Equipment
Steven Bowditch goes back to… golf clubs from last decade?
For struggling golfers, a trip to your basement can often be as beneficial as a trip to your local pro shop. Case in point: Two-time PGA Tour winner Steven Bowditch.
Dating back to the Frys.com Open in October of 2015, Bowditch has played in 30 PGA Tour sanctioned events. He’s missed the cut 19 times over that span, and is currently on a streak of nine-straight MCs. His best finish was T10 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, a tournament he qualified for by winning the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson.
By all accounts, Bowditch is in a slump. And based on his Tweets over the past year or so, he fully recognizes that fact. While some professional golfers won’t let the media or the public in on their lack of confidence, Bowditch is outspoken on the state of his game, often making jokes at his own expense. He keeps it light, and doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously.
Check out some of our favorite tweets from the past few months.
My daughter goes through nappies like I go through prov 1’s…
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) January 18, 2017
Hey @BeefGolf me and @booweekley challenge you and your partner to a birdie, beer and beef triathlon next year..let’s c if u da real deal ????????
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) December 14, 2016
Party time. 18 holes with the same ball.
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) November 5, 2016
Not a good sign when you have to get your ball retriever regripped
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) September 15, 2016
My trainer says to me “dude you need a balanced diet” I said “does a beer in each hand count?” That cost me another 25 push ups
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) September 6, 2016
Man I hate running!!! twice yesterday! I ran out of beer and then I had to run to the store… Knackered! ????????
— stevenbowditch (@bowdo83) August 31, 2016
WITB
With that in mind, look at the clubs we photographed in Bowditch’s bag at this week’s CareerBuilder Challenge.
Among them are clubs that were released in the mid-2000s, including a TaylorMade R7 Quad Draw fairway wood and set Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons. Surely Bowditch didn’t buy these off eBay, so he must have gamed these around the time of their release. He also has a Cobra AMP Cell hybrid in the bag, which was released a few years ago but looks like it has spent the last 10 years in his garage without a headcover on it.
The point here is that for a struggling golfer, sometimes it may be best to bring back clubs from your past that give you good feelings, rather than trying the latest technology. Best of luck to Bowditch this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge, and to any golfer looking to climb out of a slump.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Pingback: Steven Bowditch makes radical change with decade-old clubs in bag – Australian Golf Digest
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jgpl001
Jan 22, 2017 at 4:37 pm
My God, he must have found that bag in a ditch after a night out wit Robert Allenby ????
Pingback: Steven Bowditch makes radical change with decade-old clubs in bag | Golf
Jun
Jan 20, 2017 at 1:38 am
Are those fusion irons have legal grooves ?
Pingback: Steven Bowditch switches to decade-old clubs at CareerBuilder Challenge | GOLF URGE
Pingback: Steven Bowditch switches to decade-old clubs at CareerBuilder Challenge | Golfweek
Jason
Jan 19, 2017 at 2:36 pm
Are those fusions even legal?
RayJD
Jan 19, 2017 at 7:43 pm
Not unless they were regrooved, no.
Kromulous
Jan 19, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Dont get down on yourself ! It will come back, loosen up, and swing free !
Jam
Jan 19, 2017 at 10:44 am
He’s got to be the worst multiple winner on tour right now, except for Tiger.
John
Jan 19, 2017 at 9:10 am
Bowditch has become one of my favorite golfers to root for. The guy has an incredible sense of humor and realizes although it is his job, it’s just a game.
mitch
Jan 19, 2017 at 8:48 am
The pro’s are just like us! You gotta go with w/e works! Props to Steven!
Jay
Jan 20, 2017 at 8:54 am
No, no they’re not. He’s trying to keep his tour card, you’re just looking for a bargain so you can beat Jim on Saturday and avoid having to pay for the Coors Light.
Mikee
Jan 19, 2017 at 8:27 am
I always have two full sets of clubs…..one full set of Titleist AP2/915 woods/Vokey wedges and my old “gamer” Ping Eye 2 BeCu to pull out to “clear my brain” when I’m striking it poorly.
Tiger
Jan 19, 2017 at 12:43 pm
That’s not a full set…just saying