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12 Revealing photos from the 2016 Players Championship

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GolfWRX was live this week from the fifth major, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If you missed any of our photos from this week, make sure to browse the links below:

It’s that time of the year. Once the PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass for The Players, you know the season is in full swing. It’s one of the deepest fields all year, and the U.S. Open is just around the corner. Plus, there’s always fireworks on Sunday at holes 16, 17 and 18. What a time to be alive, and a golf fan.

So let’s reveal some photos before we kick back this weekend and watch the drama unfold.

Kuai Liang*

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We spotted a newer and bigger (460 cubic centimeters) version of Callaway’s recently released XR 16 Sub Zero driver, which proved to be very low spinning, yet relatively unforgiving in my review of the club. It’s not clear if Callaway will release the XR 16 Sub Zero 460, or is simply testing its Sub Zero-like features in a larger club head for a new line of drivers to be released in the future.

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See all of the new Sub Zero photos here.

*Two brothers take the name “Sub Zero” in the video game Mortal Kombat (one of the all-time classics), the elder Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Maybe Kuai has a higher MOI and more CC’s than his brother, too.

The putter sagas of Dustin and Justin

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It’s no secret that Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose are some of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour, but they tend to struggle on the greens. And lately, each has been linked to multiple putters.

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D. Johnson testing The Brick from Edel.

This week, Dustin tested “The Brick” from Edel, which piqued his interest after he played a round with Bryson DeChambeau, who uses one. We also photographed him testing a Ping Anser-style putter, and his familiar Scotty Cameron prototype.

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J. Rose testing an Axis1 Tour putter.

Justin Rose, on the other hand, was testing an Axis 1 putter early in the week after using TaylorMade’s Arc1 in his last start, a Japan-only TaylorMade putter. For The Players, he decided on a TaylorMade Spider mallet.

Jason Gore eyeing a new release from Callaway

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Although we weren’t able to get photos of the back of the irons, we were told there’s a new set of Callaway irons on the horizon, which Gore was eyeing on the range at The Players.

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The irons in question appeared to be musclebacks, and have either a raw or satin finish… but remember, they may still be in prototype phase.

Revealing photos gets the P. Reed “Shhh” treatment

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Last week, I pointed out that Patrick Reed’s caddy had the worst job in sports, being forced to have his hand on Patrick Reed’s backside. Reed politely responded at The Players in his patented Ryder Cup fashion. If you notice, however, his caddy is no longer participating in the drill. Coincidence?

Also, this reaction confirms that Reed is indeed a GolfWRXer. But we already knew that, based on his propensity to change lob wedges.

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He’s doing something right, though, judging by his scrambling percentage.

Moore tinkering

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Ryan Moore is a king among GolfWRXers. For years he went sponsor-less, so he was able to make equipment changes whenever he wanted. And he took every advantage of that freedom, as he changed something about his clubs nearly every week.

Now he’s under contract with PXG, which is like caging a wild tiger. But he’s still finding a way to tinker. In the last year, he’s used PXG’s 0311 irons, 0311T irons, and now with the 0311T Black irons. I suppose a tiger never changes his stripes.

iBlades

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We spotted Ping’s new iBlades at The Players for the first time, not just on the range, but already in the bag of Louis Oosthuizen. That was quick.

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Sweet-swinging Louis also has an awesome Ping prototype putter in the bag, too. Check out all of the must-see photos here. 

Kobe!

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James Hahn won last week at the Wells Fargo with a unique shaft in his PXG 0311 3-iron, an Aldila Tour 115 graphite shaft that he calls the “Black Mamba.” The shaft shares a nickname with NBA star Kobe Bryant, who announced his retirement this season.

Caddies become The Players

e3062c4586a7f6dd47a9cccb09215109All season long, caddies watch their players play golf at the premiere tracks in the world, while they trek around with their heavy staff bags. A thankless job, for the most part. At The Players, the Caddie Competition — in memory of beloved Tour caddie Bruce Edwards — gives the loopers a chance to show off their own golfing skills at No. 17, known as the island green. And the caddies take it seriously, even warming up on the range beforehand.

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It doesn’t always go well, though, as you can see from the one-armed finish in the photo below, surely taken as the golf ball went swimming.

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But others find more success. Hunter Mahan’s caddie put a Tour-like move on the ball and hit it to 5 feet.

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Congrats on a great shot and an unforgettable moment, Jon.

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The most interesting Marshal in Players Championship history

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He was at TPC Sawgrass when they dug out the island green. He was there for the first-ever Players. And he was marshaling at the island green during what’s now known as “The Best Marshaled Hole” in 2009, as you can see from the big red pin above.

He doesn’t need a “Quiet Please!” sign; he just raises his hat. He is, the most interesting Marshal in the world.

Checking in on K.J. Choi

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Yupp. Still working out.

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And trying to hide a TaylorMade M2 logo from the Revealing King with a single strip of lead tape. Will these guys ever learn?

#SB2K16 reunites

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Fowler, Spieth, Smylie and JT grouped up during a practice round at TPC Sawgrass, and as they did in the Bahamas, they updated their fans on SnapChat with fake ProTracers and announcer imitations. Anyone who sees their horseplay as bad for the game needs to remove the shoe horn from their metal-spiked golf shoes. As long as they’re not missing every cut, or distracting other players from properly preparing, why not have fun and enjoy the game with friends?

And maybe (gasp) they can even attract new, younger players to the sport while they’re at it.

What’s in Spieth’s bag this week?

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Nothing! We spotted Jordan Spieth’s bag completely empty in the Tour Van this week. No worries. He was getting his clubs re-gripped with SuperStroke’s new club grips.

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Even more notably, Spieth debuted the Momma Spieth’s, a pink version of the UA Drive One shoes in a pink colorway for Mother’s Day.

2338d59c99c37b928d433c7e71999d7bSunday at The Players will be a “pink-out,” so we’ll undoubtedly see the Momma Spieth’s again.

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. mlecuni

    May 14, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    Hi Andrew, from the last witb kj choi wasn’t hidding the M2 logo + why hide it if you put the big head cover on. it may because he is not playing the matrix Ozik TP6HDe shaft anymore, so he may just ajusted the swing weight. One thing i noticed is the lack of kjchoi logo on his irons, same model but may be new set.

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Equipment

Odyssey extends Damascus Milled lineup with 3 new putters

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Odyssey Golf announced Tuesday that the already popular Damascus Milled putter lineup is getting more options.

Initially launched back in April, only in a Damascus Milled #7 head (in plumbers or double bend configurations), the family grows to four with a One Wide, Two and Rossie S shape, all available in the second limited-edition drop at retail on June 6th.

“Damascus Steel is a beautiful material, and the patterns tell the story, because every one is different” said Odyssey General Manager, Jacob Davidson. “But what stands out is that  as beautiful as these putters are, the feedback from Tour has been the exceptional feel of these putters. We wanted to deliver the most premium performance-driven putter we’ve ever done at Odyssey. When you look at this product, we have so much confidence because there is not one thing we’d do different. On this one we really took our time over  the last couple years to try to perfect the design.”

Created from a layered construction of multiple steel alloys, this Damascus Steel insert is forged, folded and pressed to create a unique, striking pattern in every piece. Think of it like a fingerprint. Each Damascus construction comes with its own 1-of-1 style pattern. No offerings will ever look the same.

The layered structure, combined with a specialized heat treatment, delivers a finely tuned, highly responsive feel different from other insert materials. The Damascus steel is audibly different compared to other inserts, potentially with slightly more feedback. Odyssey also uses AI-designed back contours to maintain consistent ball speed across the face, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern tech.

Each head in the line is precision-milled from stainless steel and features a blasted silver finish to complement the Damascus insert and sole plates.

With Tour feedback, Odyssey has also developed, in collaboration with Golf Pride, a grip featuring meticulously crafted edges, pistol shaping and a classic modern tour feel.

Odyssey Damascus Milled One Wide
Odyssey Damascus Milled Two
Odyssey Damascus Milled Rossie S
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L.A.B. Golf launches new VZN.1i putter

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L.A.B. Golf has been the pioneer when it comes to Lie Angle Balanced putters for years now. When you talk to another golfer and zero torque putters comes up, as it will since it is the hottest thing in golf, the first brand out of their mouthes is L.A.B. Golf. Currently their putter line up has something for every golfer, wether your like blades or mallets. But the company has a new creation for golfers that we saw out on tour just a few weeks ago and is now available to us, the VZN.1i putter.

One of the big stories with the new VZN.1i putter is alignment in the form of the shape. L.A.B. has always given us plenty of alignment options in their putters with different line formations and shapes that can be laser etched onto the top of the putter. With this new design they used the shape of the head and the open cavity in the middle to help enhance the alignment for players. These shapes help players lock into their intended line to improve accuracy and concistency.

“VZN.1i was approached formulaically by combining everything we’ve learned from the success of previous L.A.B. Golf models into a familiar mallet shape that’s easy on the eyes and even easier to putt with,” said Cameron Day, Senior Vice President of Product at L.A.B. Golf. “Every L.A.B. putter is engineered to roll the ball on its intended line through Lie Angle Balance technology. With VZN.1i, we took things a step further by simplifying another critical aspect of putting: alignment.”

Like most of the other L.A.B. mallet putters the VZN.1i is machined from a solid block of aluminum and features a 303 stainless steel face insert. Steel face inserts on all L.A.B. putters not only enhance the sound and feel but they improve ball speed for better distance control. The new shaping also offers two ways of picking up your ball, using the sole or the rear flange can scoop up the ball. The company is offering the VZN.1i with a 1.5 degree forward shaft lean or a vertical shaft option in order to fit more golfers. Each VZN.1i is hand balanced and 10 other stages before it is complete and ready to ship. L.A.B. has its custom program where the golfer can select their length and lie but also head color, shaft upgrades, and grips to make their VZN.1i fit them perfectly.

The VZN.1i is available now starting at $499 for stock models and $599 for custom.

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2026 Edition: Most comfortable walking shoe? – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, one user has asked a question sure to interest all sorts of golfers. What’s the most comfortable walking shoe of 2026?

@RobDMB posed the following question:

“Looking for suggestions/recommendations on the currently available most comfortable walking shoes – preferably waterproof. Essentially looking for something comfortable like a running shoe, but with some stability and waterproof for golf. Decent room in toe box as well. Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own recommendations on the best walking shoes that can also survive a number of golf rounds. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • SheriffBooth: “To check all your boxes I’d vote for whichever of the current Nike lineup fits your feet the best. Obviously the Victory Pro 4 and Victory Tour 4 are good enough for the two best players in the world, but the new Pegasus, Next% Tour 3, and Tempo all look really good too.”
  • i*windows: “when I had issues with my feet I played in Asics running shoes they were a little bit like the hoka’s above, very comfortable, now I’m back to Ecco shoes which are great.”
  • mshills: “Everyone’s feet are different so this will be a long list of lots of different shoes. For me, anything from Ecco’s Biom lineup. Nothing else comes close.”

Entire Thread: “2026 Edition: Most Comfortable Walking Shoe?”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

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