might suggest some form of steel-based metallurgy, the latest incarnation of PureRoll is actually 80% Surlyn and 20% Aluminum (I see what they did there).

For the sake of comparison, the current generation of counterbalanced putters (Spider Blade, Daddy Long Legs, etc.) features a 100% Surlyn insert, which offers a much more muted (really insert-like) feel.  The counterbalanced design actually benefits from the muted feel, but my hunch is that I’d like Daddy Long Legs a whole lot more with the 8020 in it.

It’s All About Alignment

Sure…you can tweak feel, and refine the design aesthetics, but short of doing something different (like counterbalancing) it’s pretty difficult to make any actual performance improvements to the putters themselves.

Nobody is looking for 10 more yards, or even 10 more feet from their putter.

Instead, the putter performance story is often one of alignment.

Odyssey basically won the Pulitzer with their Versa alignment story, but TaylorMade has an alignment story of their own to tell…and it’s not the worst one I’ve ever heard.

As with most things TaylorMade these days, the story includes a chapter on contrast. The white top line contrasts with the green hues of the putting surface, and while it’s not a story TaylorMade appears to be telling, the contrasting black, non-insert portion of the face can provide a visual indicator if you’ve got the face open at address.

That’s not bad, but the alignment ‘trick’ I find most useful is what TaylorMade calls the First and Second Read Alignment System. The linear alignment system, which  is also built into the counterbalance series, features a primary sight line inside the cavity that’s paired with a series of contrasting (white), narrow secondary alignment lines which frame the ball perfectly, and in theory, make it much easier to align the putter to the target.

It works very well for me. Actual mileage, especially for guys who loathe any sort of sight line,  may vary.

The Verdict

Like I said…I mostly like TaylorMade putters (their wedges…umm…not so much), and there’s definitely nothing in this new crop that makes me think any less of them. The refinements are relatively subtle but come together nicely in a series of designs that are arguably the most sophisticated TaylorMade has released since Kia Ma’s name was on their putters.

It nearly goes without saying that if you’re not a fan of white, the new Ghost Tour Series doesn’t offer much incentive to give TaylorMade another look. This is, however, TaylorMade we’re talking about, so wait 3 months…you never know.

For those who were on the fence, or just didn’t get on-board with the counterbalance thing, it’s conceivable you’ll find something you like in this group.

Me…as intrigued as I am by the Daytona 12, I’m sticking with my current gamer.

Couterbalance, baby!

Models, Price, and Availability

The new Ghost Tour Series features three blade styles (Daytona 12, Daytona 62, and Seabring 62) and four mallets (Maranello 81, Fontana 72, Monte Carlo 12, and Corza 72). As you would expect the new putters will be available in lengths of 33″, 34″, and 35″ inches.

Retail availability begins September 1st. All models will retail for $149