The club is 80 grams heavier than conventional blades because of a 130-gram grip.

The multi-material, 355-gram head -- stainless steel body and screws, tungsten weights, a polycarbonate sole plate, a Surlyn "Pure Roll" face, aluminum cavity badge, 3M foam dampener and TPU gaskets -- shifts more mass to the heel and toe. It comes in 35” or 38”.

The Spider Blade 12 has an l-neck, while the Spider Blade 32 has a short slant neck.

It is available in stores for $200.

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(Photo: Snap36)

Here is reaction from the game's leading equipment companies on the USGA and R&A's decision to ban anchored putting, effective Jan. 1, 2016:

Acushnet Company, maker of Titleist equipment: "The rule change regarding anchoring, as explained by the USGA and R&A, concerns only the definition of a stroke, and does not alter any current equipment regulations or impact any equipment that we manufacture and sell. We believe in one set of rules in golf and support the USGA and R&A as the ruling bodies and will continue to manufacture golf equipment that abides by the rules they establish."

Bob Philion, President of Cobra Puma Golf: “Golf lost today. This is not the direction we should be going, it will only continue to alienate people from golf… game enjoyment is how we are going to bring people back to golf. This decision is a giant leap back on that front. With this decision, bifurcation needs to be front and center in golf's conversations and we should be focusing on adapting the rules and the game to be inclusive and fun."

Nike Golf: “In cases like this, the USGA and R&A’s decision to redefine the rules on a product that has already legitimately been in play for many years has an impact on both manufacturers and golfers. Despite this, Nike always manages to adapt to the changes and deliver innovative products within the redefined rules. The USGA and the R&A have the right to make these changes for competitive play. Beyond this decision, we believe that the best interests of the sport of golf are better served by focusing on providing experiences that inspire golfers to play more; developing products that help them to perform better; and better connecting to the golfer in a world where alternative recreational choices are increasing.”

Chris Koske, Global Director of Odyssey Golf: "Odyssey strives to make putting easier for golfers while respecting and operating within the rules established by the USGA. We've anticipated the anchoring technique ban and have already introduced products -- including the Odyssey Tank #7, which has won on Tour -- that promote stability in the putting stroke in accordance with the USGA rules. ... we plan to continue leading the industry in alternative methods of putting with future product launches."

John Solheim, Chairman and CEO of Ping: “I appreciate this was an open process. I also recognize the importance of a single rule book. However, I believe the rulemaking bodies need to better address how we need to make the game more welcoming. I will continue to focus my efforts on that goal.”

TaylorMade Golf: "We appreciate the process the USGA used in its decision to ban the anchoring of putters, but we don’t agree the decision is in the best interest of the game."

Though it won’t be officially released until April 15^th, TaylorMade’s new Daddy Long Legs putter ($199) is already getting attention out on the PGA Tour. According to Brian Bazzel, director of product creation at TaylorMade, a wide variety of players have already gravitated to the new mallet.   

“We designed the putter to provide the feel, stability, and performance of an anchored putter but for players who putt with the traditional method. So far we’ve had players who use both methods try the Daddy Long Legs and give us very positive feedback regarding the ultra-stable feel.” 

The Daddy Long Legs is an extension of the Spider series, which was originally introduced in 2008, and is made to provide the ultimate in stability both during the stroke and at impact. Design features of the putter include a 16-piece clubhead made from 8 different materials, a Pure Roll face insert, and a 15” grip that tips the scales at 130g, which is approximately twice the weight of a standard grip. 

“The goal of the heavy grip is to provide counterbalancing,” says Bazzel, “which moves the balance point of the club closer to the player’s hands. This weighting technique makes it easier to control the clubhead and square it at impact on a more consistent basis.” 

The extra long grip is provided to allow players to choke down on the grip, which Bazzel says is critical to taking full advantage of the counterweighted design. To accommodate this fact, the putter will be available in 38” and 35” lengths.

(Photos: Kevin Cunningham)

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Bobby Grace burst on the scene some 20 years ago as a small, independent putter maker. You’ll recall that Nick Price used a Bobby Grace Fat Lady Swings mallet to capture multiple majors in the early 1990’s.

I caught up with Bobby Grace at the Westchester (N.Y.) Golf Show last weekend. Grace was his typical passionate self when talking about his latest baby, the NYC Tour Ass Kicker.

The putter bears some resemblance, due to a rear-entry shaft, to the Odyssey Backstryke. (Grace is quick to point out that J.L. Lewis won $4 million on the PGA Tour using a similar Grace design years before the Backstryke reached market.)

Regardless, the shaft design shifts the club’s center of gravity more rearward (compared to a heel-shafted NYC Tour). In addition, putts feel a bit softer and, according to Grace, roll 10-percent farther. The aluminum-headed Ass Kicker has a radial face—its furthest protruding groove is higher than the equator of the ball—to get putts rolling with topspin. Its polymer face insert is more lively in the heel and toe so off-center strikes roll similar distances as center hits. Lastly, the "onset" putter (opposite of offset) causes your hands to set up behind the ball. Expect a period of adjustment before you’re fully comfortable over the ball.   

(Photo: Rob Sauerhaft)

Seventy-two hours after the USGA and the R&A jointly announced a proposed change to the Rules of Golf that would outlaw anchored putting methods beginning in 2016, Odyssey Golf said it would release a line of putters designed to help players stabilize the club during the stroke. Legally.

The 43" Metal-X Arm Lock putters are not intended to be affixed to the abdomen or chest. Instead, the top portion of the grip is intended to press against the lead forearm.

"We were kind of waiting with bated breathe to see what the actual rule would be and whether this [design] would be conforming," says Austie Rollinson, principal designer for Odyssey Golf. "We were happy to see that it was."

Unlike other Odyssey putters, which come with 3° of standard loft, the Arm Lock putters have 7° because pressing the top of the grip against the forearm creates a forward press. Rollinson says that press is about 4°, so to offset the delofting effect, 4° had to be added .

The one-piece grip was taken directly from Odyssey's belly putters. To ensure the club is being used correctly, Odyssey added the words "Arm Lock" to a red area in the section where the club should be fastened against the arm.

Matt Kuchar has successfully used this style of putting, and according to the USGA and the R&A, it will remain legal if the proposed rule changes are enacted.

"Some people have trouble with the butt end of the club moving independently from how your shoulders rock," Rollinson says. "This really cuts down on the degrees of freedom that the club has while you are stroking it." He adds that while the club does not eliminate forearm rotation, the method discourages it, and the player will be inclined to bring the clubhead back to the ball squarely.

The Metal-X Arm Lock putters are scheduled to debut on Jan. 15, and the Metal-X #7 and Metal-X DART versions will retail for about $189.

RELATED: PGA Tour Confidential | Video: What's Next? | Obituary for belly putters
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See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Odyssey gear and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

USGA Executive Director Mike Davis made an important distinction about the ban on anchored putting that was announced Wednesday and will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016. 

"This is not an equipment rule," he said. "The equipment rules are based on facts, research. There's a formal notice and comment period that we go through with manufacturers. In this case, this is simply us clarifying what a stroke should not be."

So golf manufacturers can keep making and selling long and belly putters, even after the ban goes into effect. That's good news for companies like Odyssey Golf, the world's top-selling putter-maker, which saw sales of belly and long putters triple from 2010 to 2011. Today those putters consitute 12% of sales. At TaylorMade, anchor-style putters represent almost 15% of sales.

Here are some reactions from leading putter brands to Wednesday's announcement:

Odyssey Golf
Regarding the USGA and R&A proposal today, Odyssey has long held the belief that confidence with the putter is good for the game, particularly regarding player retention and growth potential. But one of the beauties of putting is that there are so many ways to do it.

Notwithstanding the final ruling in 2013, it is Odyssey's pledge to ensure golfers have the same level of confidence when they line up a putt with one of our products – regardless of the putting technique. We have anticipated this proposal for some time now and have been busy exploring several alternative options.

It should be noted that Odyssey will continue to offer belly and long putters in the short term for golfers who want to continue using them recreationally.

We'd like golfers everywhere to know that Odyssey has an optimistic approach to the proposal regardless of the outcome. As the #1 Putter in Golf, we have more tour players around the world playing and winning with Odyssey putters than any other company, and we will continue to work with those players to innovate new products and new, alternative methods to putt at the highest level.

The Acushnet Company (parent company of Titleist)
We intend to review the announcement regarding anchoring issued today by the USGA and R&A and, as a matter of process, appreciate the opportunity to provide comments to them during the comment period.

Mark King, CEO, TaylorMade Golf
Because the proposed change to the Rules of Golf bans the act of anchoring the putter to the body, and not long and mid-length putters themselves, we’ll continue making them. Does it mean the demand for these kinds of putters would drop? Maybe. But at the end of the day I don’t think we would sell one more or one less putter if the change to the Rules is made.

It’s definitely possible to use a broomstick putter without anchoring it, and I speak from experience. I use one and I hold my left hand in a stationery position a couple of inches away from my sternum. So I think we would definitely see players who currently anchor the putter who will find ways to use a long putter without anchoring it, so they can keep playing by the Rules.

Yet I also think that there will be plenty of amateur golfers who won’t give up anchoring the putter. Anybody who’s played this game knows that good putting requires an extremely precise stroke, and anchoring the putter helps a lot of golfers do that. It will be hard to give up anchoring if your putting is a lot worse without it.

However, golfers who continue to anchor the putter would be breaking the Rules, which would exclude them from holding a legitimate, USGA-sanctioned handicap, which means they couldn’t compete in tournament or event where the Rules of Golf apply. Because of that I think we would see a lot of golf leagues and golf clubs making their own exception to the anchoring rule, which essentially means that they wouldn’t strictly be playing by the Rules of Golf.

But the truth is that most golfers don’t play strictly by the Rules of Golf when they play with their friends, anyway. I don’t mean they cheat, I mean that they often go ahead and flatten spike marks even though the Rules forbid it. And how many golfers are okay with hitting a mulligan off the first tee? And that’s fine, because the game is about having fun for 99 percent of the golfers who play it, not grinding out a score in tournament play.

RELATED: PGA Tour Confidential | Video: What's Next? | Obituary for belly putters
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(Photo: AP)

Earlier this year, Odyssey debuted ProType Tour putters based on feedback from hundreds of Tour players. Come fall, Odyssey will expand the line to include sleek ProType Black putters with black heads, shafts and grips.

The forged clubheads have a rich PVD finish and are milled from 1025-carbon steel for a soft impact feel yet a crisp sound. A durable, powder coat "skin" is baked onto the steel shaft so you won't get wear marks while taking the club in and out of your bag. In addition, the half-wrap, paddle-style seamless grip offers a very tacky feel.

ProType Black putters come in three head styles; #2 (blade), #9 (mid mallet) and 2-Ball. The premium-priced flatsticks will be available October 12, with the blade and mid mallet selling for $269 and the 2-Ball for $299. – Rob Sauerhaft

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Odyssey putters and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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Hunter Mahan made a lot of important putts en route to winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, and he used a new Ping Nome putter to hole them.

Mahan has used traditional, heel-toe weighted blade putters throughout his professional career, but while working on the practice green Monday with Matt Rollins, a Ping rep, Mahan discovered that his alignment was off with his old putter. A laser attached to Mahan's putter revealed that when he thought he was aiming at the hole, he was actually aiming slightly left.

Rollins and Mahan experimented with a few different models in hopes of finding one that would improve his aim while still pleasing his eye at address.

The Nome, a mallet made from aluminum with two tungsten weights added to the bottom-rear section, proved to be perfect for Mahan. It has a higher moment of inertia than Mahan's previous putters, and the face-balanced model he selected enhances his fairly straight putting stroke.

The laser showed that Mahan aimed the Nome perfectly, which isn't surprising because it features a black piece on the crown with a white alignment line that stretches from the middle of the face to the back of the putter.

"Basically, I'm aiming where I think I'm supposed to be aiming," Mahan said on Friday after defeating Steve Stricker in the third round. "Before I was aiming a little more left than I thought, so I was kind of pushing my putts. I wasn't getting a true roll and a true read." 

The Nome should start arriving in pro shops in the first week of April. If he putts like he did in Tucson, Mahan might win his first major that week too.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Ping clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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(Photos: Ping Golf)

Dead Aim putters are designed to fix your alignment problems and come with a laser attachment for practicing your stroke. Golf.com's Jeff Ritter was joined by Dead Aim's owner, Todd Wilson, for a quick demonstration.

Looking for a breakout star of 2011? How about Matt Every's putter? Sure, Every finished T6 at the Sony Open and created Internet buzz for his awkward interview with Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman about his 2010 marijuana arrest. But the real star of the show was Every's boxy black putter, which looks like, uh, a brick on a stick, the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, a giant iPhone? (Click image at right to enlarge.)

The putter is called the BlackHawk and it's not available in retail stores or online. According to Gary Smits of the Florida Times-Union, the putter's secretive designer plans to start selling them in March.

Truth be told, the putter is the creation of David Kargetta of Daytona Beach, which is Every's home town. Kargetta, of Daytona Beach Shores, said Every and he made contact through "mutual friends," and was not very forthcoming about production and plans for retail sales, rare for an independent equipment designer.

"We're not ready to talk specifics about it," Kargetta told me Sunday. "Whatever Matt does this week should be about Matt, not about what he's doing with the putter."

Kargetta said he received USGA approval for the putter last February. He would not reveal the weight and dimensions of the huge, black putter head, nor what he considered the main benefits to a player rolling the ball with such a large implement attached to a putter shaft.

There is no web site. Kargetta does not have a retail shop. No one can buy it -- yet. He said he was planning to put the putter on sale in March but admitted it might be sooner, based on the attention Every is getting from leading the Sony Open for most of the tournament so far.

At the Sony Open, Every told Golfweek that the putter helps him with his alignment.

“It gets my hands in the same spot every time,” Every, who enters the final round of the Sony Open tied with Jeff Maggert for the lead, said this week of the BlackHawk. “I just feel a lot more square over the putt.”

[Photo credit: Getty Images]

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This story was produced for Golf Magazine's weekly Front9 app. To keep up with the latest golf news, get great tips from the Top 100 Teachers in America, and weekly Rules Guy columns, download the Front9 app at the Apple iTunes store. A lifetime subscription is $2.99.

The Scotty Cameron California putters first appeared on the practice green at the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine. Their classically shaped heads were far from radical, but they did came with a unique gold finish that Cameron called, "Honey Dipped."

In the latest generation of Cameron's California putter family, that finish has been washed away and replaced with a more conventional, non-reflective chrome look called, "Sea Mist."

A second noticeable difference in the new model can be seen in the face. The original California putters had a smooth face, but the new California line features deeper milling that produces a noticeably lower and deeper sound at impact. Cameron says that the deeper milling has no effect on the ball and doesn't make it roll any differently.

Scotty Cameron California line has five different models:

• Monterey: A classic heel-toe weighted blade with an plumber's neck and one sight line. (above)

• Monterey 1.5: An identical head to the Monterey, but featuring a smaller, curved neck.

• Del Mar: A heel-shafted mid-mallet with a slightly enlarged toe section and one sight line.

• Fastback: A beefy blade that is slightly shorter from heel to toe and comes with a rounded back flange and three sight lines.

• Sonoma: A compact, D-shaded mid-mallet that features a round neck that curves directly into the head.

Like the Studio Design putters, the California putters now feature three red dots (which “Cameron crazies” refer to as Cherry Bombs) on the back. Each putter is milled from a block of 303 stainless steel and available in 33-, 34- and 35-inch versions. To ensure that the head weight is optimized to the putter's length, weight screws are affixed into the sole of each club at the factory. Golfers cannot adjust the weights, but they can order heavier versions of some models.

Shape eyes will also notice that Cameron has decided to build the California putters using a step-less shaft and positioned the shaft band in a position so it is hidden from view in the address position. These adjustments were made to reduce visual distraction and let your eyes naturally focus on the ball.

The black pistol-style grip was inspired by handle of a hammer that Cameron picked up at a hardware store. Not only is it larger than the pencil-thin Cameron grips of old, the budging area at the top naturally engages the pinky and ring finger of your top hand, encouraging your wrist to stay firm throughout your stroke.

All of this style doesn't come cheap. Look for Scotty Cameron California putters to retail for $375 in pro shops starting in November. To help you get over the sticker shock, remind yourself that you'll be using a putter made by the same guy who creates flatsticks for Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Nick Watney and lots of other PGA Tour stars.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Titleist clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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Nike's Method and Method Core putters have all been classically shaped blades and mild-mannered midsize mallets. Those words can't be used to describe the new Method Core Drone, the first Nike putter to combine the company's unique face technologies with a high MOI (moment of inertia) design.

The Drone's radical shape is meant to help the club resist twisting on off-center hits so putts struck near the heel or the toe roll the same distance as a putt struck in the sweet spot. Repositioning weight far from the face and behind the heel and toe helps to make this possible and explains why so many high MOI putters look so unique.

With the Method Core Drone, Nike has shifted weight to the end of wing-like extensions that sprout from the face. The shape is reminiscent of last season's Nike Everclear E-33.

While the Drone doesn't look anything like other Nike Method Core putters at address, the Drone’s face features the same polymer groove technology. Inside the red aluminum face insert are a series of channels that have been partially filled with a polymer. According to Nike, the unfilled areas within the grooves grab the golf ball at impact and start it rolling forward more quickly. At the same time, the polymer softens impact and enhances feel.

Suzann Pettersen has won two events this season using a prototype of the Method Core Drone—the European Tour's Ladies Irish Open and the LPGA Tour's Safeway Classic. In Ireland Pettersen tweeted a photo of the putter and a message saying: “My new best friend from Nike. The Drone!”

Look for left- and right-handed 33", 34" and 35" Method Core Drone putters to arrive in pro shops starting Nov. 1 for $204. A right-handed 41" belly putter version will be available for $228.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Nike  clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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For every major championship, Scotty Cameron creates a commemorative putter headcover and gives one to select Titleist staff players. Here at Royal St. George's, Gary Woodland, Dustin Johnson and Geoff Ogilvy have already starting using it.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Titleist/Scotty Cameron clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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SANDWICH, England -- Last May, Darren Clarke used an 11-year-old Scotty Cameron for Titleist Teryllium Santa Fe putter to win the Iberdrola Open Golf Championship in Son Servera, Spain. It was the Northern Irishman's first win since 2008. Clarke brought the putter to Royal St. George's this week so Titleist representatives could send it to Cameron's studio in San Marcos, Calif., to be restored. Rust will be removed and the club will be repainted and bent back to its original specifications.

While Clarke continued to use the putter for a while after his win in Spain, he now plans to retire the Santa Fe to his home trophy case, according to the Titleist reps. He’s now using a black-finished Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport prototype putter.

Clarke says that Scotty Cameron gave him the Santa Fe putter at 4 p.m. on the Monday of the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon. He loved it from the start and stayed on the practice green until 8 p.m. that night, and he went on to tie for second that week.

Clarke continued to use the putter after that Open, but eventually the love affair cooled and he put it in the closest. It stayed there until Clarke brought it out in the days leading up to this year’s win in Spain.

The putter is especially unique because it is one of the first Cameron putters made with a Teryllium insert. The copper-colored alloy is extremely soft and extremely expensive. The Teryllium insert Cameron subsequently used is set in an elastomer membrane to dampen vibration. But in Clarke’s putter, the insert is set directly into the head and held in place by four small screws. You can see them in the photo below, set among the white dots in the back of the putter. (The screws would normally be covered by white dots as well.) On early Cameron putters like this, the number of white dots matched Cameron's age when the club was made, in this case, 32.

If you want to see what Clarke's putter will look like when the restoration is complete, click here.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Titleist/Scotty Cameron clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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Black ice can be hazardous for drivers, but Odyssey hopes that the new White Ice D.A.R.T. Tour Black putter will be something that helps golfers hole more putts.

Like the original White Ice D.A.R.T. putter—which was one of the top-rated putters in Golf Magazine's ClubTest 2011—the Tour Black version features a unique arrow-like alignment aid on the crown. Callaway Golf designers say the arrow will help your eyes aim the club more effectively. It also features the same White Ice face insert as the original putter.

But while the original White Ice D.A.R.T. featured a chrome finish surrounding the alignment lines, this Tour Black version has a black finish that creates even more contrast to further enhance your aim, according to Callaway designers.

For more information on the White Ice D.A.R.T. Tour Black putter, go to callawaygolf.com.

See-Try-Buy:  Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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