Equipment
18 players switch to Titleist 917 drivers at Quicken Loans National
Titleist debuted its new 917D2 and 917D3 drivers this week at the Quicken Loans National. After the first tee shots of the tournament were struck, 18 of the 28 Titleist drivers being used in the tournament were one of the new models.
See in-hand photos, and learn more about Titleist’s 917 drivers.
There was an even split between Titleist’s 917D2 (9) and Titleist’s 917D3 (9), with the most interesting model change coming from Justin Thomas (917D2, 8.5 degrees), who was previously using Titleist’s low-spin 915D4 driver. This could indicate that the 917D2 is significantly lower spinning than past D2 models.
See who changed into what driver and what loft in the list below.
Note: Players who made the cut this week are bolded. Webb Simpson and Bill Haas both changed to the new driver this week and are 10-under par, five shots off the pace of Round 3 leader Billy Hurley III.
917D2
- Blayne Barber (9.5 degrees)
- Erik Compton (9.5 degrees)
- Bill Haas (9.5 degrees)
- Charley Hoffman (8.5 degrees)
- Mark Hubbard (9.5 degrees)
- Andrew Loupe (8.5 degrees)
- Peter Malnati (8.5 degrees)
- Justin Thomas (8.5 degrees)
- Tyrone van Aswegen (9.5 degrees)
917D3
- Ben An (8.5 degrees)
- Brendon de Jonge (9.5 degrees)
- Chesson Hadley (10.5 degrees)
- Morgan Hoffmann (8.5 degrees)
- Patton Kizzire (10.5 degrees)
- Ben Martin (9.5 degrees)
- Webb Simpson (10.5 degrees)
- Cameron Smith (10.5 degrees)
- Cameron Tringale (8.5 degrees)
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- Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G400 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 Tour X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125MSI 80 Tour X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom Hybrid 100 TX
Irons: Titleist 716 TMB (2), Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @55), SM10 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot RX Pt Customs No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
More photos of Patrick Reed’s WITB in the forums.
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Welcome to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
In the last two PGA Championships held at Valhalla, Tiger Woods won in 2000 – when he famously pointed his golf ball into the hole during the historic duel with Bob May – and Rory McIlroy won the 2014 event, basically in the dark on the final hole.
The point is, history shows that Valhalla tends to produce top-tier champions and plenty of drama.
This week at the 2024 PGA Championship, GolfWRX got its first up-close look at what some of the LIV Tour players have in their bags in 2024. We also caught back up with a few PGA Championship legends, such as Rich Beem and John Daly, and we dove into the bags of PGA Sectional qualifiers, too.
In total, we captured 47 different photo galleries this week, including 32 individual What’s In The Bag (WITB) forum threads. Click here to see all of our photos from the event, or continue reading to see my 10 equipment highlights from Valhalla.
1) Brooks Koepka’s new putter
Koepka was previously using a Scotty Cameron T5.5 putter with a slant neck, which he used to win at the beginning of the month in Singapore on the LIV tour. This week, however, he tried a T5.5 with a plumbers neck instead of the slant neck, and it’s immediately going in the bag. According to Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page, Koepka already loved the head, and now finds the plumbers neck a bit more familiar to the blade-style putters he’s used throughout most of his career.
2) The lead tape king returns, with putting goggles
Phil Mickelson has always been one of the GOATs when it comes to lead tape usage, so it was no surprise to see his 64-degree custom Callaway wedge slathered with slabs of lead tape on the back.
The big surprise was that lefty was spotted using ProAim putting training goggles on Wednesday during his warm-up session.
The ProAim goggles are helpful to find center lines and ensure proper alignment to the target.
See Phil Mickelson’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship
3) Dobyns’ old-school gamer setup
Speaking of lead tape, check out Matt Dobyn’s old Titleist 718 T-MB irons, which are so loaded with lead tape that the club is nearly unrecognizable.
Respect.
The head professional at Meadow Brook Club is making his sixth start in a PGA Championship, and he’s using a throwback Callaway GBB Epic driver with MOI-boosting lead tape and adjustable weight placements.
As GolfWRX Forum user “InTheBag” pointed out in our Matt Dobyns’ WITB thread, he has the type of setup that makes you want to hide your wallet: “I don’t know Mr. Dobyns, but one look at that bag tells me he can take your money,” writes InTheBag.
Spot on.
4) John Daly’s custom Sub70 irons and wedges
We first saw John Daly using $750 direct-to-consumer Sub70 659-CB irons and TAIII wedges at the 2023 PNC Championship, and he still has them in the bag, but he’s since stepped up the customization on the Sub70 clubs.
Does Daly ever NOT keep things entertaining?
View this post on Instagram
A true showman.
5) DJ’s custom putter
Dustin Johnson has always been one to test multiple putters week-to-week, and he has a keen eye for different alignment lines and crowns. This week, he’s opting for a completely gray TaylorMade Spider Tour “T3.0” prototype with a short slant neck.
See the rest of DJ’s WITB from the week here
6) Patrick Reed still rocking GrindWorks irons
Patrick Reed knows his stuff when it comes to equipment, and he’s a prolific tester. Still, however, the GrindWorks PR-101A irons are squarely in the bag after his departure to the LIV tour.
The most notable new addition to Reed’s bag is this Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood.
Click here to see Reed’s full WITB from this week
7) Beem’s Scratch set
Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, came to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a bag full of Scratch Golf irons, which are loaded with lead tape and equipped with some of the coolest custom ferrules in professional golf.
See Rich Beem’s full WITB here
8) Jon Rahm’s 10-iron
Before going to LIV, Rahm was using a Callaway Apex TCB pitching wedge.
Now, he’s using a Callaway Apex TCB “10 iron.”
He’s also since upgraded to three Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke metalwoods, and fresh stampings on his Jaws Raw wedges. Click here to see Rahm’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship.
9) “Why so serious?”
Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV player in the 2024 PGA Championship field, channels his inner Joker to ask everyone, “Why so serious?”
10) Block’s “Proto” iron, from address
As you probably know by now, Block switched out of his old TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 irons, and into a full set of TaylorMade’s new “Proto” irons. We’ve already seen the Proto 4-iron in the bags of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, but this is our first look at the higher-lofted irons in the set.
Here’s a look at the 7-iron from address:
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Proto irons in our Forums
And, with that, we say goodbye to Louisville, and the second major championship of the 2024 season. We’ll see you next week at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas after a champion has been crowned.
Until then, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week at the 2024 PGA Championship!
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We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much better last week, so he is hoping to continue that success and post another good score.
Here are the 14 clubs that will hopefully win him some skins!
Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X (2024)
3-wood: Cobra Dark Speed LS Titanium (14.5 degrees, set +1)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7x
Fairway: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8 X
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops 4h (22 degrees, Flat Setting)
Shaft: KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 85 S
Irons: TaylorMade P770 Phantom Black (5-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (50-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (56-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (60-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Putter: L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max
Shaft: Accra x L.A.B. White
Ball: Titleist ProV1 Enhanced Alignment
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Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Ping...
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KK
Jun 29, 2016 at 3:58 am
Good question about the Justin Thomas switch from a D4 to a D2….I’m really interested to see what real changes Titleist made with the 917. Anyone here still playing the SLDR and think it’s the best driver they ever hit due to the ultra low spin design? I’ve never hit one, but I’ve heard that the tradeoff with the low spin (and distance) is a not so forgiving head. TM released the R7 Superdeep and that lasted about 6 months. I wonder if Titleist has somehow figured out high launch, low spin, and forgiving….we’ll have to wait until the Fall to see.
On another note, I don’t care about paint color, graphics on the sole or the club face, or what tour pro is playing this club. If it’s the best club for me, I’m gaming it. I’m not really sure why every time a new club comes out, there are so many negative comments about the club before anyone hits it or even sees it in person.
Ron
Jun 28, 2016 at 10:20 am
Hmmm, wonder how long before we see the SureFit CG Bar in Titleist Irons?
Rox
Rarebit
Jun 28, 2016 at 3:24 am
Yeah well, unless they start selling maximum allowable CT and COR, Tour-stamped versions on the retail shelves people will believe Titleist can only make decent balls based on other companies’ ideas on compression
Mark
Jun 28, 2016 at 3:09 am
They really need these to sell. 915’s are still gathering dust in my area. TM and Ping have battered them out of the park.
Jackson Galaxy
Jun 29, 2016 at 10:46 am
Not really. Unless people suddenly stop needing new golf balls they’ll be okay.
cgasucks
Jul 4, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Yeah…their golf balls is their most profitable segment and what is keeping them afloat even if their clubs tanked (which is unlikely).
Marshall Moyes
Jun 27, 2016 at 5:24 pm
I am 69 and now play to a handicap of 10.8. Having tried Callaway and Taylor made drivers, I still find the Titleist drivers longer and straighter. I cannot agree with C and T drivers being more forgiving or longer.
the guy
Jun 27, 2016 at 4:58 pm
D2 made more cuts. Obvious choice.
Steve
Jun 27, 2016 at 9:18 am
Honestly, unless you are a 4 handicapper or less, not sure knowing what the pros are playing means for most of us. Titleist (and I have played them over the years) has been known for making the best looking and purist feeling Drivers in the market. Their failure to challenge Taylor Made and Calloway seems to be rooted in their inability to gain traction in the “big box” retailers and the presumed more forgiving and greater distance offered by TM and C. It’ll be interesting to see if the latest offerings are more of the same. And oh….were they really serious about the new Titanium version priced at $ 1000? Great company, but beyond the Pro Vs….their marketing has been suspect.
300 Yard Pro
Jun 28, 2016 at 7:27 pm
People buy what the pros play.
um
Jun 29, 2016 at 3:24 am
Exactly. They want to buy what the Pros play.
Jack
Jul 20, 2016 at 5:19 am
For sure the low spin options are not for most amateurs who have a SS less than 100. It’s always easy to get on a launch monitor and figure out what really works for you at a big box store.
Pete
Jun 26, 2016 at 6:50 pm
Didn’t Haas get one of those C16’s earlier in the year?
Matt
Jun 26, 2016 at 1:08 pm
Zak would love to know what those guys were using head/loft wise before and if they changed shafts or went to something new.
Zak Kozuchowski
Jun 27, 2016 at 9:20 am
Agreed, Matt. We will get that info as new WITB photos roll in over the next few weeks/months. Still lots of tinkering happening.