Equipment

11 Revealing Photos from the Wells Fargo Championship

Published

8 years ago

May 7, 2016

GolfWRX was live this week from the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you missed any of the photo galleries, make sure you browse them below:

Tuesday’s photos
Wednesday’s photos

Before we start, let’s have a quick moment of silence for the Charlotteans who had to endure a highly disappointing Super Bowl loss earlier this year by their Carolina Panthers.

Ok, shall we move on now?

Good. Now let’s reveal some photos in this week’s Revealing Photos: Try-Not-to-Mention-Peyton-Manning Edition.

Who’s practice station is this?

Whoever’s tugging every putt left this week is probably the culprit. Someone should tell him his putting alignment aids are misaligned. But it may already be too late.

Stevie is a veteran

Only an experienced caddie knows how to fold a pin sheet that precisely. A real pro’s pro.

A peek into Bryson’s bag

Speaking of pros, Bryson DeChambeau recently relinquished his amateur status and signed with Cobra/Puma. Since then, everyone’s been looking at his equipment more closely than the Wells Fargo volunteers above.

Can you blame them? Bryson has the most interesting WITB we’ve seen in years on Tour, and GolfWRXers can’t help but take notice.

As of this week, he’s still gaming Edel’s Frankenstein irons. It looks as though he’s stepping up the intelligence of his wedge stampings, though, which are now going completely over my head. It’s definitely an algorithm to stick it on every shot.

Ernie Els changes irons

Els is now playing Adams XTD irons as of this week. He did not, however, put a new putter cover in the bag. It may be time to, though.

#MayThe4thBeWithYou

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James Hahn won May 4th, a.k.a. Star Wars Day, with the “Hahn Solo” wedge stamping, referencing Han Solo from the Star Wars movie series.

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He also has a custom Scotty that’s out of this world. Alien sighting!

The worst job in golf

I’ve never been less envious of a person in my life than of Patrick Reed’s caddie. Hopefully the wind isn’t blowing right-to-left.

Always remember to love thy caddie, and here’s to hoping Patrick Reed didn’t vote “less than 10 percent.”

Checking out the new Flat Cat putter grips

A closer look at the whole litter below.

**Who knew that Hugh Jackman*…**

Was such a huge supporter of GolfWRX?

*Not the real Hugh Jackman, but I suppose his name could actually be Hugh Jackman by some tremendous coincidence. Then he would be A Hugh Jackman, but still not THE Hugh Jackman.

A balanced conversation

What do you think Mr. Counterbalance and Mr. Face Balance are talking about? I bet there’s not a lot words being twisted, whatever it is.

These guys are good

At golf, and at marking their golf balls, too. Check out Jason Gore’s golf ball marking. He drew a “J.G.” logo, made to look like a music note. I don’t want to sing his praises too much, but that’s pretty cool.

Great causes

To honor and support the victims and families of Japan’s most recent earthquakes, Hideki Matsuyama and other players were spotted wearing these pins.

Also, Rickie Fowler and others participated in the Caddy for a Cure program that raises money and awareness for Fanconi anemia victims.

And while most PGA Tour players sign autographs on hats for kids, Jim Furyk was sporting a hat signed by kids in the First Tee program this week. An awesome gesture.

Remember, golf is a sport that’s meant to be fun, but charity can help change and save lives.

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Equipment

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

Published

5 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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