Michael Thorbjornsen’s breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the Rocket Classic came on the heels of a putter switch.
After missing back-to-back cuts at the PGA Championship and following the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the 24-year-old decided it was time for a switch from the Spider Tour Short Slant putter he had used since his rookie season in 2024.
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That next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Thorbjorsen worked through several different options with TaylorMade putter rep James Holley, trying to find a solution to improve his putting from inside 12 feet.
“He was wanting to try something a little smaller and with less toe hang,” Holley said. “Specifically inside of 12 feet he felt like he had a bit of a right bias. We worked through some putters and settled on Spider X double bend. The more forward CG and less toe hang gave him a better start line and more confidence inside 20 feet based on his putting stroke.”
Compared to Thorbjornsen’s previous Spider Tour, the Spider Tour X is a more compact shape that fits the look he wanted. The Spider Tour X is the same shape used by Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and so many more players. It’s the winningest putter on the PGA Tour the last two seasons. Tommy Fleetwood later joined Thorbjornsen as two TaylorMade staffers who have moved from the Spider Tour to the Spider Tour X this season.
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The double-bend hosel configuration will generally help a player lower the amount of rotation in their stroke and bring their start line a little more left.
Thorbjornsen also changed grips from a larger SuperStroke to a TaylorMade Golf Pride White Cap pistol grip, which allowed him to get the club more in his fingers, rather than his palms. This was a change only made possible for him thanks to the additional stability provided by the Double Bend shaft on the smaller Spider Tour X.
TaylorMade 2026 Spider Tour X DB Custom Putter
TaylorMade 2026 Spider Tour X DB Custom Putter
TORCHED PVD FINISH The durable PVD coating creates a beautiful high-quality finish. THIN WALL UNDERCUT CONSTRUCTION We’ve engineered a super stable structure by removing excess weight to create high MOI and legendary Spider performance. CG LOCATION PROGRESSION Each Spider Torched model features different CG locations for optimal putter fitting. HYBRAR ECHO® DAMPENER HYBRAR is behind the face to dampen unwanted vibrations, delivering premium sound and feel on every putt with the best possible sensation.
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$349.99 from Fairway Jockey
ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore, TaylorMade
The change paid off immediately as Thorbjornsen made 94.44 percent of his putts inside 10 feet at Colonial, his best mark of the season. Last week at the Rocket Classic, he put together the best week of his season in Strokes Gained: Putting, picking up nearly a shot a round, good for 14th in the field.
During a deep dive of Thorbjornsen’s setup this spring, TaylorMade Tour rep Adrian Reitveld commended Thorbjornsen for honing in on his putting since turning pro.
“You can see how structured his practice is now; the drills, the process,” Reitveld said. “He’s gone from a talented putter to more of a student of the game.”
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Thorbjornsen has yet to rank inside the top 100 on the PGA Tour in SG: Putting, but is trending upward since his switch and now has the confidence from his first PGA Tour victory.
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