19th Hole

Highlights from our talk with the “King of Stamping,” Titleist’s Aaron Dill

Published

6 years ago

Apr 6, 2018

Aaron Dill, right-hand man to Bob Vokey himself and the “king of wedge stamping,” as Andrew Tursky called him, talked with the TG2 on a rare day off after spending the week attending to staffer’s needs at the Masters.

While the full 40-minute podcast is well worth a listen, we’re picking from the buffet to make you a plate of some of the best of the chat with Mr. Dill.

On Bernd Wiesberger’s Masters wedge…

The Austrian traditionally gives Dill a call prior to the Masters to dial in his set and discuss wedge stampings. “He’s really into that stuff, and so am I…it’s a collaborative process.” Interestingly, Dill says the actual wedge stamping doesn’t take nearly as long as the preparation. “That stamping took…five to 10 minutes tops,” Dill says. The process of actually applying the paint involves bottles with fine tips and little squeegees, then cleaning the wedge with a little acetone.

On players preparing for the Masters…

“We take into account that the conditions are so unique…Augusta National does such a great job of preparing the golf course…it’s just immaculate out there. Conditions are generally firm and fast.” Thus, “prep involves a little bit of sole testing, a little bit of bounce testing.” Players test different soles to deal with the firmness and want to be sure their grooves are fresh. The process starts a month or two before the event.

On common player changes at Augusta…

While the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth don’t change much, according to Dill, some players, “I don’t want to say ‘panic,’ but when you get to the Masters, you want to play your best golf. Equipment preparation and golf course preparation is so important those first three days…Justin and Jordan will roll into the event with the same four pieces they played at every other event.” The only changes pertain to new wedges with fresh grooves.

On gaining players’ trust…

“Trust is earned over time. Spending time with them. Listening to them. Getting an idea what they want and what they need…I’ve been fortunate, I’ve been able to work with these guys since they were really young…I got to know Jordan Spieth when he was a high schooler. Being able to say that I spent all that time with those guys validates our relationship and the trust they put in me and Bob Vokey.”

On wedge grinding…

“Wedge grinding is understanding how to polish and ground and how the wheels work…it’s the combination of learning how to grind, but also, understanding what you’re grinding and why.” Dill says the ability to translate a player’s preferences into the wedge s/he wants is vital.

On learning grinding from Bob Vokey…

“Bob, would it be OK if I took a case of heads and just practiced?” Dill would ask. He would then take the heads from Vokey’s shop and practice grinds at his own truck and take them back to Vokey for feedback. Vokey would then mark up the wedges with Sharpie (like a teacher with a red pin), showing Dill what he needed to change. He’d then work with Vokey’s in-house polishers to refine things further and continue to learn.

Wedge grinding is “like a haircut: once you take it off, it’s not going to go back on there…you have to take your time and become one with the that machine.”

On turning wedges into what Tour players want…

“Tour players have these incredible eyes for things. You learn a lot about that when you’re polishing over time: what players are looking for and why, how you can turn a club from a tool into a piece of art…blending beauty and the things that are needed in the sole to produce the things they want.”

On the popularity of Vokey wedges…

“It’s a combination of beauty and technology. Bob will tell you, ‘we’re not going to sacrifice the aesthetics of the wedge.’…He doesn’t want to produce a product that isn’t stunning.” Dill adds, “the first thing we focus on is the aesthetics and the profile. Then, once we have the attractive profile, we’re going to start focusing on technology.” Dill adds the focus then turns to grooves, soles, and CG, “but beauty comes first.”

On developing grinds…

“With Tour players, we spend years testing with them…The D-grind is kind of this interesting play on bounce where you need it and playability where you need it…We call it the big brother to the M-grind…All of our grinds are inspired by what’s successful on Tour. The D for us has been a really big offering, especially when we’re on the East Coast due the the Bermuda grass, the sand-based soils, and the grain pattern.”

“We’ll use Jason Dufner as an example and the K-grind as an example. He said, ‘Hey I was hanging out with Tom Kite, and Tom had this wedge that was really cool, but I want to change this, that and the other thing…can you make that?’ After taking an oversized wedge to the shop floor and grinding, Dill produced the sole Dufner wanted. Dufner took the wedge out, played it, was successful with it, which led to more players asking for the grind. “That’s where the whole process starts,” Dill says. And if a wedge does well on Tour, the company then considers bringing it to retail. “But we certainly don’t just make stuff to make stuff,” Dill says, “that’s why the Tour is so important to us.”

On the importance of wedge fitting…

“It’s important to get out and test things…if you’re going to make an investment in your golf equipment, you might as well make sure that whatever you buy is right for you. Everybody’s different, and that’s why we make 27 different models in SM7.”

On Justin Thomas’ wedge stamping…

“When he was younger, he came out to our test site…he was hitting shots, and he was just peppering this flag. And they were like, “You’re like radar. Every single time it’s perfect.’ That’s how ‘radar’ started. When I first met Justin, he had that on the wedges. When he came out on Tour, I asked him if wanted to keep stamping it.” Thomas said he wanted to do something different, so Dill started stamping some lyrics from some of the songs Thomas was listening to. “And his short game kind of went down hill a little bit,” Dill says, and Thomas said, “On this next set…go back to ‘radar.’”

On memorable stampings and the process…

“Morgan [Hoffmann] is great because he always has new material for me. We would relate it to things that were going on in his life. Another great guy is Robert Streb…Darren Stiles is another funny guy…He did latitude/longitude coordinates on some of his clubs…I tell guys, ‘I don’t want to do initials, that’s boring. Let’s tell a story, let’s have some fun. Let’s be funny. Let’s be unique.” Dill says that sometimes players come up with ideas, and sometimes they leave it in his hands. “Ian Poulter, he would have just ‘IJP’ on there. One day we were talking about cars.” Poulter told him about his newest Ferrari: his 13th and asked if maybe Dill could fit the names of all 13 models on a wedge.

On his all-time favorite stamping…

“I did the 17th hole at Sawgrass for Robert Streb. That was really, really fun. I stamped the Valspar chameleon on something.”

On whether raw wedges actually spin more…

“Not necessarily. We did some great work on scoreline testing. Sometimes, when you cut your scorelines in and put a surface over the top, like a chrome or something like that, we describe it as folding a piece of paper in. Every time you fold a piece of paper in, it can become a bit softer. So, that’s where we got together with our vendors and realized there’s a better process for that…the perception is raw spins more. In our testing, it’s so small, it’s not that much.”

On who has the best short game on Tour…

“I think my favorite guy, who is just impressive with a wedge, is probably Jordan [Spieth]. He does everything well and is just so consistent. Now, there’s another guy I’ve enjoyed watching forever, he’s one of those guys that Tour players go to…for wedge advice: Brett Rumford.”

Listen to the full podcast here.

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19th Hole

‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage

Published

2 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

Over the past year or so, PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay has taken a great deal of criticism for his pace of play.

Now, Cantlay is once again under fire for a questionable decision he made on Sunday at the RBC Heritage.

After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, whose ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.

Related: Patrick Cantlay WITB

On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.

Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and return to chip and putt on Monday morning.

Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision-making.

Can’t believe my eyes watching Patrick Cantlay why on earth would you hit your second shot then mark your ball absolutely crazy, maybe says a lot ?

— Ian Woosnam (@IWoosnam) April 22, 2024

Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 Monday morning.

Following his round, Cantlay explained his decision to wait to hit his third shot the next morning:

“I really did want to finish last night, so I felt like if I could get the ball up there maybe in an easier spot, maybe I would have finished, but as I got the ball up near the green, I realized it would be easier to finish this morning. That’s what I decided to do.”

GolfWRX has reached out to Patrick Cantlay’s management team for a response to Woosnam’s comments.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

2 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.