Equipment

Forum Thread of the Day: “Most overrated/underrated equipment in golf”

Published

5 years ago

Jun 28, 2019

Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from orangeology who asks fellow members to share what they feel are the most underrated and overrated pieces of equipment currently in the sport. Our members divulge, with word one representing overrated, and word two underrated.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire thread and have your say at the link below.

cliffhanger: “Forgiveness / Having high lofted wedges.
Christen_The_Sloop: “Practice / Play. Bridgestone golf equipment – that stuff is underrated
Bubb: “Scotty Cameron putters / Titleist TS2 drivers and fairway woods.
smithy23: “Major OEMs / Srixon Irons”
Kevinz: “Most underrated is the motorised caddies, saves at least two shots per round. Most overrated is the driver shaft, not a whole lot of difference distance wise.”

Entire Thread: “Most overrated/underrated equipment in golf”

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Forum Thread of the Day: “Mini driver vs. Big driver”

Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

39 Comments

Tully

Jul 23, 2019 at 10:14 pm

Overrated Tiger Woods

Overrated Taylor Made

Underrated – Everything else…

Reply Report comment
- Hank Haney
  
  Jul 24, 2019 at 2:21 pm
  
  Your ignorance is overwhelming.
  
  Reply Report comment
s

Jul 13, 2019 at 5:52 pm

Over – $300+ shafts
Under – MP-37

Reply Report comment
Alfredo Smith

Jul 10, 2019 at 4:42 pm

UnderRated, PXG

OverRated PXG criticism and all the hate, LOL

Reply Report comment
- kevin moran
  
  Jul 15, 2019 at 9:32 pm
  
  Very True. Spot on. Expensive? Yep. Excellent? Yep. I cannot afford a Ferrari, but I can appreciate the excellence of the vehicle. I don’t hate the company for making a premium product.
  
  Reply Report comment
N D Boondocks

Jul 8, 2019 at 2:38 pm

Most over-rated – how far guys claim they can hit their driver

Most under-rated – how far most guys claim the other guy hits his driver

Reply Report comment
Yomomma

Jul 5, 2019 at 9:18 am

Vokey/the umbrella.

Reply Report comment
Eric Grafton

Jul 4, 2019 at 7:28 am

Overrated, most instructors. They all “think” they know what they’re doing..but only teach what worked for THEM at ONE moment in time. Go to 10 different instructors, and you’ll get 9 different ways of doing the same thing. They don’t take into consideration all physical limitations and physical differences of everyone they’re teaching.

These instructors also include those “fitting” someone into a $500 driver. PLEASE!!….they are doing this sport and industry a disservice. Nothing is funnier than watching a guy in our league FINALLY get a hold of one at 280+, (with his $500 driver) and proceed to duff the next shot, or turn a great drive into a triple bogie because he doesn’t know how to USE HIS WEDGE or PUTT.

All they do by selling that driver is ultimately frustrate people into not wanting to play and spend more on golf, because that driver didn’t turn them into a 9 from playing off a 25.

Reply Report comment
- d
  
  Jul 8, 2019 at 12:52 pm
  
  nobody forces anyone to buy anything…..fitting is nothing more than intelligently reducing the possibilities while testing to what you hit best….you can fit yourself if you had more time and all the equipment possibilities laying around. but you dont…
  
  if someone wants to hit 280 with their one good drive instead of 250 then so be it….
  i think fitting on irons as or more important than driver…
  
  Reply Report comment
geohogan

Jul 1, 2019 at 10:59 am

Alignment sticks so overrated.
We stand on our legs…legs are attached to the heels of our feet, so why
do golf instructors lay alignment stick across our toes?

Our alignment is to the quadrant of the ball we intend to impact, not the target line. So why do golf instructors have alignment sticks along target line
as if we intend to impact the back of the ball. its no wonder 95 of golfers slice the ball.

We sweep the inside quadrant of the ball with the heel of the clubface. The design of the golf club ensures the clubface squares to the ball.
Never will happen as long as we misuse alignment sticks

Reply Report comment
Alex

Jun 30, 2019 at 12:23 pm

I think pure shafts make a ton of sense. At very least it gives you less to worry about/ be upset about when you aren’t hitting it well.

Reply Report comment
- geohogan
  
  Jul 1, 2019 at 11:08 am
  
  Golf shafts, off the shelf are worth about $10.
  Imperfect is an understatement. Very overrated.
  
  Pureing a cheap shaft is like, “lipstick on a pig”.
  
  There are shafts that are mostly perfectly round and symmetrical due to
  the manufacturing process. eg Nunchuk Xi at $50
  
  Reply Report comment
Dan

Jun 30, 2019 at 4:04 am

Overrated-PXG, Jumbo Maxx grips, anything that promises distance for seniors and ladies, low compression balls for everyone, chippers, pro-v 1’s price, and most of all puring shafts. No real players do it. Look at all the pro’s , all the shaft logos are down in the same spot, not 1 pured. Huge scam to add cost. You trust the $200+ shafts preformance but not how they want it installed? Plus the shaft doesn’t flex in a straight line anyway. It goes toe up and back to toe down and through. Most amateurs can’t make the same swing twice anyway and the ones that can don’t pure them. If you adjust the driver weighting it affects the way the cluhead releases which if it worked you’d need the shaft repured after every adjustment. Totall BS scam.

Reply Report comment
James Awad

Jun 29, 2019 at 6:59 pm

Titleist & Cameron. Most over rated everything

Underrated? FOURTEEN, Brigestone irons, Srixon irons, Tour Edge proline Wilson proline & Mizuno metal woods – even the hardcore Miz guys won’t even demon them ‘gotta have Titleist driver’????????????

Reply Report comment
John

Jun 29, 2019 at 5:19 pm

See More putters are so underrated. Such quality !!!
Srixon Irons… or is the word out now?

Reply Report comment
- 2putttom
  
  Aug 5, 2019 at 12:19 pm
  
  yep, SRIXON quality words out.
  
  Reply Report comment
joro

Jun 29, 2019 at 4:53 pm

Under rated, Wilson Golf, quality and lower cost. Over rated, all those that have to spend Millions to convince us that their product is the best and in many cases it is nothing but Bull+++T. And included in the Over Rated krap is those self promoting “GURU Teachers. Does the teacher make the player or does the player make the teacher.

Equipment and teachers are both over rated.

Reply Report comment
THETadersalad

Jun 29, 2019 at 8:08 am

Over rated – variable length irons
under rated – single length irons

Reply Report comment
T

Jun 29, 2019 at 2:27 am

460 cc drivers. Complexly under rated and misunderstood.
Who wants to go back to 150cc Persimmons?

Reply Report comment
Rich

Jun 28, 2019 at 10:04 pm

Overrated? Any irons that promise more distance. That’s jive. They offer more distance by strengthening lofts, making the shafts longer, and keeping the number the same. You don’t want more distance. You want predictable distance and precise gapping.

Any woods that promise anything other than more accuracy. Woods are already limited in length, size, MOI and COR. You simply cannot make a wood hit it farther. But you CAN continue to use exotic materials to move weight out to the perimeter to make them more forgiving, and you CAN make them wonderfully adjustable so they can be fit with precision.

PXG? Maybe. Forget price; are they better clubs? If so, then “overrated” isn’t the right adjective. They may not be worth the price, but if they’re really better, they’re not overrated. But are they really better? If not, they’re overrated.

Blades. Sorry, but those are about ego, not performance. They don’t perform better. But people who play this game for a living can it the sweet spot so precisely that perimeter weighting wouldn’t help them anyway. But for the vast majority of golfers, they’re a detriment to their games.

Anything that creates a distinction without a different. The TM SLDR driver, for example. Or the Twist Face–does it really make a difference?

I hit a driver about 245 carry. I carry an 8-iron about 160. If you offer me more distance than that, I’ll pass. (It probably comes from tricks with trade-offs anyway.) But if you offer me more accurate clubs–even if they’re shorter–I’m listening.

Reply Report comment
- geohogan
  
  Jul 4, 2019 at 7:48 am
  
  @ Rich
  Heavier clubheads, with mass further from centerline of the shaft(flywheel)
  will increase forces that cause droop, kick and twisting. These are all causes of less consistency and loss of accuracy.
  ie larger clubheads are often over rated as more accurate, if and when paired with cheap off the shelf golf shafts, that cannot withstand increased forces causing droop, kick and twisting.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Simms
    
    Jul 12, 2019 at 2:47 am
    
    Do think for one minute a major OEM is going to spend up words of $300,000 to develop a driver head and then put it on a shaft it will not work with, even if the shaft cost $10 it will work with the driver head….sure the highest level player is looking at inches and a high end shaft maybe be 5 yards longer of 3% more on line, but by far the average player maybe a 10 or more is going to be fine with tne OEM standard shaft.
    
    Reply Report comment
- JC
  
  Jul 4, 2019 at 7:55 am
  
  You should be carrying your driver 280+ if you carry 8 iron 160.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Michael Constantine
    
    Jul 6, 2019 at 8:43 am
    
    I carry my driver 275 plus and my 8 iron 155 at most. I don’t think driver and iron swings equate in some amateurs such as myself. I’m a fairly strong guy who played baseball all my life. Swinging a driver is like riding a bike for me. Swinging anything less than a 6 iron feels awkward to me and I struggle the further I go down the line from 8-Lob on full shots. So to say if you carry an 8 iron 160 means you carry a driver 280 isn’t always the case.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Bob Johnson
    
    Jul 8, 2019 at 3:58 pm
    
    JC – I could not agree more…
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Rich
    
    Jul 8, 2019 at 6:00 pm
    
    I might be conservative with the driver carry estimate. But I definitely don’t carry it 280.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - RP
    
    Jul 9, 2019 at 4:44 pm
    
    Why? Do you know his driver and iron specs?
    
    Reply Report comment
    - RGL
      
      Jul 25, 2019 at 1:02 am
      
      RP….It points to a lack of efficiency with the driver. A lot of people struggle with that…myself included but am working on it. Typically with amateurs the gapping narrows and efficiency drops as you move to your long irons and woods. Driver carry average for me is 250 which is up from 235. My driver was only about 10yds longer than my 3 wood at that time. 3 wood carry is at 235 now and 8 iron carry is stable at 150. Ideal goal for me is 265-270 carry with a driver. Confident I’ll be there by end of the year as I usually get 2 or 3 out there at that distance in a round now.
      
      Reply Report comment
Madeline Morgan

Jun 28, 2019 at 8:47 pm

Scotty Cameron/Evnroll

Reply Report comment
Distance Compression Dude

Jun 28, 2019 at 12:48 pm

GX7 Hot Metal, Vixa V12, Square Strike Wedge, C3i Wedge, Hammer Driver

All overrated and hot garbage.

Reply Report comment
- MIKE
  
  Jul 9, 2019 at 3:12 pm
  
  You have to yell when you hit the Hammer driver or else it doesn’t perform well. Just like the infomercial. LOL
  
  Reply Report comment
dj

Jun 28, 2019 at 11:49 am

Pured shafts! Overrated!

Reply Report comment
- James Awad
  
  Jun 29, 2019 at 6:54 pm
  
  No. Proven a thousand times on Trackman & high speed HD video at our place. We don’t build any high end irons or install a driver shaft without doing it. It absolutely works
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Dan
    
    Jul 2, 2019 at 9:43 pm
    
    I’ve heard Puring is a must and it’s complete BS. I understand each shaft has a spine and the concept makes perfect sense but people who know a lot more than me don’t think it matters.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Dan W
      
      Jul 25, 2019 at 3:44 am
      
      Look up how high end graphite shafts are made. They don’t have spines. The layers are overlapping. And btw spining shafts find a strong and weak side of the shaft. Either way puring shaft is total BS. I don’t care what someone proves the preformance says otherwise.
      
      Reply Report comment
David Lehmann

Jun 28, 2019 at 11:21 am

PXG!! PXG!!! PXG!!!

Reply Report comment
- David Lehmann
  
  Jun 28, 2019 at 11:22 am
  
  Sorry Overrated!
  
  Reply Report comment
  - David Lehmann
    
    Jun 28, 2019 at 2:20 pm
    
    And Way overpriced!!
    
    Reply Report comment
    - 2putttom
      
      Aug 5, 2019 at 12:20 pm
      
      same sales philosophy as Cameron
      
      Reply Report comment

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Equipment

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

Published

2 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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