Every golfer can benefit from more stability in their putter. With more moment of inertia, a putter is less prone to twisting at impact, particularly when the ball is struck away from the center of the putter face.
However, not every golfer is willing to move to a bigger, bulkier putter in the interest of more stability. So, TaylorMade went looking for another answer, and they found the answer on the roof of a house.
The TaylorMade line of Truss putters borrows from the architectural truss, which is a supporting framework for a roof or bridge or some other kind of structure. At most homes, a truss looks like a series of upside-down Vs which hold up the plywood and shingles for a roof, providing stability for a weighty piece of the building.
The truss manifests itself in the TaylorMade putters as part of the neck structure which connects the putter head to the shaft. TaylorMade says the Truss shape doesn't stand out dramatically when golfers address a putt. The feature is obvious looking at the putter face-on, showing the contact strip with the topline that reduces the amount of unsupported mass. The more support, the theory goes, the less prone the face is to twisting.
The influence for these putters is TaylorMade data showing half of 40,000 amateur putts surveyed are struck on the toe, with the face twisting at impact and causing missed putts. However, the trick was designing a Truss shape that did bring the center of gravity up too high, which is why some of the Truss shape is thinned out.
The Truss putters also feature a Cobalt Blue Pure Roll insert, designed to get the ball rolling forward more quickly.
Four models
There are four Truss models, with two blades and two mallets.
TB1 is a heel-shafted blade design that looks like an Anser-style putter. It has 8 grams of weight in the toe to counterbalance the Truss hosel.
TB2 is a center-shafted blade with the Truss hosel positioned across the center of the face.
TM1 is a heel-shafted mallet which features classic mallet shape in the head.
TM2 is a center-shafted mallet with minimal offset, as the hosel stretches across the entire topline, making it the most stable putter in the line.
TaylorMade Golf Truss putters will be available Feb. 14 for $300 each, available in 33-, 34- and 35-inch lengths with a KBS Stepless Stability Shaft.
