When marketing goes too far, the consumer has the right to know. And February 2020 borders on the red zone. First of all with the Distance report by the USGA and the R&A, which draws the conclusion that long players have a negative impact on golf. More distance means longer courses, more expensive to maintain, etc. So why have we been served for years than this year, “our new driver goes even further”? Surely, because no one care really about accuracy, except for the short game. Speaking of short game, I wanted to return to the “so-called” new TaylorMade putters. Truss offers you unequaled precision. But the worst part is that TaylorMade claims out loud that its putter is unique and is the result of researches. Not so sure. After some research on Google and discussions on social networks, the limits of marketing and the frantic pace of new releases have found their limits. So why the new putter line TaylorMade Truss is a bland copy?
“IT LOOKS LIKE NOTHING ELSE, BECAUSE IT PUTTS LIKE NOTHING ELSE”
Ah yes! What an innovation! An engineer must have crossed a bridge and said why not integrate the structure principles into our putter. We will give it a very sad 80s’ look. 
As I often say, everyone’s taste is different, except that for the price of a Truss, you can have a new Mizuno M-Craft.
Without dissecting the marketing tirade available on their website in the press section, very quickly on social networks, comments from players enhance the posts. These comments undermine the new TaylorMade putter. Why so much hatred? Well, because TaylorMade announces in its press release that these putters are unique and the result of extensive research. Here is the link if you want to have a look by yourself.
As an example, here are some pearls you can find in the press release.
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- “Their look is unique because their performance is unique” (Really?)
- “TaylorMade collected data on 40,000 putts hit by golfers of various skill levels…” So there is research behind, it was not an engineer who made the garage sales and who found a putter with the same principle?
- ” Armed with this information, TaylorMade engineers set out to create a twist-resistant putter that offered greater torsional stability while maintaining a traditional shape”. Definitely something the golf world has never seen …
Taking the manufacturers’ promises at face value, we could try the European Tour Q-Schools tomorrow.
Except that here, this unique design and research are just lies.
This type of design has been around for over 200 years. There have since been several variations over the years, but the worst part is that some small manufacturers continue to sell this putter design even today.
The old Truss-style putter
Such a design has existed for centuries and it seems to have been forgotten by big brands like Titleist. Only Ashdon Golf seems to continue the adventure of such a design. On their site, the brand offers many variations, whether for blade or mallet putters.
If marketing is the only thing that sells clubs with spearheads, the distance for the drivers and the precision for the putters, you have to say stop at some point. TaylorMade dares to offer a new range of putters, the result of research and innovation, but it is not. The next time you are subject to the marketing law of golf equipment manufacturers, ask yourself the question: is it me or the club?
To be honest, it’s you most of the time. A lesson and more time in the short game areas will make you a better player, and certainly not a putter that reproduces a design more than 200 years old.
