Equipment
McIlroy still rolling with his Cameron putter
Last week at the BMW Championship at Wentworth, Rory McIlroy switched from his Nike Method prototype putter back to his old Scotty Cameron gamer.
Based on the photos we shot yesterday, it appears that the current No. 2-ranked golfer in the world will continue to roll with the Scotty Cameron putter that took him to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings at this week at the Memorial Tournament.
Click here to see more inside the ropes photos from the Memorial.
The curious thing is that McIlroy is only putting slightly worse than he did in 2012. He’s currently ranked 100th in the PGA Tour’s Strokes-Gained Putting stat, just 18 slots worse than his ranking in 2012, a year in which he won three PGA Tour events and his second major championship, the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.
McIlroy’s Nike putter and Scotty Cameron putter are nearly identical, with the exception of Nike’s polymetal grooves in the putter face that Nike says gets the ball rolling sooner off the putter face with less skid.
Like McIlroy, fellow Nike Golf Staff Member Tiger Woods teetered back and forth between his Scotty Cameron putter and a Nike putter until the 2010 British Open. Since that time, he has used a Nike Method 001 almost exclusively, and is currently ranked 1st in the Strokes-Gained Putting stat.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.
However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.
“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”
Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.
Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.
Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.
One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play one degree upright to help dial in his desired launch.
We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!
- Check out the rest of our pictures from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Whats in the Bag
Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)
- Zac Blair what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X
Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X
Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
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Whats in the Bag
Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)
- Martin Trainer what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX
3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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neil
Jun 9, 2013 at 6:58 am
interesting about the ball
guess Rorys played the Pro V/x since school.
big change.I wonder if the change to his own management company will Buy out his Nike Contract?
t120
Jun 8, 2013 at 12:32 am
that ball is the culprit, plain and simple. No one on here can tell me that they couldn’t tell the difference between the V1x and the 20xi – blindfolded. He bought in to the whole bag too soon. It’s not the gear, NIKE makes top quality stuff (minus the putters, so far), but the ball is SO far behind the V1/(x) that it’s just not fair to compare.
Scott
Jun 3, 2013 at 7:12 pm
I bet if he went back to Titleist for the Open he’d win it….
Swooshmeup
May 30, 2013 at 11:03 pm
Easy CJB…. 20xi is much better.
cjb
May 30, 2013 at 5:27 pm
It’s not the putter, it’s the ball he should switch.
Ry
May 30, 2013 at 4:10 pm
…rolling right to a 78 opening at Memorial. Didnt he miss the cut at the BMW as well???
Don
May 29, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Yep, blacked out ping.
jb
May 29, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Tiger did the same thing. It took him awhile and a lot of back and forth between the new Nike and old Scotty before he finally did it full time. Heck he still uses a non-filled Scotty grip on his Nike.
Leslie
May 29, 2013 at 8:45 pm
He uses a ping putter grip, not a Scotty. Look it up
Jesse
May 29, 2013 at 9:22 pm
+1 ^^^
Tool Status
May 29, 2013 at 10:19 pm
+2
David Klein
May 29, 2013 at 11:48 pm
+3
Bert B
May 29, 2013 at 3:47 pm
I think you can have any good putters’ specs rigged so they are mechanically the same: The one you put best with will be the one you believe in.