Equipment

11 Revealing Photos from the FedEx St. Jude Classic and U.S. Open Sectionals

Published

8 years ago

Jun 11, 2016

GolfWRX was live this week from the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee; also on Monday was the U.S. Open Sectional qualifier for the Memphis area, held at both Germantown and Ridgeway Country Club.

If you missed any of the photo galleries, make sure to browse the links below:

Hats off to the USGA and PGA Tour getting on the same page, and having a sectional qualifier just down the road from the PGA Tour event that week. That’s the kind of forward thinking that keeps professional golfers sane. Many of the players were participants in both fields, and here’s how some of the notable names finished up.

DNQ: Lee McCoy, Wesley Bryan, Andres Romero, Ryan Palmer, Scott Stallings, Robert Allenby, Ben Crane and Steve Stricker (who’s playing more this week than he has seemingly all year).

Alternates: Thomas Aiken, Robert Garrigus (Nos. 1 and 2, respectively).

Qualified

The only player to qualify who isn’t in the FedEx St. Jude field is amateur Sam Burns, a current member of the LSU Tigers Men’s Golf Team.

For FedEx St. Jude Classic participants, I wonder whether qualifying for the U.S. Open, or not qualifying, is more of a distraction during the week? Surely, having to book a tee time at Oakmont for a U.S. Open practice round is a good problem to have, but you never know what will distract the mind of a golfer.

But anyway, let’s reveal some photos in this week’s, Revealing Photos: U.S. Open Dreams.

Wedge stampings

I think wedge makers have conspired against me since I declared wedge stampings dead. Between Cam Smith’s Kendrick Lamar stampings, and Wesley Bryan’s Breaking Bad and American Sniper stampings, these wedges are some of the coolest I’ve seen on Tour.

“Gimmie the HeisenWedge.”

See all of the stampings from Smith, and Bryan, who’s making his PGA Tour debut this week, in the gallery below.

In case you’re wondering, and based on Smith’s Twitter, I’m guessing he named his dog Kendrick, thus “Kendrick the Sausage.”

How to make new clubs look old

Slab a pound of lead tape on your irons and let your wedges rust. Just a reminder, these are Titleist 716 T-MB and 716 AP2 irons released in 2016, as well as Vokey SM5 wedges that were released in 2014… although they look as though they’ve been sitting in a used club bin for a decade.

Magnification

This is just about the thickest top line I’ve ever seen on a putter. It’s like when your parents start needing reading glasses, and adjust the text on their phone to the biggest font. With this putter, there’s no excuse not to be aligned at your intended target.

And speaking of font-size adjustments, the staff bag pictured below needs some. I can hardly even read Loren’s name.

I don’t know much about Robby Shelton…

But I have a feeling he’s not a big fan of the Auburn Tigers.

HZRDUS Slime

The green, slime-colored outline on the new Project X Handcrafted HZRDUS T1100 shaft is like caution tape; high-speed swingers only. It’s rumored to be extremely low-spinning.

Weapons that work

Every week we see the Tour guys with the newest, greatest gear in the bag since they’re under contracts with sponsors and whatnot. But it’s always interesting to see what accomplished players are bagging who aren’t collecting paychecks from sponsors. Here, we have Ping G15 clubs, which were released in 2011. And I’ll bet there’s a wear spot the size of a dime on the exact center of those irons.

This photo is from the U.S. Open Sectionals

You know how I can tell? Three main reasons:

Shorts: Other than U.S. Open qualifiers, when do you ever see a professional golfer wearing shorts?
Morning dew on the greens: PGA Tour courses always have the workers out bright and early to cut and roll the greens, and the practice greens. But those luxuries aren’t always provided at U.S. Open qualifying courses. Welcome to the struggle of a daily golfer.
No fans, ropes, TV towers or sponsor signs around the green: Isn’t it nice? Just him and the golf course, the way golf was meant to be played.

Sock game strong

Also something you never see during Tour events is the socks of the players, eliminating the opportunity for players to make fashion statements with their socks.

It’s unfortunate, since socks with stripes and flowers add some undeniable pop to an outfit. But the pants rule also protects any fashion faux-pas like the mid-grays pictured below.

Maybe it’s best the pros wear pants after all.

Morning disaster

Isn’t this just the worst? You end up leaving your fresh cup of morning coffee on the roof of your car, and don’t realize until you drive away and go to take your first sip.

The most common injuries for golfers are the wrist and back

These still photos of Dustin Johnson’s swing explain the reason for both of those injuries.

Good thing he’s a tremendous athlete who can withstand the bending, twisting and turning, because I’m pretty sure my back would disintegrate if put into that position.

Did you know?

Cary Middlecoff, or should I say Dr. Cary Middlecoff, was a dentist in the Army before becoming a professional golfer. He finished his career with 40 Tour wins, three major victories, and just over $250,000 in career earnings. Here’s more about his life and career in a New York Times article from 1998, the year of his death.

Tournament patrons, take notes

If you plan on attending a professional golf event, and you’re not riding around on a segway like the guy on the far left in the picture above, then you’re doing it wrong.

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Whats in the Bag

Patrick Reed WITB 2024 (May)

Published

10 hours ago

May 16, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G400 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 Tour X

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125MSI 80 Tour X

Check out more in-hand photos of Patrick Reed’s clubs in the forums.

Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom Hybrid 100 TX

Irons: Titleist 716 TMB (2), Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Check out more in-hand photos of Patrick Reed’s clubs in the forums.

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @55), SM10 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot RX Pt Customs No. 2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

More photos of Patrick Reed’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

John Daly’s $750 custom irons and 10 must-see gear photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

10 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

In the last two PGA Championships held at Valhalla, Tiger Woods won in 2000 – when he famously pointed his golf ball into the hole during the historic duel with Bob May – and Rory McIlroy won the 2014 event, basically in the dark on the final hole.

The point is, history shows that Valhalla tends to produce top-tier champions and plenty of drama.

This week at the 2024 PGA Championship, GolfWRX got its first up-close look at what some of the LIV Tour players have in their bags in 2024. We also caught back up with a few PGA Championship legends, such as Rich Beem and John Daly, and we dove into the bags of PGA Sectional qualifiers, too.

In total, we captured 47 different photo galleries this week, including 32 individual What’s In The Bag (WITB) forum threads. Click here to see all of our photos from the event, or continue reading to see my 10 equipment highlights from Valhalla.

1) Brooks Koepka’s new putter

Koepka was previously using a Scotty Cameron T5.5 putter with a slant neck, which he used to win at the beginning of the month in Singapore on the LIV tour. This week, however, he tried a T5.5 with a plumbers neck instead of the slant neck, and it’s immediately going in the bag. According to Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page, Koepka already loved the head, and now finds the plumbers neck a bit more familiar to the blade-style putters he’s used throughout most of his career.

See Koepka’s full WITB here

2) The lead tape king returns, with putting goggles

Phil Mickelson has always been one of the GOATs when it comes to lead tape usage, so it was no surprise to see his 64-degree custom Callaway wedge slathered with slabs of lead tape on the back.

The big surprise was that lefty was spotted using ProAim putting training goggles on Wednesday during his warm-up session.

The ProAim goggles are helpful to find center lines and ensure proper alignment to the target.

See Phil Mickelson’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship

3) Dobyns’ old-school gamer setup

Speaking of lead tape, check out Matt Dobyn’s old Titleist 718 T-MB irons, which are so loaded with lead tape that the club is nearly unrecognizable.

Respect.

The head professional at Meadow Brook Club is making his sixth start in a PGA Championship, and he’s using a throwback Callaway GBB Epic driver with MOI-boosting lead tape and adjustable weight placements.

As GolfWRX Forum user “InTheBag” pointed out in our Matt Dobyns’ WITB thread, he has the type of setup that makes you want to hide your wallet: “I don’t know Mr. Dobyns, but one look at that bag tells me he can take your money,” writes InTheBag.

Spot on.

4) John Daly’s custom Sub70 irons and wedges

We first saw John Daly using $750 direct-to-consumer Sub70 659-CB irons and TAIII wedges at the 2023 PNC Championship, and he still has them in the bag, but he’s since stepped up the customization on the Sub70 clubs.

Does Daly ever NOT keep things entertaining?

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A true showman.

See Daly’s full WITB

5) DJ’s custom putter

Dustin Johnson has always been one to test multiple putters week-to-week, and he has a keen eye for different alignment lines and crowns. This week, he’s opting for a completely gray TaylorMade Spider Tour “T3.0” prototype with a short slant neck.

See the rest of DJ’s WITB from the week here

6) Patrick Reed still rocking GrindWorks irons

Patrick Reed knows his stuff when it comes to equipment, and he’s a prolific tester. Still, however, the GrindWorks PR-101A irons are squarely in the bag after his departure to the LIV tour.

The most notable new addition to Reed’s bag is this Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood.

Click here to see Reed’s full WITB from this week

7) Beem’s Scratch set

Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, came to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a bag full of Scratch Golf irons, which are loaded with lead tape and equipped with some of the coolest custom ferrules in professional golf.

See Rich Beem’s full WITB here

8) Jon Rahm’s 10-iron

Before going to LIV, Rahm was using a Callaway Apex TCB pitching wedge.

Now, he’s using a Callaway Apex TCB “10 iron.”

He’s also since upgraded to three Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke metalwoods, and fresh stampings on his Jaws Raw wedges. Click here to see Rahm’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship.

9) “Why so serious?”

Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV player in the 2024 PGA Championship field, channels his inner Joker to ask everyone, “Why so serious?”

See Hatton’s full WITB here

10) Block’s “Proto” iron, from address

As you probably know by now, Block switched out of his old TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 irons, and into a full set of TaylorMade’s new “Proto” irons. We’ve already seen the Proto 4-iron in the bags of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, but this is our first look at the higher-lofted irons in the set.

Here’s a look at the 7-iron from address:

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Proto irons in our Forums

And, with that, we say goodbye to Louisville, and the second major championship of the 2024 season. We’ll see you next week at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas after a champion has been crowned.

Until then, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week at the 2024 PGA Championship!

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Whats in the Bag

Club Junkie WITB, league night week 5: Another L.A.B. putter arises

Published

14 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Brian Knudson

We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much better last week, so he is hoping to continue that success and post another good score.

Here are the 14 clubs that will hopefully win him some skins!

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X (2024)

3-wood: Cobra Dark Speed LS Titanium (14.5 degrees, set +1)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7x

Fairway: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8 X

Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops 4h (22 degrees, Flat Setting)
Shaft: KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 85 S

Irons: TaylorMade P770 Phantom Black (5-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour 120 Stiff

Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (50-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff

Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (56-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff

Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (60-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff

Putter: L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max
Shaft: Accra x L.A.B. White

Ball: Titleist ProV1 Enhanced Alignment

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