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Kings of the West Coast Swing: stats and equipment

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By Seth Kerr

GolfWRX Staff Writer

With the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship marking the official end to the West Coast swing; let’s take a look back at some of the more important stats and what we learned so far.

Americans have won all nine PGA Tour events, with Kyle Stanley and John Huh being the only first-time winners. Huh is the only rookie to win on Tour, finishing off Robert Allenby in a marathon eight-hole playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Despite Stanley’s disappointing loss at the Farmers Insurance Open, he is still the current Race for the FedExCup point leader over Johnson Wagner and Phil Mickelson thanks to his  impressive win at the Waste Management Open.

Phil Mickelson had an up-and-down West Coast Swing, struggling early in the year before dominating Tiger Woods by 11 strokes in the final round to win at Pebble Beach. Tiger made the switch to the Nike Method 001 putter and it hasn’t worked so far, missing a number of makeable putts at Pebble Beach and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in his loss to Nick Watney.

Mickelson followed up his victory at Pebble Beach with a disappointing finish at the Northern Trust Open. He had the lead for three rounds but could not finish off the tournament, losing to Bill Haas in a playoff.

Stanley is the only player in the top-25 of driving distance to win on Tour this year. He is average 303.3 yards off the tee, well behind No. 1 Bubba Watson and his pink PING G20 driver (Watson is averaging 312.7 yards). Gavin Coles has the lowest driving average on tour at just 267.1 yards.

Gary Woodland used his Titleist 910 D3 driver for the longest drive of the year at an outrageous 450 yards on No. 18 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The top-39 drives of the year were all 400 yards or more and all were from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Using the new Cleveland Classic driver, Jason Kokrak had the longest drive from a tournament other than the Tournament of Champions at 399 yards at the Sony Open.

Paul Goydos leads the Tour in driving accuracy, hitting 73.76 percent of fairways. Hunter Mahan is the highest ranked winner in driving accuracy at No. 4, with an average of 71.26 percent of fairways hit.

Webb Simpson used Titleist 680 irons to hit 75.93 percent of greens in regulation to lead Bubba Watson and his PING S59 irons by just over 1 percent. It is a shocking stat for Watson, who is also the leader in driving distance.

You would expect the leader in driving distance and second in greens in regulation to be in contention each week to win. But Watson is just 21st in FedExCup points with only one top-10 finish. For Watson, it shows just how badly he has putted this year.

Watson and his PING Anser putter rank 170th in total putts with an average of 30.60 putts per round. That is a whopping 3.22 more putts per round than Greg Chalmers, who leads the tour in putts per round at 27.38. Chalmers is one of few players on Tour to use a Bobby Grace putter.

Brian Gay, who now wears TaylorMade gear but still uses Mizuno irons, gets up and down 74.68 percent of the time, making par or better an outstanding 59 out of 79 times. Scott Brown is worst on tour in scrambling only getting up and down a paltry 38.71 percent of the time.

Titleist gamer, Bobby Gates, leads the Tour in eagles with eight, while fellow Titleist pro, Ben Crane, who is not known for prodigious length, is second with seven eagles this year.

Perhaps the most well-known American Titleist player, Steve Stricker, leads the tour in scoring average at 68.13, but has only played eight rounds after taking five weeks off following the Sony Open.

In a sign of how well Stricker has played this year, he leads the Tour in seven total performance stats.

Stricker leads the tour in:

1) Birdie Average                                   5.13 per round

2) Sand Save Percentage                     73.33 percent

3) Par-5 birdie or better                       75 percent

4) Scoring Average                               68.13

5) Scoring Average before cut           66.50

6) Consecutive Cuts                              45

7) Back Nine Scoring Average          33.13

So what do all these stats tell us entering the Florida swing?  Probably not a whole lot.  None of the 2011 players who won on the West Coast won again before the Masters. In fact, Bubba Watson and Luke Donald were the only multiple winners who won on the West Coast last year.

Tiger Woods and Gary Woodland are just two players happy to hear that. While Woods has had a few good rounds, he has yet to show he can put together four solid rounds. Woodland has looked lost for most of the year, though he and his new coach, Butch Harmon, promise he will be ready for Augusta. And for pros that is what it’s all about. They would all trade there rankings in every stat for one major, because while no one remembers who finished No. 1 in scoring, putting, or birdies, everyone remembers who won major championships.

Below are a list of the winners and the clubs they played.

Hyundai Tournament of Champions — Steve Stricker

Driver: Titleist 909 D3 (8.5°)

Fairway wood: Titleist 906F2 (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 909H (19°)

Irons: Titleist 710 AP2 (3-PW)

Wedges Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Sony Open — Johnson Wagner

Driver: TaylorMade R11S (8°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 (13.5°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro a 12 (18°)

Irons: Titleist CB 712 (3-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (48°, 54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron proto

Ball:  Pro V1x

Humana Challenge — Mark Wilson

Driver: PING I20 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Cleveland HiBore XLS (13°)

Hybrid: Ping i15(17°, 20°)

Irons: Ping i20

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 60°)

Putter: Ping Karsten Anser

Ball: Pro V1x

Farmers Insurance Open — Brandt Snedeker

Driver: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast (10.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Superfast (15°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea a12 Proto (20°)

Irons: Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back (4-PW)

Wedges: Bridgestone J40 (52°, 56°), Titleist Vokey (60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B330

Waste Management Phoenix Open — Kyle Stanley

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910Fd (13.5°)

Hybrid: Titleist 503i (19°)

Irons: Titleist 712MB (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (52°, 56°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Timeless (GSS) Proto

Ball: Pro V1x

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am — Phil Mickelson

Driver: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°)

Hybrid: Callaway X Proto (19°)

Irons: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype

Ball: Callaway Hex Black Tour

Northern Trust Open — Bill Haas

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910F (13.5°)

Irons: Titleist 712 CB (2), 710 CB (3-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Studio Select Kombi

Ball: Pro V1x

Mayakoba Golf Classic — John Huh

Driver: Ping G10 (7.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (17°)

Irons: Ping S57 (3-PW)

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 58°)

Putter: Ping Scottsdale Wolverine

Ball: Pro V1

World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship — Hunter Mahan

Driver: PING G20 (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: PING G20 (15°)

Hybrid: PING i15 (17°)

Irons: PING S56 (3-PW)

Wedges: PING Anser Forged (56°, 60°)

Putter: PING Nome

Ball: Pro V1x

Click here for more discussion in the forums.

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Seth is an avid golfer playing year round in Florida.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Coastal Duck

    Mar 2, 2012 at 1:14 am

    ‘Huh is the only rookie to win on Tour, finishing off Robert Allenby in a marathon eight-hole playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.’

    Apologies, but I am just now coming back to the game after a 30-year hiatus. I would have liked to have known the whereabouts of the above mentioned tourney.

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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