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WRX Spotted: Sergio Garcia with prototype Callaway Apex MB Smoke irons

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Last week, at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude, Sergio Garcia was spotted with some fresh new Callaway Apex MBs with a smoke finish. The specs appear to be the same as his previous set in chrome but with the obvious finish change.

Trends for black/smoke or raw irons seem to be cyclical with some players just like with the general consumers. We have seem a number of companies, from Callaway to Titleist, produce their most popular sets with a darker finish recently. With Callaway, the black irons are found in the Apex line (but not including the Apex MB), so maybe, just maybe, this is an indication that we could see a limited release down the line.

It wouldn’t be the first time Callaway has done a product for tour that was eventually released to the general public—remember the Triple Diamond Epic anyone? (How could you not?). It’s also not the first time Sergio has used an iron with a darker finish, because if you remember back to his days with TaylorMade, they did the second version RAC MB TP in a smoke finish that looked great (it’s also one the sets I regret selling to this day).

With Sergio Garcia currently sitting at 62nd in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, we should see these in the bag a few more times and potentially at the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta—if he can get his game on track.

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. 2putttom

    Aug 5, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    wow ! I’ve always liked the Callaway blade and finish looks great

  2. PGA

    Aug 4, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    Who cares, he’s finished anyway except acting like a child!

  3. Robert Coppersmith

    Aug 4, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Those babies will leave a real dent in his caddy’s athletic cup.

  4. Charles Panco

    Aug 4, 2019 at 6:56 am

    Can they survive smashing through a tee marker?

  5. Martin

    Aug 4, 2019 at 6:46 am

    Nice finish

  6. EinNM

    Aug 3, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    So now we know the next set of clubs Sergio will be throwing at his caddie.

  7. Mike B

    Aug 3, 2019 at 9:14 pm

    If Callaway wants to test their black finish, no better jacka$$ to do it. Maybe they are petulant child proof

  8. gery katona

    Aug 3, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    A blade is a blade is a blade, but those are stunning blades.

  9. JROC

    Aug 3, 2019 at 8:53 pm

    You’re telling me that Sergio Garcia is getting prototype anything at this point. Why have companies not dumped this fool and put as much distance between them as possible. He has run out of chances, we all know his true colors. No more passes

  10. Benny

    Aug 3, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    These are sick and I will try my best to get a set. Or even the raw heads. Love them all and have had this infatuation since 10 years ago with my first MB2 set.
    Thanks Callaway and Sergio. Now go win. I can only imagine how friggen hard it is to not snap clubs out there let alone want to take huge divots out of a green. You want to take a backhoe to that perfect place because you are so mad you could push a buttom tha launch an A-Bomb. Its golf, we all get there!

  11. Rich Douglas

    Aug 3, 2019 at 10:59 am

    I’d rather he kept his clubs and changed his attitude.

  12. Gunter Eisenberg

    Aug 3, 2019 at 9:39 am

    Even though a man-child is using these clubs, will it be in a more durable DBM finish like the black irons used by Matlby, Cobra, an Ben Hogan?

  13. Dave Maddux

    Aug 2, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    A list of other athletes who want to win and thrown tantrums on a regular basis…..and we didn’t care

    LeBron James
    Rafael Nadal
    Roger Clemens
    Draymond Green
    Bryce Harper
    John McEnroe
    OBJ
    Philip Rivers

    Like it or not, and I don’t agree with damaging tee boxes….Sergio just wants to win. BTW those black finished are perfection.

    • Rich Douglas

      Aug 3, 2019 at 11:00 am

      Interesting list. Which one of those guys spit in a hole? Oh, right. None of them.

    • JP

      Aug 4, 2019 at 9:26 am

      Which of those named are golfers?
      .
      Golf is not just a game but a noble sport where the blessings of good manners and behaviour can shape one’s character and social reform. A Gentleman’s Game played by Gentleman known as such because of the Art of Etiquette that grooms a ‘Man’.

    • JP

      Aug 4, 2019 at 12:59 pm

      Who on that list played the “Gentleman’s Game” professionally?

  14. Leave a reply

    Aug 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Wooo Weee, big deal!! I hope he swings those irons around his neck and knocks some sense and sportsmanship into that thick head of his!

  15. James

    Aug 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Such a rotten child does not deserve such pretty tools.

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Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)

MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype

MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.

Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype

We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS

Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.

Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2

This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.

Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype

This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.

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Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

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Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.

Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.

The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.

Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.

Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!

 

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Whats in the Bag

Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.

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