Equipment
12 Revealing photos from the 2016 Players Championship
GolfWRX was live this week from the fifth major, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If you missed any of our photos from this week, make sure to browse the links below:
It’s that time of the year. Once the PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass for The Players, you know the season is in full swing. It’s one of the deepest fields all year, and the U.S. Open is just around the corner. Plus, there’s always fireworks on Sunday at holes 16, 17 and 18. What a time to be alive, and a golf fan.
So let’s reveal some photos before we kick back this weekend and watch the drama unfold.
Kuai Liang*
We spotted a newer and bigger (460 cubic centimeters) version of Callaway’s recently released XR 16 Sub Zero driver, which proved to be very low spinning, yet relatively unforgiving in my review of the club. It’s not clear if Callaway will release the XR 16 Sub Zero 460, or is simply testing its Sub Zero-like features in a larger club head for a new line of drivers to be released in the future.
See all of the new Sub Zero photos here.
*Two brothers take the name “Sub Zero” in the video game Mortal Kombat (one of the all-time classics), the elder Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Maybe Kuai has a higher MOI and more CC’s than his brother, too.
The putter sagas of Dustin and Justin
It’s no secret that Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose are some of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour, but they tend to struggle on the greens. And lately, each has been linked to multiple putters.
This week, Dustin tested “The Brick” from Edel, which piqued his interest after he played a round with Bryson DeChambeau, who uses one. We also photographed him testing a Ping Anser-style putter, and his familiar Scotty Cameron prototype.
Justin Rose, on the other hand, was testing an Axis 1 putter early in the week after using TaylorMade’s Arc1 in his last start, a Japan-only TaylorMade putter. For The Players, he decided on a TaylorMade Spider mallet.
Jason Gore eyeing a new release from Callaway
Although we weren’t able to get photos of the back of the irons, we were told there’s a new set of Callaway irons on the horizon, which Gore was eyeing on the range at The Players.
The irons in question appeared to be musclebacks, and have either a raw or satin finish… but remember, they may still be in prototype phase.
Revealing photos gets the P. Reed “Shhh” treatment
Last week, I pointed out that Patrick Reed’s caddy had the worst job in sports, being forced to have his hand on Patrick Reed’s backside. Reed politely responded at The Players in his patented Ryder Cup fashion. If you notice, however, his caddy is no longer participating in the drill. Coincidence?
Also, this reaction confirms that Reed is indeed a GolfWRXer. But we already knew that, based on his propensity to change lob wedges.
He’s doing something right, though, judging by his scrambling percentage.
Moore tinkering
Ryan Moore is a king among GolfWRXers. For years he went sponsor-less, so he was able to make equipment changes whenever he wanted. And he took every advantage of that freedom, as he changed something about his clubs nearly every week.
Now he’s under contract with PXG, which is like caging a wild tiger. But he’s still finding a way to tinker. In the last year, he’s used PXG’s 0311 irons, 0311T irons, and now with the 0311T Black irons. I suppose a tiger never changes his stripes.
iBlades
We spotted Ping’s new iBlades at The Players for the first time, not just on the range, but already in the bag of Louis Oosthuizen. That was quick.
Sweet-swinging Louis also has an awesome Ping prototype putter in the bag, too. Check out all of the must-see photos here.
Kobe!
James Hahn won last week at the Wells Fargo with a unique shaft in his PXG 0311 3-iron, an Aldila Tour 115 graphite shaft that he calls the “Black Mamba.” The shaft shares a nickname with NBA star Kobe Bryant, who announced his retirement this season.
Caddies become The Players
All season long, caddies watch their players play golf at the premiere tracks in the world, while they trek around with their heavy staff bags. A thankless job, for the most part. At The Players, the Caddie Competition — in memory of beloved Tour caddie Bruce Edwards — gives the loopers a chance to show off their own golfing skills at No. 17, known as the island green. And the caddies take it seriously, even warming up on the range beforehand.
It doesn’t always go well, though, as you can see from the one-armed finish in the photo below, surely taken as the golf ball went swimming.
But others find more success. Hunter Mahan’s caddie put a Tour-like move on the ball and hit it to 5 feet.
Congrats on a great shot and an unforgettable moment, Jon.
The most interesting Marshal in Players Championship history
He was at TPC Sawgrass when they dug out the island green. He was there for the first-ever Players. And he was marshaling at the island green during what’s now known as “The Best Marshaled Hole” in 2009, as you can see from the big red pin above.
He doesn’t need a “Quiet Please!” sign; he just raises his hat. He is, the most interesting Marshal in the world.
Checking in on K.J. Choi
Yupp. Still working out.
And trying to hide a TaylorMade M2 logo from the Revealing King with a single strip of lead tape. Will these guys ever learn?
#SB2K16 reunites
Fowler, Spieth, Smylie and JT grouped up during a practice round at TPC Sawgrass, and as they did in the Bahamas, they updated their fans on SnapChat with fake ProTracers and announcer imitations. Anyone who sees their horseplay as bad for the game needs to remove the shoe horn from their metal-spiked golf shoes. As long as they’re not missing every cut, or distracting other players from properly preparing, why not have fun and enjoy the game with friends?
And maybe (gasp) they can even attract new, younger players to the sport while they’re at it.
What’s in Spieth’s bag this week?
Nothing! We spotted Jordan Spieth’s bag completely empty in the Tour Van this week. No worries. He was getting his clubs re-gripped with SuperStroke’s new club grips.
Even more notably, Spieth debuted the Momma Spieth’s, a pink version of the UA Drive One shoes in a pink colorway for Mother’s Day.
Sunday at The Players will be a “pink-out,” so we’ll undoubtedly see the Momma Spieth’s again.
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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mlecuni
May 14, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Hi Andrew, from the last witb kj choi wasn’t hidding the M2 logo + why hide it if you put the big head cover on. it may because he is not playing the matrix Ozik TP6HDe shaft anymore, so he may just ajusted the swing weight. One thing i noticed is the lack of kjchoi logo on his irons, same model but may be new set.