Equipment
2012 PGA Show wrap up from the GolfWRX staff
2012 PGA Show Update.
Before I get rolling we have so much to post. All weekend and into next week we will be posting and loading video, photos and opinions of all the great things we captured.
Before I get rolling we have so much to post. All weekend and into next week we will be posting and loading video, photos and opinions of all the great things we captured.
Click here to see the discussion in the forums… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578903-2012-pga-show-wrap-up-and-comment-from-the-golfwrx-staff/
Tuesday afternoon to Friday night six gearheads from GolfWRX armed with a digital armory went to Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show with one objective… to cover the show for our readers. Not sure if we did a good job but certainly we tried our hardest. Here is a summary of the trip and I am sure the crew will add some of their thoughts.
Every year the guys that go down change. This year we had a final number of 6 guys and this is the roles they took…
Zack (KascoPro) to help out with Instruction and security 😉
Zak to Manage of the writers and help look out for special products. Also did a lot of interviews
Rob (HipCheck) to help manage this circus, do interviews, take photos and much more
Greg (PGA43) to take 17,893 photos and 79 videos (i wish) and talk for 21.5 hours a day like the iron man of media
Ryan (Gxgolfer) to keep the video running, gears turning, driving like crap and break the site on Tuesday to allow us to not be able to serve pages.
Myself Richard to sit in meetings most of the time and them escape to try to do what I love to do… walk the floor and see gear, companies and members.
Along with the 6 guys we took we must have had half or more of the attendees that are members and sudo reporters there. So many now are more than aware but active members. I will not single them out in fear of missing some but I must have met 300 guys and some gals that are active posting members here. It is always the best part of going down to the show to shake hands and say hello no matter how and where I am being pulled to and from.
We met with the CEO’s, Presidents, executives, managers and most importantly the designers and engineers of most of the OEM’s. We interviewed many of them and we are working to post up a lot of them now. As we always do we look to develop relationships and content that will lead to our readers excitement. We look to be inspired and are motivated by you our readers to provide more and more of things you want to see and hear. To connect golfers to the game.
Tuesday afternoon four of the six go tin earlier and headed to the convention center to get the credentials. Then we looked in the convention center to see the place a few days before it opened. WOW… 50% of the booths were ready and it was cool to see it before it was ready.
I will add some pics and description of what we did along the way…
Here is a pic of the before from Tuesday
Then we we went to lunch and Ryan broke the freaking site. We couldn’t serve pages all afternoon Tuesday. Real big time huh?
Checked in to the hotel and then we went to the Nike speed event. Sterling Sharpe (217 yd VR_S 6-iron). Suzann Pettersen looking on.
Got home and crashed. Then Wednesday was the all day at Demo day. All six of us got in the cherry mini van and got lost cause Ryan (Gxgolfer cant drive or do two things at the same time. Like listen to directions and drive I guess. Real sad stuff.
We had a great time at demo day. Here are some cool things we saw…
Great weather and a full house of companies…
Ran into Jeff McCoy of Scratch Golf. He is the lead grinder next to Don White. He showed us a burn mark from a putter head that whipped through a buffing wheel in an accident. The head was 400 plus degrees and landed on his forearm. Took some skin on impact…
Here is a shot of Greg taking one of so many videos you will see with the industries best…
The new and could be a best in show Adams sick Hybrid…
Tom Stites, Cindy Davis, Beth Gast and the whole Nike crew were great. Speed baby. Here is the video and the buzzz… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/577573-nike-vr-s-forged-irons-from-demo-day-at-the-pga-show/
Click here to see the discussion in the forums… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578903-2012-pga-show-wrap-up-and-comment-from-the-golfwrx-staff/
True Tempers new Satin PXi shaft. Here is the video to… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/577563-2012-true-temper-project-x-pxi/
Fourteen beauty…
TaylorMade Madness!!! There was a line that had to be 50 people long at one point just to hit the equipment on launch monitors. They were killing it. So crazy they had bleachers to house the watchers. Rocketballz 3 wood and hybrid killed it an dthe drivers are well fan favorites all the time. Wedge buzz also.
The Mighty MP-59 form Mizuno had a glow cast over it. Just AWSOME! An the wedges along with the other iron sets made Mizzy very crowded. We will have full video up for that… http://www.golfwrx.c…m-the-pga-show/
Other great sights…
Crazy Yonex. Fresh looks from them. Lots of pop and excitement… We will have a lot of video to explain the brand and equipment…
Tour Edge love. They have some serious buzzz with this 2 wood they have out… We will have some great video live today
Odyssey Sickness. They had their new tour truck that will travel to clubs and tour stops to give us consumers the same treatment the tour gets…
Cleveland style…
Oakley sickness also. Killer truck…
Cobra gone crazy. Puma lost their mind and ran a sport bar with a DJ at the range…
After Demo day I went back showered and met with some big shot at some big huge gigantic company and had an awesome hour long drill down into equipment trends, social media and building things that our members want to see. Had dinner at Texas De Brazil and went back to work into 2:00 am to wake at 6:30 to go to the show in the convention center.
THURSDAY
Thursday morning and all day was awesome. Here are some random shots of some exciting things I saw and the other 5 saw different things…
Here is a $16,000 Cameron twisty that was being sold at Table Rock Golf. Here is the thread for all the pics… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/579031-2012-pga-show-table-rock-golf-with-scotty-cameron-pics/
Ping in da house. We got close up pics of the ping i20 woods line and more irons Pics…
Click here to see the discussion in the forums… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578903-2012-pga-show-wrap-up-and-comment-from-the-golfwrx-staff/
I didnt know there was a Mercedes AMG Golf brand till last week…
Or an Austin Martin…
We will cover this in detail. This is Scratch losing their minds. I love Ari. Ari is th eowner of Scratch and he is more than like us. Gearhead to the core. He made a personal set of irons that are Don While grinds that he sent the heads to England were some crazy itching, engraving, and silver fill treatment like they do for shotguns. Some famous guy did them and he named all the iron heads a different name for the old historical names at the turn of the century. Freaking off the hook. Could be the best looking piece of jewelry I have ever seen. He is going to game them to. I love that. No iron headcovers here.
New Footjoys with some cool (I mean really cool) designs to give better performance. Grippers under you heel to prevent slip. gel tech in the structure around ankle to feel good and a wider base to aid stability…
Hundreds of Pics to be loaded today and then this crazy party it TMag. They had a booth that was almost 25% of the whole show at the opposite side of the contention center. It was bizarre. Awesome bizarre but it needs to be seen to believe it.
Here you go… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578559-2012-pga-show-taylormade-adidas-ashworth-pictures/
And there was a party with a George Thorogood concert? Yes there was…
Dinner and then
FRIDAY
Did I show anyone this? Ohh yea baby…
Jones…
Vega pics coming…
Click here to see the discussion in the forums… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578903-2012-pga-show-wrap-up-and-comment-from-the-golfwrx-staff/
Garmin
Swingbite… Not sure it is any good yet but looked cool. Small enough not to look like a bird at the range…
Greg Norman was wearing these. Last week we were wondering and hear we go…
V1 software with Annika…
More great views and better people…
Great stuff. After a 10 year sabbatical from the show Traditional (Japan Forged and USA owned) is make. With his son to help..
So we will be hard at work to try to get it all up ASAP. I have to get off this computer. My Daughter wants me to set up the sewing machine. Wish me luck guys. I will be sewing for the next 3 hours. She wants to make a hat for our dog. That is going to be interesting.
Click here to see the discussion in the forums… http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/578903-2012-pga-show-wrap-up-and-comment-from-the-golfwrx-staff/
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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