Equipment

Revealing photos from the Frys.com Open

Published

9 years ago

Oct 16, 2015

GolfWRX was live this week from the 2015 Frys.Com Open at Silverado Country Club’s North Course in Napa, Calif — the heart of Wine Country. If you missed any of the photos, browse through the galleries below:

It’s an exciting time here at GolfWRX. The new 2015-2016 PGA Tour season is starting, players are changing clubs and shafts, and new equipment is being released. You know what that means? Let’s reveal some photos…

Blayne Barber’s Bambi wedge

His custom wedge stamping shows the “Browning Arms Company” logo, a company that sells firearms and other weapons for fishing and hunting. The message “shoot one” isn’t comforting for all the — as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny would call them — sweet, innocent, harmless, leaf-eating, doe-eyed little deers out there.

Movie: My Cousin Vinny

But Master Instructor Dennis Clark’s recent article may give the animals, and Marisa Tomei’s character peace of mind. A snippet from his article says: “… I’d hate to be at a rifle range with a bunch of golfers. That’s because they tend to have the most crooked aim of players in any sport.”

Barber would have had an easy chance to “shoot one” at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in this recent deer fight video that has gone viral, however.

He probably could have have just chipped a golf ball at one of them with his Browning-stamped wedge.

It appears Barber has a few other, more animal-friendly goals stamped on his wedges, as well.

Like, getting better at the guitar…

And winning a few trophies.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about Barber’s new wedges here.

Jarrod Lyle’s custom “Leuk the Duck” putter cover

Leuk the Duck is the mascot for Challenge, an organization that supports children living with cancer, and their families. Jarrod Lyle can often be seen with Leuk the Duck head covers, pins and commonly wears a yellow bucket hat to support the cause.

A slew of new shafts at the season opener

Danger: High Voltage

Russell Henley’s Nike Vapor Pro Combo 6-iron has a hole burned right through the back cavity — maybe there’s more Voltage in that Volt Swoosh than we thought.

Justin Rose is about that tinker life

This week’s episode of “Justin Rose: Tinker til I die,” shows him switching back to a TaylorMade blade putter from the “Jason Day mallet prototype,” which he switched to from a TaylorMade blade, just after he switched from a TaylorMade Ghost Spider mallet.

And he also put the new TaylorMade PSi Tour irons in the bag for the week.

Tune in next week to see what Rose is tinkering with next.

WITB: Splash Brother No. 1

We spotted “Splash* Brother” and 2015 NBA League MVP Steph Curry of the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors playing in the Frys.com Open Pro-Am with Justin Thomas and teammate Andre Igoudala.

Curry is rumored to be a 2-handicap, and we caught a glimpse of some of the golf clubs he has in his bag — PXG 0311 irons and wedges, and a Titleist 915D4 driver with a Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shaft. He’s also reppin’ for his squads with a Davidson Wildcats head cover on one of his woods, which is where Curry played college basketball, and a wedge stamped “Go Warriors.”

*Refers to “Splash” as in swishing a basketball into a hoop, not hitting a golf ball into a pond.

Camilo Villegas’ irons are lofted up

Assuming the numbers written in marker on his irons are lofts, Villegas’ TaylorMade RSi 2 prototype irons have much different lofts than your typical RSi 2 irons. The RSi 2’s stock 7-iron is 31 degrees, 8 iron is 35 degrees and 9-iron is 40 degress; but Villegas’ irons are pictured as having 36, 40.5 and 45 degrees, respectively. That means Villegas’ short irons are about 5 degrees weaker!

Ollie Schneiderjans’ Georgia Tech wedges are buzzing

His black-and-yellow wedges honor the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The “Ramblin’ Wreck” stamping refers to a 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe that serves as the school’s mascot.

As the story goes… Ramblin’ Wreck was a name given to the 1916 Ford Model T that a Georgia Tech dean and president drove in the 1900s. The name stuck, and in 1961, the 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe — painted in Georgia Tech’s colors — became the school’s mascot.

The “Ramblin Wreck from Georgia Tech,” is also Georgia Tech’s fight song.

A Mizuno T-Zoid fairway wood

Think you need to play the newest, most expensive clubs to score well? This Mizuno T-Zoid fairway wood in Brett Stagmaier’s bag is available here for $20.99.

Please don’t show this photo to Phil Mickelson

As we’ve previously established, Mickelson has a serious problem. This photo of lead tape just wasting away on the turf and not on a golf club may be too much for him to handle. And a message to golfers everywhere, please be careful where you leave your lead-tape scraps, you don’t realize the dangers it may cause to others.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

17 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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