My Journey with That Black Putter
Alright, let’s talk about this putter thing. My putting was getting seriously frustrating. I mean, hitting greens was fine, but then three, sometimes four putts? It was driving me nuts. Felt like I was throwing away shots left and right. I’d tried a few different putters over the years, blades, small mallets, you name it. Nothing really stuck. My old Anser-style putter just wasn’t feeling right anymore, confidence was totally shot.
So, I started looking around. Watched some golf on TV, saw a few pros using those Spider putters. They looked kinda different, bigger maybe. Then a guy in my regular Saturday group got the black version, the Tour Black. He started making a few more putts, seemed really stable. I asked him about it, and he let me try a few practice strokes on the green after our round. It felt… solid. Different, but solid. The alignment line seemed pretty easy to use too.
Getting My Hands on One
Decided I needed to give it a proper go. Didn’t want to splurge brand new right away, you know how it is. Spent a bit of time checking online marketplaces and local used club shops. Found one eventually, looked barely used, got a decent price for it. Felt like a bit of a win already. When it arrived, I took it out of the box, and yeah, it’s definitely got a presence. Bigger head than I was used to, but the black finish looked pretty sharp. Felt balanced in my hands, maybe a touch heavier, which I thought might help smooth out my stroke.
Hitting the Practice Green (and Carpet)
Couldn’t wait to try it properly. First stop was the practice green at the local course. Just spent about an hour rolling short ones, like 3-6 footers.
- Focused on just getting the alignment right. That top line really helps frame the ball.
- Tried to make a smooth, pendulum-like stroke. The weight seemed to help with that, less twitchy maybe.
- The feel off the face insert was okay, maybe a bit softer than my old steel face. Took some getting used to the sound.
Then I took it home and practiced on the living room carpet. Just rolling 10-footers towards a cup. Annoyed the dog a bit, he kept trying to chase the ball. But it helped groove the stroke, just repeating it over and over. Distance control felt like the biggest challenge initially. Those longer putts were tricky to judge speed with the different feel.
Taking it to the Course
Okay, first round with it. Felt a bit nervous on the first green, not gonna lie. Had about a 15-footer. Lined it up, focused on a smooth stroke… and left it short. Classic. But the next few holes, I started to get a better feel for it. Made a couple of nice 5-footers for par that I honestly might have missed before. The confidence started to build a little.
The Real Test
Where it really seemed to shine was on those shorter, nervy putts inside 6 feet. It just felt really stable going back and through. Less tendency to wobble or twist the face. Had a tricky downhill 4-footer on the 16th, hole was playing tough all day. Managed to just breathe, trust the line, and tap it in. Felt huge at the time! Didn’t magically make me hole everything, still had a couple of three-putts figuring out the long-range speed, but definitely fewer.
Living With It
Been using it for a few months now. It’s stayed in the bag, which is a good sign for me. I’m definitely feeling more confident over the ball, especially on shorter putts. Alignment feels easier, and the stability helps my stroke feel more consistent. My three-putt count has dropped, not dramatically, but enough to notice a difference in my scores.
It’s not magic, obviously. You still need to practice and read greens properly. But for me, moving to this style of putter helped calm down my stroke and gave me a repeatable setup. It just seems to fit my eye better. Still working on dialing in the long-distance putts perfectly, that softer feel requires a bit more commitment sometimes. But overall? Yeah, it’s been a good change. Feeling much less dread standing over putts these days, and that’s a big plus right there.
