Equipment

The wedges the top short-game players on Tour are using

Published

8 years ago

Dec 28, 2015

What wedges are the PGA Tour’s best short-game players using?

To answer that, we have to define “best short game players.” We’ll use scrambling percentage from 2014-2015. The Tour defines scrambling as “The percent of time a player misses the green in regulation but still makes par or better.”

In this story, we’ll take a look at the specific wedges the five best scramblers from last season were using, as well as their scrambling percentages.

5. Jonathan Byrd

Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 Tour Grind
Lofts: 54-11, 56-11 (bent to 58)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue
Scrambling percentage: 64.92

4. Jordan Spieth

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6
Lofts: 46-08 F Grind, 52-08 F Grind, 56-10 S Grind, 60-04 L Grind
Shafts: True Temper Project X 6.0
Scrambling percentage: 65.03

3. Steven Bowditch

Wedges: Cleveland 588 Forged Custom
Lofts: 50-08 (two dot), 54-12 (two dot), 60-08 (one dot)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro WV 125 (50), True Temper Project X 7.0 (54, 60)
Scrambling percentage: 65.19

2. Jason Day

Wedges: TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF
Lofts: 47-09 Tour Grind, 52 ATV Grind, 58 ATV Grind
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue
Scrambling percentage: 65.34

1. Chad Collins

Wedges: Fourteen MT28 V5 Forged, Fourteen RM-12
Lofts: 48-06, 50-08, 56-08, 60 (RM-12)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Scrambling percentage: 66.18

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24 Comments

Dan F

Dec 30, 2015 at 8:13 pm

This looks like a True Temper endorsement.
All but one of the wedges uses a TT shaft.

Reply Report comment
SeanM

Dec 30, 2015 at 6:00 pm

As with the recent article on drivers, this shows the club brand is insignificant. Five top scramblers using 5 different companies. These 5 guys could use a garden rake and still be among the 5 best.

Reply Report comment
Magnus

Dec 30, 2015 at 5:54 pm

Ie you can play almost any wedge you want as long as you find a fitter/club builder to make them fit your game.

Reply Report comment
Lee

Dec 30, 2015 at 5:38 pm

What a total load of Bull Sh*t, the way the Pro’s have their wedges/clubs setup is so personal (forget the advertised so called loft/bounce/grind) that this forum will never have a clue.

Reply Report comment
- Tom
  
  Dec 31, 2015 at 10:32 am
  
  I just p/u an L grind to my specs…I’m no pro.
  
  Reply Report comment
- KK
  
  Jan 3, 2016 at 11:24 pm
  
  A lot of the grind customizations are tweaked until they fit the eye and feel of the pros. Really can’t accurately describe them in a sentence or two so why complain about it?
  
  Reply Report comment
tiger168

Dec 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm

Most of them has custom grind and wieght and loft, thus, can’t take any face values of the stamps.

Where is Michaelson’s?? Z. Johnson?? Stricker?? S. Garcia?? Oossie?? Are they “the top short-game players…” anymore??? Or they belong to “the Magicians…” category??

I thought really hard about Tiger, and then… I back spaced….

Reply Report comment
Justin

Dec 29, 2015 at 9:58 pm

interesting, do they use the high loft wedges — J. Bird? for bunker play. i have a similar set up – used 56* with high bounce to get out of deep bunkers.

Reply Report comment
tom

Dec 28, 2015 at 11:12 pm

As good as these guys are they don’t need high bounce wedges. Neither do most amateur guys who have really good short games. Higher bounce was created for higher handicappers.

Reply Report comment
DK

Dec 28, 2015 at 1:21 pm

So out of 16 wedges only 4 have a bounce of 10 degrees or higher, yet in the instruction forum all the ‘experts’ preach high bounce. WTF?

Reply Report comment
- Matt
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 1:49 pm
  
  You gotta remember that the fairways they play on are pretty durn tight! Lower bounce deflects better and won’t dig as much.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Callaway Guy
    
    Dec 28, 2015 at 2:57 pm
    
    That is 100% false information. Lower bounce wedges dig more…
    
    Reply Report comment
  - alexdub
    
    Dec 28, 2015 at 3:51 pm
    
    Matt… high bounce = less dig. Low bounce = more dig.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Tom
      
      Dec 29, 2015 at 12:26 am
      
      depends on your am
      depends on your angle of attack.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Stephenj2891
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 4:20 pm
  
  That’s because pros typically play courses with very tight fairways and especially around the greens. Most of them will use 12 degree opf bounce only on the sand wedges, so do I.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Crono
  
  Dec 30, 2015 at 12:04 pm
  
  Maybe, just maybe, because the PGA Tour guys are better golfers and have better short games than non pros?
  
  Reply Report comment
- David Ober
  
  Jan 1, 2016 at 6:01 pm
  
  Makes sense due to the firm fairways they play on week in and week out. In the summer at my club, I play wedges with plenty of bounce due to how wet we have to keep the course to keep the grass alive, and then in the winter, when our fairways and surrounds get firmer and tighter, I switch to lower bounce wedges.
  
  Reply Report comment
Casey

Dec 28, 2015 at 1:02 pm

So which ones of the top 5 are not endorsed by the company whose wedges they use?

Reply Report comment
- Josh
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 2:06 pm
  
  pretty sure Steven Bowditch is a TM tour player… the Cleveland wedges threw me off
  
  Reply Report comment
Benny

Dec 28, 2015 at 12:59 pm

Not only is it cool to see what brand they are playing but what loft and grinds. Do they play 4 or 3 wedge sets and how they break their lofts down. Just crazy to think these guys can get up and down 70% of the time. It’s probably much more often than this if you could remove their bad rounds that shouldn’t count but its their average so it has to be counted. Just shows why this site is better than all others. Thx WRX! 😉

Reply Report comment
Justin

Dec 28, 2015 at 12:07 pm

Impressive that 5 different companies are represented

Reply Report comment
- Ronald Montesano
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 12:10 pm
  
  Precisely my thoughts…the secret is…find your own secret!!
  
  Reply Report comment
- West
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 12:24 pm
  
  Wedges are virtually the same…Most important thing is to find the right loft and bounce/grind.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jack
    
    Dec 31, 2015 at 1:50 am
    
    loft, bounce, and make sure that they are not all worn out.
    
    Reply Report comment

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Equipment

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

Published

7 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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