Equipment
Tour Van Intel @ The Open: P790 UDI seeding, possible new putter for Tiger, Bryson with PXG wedges, Spieth in T100 irons
Whispers from the tour vans at The Open Championship, via our Johnny Wunder’s crack reporting. JW has his finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the world of reps, techs, new builds, and new product. Here are his notes on equipment switches of note from Royal Portrush.
1. Tony Finau had a Ping Blueprint 2-iron built up. The strategy here is self-explanatory: knee-high fastballs.
2. Tiger Woods was seen testing a heavier headed Scotty Cameron proto that is a replica of his famous wand that he’s used to win 14/15 majors. In addition, he also added lead tape to the back of his famous Scotty. The strategy here is to create a heavier head feel which is helpful on slower greens.
3. Do we see Bryson Dechambeau with PXG wedges in his bag?! The rumor is after messing around with a friend’s wedges during a practice round, he liked, he wanted, and he now has. Where this will go from here is anybody’s guess.
4. TaylorMade has distributed several Proto P790 UDI 2-irons this week. Tiger, Rory, Fleetwood, DJ, Rahm, all testing amongst others.
5. Jason Day is testing a new TaylorMade Spider X Chalk which would be the first switch he’s made from his Red Spider Tour in a long time. DJ is as per usual testing new putters he was seen with a Spider Copper Mini. What he will land on for the Open is anyone’s guess.
6. Jordan Spieth is now into a set of Titleist T100 irons: 5-9, Project X 6.5 shafts.
Per Titleist…
“While Spieth waited to put the T100’s in the bag until the season’s final major, he is not unfamiliar with the iron. In fact, according to lead Titleist Tour Representative, J.J. VanWezenbeeck, Jordan was clearly the most influential player in the development process.”
“It was over two years ago that Jordan and [Titleist Director of Iron Development] Marni Ines had already started discussing what Jordan was looking for in a next generation iron,” said VanWezenbeeck. “The keys for Jordan were sole, offset, and overall look. As we created early prototypes and discussed specifics with Jordan and other players, we found an opportunity to take everything we learned with the AP2 line and build an entirely new iron. There was an obvious challenge to surpass the most played tour iron in the world.”
“The final T100 prototype was revealed to Jordan and other select players during a Titleist photo shoot at Scioto CC during the week of the Memorial.”
“Jordan immediately commented that the offset and top line was everything he wanted,” said VanWezenbeeck. “As we moved to the tee, Jordan kept commenting to Marni about how the club set up and the look was just what he was looking for. Knowing we succeeded in those categories, now the question became, ‘are you getting the performance of the AP2 line and more, despite being in a sleeker chassis?’ His performance and responses at the hitting session confirmed we succeeded at what we set out to do.”
7. Webb Simpson is also into a set of Titleist 620 MB irons: 5-9, True Temper Dynamic Gold TI X100 shafts.
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Whats in the Bag
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
- Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond T (15 degrees @16)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-AW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue (AW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F @55), WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #7S
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Will Zalatoris WITB 2024 (April)
- Will Zalatoris’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X (44.5 inches)
3-wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T150 (4-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Prototype G.O.S.T. 10 ST X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
New Level launches new 480-DB irons, blending performance and forgiveness
New Level has been making some really good golf equipment since the company started up in 2018. Offering irons that are more geared towards the better player, precision has been a fundamental philosophy for New Level in creating irons and wedges.
The 480 line of irons has been the flagship of the brand, and the newest member of that team is the 480-DB iron that is now open to pre-orders. A new cavity design is what the whole 480 line is about, and the 480-DB takes advantage of that with added ball speed and a larger sweet spot.
For players who require their irons to offer the best feel, rest assured the DB is a fully forged (from 1020 carbon steel) one-piece golf club. No multi-piece, hollow design with this iron.
While the 480-DB is the next generation of the popular 902-OS, New Level didn’t follow the current trend in golf by chasing distance with the new iron. They actually weakened the lofts on the 480-DB with the spec sheet showing a 33-degree 7-iron and 45-degree pitching wedge. These lofts allow the DB to have less offset while still offering consistent distance off the face.
A traditional design was also at the forefront of the new irons to make sure that golfers with an eye for detail can look down at them with confidence that they will perform under any condition.
A weight low in the back cavity will allow their master club builders to dial in the perfect weight for the golfer, no matter the length or shaft being used. New Level believes that the new 480-DB is one of the most forgiving one-piece forged irons on the market today. A pre-worn leading edge on the sole should get through the turf quickly and with reduced digging for better turf interaction.
You can pre-order the New Level 480-DB right now on the New Level website.
Pricing specs availability
- Irons: 4-PW
- Price: $149/oron
- Availability: Pre-order
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Benny
Jul 19, 2019 at 5:34 am
Hahahaha.. lets guess who tose friends are too.
Oh and Kuchar is a donkey. All set with that dink.
Tom
Jul 18, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Matt Kuchar is a big donkey
Patrick Reed
Jul 17, 2019 at 4:47 pm
The most surprising thing in this article is that Bryson has friends.