Connect with us

Equipment

17 Revealing Photos from the LPGA North Texas Shootout

Published

on

In this week’s LPGA Photos from the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout, we get a different perspective on golf — one that’s fun, different and educational.

Nearly ever week on the PGA Tour, our photographer takes viewers inside the ropes to see the clubs PGA Tour players are using. The thing to remember, however, is that the majority of golfers shouldn’t be using the same clubs and shafts as PGA Tour pros. LPGA Tour players, on the other hand, have swing speeds more similar to average golfers, and compete on courses that are more similar in length to what the average male golfer usually plays.

04e7000e8e97020fe276bf7523b4ebe1For example, how often do you play a par-5 that measures 510 yards? Pretty often, right? PGA Tour players usually play 510-yard holes as par-4’s, and golfers such as Dustin Johnson, J.B. Holmes and other big hitters regularly hit short irons into them.

Golf bags on the LPGA Tour are also more eclectic than PGA Tour bags when it comes to brands, and they’re more colorful, too, as you’ll see below. Would you ever see a PGA Tour player with pink paintfill on their irons? Or a player wearing a Ping visor with a ponytail hanging from his back.

d434044b35dd429a197c260b757778ec

e509c835905375b3be33fc3566a67c01

Well, actually, those were bad examples. Sorry Bubba and Miguel.

bubba-watson-witb

Bubba Watson’s Ping S55 irons with pink paint fill

MigualAngelJiminez

Miguel Angel Jimenez, a.k.a., the “Most Interesting Man in Golf.”

We hope you enjoy this week’s Revealing photos from the LPGA North Texas Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.

Gerina Piller uses a bunch of Scor 4161 “wedges”

8fc80c8910a57dab3ba2127fc2cb61b5

Scor Golf’s 4161 series were said to be “scoring clubs,” not wedges, which is why they come in low lofts that are usually reserved for 9 irons and pitching wedges.

That explain’s Gerina Piller’s the 42-degree “wedge.” If you ever hear an announcer say she’s hitting a wedge from what seems to be too far, you’ll know why.

Callaway’s Mack Daddy 2 wedge stampings on the LPGA Tour are electric

Certainly, the quickest way to make enemies is to have “Roll Tide” stamped on your wedges.

Lexi Thompson’s wedge stampings are dripping in positive energy

The “Nico” wedge stamping could be a reference to one of the following:

  • This “Nico, Smile” YouTube video
  • Nico, a German musician popular in the 1960s.
  • A possible nickname for her brother Nicholas Thompson, who plays professional golf on the PGA Tour.

Regardless, it’s tough not to keep a positive attitude with these colorful, smiley-faced Cobra Tour Trusty wedges.

Insider update: Nico is the name of her nephew, Nicholas’ son. I was close… kind of.

#ScarfLife

068e25adf785f09be462c19aadb723b5

Based on the photos, it was cold and windy on Tuesday during the practice round at Las Colinas. Michelle Wie even broke out a scarf — and why it’s not volt-colored to match her driver, golf ball and visor, I have no clue.

Here’s a fun game if you’re bored; Count the number of Nike “Swooshes” you can spot in the photo above (my answer below).

544b55de228e88a1bfc583b99aa4875f

Here’s Azahara Munoz, who’s also bout that #scarflife. Her Ping bag and umbrella are also showing off Ping’s new logo lettering that’s exclusive to the LPGA Tour.

Answer to Nike swooshes: I spot 9. Anyone beat me?

Odyssey’s Limited Edition 2-ball Bear putter cover

821ff2a345c09c827c7ba34d5e395084

Chella Choi’s head cover looks snuggly, and fuzzy, and the only place I can find it online is here. Apparently, they come in three different colors.

Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 3.40.48 PMChoi is also using Fourteen Golf’s new RM-21 wedges, with a trailing edge grind on her 52 degree wedge, which has 10 degrees of bounce.

Pulled it!

48310d8efb7b1bdc6d33ea4b75028725

This is merely a reminder how hard putting is. Even with training aids from 4 feet, no putt is a guarantee. Don’t you just love golf?

Any guesses on what this guy is texting while Natalie Gulbis is teeing off?

a24b6e463f7d86670c47e05c3c043951

My guess is he’s texting one of his buddies: “About to tee off on the first hole with Natalie Gulbis. Have fun at work, sucker!”

I’ll bet he used this emoji, too.

Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 3.45.54 PM

Lydia Ko is really good at golf

She’s 18 years old and already has seven LPGA Tour wins. She also has a Callaway Big Bertha Alpha with a custom pink Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 5R shaft in play this week.

Katie Burnett switched to Titleist Vokey TVD wedges with a custom “raindrop” finish

b8ceb056ed3e32b4fce69437c78b40cf

Note: Those are real raindrops.

If you see a wedge company come out with a custom finish called “raindrops,” just remember you heard it here first.

Someone needs to show Bubba Watson this photo

b6886631301190baf51eebe1746aafdd

Hey, Bubba. Here’s some sound advice: Get an all pink rainsuit! #urwelcome

Laura Davies with top-heavy Lynx Parallax irons

be5c16d9961304b26ec1f53c532f644f

While most iron designs look to achieve a center of gravity (CG) that’s low-and-rearward or low-and-forward, these are the opposite.

According to Lynk’s website, the forged cavity back irons have a higher CG for more penetrating shots. If you hit the ball high with too little spin, these irons could be something to consider!

(That one’s for you, gear heads).

Ping’s LPGA golf bags, while sporting the new logo, still have turbulators

c616b176f0e0ec444516f97895233239

Surely the caddies appreciate the added foot speed.

Find the reference here in a recent Revealing Photos story. 

Um, where’s your face?

e50541887d0fa7f35228c384a33014db

If you can’t tell, this is Sadena Parks who was a part of Big Break Florida, a reality TV series on the Golf Channel.

She’s also playing clubs from golf’s most mysterious company in golf — Parsons Xtreme. We don’t know much about the clubs, other than they will be very expensive when they’re released and have a bunch of screws for adjusting weight and CG.

It looks like Parks prefers the CG in her driver more rearward judging by the positioning of her screws.

Check out photos from the rest of her clubs below.

Hannah Arnold’s bag is all business

e44523e510f184fe17574c67e5551653

Mizuno JPX-800 Pro irons and a stealthy Piretti Cortino putter? While she WD’d from pre-tournament qualifying, she didn’t leave without making an impact on the WRX photo galleries. Awesome setup.

Michelle Wie’s 90-degree putting stance…

eab7bbb31f8836a4ab125682e78db887

… makes my back hurt every time.

It looks as though she took the popular instruction “get your eyes over the ball” way too literally, but then again, she’s putting better than ever and won her first major last year — the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open — with this seemingly back-breaking style.

86fa2ab0dad0b1e2766077eb7d041511

Wie is currently using a Nike Method MC04W Center-shafted prototype putter with a SuperStroke Flatso 1.0 grip.

Is that a BioMech Tech Deck I spot?

TaylorNeidy

These half-pipes are showing up in bags and on practice greens of both the PGA and LPGA tours. I’m beginning to think I should give one a try…

Just like Uncle Tiger, Cheyenne uses the Two-Tee putting drill

7a506f3a3b1ee495e189fdc3825cf112

And is her index finger really long or is it just me?

Your Reaction?
  • 94
  • LEGIT6
  • WOW1
  • LOL14
  • IDHT2
  • FLOP4
  • OB7
  • SHANK24

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. joey5picks

    May 2, 2015 at 3:47 am

    Call a 510-yard hole a par 5, a par 4, a par 3 or a par 6. It doesn’t matter. Lowest score wins whether it’s -10 or -6 (which is the difference between calling that hole a par 4 or par 5). I find the infatuation with what the “par” is on a hole amusing. Players are going to want to make a 4 on that hole no matter what its “par” is.

    • Chuck

      May 2, 2015 at 1:39 pm

      Another 510-yard Par 5 is…

      … wait for it…

      …how many guessed it already…

      The 13th Hole, “Azalea,” at the Augusta National Golf Club.

  2. 8thehardway

    May 1, 2015 at 11:56 pm

    Good move, great article. Looking forward to more.

  3. snowman

    May 1, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    Lexi and I are still playing the 2010 Cobra S2 Forged Irons, a nice forged cavity back iron.

  4. RG

    May 1, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    Best yet Andrew! Eclectic and colorful is why WRX should cover more LPGA and Champions than PGA. I’m just sayin’.

  5. Brett H

    May 1, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    Fun Fact: I’m sort of related to Laura Davies and used to play with a set of her old irons that she just had put away in a closet. Had a really hard time learning on those…

    I’ve been watching a ton of LPGA lately and really think the level of talent is just astonishing, a lot of fun watching them play right now.

  6. brian d

    May 1, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    I am kinda digging those parsons irons…. very sharp

  7. Mike

    May 1, 2015 at 12:24 pm

    Laura Davies’ irons look like some 15 year-old Lynx Parallax knockoffs! Seriously, how is Golfsmith not all over this?

  8. Justin

    May 1, 2015 at 7:38 am

    “Sorry Bubba and Miguel.”

  9. BustyMagoo

    May 1, 2015 at 1:02 am

    But can someone fix the css for paragraph text please? A bit heavy on the eyes in ALL BOLD letters.

  10. BustyMagoo

    May 1, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Good article. Nice to see WRX going out on a ledge and covering things nobody else is. Well done and interesting read. And yah, it’s fun looking at pics of Michelle Wei. She’s quite easy on the eyes. lol.

  11. mr.Smith

    May 1, 2015 at 12:55 am

    Golf has turned into such a lame look at me narcissistic batch o barf!

  12. Chuck

    Apr 30, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    It hurts too much to watch Michelle Wie putt. I say that as someone who loves women’s golf and who loves to watch LPGA players play, and who is extremely interested in equipment news from the women’s tours. Thank you GolfWRX for continuing to bring us news and photos from the LPGA; keep it up. I’m just sorry for Michelle Wie, with her spectacular golf swing, being reduced to putting like a cripple.

    • RG

      May 1, 2015 at 2:58 pm

      A cripple? That “cripple” will beat you like a drum ant day of the week and twice on Sunday. She went to that stance because she’s so tall and it helps her to see the line. Remember Chuck, it is better to be silent and be thought an idiot than to post comments and remove all doubt.

      • Chuck

        May 2, 2015 at 11:23 am

        Her results are fine; that much you’ve got right. She’s currently 29th on the ladies tour; putting (statistically) like… Lydia Ko!

        But as for being somehow forced into that unwatchable stance by her height… she’s 6’0″. (Being 6’0″ myself and having stood next to her, I don’t believe the 6’1″ listings in various places. I think she’s a shade over 6’0″.) She’s not taller than a number of other LPGA players with better-looking stances, and she’s nowhere near as tall as lots of male tour players with normal stances.

  13. Rich

    Apr 30, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    Yes it is verrrrrry long!

  14. Brody

    Apr 30, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    Andrew,
    Nice article!

  15. greg

    Apr 30, 2015 at 7:00 pm

    Once again, great job AT. This one is your best one, so far. Look forward to seeing these each week. Best feature on GolfWRX.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

on

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

on

TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

  • PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
  • PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
  • Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
  • PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
  • PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

Your Reaction?
  • 15
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW3
  • LOL3
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP2
  • OB2
  • SHANK4

Continue Reading

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

on

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 Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ 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

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending