Equipment

Bubba being Bubba meets Oakley being Oakley

Published

10 years ago

Apr 9, 2014

There might not be a more interesting golfer on the PGA Tour than Bubba Watson, and it’s nothing he tries to hide.

He’s the longest driver on the PGA Tour, which comes with its own level of notoriety. Now add that the five-time tour winner is left-handed, self-taught and one of the most talented ball strikers on the PGA Tour. From the middle of the fairway, he’s known to curve his shots 30 yards this way or 30 yards that way, because that’s what seems right to him.

Adding to Watson’s fame are his media feats, which include his part alongside Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler in the golfing boy band the “Golf Boys,” and his decision to trade in a traditional golf cart in favor of a hovercraft last April.

Watson’s unique equipment needs are something out of golf folklore as well. He wields a pink driver with a pink shaft and golf grips that are more similar in size to the handle of a baseball bat than a golf club.

When Oakley signed the golfer to a contract to wear its apparel in 2013, its leadership knew that it was challenging itself with one of the most distinctive, untraditional golfers in today’s game. But by building products for him, the company knew it would be on a path to building better products for all golfers.

Bubba’s Masters Scripting

Bright colors dominates Watson’s 2014 Masters apparel, just as the 35-year-old Bagdad, Fla., resident likes.

“He’s pretty untraditional relative to the rest of the golf community,” says Kristin Debany, Oakley’s global director of performance apparel and accessories. “He’s more vocal with his opinions and likes to stand out more. He gravitates toward the bigger, bolder prints and wants to be noticed on the course.”

Key to the bright colors that Watson sports on the course is Oakley’s printing technique called sublimation, which prints the colors and graphics on Oakley apparel when it’s still in the fiber stage. It’s a process Oakley borrowed from its production of surfing board shorts, and gives the company’s apparel a more dimensional, textural look, Debany said.

Of course, there are performance considerations to the process as well. In Oakley’s shirts, sublimation keeps the fabric light and breathable since it doesn’t require extra material to create patterns. And its seams are pulled forward and flatlocked to limit the friction between a golfer’s skin and clothing that is often a problem: especially for golfers like Watson, who swings his driver a PGA Tour-leading average of 124 mph.

All of the polos that Watson will wear at the 2014 Masters: The Ellis ($70), The Lyons ($75, pictured right), The Ashland ($80) and The Delta ($65) also use Oakley’s moisture-wicking “O Hydrolix” yarn and have added UV and anti-bacterial protection.

At the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open, Watson debuted a new piece of Oakley equipment: the company’s Carbon Pro 2.0 golf shoes. They could be the most important part of Watson’s outfit, and golfers who have seen his swing in slow motion know why. His unique swing and clubhead speed can cause both of the golfer’s feet to come off the ground as his club moves through the impact area.

Above: Oakley made Watson a custom pair of Carbon Pro 2.0 shoes in green for the Waste Management Open. It also produced a University of Georgia-inspired shoe (pictured below) to wear at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, where players highlighted their alma mater with their apparel in Round 3.

Dave Ortley, Oakley’s head of worldwide footwear, said that often times its just as hard to get professional golfers to change their footwear as it is their golf clubs because of the long periods of time they spend on their feet. That’s why when Oakley landed Watson to a shoe deal for 2014, the company went to great lengths to ensure that Watson had a proper fit, starting with a 3D digital scan that measured the length, width, volume and curvature of his feet. The information was used to build Watson a custom last, or foot form, to make sure his shoes fit like a second skin.

The selling point for Watson on the Carbon Pro 2.0 shoes ($200) he wears wasn’t just a custom fit, however, but a promise that the new shoes could actually keep him better grounded during his swing. Like the retail version of the shoes, Watson’s custom-fit model sits extremely low to the ground has real carbon fiber in the midfoot, which adds stability and reduces the overall weight of the shoes. There’s also a silicon print on the surface of the footbed that better connects a golfer’s foot to his footwear.

“Everyone of these guys is unique in what they’re looking for,” Ortley said. “The beauty with Oakley is that we’re making [combat] boots, athletic shoes and sandals … so we tend to think a little broader. The inspiration, innovation and styling comes from other product categories and adds a fresh, unique perspective and inventiveness. We’re able to load that all into a golf shoe.”

Fresh, unique and inventive? Those words describe both Watson and the Oakley brand, and that’s the beauty of their partnership.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

15 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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