Equipment

Jamie Sadlowski discusses his new Cleveland driver, WITB (2018 PGA Show Demo Day)

Published

6 years ago

Jan 23, 2018

Jamie Sadlowski, newly signed with Cleveland-Srixon, was on the range at Demo Day showcasing his refined golf swing that’s now made for professional golf, rather than the distance-first swing of his long-drive days.

We had the pleasure of spending some time with Jamie as he took us through his bag from top-to-bottom. He also spoke about his new swing changes, and he described what’s different about Tour life versus the long drive tour.

See all of our photos from the 2018 PGA Show Demo Day.

Cleveland Launcher HB (10.5 degrees, turned to 7.25 degrees)

Jamie says: “We’ll start with the driver, the Cleveland Launcher HB driver, with 7.25 degrees of loft. It’s the standard head, everything you can buy off the shelf. Everything’s bent a little open, just to take loft off. Obviously being a high-speed player with a high launch driver, I’ve taken launch down. With the Nunchuk shaft, 45 inches, I believe the swing weight’s D5 on this. Just very stable, not much curvature, kills a lot of spin. I’ve been in that shaft for 5 or 6 years now, and haven’t been able to get away from it, just for me it loads real good. Can’t get out of it, cannot get out of it.”

Srixon Z-U65 and Z-965 irons

Jamie says: “Then I work into the UT, it’s actually a 16-degree, so 18 turned down to 16 degrees. I believe finished its 40.5 inches with the 105X prototype tipped 2 inches. Pretty stout. That’s kinda like my acting 3 wood.

Then from there I go into a 3-iron UT 20-degrees, X7 shaft. Standard loft. 1 degree flat. Swing weights on all my irons are D3 I believe, maybe D4. Then I play 4 iron thru wedge in the 965s. Again, all X700’s. 46-degree pitching wedge.”

Cleveland RTX-3 wedges

Jamie says: “Then from there I go into a 53-degree RTX-3 gap wedge, pretty standard grind, 10 degrees of bounce. Then we roll into the 56 degree, again RTX-3, 8 degrees of bounce, pretty standard stuff. All three of these wedges here are X100s, then the 60-degree I have them kinda put a C-grind on it, just because it makes them a little more versatile. I don’t carry anything higher than a 60-degree just because… I honestly don’t need it. With that grind I can kinda of turn it into whatever I want. All the stuff is obviously heavy, I believe the wedges go from D6 to D7 in the lob wedge.”

Why so much lead tape?

Jamie says: “The reason being I play a big grip, plus-4 midsize, so we lose a lot of swing points there. Obviously the irons don’t look as pretty as they should with all the lead tape, but that’s just what it takes to get ’em to proper swing weight.”

The Flatstick

Jamie says: “This is a Cameron Tour (prototype) Newport. Looks good.”

Toning down the swing speed

Jamie says: “I mean I’m not swinging 150 mph, I’m still swinging 135 mph, but to me that feels slow. So it’s controlled. There’s times when I need to hit a big shot, whether it’s need to make birdie on the last hole to make the cut, win the tournament, whatever you need. I know I have the power if I need it. There’s always an advantage to hitting it far when you’re hitting a pitching wedges versus guys hitting 6 irons. So I’m not looking to take away distance, but I’ve obviously refined it to where I can hit controlled shots with good ball flight and good spin numbers.”

Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball

Jamie says: “The XV golf ball has been a huge change for me. The ball combination with all the clubs, but especially with the driver is exceptional. I’ve always been a high-spin player and (the golf ball has) taken my ball flight down, even flighting wedges. I’m able to get to back pins now. The wind doesn’t affect the ball.”

Do you intimidate fellow Tour pros with your distance?

Jamie says: “I guess it depends. I just go there and play my game. If you’re playing on tour you’re going to go out there and play your own game. If I’m paired with an amateur who’s a 10-handicap, I’d say yea thats probably pretty intimidating when they’re hitting 3 woods to my 6 iron. But when I play tour events, I don’t think it affects anyone that much. If I’m hitting 5 iron in and they’re hitting 3 woods… there’s different ways to skin a cat. I just happen to hit it really far.”

Are you getting more comfortable out on Tour?

Jamie says: “After a full year of playing Mackenzie this year. I’ve gained a lot of confidence playing a full year and signing my name to a scorecard for once. Hopefully this year will be a big year with the swing changes I’ve made, I’m feeling more comfortable with them.”

Swing changes

Jamie says: “(I’m getting) the backswing a little more on plane. I’ve always been a little up and rolled to the inside and across the line and I’ve really fixed that. Got it more on plane going back, more on plane coming down. It ables me to hit more shots, versus that loopy little draw. So I’m able to cut it now, hit some hold shots into right, left winds, where I didn’t really have that shot. Flighting wedges, anything inside 150 yards is kinda where I spend most of my time now.”

See all of our photos from the 2018 PGA Show Demo Day.

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Equipment

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

Published

16 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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