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Kings of the West Coast Swing: stats and equipment

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By Seth Kerr

GolfWRX Staff Writer

With the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship marking the official end to the West Coast swing; let’s take a look back at some of the more important stats and what we learned so far.

Americans have won all nine PGA Tour events, with Kyle Stanley and John Huh being the only first-time winners. Huh is the only rookie to win on Tour, finishing off Robert Allenby in a marathon eight-hole playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Despite Stanley’s disappointing loss at the Farmers Insurance Open, he is still the current Race for the FedExCup point leader over Johnson Wagner and Phil Mickelson thanks to his  impressive win at the Waste Management Open.

Phil Mickelson had an up-and-down West Coast Swing, struggling early in the year before dominating Tiger Woods by 11 strokes in the final round to win at Pebble Beach. Tiger made the switch to the Nike Method 001 putter and it hasn’t worked so far, missing a number of makeable putts at Pebble Beach and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in his loss to Nick Watney.

Mickelson followed up his victory at Pebble Beach with a disappointing finish at the Northern Trust Open. He had the lead for three rounds but could not finish off the tournament, losing to Bill Haas in a playoff.

Stanley is the only player in the top-25 of driving distance to win on Tour this year. He is average 303.3 yards off the tee, well behind No. 1 Bubba Watson and his pink PING G20 driver (Watson is averaging 312.7 yards). Gavin Coles has the lowest driving average on tour at just 267.1 yards.

Gary Woodland used his Titleist 910 D3 driver for the longest drive of the year at an outrageous 450 yards on No. 18 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The top-39 drives of the year were all 400 yards or more and all were from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Using the new Cleveland Classic driver, Jason Kokrak had the longest drive from a tournament other than the Tournament of Champions at 399 yards at the Sony Open.

Paul Goydos leads the Tour in driving accuracy, hitting 73.76 percent of fairways. Hunter Mahan is the highest ranked winner in driving accuracy at No. 4, with an average of 71.26 percent of fairways hit.

Webb Simpson used Titleist 680 irons to hit 75.93 percent of greens in regulation to lead Bubba Watson and his PING S59 irons by just over 1 percent. It is a shocking stat for Watson, who is also the leader in driving distance.

You would expect the leader in driving distance and second in greens in regulation to be in contention each week to win. But Watson is just 21st in FedExCup points with only one top-10 finish. For Watson, it shows just how badly he has putted this year.

Watson and his PING Anser putter rank 170th in total putts with an average of 30.60 putts per round. That is a whopping 3.22 more putts per round than Greg Chalmers, who leads the tour in putts per round at 27.38. Chalmers is one of few players on Tour to use a Bobby Grace putter.

Brian Gay, who now wears TaylorMade gear but still uses Mizuno irons, gets up and down 74.68 percent of the time, making par or better an outstanding 59 out of 79 times. Scott Brown is worst on tour in scrambling only getting up and down a paltry 38.71 percent of the time.

Titleist gamer, Bobby Gates, leads the Tour in eagles with eight, while fellow Titleist pro, Ben Crane, who is not known for prodigious length, is second with seven eagles this year.

Perhaps the most well-known American Titleist player, Steve Stricker, leads the tour in scoring average at 68.13, but has only played eight rounds after taking five weeks off following the Sony Open.

In a sign of how well Stricker has played this year, he leads the Tour in seven total performance stats.

Stricker leads the tour in:

1) Birdie Average                                   5.13 per round

2) Sand Save Percentage                     73.33 percent

3) Par-5 birdie or better                       75 percent

4) Scoring Average                               68.13

5) Scoring Average before cut           66.50

6) Consecutive Cuts                              45

7) Back Nine Scoring Average          33.13

So what do all these stats tell us entering the Florida swing?  Probably not a whole lot.  None of the 2011 players who won on the West Coast won again before the Masters. In fact, Bubba Watson and Luke Donald were the only multiple winners who won on the West Coast last year.

Tiger Woods and Gary Woodland are just two players happy to hear that. While Woods has had a few good rounds, he has yet to show he can put together four solid rounds. Woodland has looked lost for most of the year, though he and his new coach, Butch Harmon, promise he will be ready for Augusta. And for pros that is what it’s all about. They would all trade there rankings in every stat for one major, because while no one remembers who finished No. 1 in scoring, putting, or birdies, everyone remembers who won major championships.

Below are a list of the winners and the clubs they played.

Hyundai Tournament of Champions — Steve Stricker

Driver: Titleist 909 D3 (8.5°)

Fairway wood: Titleist 906F2 (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 909H (19°)

Irons: Titleist 710 AP2 (3-PW)

Wedges Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Sony Open — Johnson Wagner

Driver: TaylorMade R11S (8°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 (13.5°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro a 12 (18°)

Irons: Titleist CB 712 (3-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (48°, 54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron proto

Ball:  Pro V1x

Humana Challenge — Mark Wilson

Driver: PING I20 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Cleveland HiBore XLS (13°)

Hybrid: Ping i15(17°, 20°)

Irons: Ping i20

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 60°)

Putter: Ping Karsten Anser

Ball: Pro V1x

Farmers Insurance Open — Brandt Snedeker

Driver: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast (10.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Superfast (15°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea a12 Proto (20°)

Irons: Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back (4-PW)

Wedges: Bridgestone J40 (52°, 56°), Titleist Vokey (60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B330

Waste Management Phoenix Open — Kyle Stanley

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910Fd (13.5°)

Hybrid: Titleist 503i (19°)

Irons: Titleist 712MB (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (52°, 56°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Timeless (GSS) Proto

Ball: Pro V1x

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am — Phil Mickelson

Driver: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°)

Hybrid: Callaway X Proto (19°)

Irons: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype

Ball: Callaway Hex Black Tour

Northern Trust Open — Bill Haas

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910F (13.5°)

Irons: Titleist 712 CB (2), 710 CB (3-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Studio Select Kombi

Ball: Pro V1x

Mayakoba Golf Classic — John Huh

Driver: Ping G10 (7.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (17°)

Irons: Ping S57 (3-PW)

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 58°)

Putter: Ping Scottsdale Wolverine

Ball: Pro V1

World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship — Hunter Mahan

Driver: PING G20 (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: PING G20 (15°)

Hybrid: PING i15 (17°)

Irons: PING S56 (3-PW)

Wedges: PING Anser Forged (56°, 60°)

Putter: PING Nome

Ball: Pro V1x

Click here for more discussion in the forums.

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Seth is an avid golfer playing year round in Florida.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Coastal Duck

    Mar 2, 2012 at 1:14 am

    ‘Huh is the only rookie to win on Tour, finishing off Robert Allenby in a marathon eight-hole playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.’

    Apologies, but I am just now coming back to the game after a 30-year hiatus. I would have liked to have known the whereabouts of the above mentioned tourney.

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Equipment

Spotted: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 mini driver, DUW fairway wood

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We have seen a few new mini drivers from the likes of Titleist and TaylorMade being tested out on tour recently. Now, Callaway looks to be jumping into the mix at the RBC Heritage. We spotted Christian Bezuidenhout testing out a new Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 mini driver on the range. We don’t have any details yet but the club clearly states “mini driver” on it, and the “340” could easily refer to how many CCs the head is.

What we do know is that this mini driver has a very similar design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood. The sole looks to be made from steel or titanium, not forged carbon like the Paradym Ai Smoke drivers. It has weights up near the face and at the back of the club. Callaway’s OptiFit hosel is also present on this driver to allow loft and lie adjustments, and if you look closely on the face, you can make out the “Ai Smart Face” text at bottom center. The crown looks to have the familiar carbon fiber weave and Ai Smoke logos we have seen on the current clubs.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke DUW

The other Callaway prototype that was spotted looked to be a little more of a traditional fairway wood — but with non-traditional weight placements on it. Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke DUW looks to have four adjustable weights on it — two on the sole, one on the hosel, and one on the toe. This hosel isn’t adjustable, and I would assume that is to save some weight from creating spots for the movable weights.

It is hard to tell from the photos, but the face looks to be a touch deeper than the traditional Triple Diamond fairways. This deeper face could be where the “DUW” name comes from. With three weights all pushed forward near the face this DUW has to be a very low spinning and launching head. The sole is made from metal and similar in design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond fairway woods as is the carbon crown.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/16/24): LAB DF3 green head putter

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a LAB DF3 green head putter.

From the seller: (@Lvanwheeler1): “LAB DF3 green head with white Accra shaft. 35 inches and 69 lie angle. Is brand new and hasn’t been taken outside of the house except for the pics I took in the yard. A bit over retail but this one is hand and will be to you in a matter of days. $650 and this one is firm.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: LAB DF3 green head putter

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Whats in the Bag

Max Homa WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Max Homa what’s in the bag accurate as of the Masters. 

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Red 80 TX

5-wood: Titleist TSR2 (21 degrees @19.25, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 9 TX

Irons: Titleist T100S (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 620 (6-9)
Shafts: KBS $ Taper 130 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60)
Shafts: KBS $ Taper 130 (46) KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X (50, 56), KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 125 X (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

More photos of Max Homa’s WITB in the forums.

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