Equipment

TaylorMade P Series irons: Talking tour integration

Published

4 years ago

Aug 14, 2020

Now that the cat has been let out of the bag on the new 2020 TaylorMade P Series irons, I wanted to get some intel on how these new sticks will start to infiltrate the major tours and what that might look like.

TaylorMade’s Adrian Rietveld is one of the individuals that players like Rory, Rahm, and a number of the European staff trust to transition into new product.

I had a chance to chat with him this week on all things P Series, and this is what he had to say.

JW: In a general sense, what is the process for you when integrating a new product on Tour?

AR: I never like to do [more than] one product at a time, unless I’m at the Kingdom or off-site. On tour, it’s essential the focus stays in a bubble and we deal with one thing at a time. We typically will speak before any testing is done and I’ll get a sense from them what is looking to be gained or if there are any glaring issues.

The main place to start is going apples-to-apples spec-wise—old product vs new product. At that point we can see what the new product is offering, i.e. where it’s good and also identify what we need to do to get dialed across the board.

JW: Of the main Tour staff, who is testing now, and who will be testing after the season is over?

AR: Can’t answer exactly who is currently testing because all players test at different times, but I know our U.S. and European core staff players all have sets including non-staff players that also have our equipment in play.

The cool thing is the players who have had the time to test put them in play quickly which is a good sign.

JW: Rory put the P7MB in play quickly. What did he respond to on the P7MB that encouraged the switch?

AR: He did, but by the time, he got them he had been testing with us for a good while. When he got the set he has now, he was already quite familiar with them, so the transition was easy. This iron was designed with a lot of his input (as well as DJ) and both players had very nuanced but similar preferences, so it’s safe to say he was comfortable with them when they came outta the box.

It’s not a huge switch from his 730’s. He liked that he picked up marginal improvements across the board and was particularly pleased of the simplicity of the set—especially in the longer irons with less offset.

JW: What improvements are you seeing so far vs old models?

AR: For MB, using Charley Hull as an example, the 730 for her seemed to turn over a bit and was a bit less forgiving. With the 7MB, she neutralized her ball flight all while keeping her spec identical to her old set.

In the MC the long irons seem to launch a touch higher with a fraction more speed. Every player who has tested has made the switch, and that’s with no pressure to do so. We are patient when players irons hit in regards to player switches. I believe in the next 6-9 months you will see a ton of MC’s in bags, whether its staff or non-staff.

JW: Do you think you will see more combo sets than before?

AR: To be honest most setups these days are combo sets in some way shape or form. What I think we will see are players having the P7MB play further down into the set. For example, the player that was 4, 5, 6 750 and 7-P in 730 will now start to have the MB in the 5 and 6. That little addition of forgiveness will give players enough confidence and performance to make them comfortable.

JW: Using Rahm as an example, what is his process when he is getting into a new product?

AR: He spends a lot of time at The Kingdom and does any major switching there. He’s not a player who tends to tinker at a tournament site. As with most of our staff, his process is about making sure any switch in the bag is a step forward in performance. Since he lives in Arizona, getting to Keith and me in Carlsbad isn’t a long trip and that gives us ample quiet time to focus, test, and experiment.

*according to TaylorMade, eight sets P Series irons have been built for players on the European Tour with seven going into play immediately.

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Whats in the Bag

Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)

Published

5 mins ago

Apr 25, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-8, PW), TaylorMade P760 (9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.

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Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

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.

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic

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Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

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.

Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.

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!