Equipment
Nike’s new Engage wedges
Nike’s new line of Engage wedges, which were in Rory McIlroy’s bag at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Thursday, include three different sole grinds that suit three different types of play.
Master Craftsman Mike Taylor worked with Nike athletes to develop the three sole grinds — Dual Sole, Toe Sweep and Square Sole — each with Nike’s Modern Muscle technology that optimizes the center of gravity.
Related: Nike’s Vapor iron series
The Dual Sole grind offers two surfaces — one that is utilized when playing square-faced shots and another that comes into play when the clubface is open. The sole design was inspired by grinds that McIlroy and Tiger Woods have used and give golfers more versatility around the greens.
The Engage Toe Sweep is Nike’s second-generation Toe Sweep wedge, which has a sole with wide toe section and narrow heel area. The grind, which was used by McIlroy to win the 2014 BMW PGA Championship, is a help from poor lies, as the narrow heel prevents snagging on shots from the deep rough.
Nike’s Square Sole is designed to work best on full shots, as well as for golfers who mostly play square-faced shots around the green.
Each of the wedges have a raw finish and Nike’s X3X milled grooves, which have more volume and sharper edges than their predecessors.
They come stock with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips, and will be available on April 17 for cost $119.99 each.
Lofts and Bounces
Square Sole: (RH) 50-11, 52-11, 54-9, 56-9, 58-9, 60-9, (LH) 52-11 and 56-9
Toe Sweep: (RH) 54-9, 56-9, 58-9, 60-9
Dual Sole: (RH) 58-13 and 60-13, (LH) 60-13
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- 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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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
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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Divoteer
Apr 7, 2016 at 8:22 am
If you’re wedge game is lacking, then I highly suggest you take a slice of humble pie and grab a set of these. I am Ping guy but couldn’t swing their wedges and get what I needed. Picked up a set of these used and my wedge game improved instantly. Feel is also extremely good for a Nike wedge. They might look ugly, but I’ll take a superior wedge game over looks any day of the week.
Travis
Aug 9, 2015 at 10:18 pm
I had a set of vokeys 52 and 60s and my clubs were stolen. I loved them and felt like I could shape my shot easy and thoroughly brought my pitching game to another level. I bought a slightly used 56 Nike Engage wedge and I would say I like it more. I’ve only had it for 36 holes and Ive sank the ball in more than the vokeys combined (2years). Every hit feels amazing. I am so impressed with this wedge.
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Tom D.
Feb 3, 2015 at 5:17 am
Maybe these are the reason Tiger can’t hit a decent wedge shot any more!!?!
Dave
Jan 17, 2015 at 5:58 pm
LIES! Rory is using the VR Pro blades & wedges in Abu Dhabi ! Can clearly see on the TV.
Matt
Jan 22, 2015 at 9:34 am
Actually if you go back and watch a clip of his bunker shot on 18 on Sunday that looks like the new wedge. I agree that he still has VR Pro vs vapor for irons.
Steve
Jan 17, 2015 at 9:28 am
Ugggggggly
kess
Jan 16, 2015 at 5:50 pm
Barring the toe sweep, do they look like an angular eye2 wedge to anyone else?
Sam
Jan 16, 2015 at 11:23 am
April release date? That seems pretty far out, as a lot of other companies have already started to release their products for 2015.
I H8
Jan 16, 2015 at 10:49 am
The toe sweep grind is amazing. I have the current gen toe sweep and it almost feels like cheating it’s THAT easy to hit.
8thehardway
Jan 16, 2015 at 9:01 am
That’s the clearest explanation for a particular grind I’ve come across and the Toe Sweep grind looks dramatic enough to actually help people.
Do they come with club covers?
Bruce
Jan 16, 2015 at 3:53 am
Looks like somebody was playing with a 3D printer……fail..
adam
Jan 15, 2015 at 11:53 pm
I like ’em. I wonder how they compare to the forged wedges with X3X
Jon
Jan 15, 2015 at 9:33 pm
Too over the top and trying to be different. I’ll stick with my Miura’s.
Dave S
May 24, 2015 at 11:20 pm
Don’t lie, you don’t have Miuras.
Gogio
Jan 15, 2015 at 7:22 pm
They would have looked so much cleaner without the engage and loft stamped were it is. The Nike icon alone would have looked really nice and not like something I would find at Dunhams for $19.98. No I’m not a hater and i own plenty of Nike golf items.
other paul
Jan 15, 2015 at 8:50 pm
Clean is over rated. If you can’t see it address, why care?
Kurren
Jan 15, 2015 at 7:09 pm
Are they forged or cast?
Billy
Jan 15, 2015 at 8:55 pm
Kurren, they are cast.
bradford
Jan 16, 2015 at 8:24 am
you sure about that? Can you let us know how you know that?
Cwolf
Jan 18, 2015 at 8:10 am
I am also interested in finding out if they are forged. Thanks
austin
Jan 15, 2015 at 6:45 pm
I will stick with vokeys
Matt
Jan 15, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Meh
Don
Jan 15, 2015 at 6:22 pm
I have to admit, these look pretty sweet. But with the options for lefties so limited I feel cheated somehow.