Equipment

Full details of the TaylorMade SIM changes made by Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Matthew Wolff, and Collin Morikawa at the Sentry TOC

Published

4 years ago

Jan 3, 2020

Earlier this week, GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief Ben Alberstadt reported the news of Dustin Johnson and Matthew Wolff being equipped at this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions with the all-new TaylorMade SIM drivers which hit the USGA conforming list on Monday.

Ahead of round one at this week’s event, the company divulged further details on the new SIM additions in Johnson and Wolff’s bag as well as fellow TaylorMade golfer’s Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa—including background behind the choices each man had made.

Dustin Johnson

As previously reported, during round one in Hawaii, Johnson played a 10.5-degree TaylorMade SIM Max driver with a 45″ Fujikura Ventus 6X shaft. According to TaylorMade representatives, Johnson has been extremely impressed with the consistency in spin rates, ball flight, as well as the extra head speed of the driver during testing.

The 35-year-old is also using a 15-degree SIM Max 3-wood with a 42″, 95-gram Project X HZRDUS Black shaft this week. Per the brand, Johnson made the decision due to the extra spin allowing him to carry 280-yards with the club, with the SIM Titanium 3-wood having too much ball speed, causing Johnson to carry the club too far.

Rounding out the SIM additions in Johnson’s bag this week is a 22-degree SIM Max Rescue club with a HZRDUS 105 Hybrid shaft. According to TM, Johnson has been mightily impressed with its consistent 255-260 yard carry as well it being an anti-left rescue club for the 2016-U.S. Open Champion. As a side note, Thursday’s opening round was Johnson’s first-ever competitive round in his life playing a rescue club.

Johnson is also using the brand’s 60 and 54-degree new MG2 chrome wedges and per sources, the American loves the raw faces on the wedges. Johnson is also playing a Spider X Copper putter in Kapalua this week.

Matthew Wolff

Matthew Wolff got his year underway on Thursday at the Sentry TOC, and he did so using a 9-degree TaylorMade SIM driver with a Graphite Design Tour AD TP 7 TX shaft, as well as a 15-degree SIM Titanium 3-wood with a new Graphite Design Tour AD XC 8 TX shaft.

According to TM representatives, Wolff feels that the driver is more consistent and forgiving than what he had previously been using, and stated that he loves the “flight and spin this week with the hard winds.”

With the 3-wood, Wolff claims that the clubs offer him more versatility with shots, calling it the “the best 3-wood I’ve ever hit” as well as it giving the 20-year-old “incredible confidence looking down at the shape” of the club.

Jon Rahm

The Spaniard began his 2020 with a 10.5-degree TaylorMade SIM driver with the same 75-gram, 45″ Aldila shaft he’s played in recent years. Per company sources, increased ball speed and distance with the club saw him choose it over the M5.

Rahm is also using 15-degree SIM Titanium 3-wood at 16.5 degrees, as well as a SIM Titanium 5-wood, both set to launch higher. According to TM, Rahm made the adjustments due to faster and longer results, and that the 25-year-old loves the shape and look of his new SIM Titanium woods.

Rahm is also playing a 50-degree new MG2 SB wedge with fresh grooves to start the year.

Collin Morikawa

The Californian has begun his year with a TaylorMade SIM driver with the head adjusted two notches higher, with a Mitsubishi Tensei White 70 TX shaft. Per TM, Morikawa has seen a 1-2 mph increase in ball speed with this set-up and has found his new driver easier to control, with the spin in an excellent window for his preferred fade shot.

Morikawa is also using a 15-degree TaylorMade SIM Titanium 3-wood with an MRC D+ 80 TX shaft, which according to the company, has given the 22-year-old a higher launch and 10 yards more carry on average than he previously had.

Morikawa is also using a TP Soto putter as well as a TP5 golf ball this week in Hawaii.

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Gianni Magliocco

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

15 Comments

Jack

Jan 21, 2020 at 1:00 pm

Testing has shown the SIM is shorter than most for non tour swings… this is a low sping how swing speed club.

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Shane

Jan 4, 2020 at 1:29 pm

Length on Matt and Collin’s metals? Also Jon’s length?

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gunmetal

Jan 4, 2020 at 11:37 am

Everything is awesomer about SIM than M5. Really. It is. More everything. It’s got magic sauce.

Reply Report comment
matt

Jan 4, 2020 at 6:48 am

Astronomical, stupendous & lovely was overheard on the range. These are the best golfers in the world results would be the same if they used a driver from 5 years ago.

Reply Report comment
Com’on Man!

Jan 3, 2020 at 5:14 pm

This whole article sounds like one giant ad for TM….
“According to TM reps so and so LOVES this new club”
“Per TM reps Johnson was hitting the other SIM 3 wood too far!!” And certainly the best of them all “Johnson is really happy with the extra club head speed he gets with the new SIM driver”. REALLY????? SMDH This has to be one of the worst articles on all of the internet. The crazy thing is people getting paid for this…

Reply Report comment
joshua jackso

Jan 3, 2020 at 5:06 pm

From what I saw of DJ’s drives this thing will be perfect for those that need help getting it to go left. Way left.

Reply Report comment
Bradley

Jan 3, 2020 at 2:59 pm

This new driver is so exciting. Is it and the shaft made in China?? So it will retail for around $199, right?

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Rich Douglas

Jan 3, 2020 at 10:53 am

The real thing to note here isn’t the TM club–who cares anymore? It’s that all of these guys play a driver shaft shorter than what is sold off-the-shelf to consumers. If these guys can’t control a 45.5″ driver, why do you think you can?

Reply Report comment
- HatlessHarold
  
  Jan 3, 2020 at 11:22 am
  
  I mean look at Rahm my man takes a 3/4 swing with a 45″ driver and yesterday was at least when I was watching producing high 170 mph ball speeds
  
  Reply Report comment
- Brent Blackburn
  
  Jan 3, 2020 at 11:30 am
  
  Agree 100%. It infuriates me how all the new drivers are 46 inches off the rack and I have to do all this lead taping and balancing once I cut my driver down to 43″. I laugh when they talk about forgiveness for off-center hits and accuracy…another way to cut down on off-center hits is to shorten what is becoming an absurdly long club, especially for players under 6 ft tall.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Prime21
    
    Jan 3, 2020 at 6:11 pm
    
    Or……you could have it custom made to spec instead of being CHEAP.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - gunmetal
      
      Jan 4, 2020 at 11:35 am
      
      You sound like a hater.
      
      Reply Report comment
Adam

Jan 3, 2020 at 10:40 am

TM staffers always sound like hostages when they’re promoting new clubs

Reply Report comment
- Prime21
  
  Jan 3, 2020 at 6:13 pm
  
  & you sound like a hater.
  
  Reply Report comment
Josh

Jan 3, 2020 at 10:02 am

I don’t think it’s Dustin Johnson’s first time ever playing a rescue. When he first came out, he played a rescue. The most recent time he played a rescue was in 2009 when he played the Taylormade Rescue TP.

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Equipment

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

Published

6 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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