Equipment
Wilson’s Driver vs. Driver is back for a second season, entries now open
Wilson announced today that The Golf Channel has given the go ahead for season two of Driver vs. Driver — a reality show that follows the process of designing a new driver while its contestants compete for a cash prize. The new season is set to premiere in the Fall of 2018 and the “Call for Entries” is now open.
#DriverVsDriver is set to return! Submit your design by 6/4 and you could be a Season 2 contestant!#WilsonStaff
? https://t.co/O8pjtUtk86 pic.twitter.com/wInahEoraP
— Wilson Golf (@WilsonGolf) May 2, 2017
To enter your driver design, you or your team are required to submit a “short video” describing your concept and why you believe it to be golf’s next great driver innovation. No experience as an engineer or inventor is necessary, but it certainly will help since the competition will be stiff based on season one. The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. ET on June 4, 2017.
In case you forgot, last season’s winner was Eric Sillies who helped produce Wilson’s Triton driver. As promised, Wilson brought that driver to market, although it didn’t hit stores without a hiccup. Retail versions of the Triton were initially deemed illegal, but Wilson made slight adjustments to the sole plate of the driver to make it conforming.
You may also recognize the driver sketches in Wilson’s promotional images from somewhere. Ahead of season one, I visited Wilson’s headquarters to learn about the challenges of designing a driver, as well as the difficulties of making the driver not only legal, but effective and marketable. I can attest the entire process is far from easy, so season two’s winner will certainly earn their victory.
Good luck to all entrants and contestants of season two!
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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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Sandy Bunker
May 5, 2017 at 7:26 am
I’d like to submit my 25 year old Wilson Invex driver remodelled to today’s specs ( 460cc TI head & tricked up shaft ) and see how it goes on the Trackman , GC Quad etc. Man that driver was ahead of its time.
H
May 4, 2017 at 12:49 pm
“it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
H
May 4, 2017 at 12:49 pm
“it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Michael
May 4, 2017 at 11:05 am
There are currently no titanium driver heads manufactured in the US. The last one made here were prior to the Ping G-series drivers. There are persimmon drivers still being made in the US though.
ooffa
May 4, 2017 at 8:53 am
Wow, That was boring!
ooffa
May 4, 2017 at 11:26 am
Nope, just boring.
ooffa
May 4, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Yep. too bored with your comment to bother.
ooffa
May 4, 2017 at 6:51 pm
ZZZZZzzzzzzz
rebfan73
May 4, 2017 at 7:43 am
Zzzzzzz
Mad-Mex
May 4, 2017 at 2:28 am
How about this, make it a K-Sig driver theme, Tour Grade quality for less than $199!!!
Then you will have me watching!
setter02
May 3, 2017 at 11:16 pm
Simple, 99% of it isn’t made in the US, happy shopping!
joro
May 3, 2017 at 11:58 am
Not again, I just got my Triton setup for my swing. It was okay when I got it but it get a lot better when I worked with the settings and got it just right. It is now my best Driver, better than the BB or the M2. Not another one!!
Dj
May 3, 2017 at 8:18 am
The Triton is actually a decent driver. My biggest surprise of demo day for sure
Mr Muira
May 3, 2017 at 7:12 am
If the engineering gonzos had a brain you would forget about the exterior looks and think about what they could do internally to make a driver work better than the $40 hollow pieces of crap they sell for $600.
H
May 3, 2017 at 2:17 am
I guess Wilson must have some money lying around not doing anything to throw it away on more junk that nobody will ever buy
H
May 5, 2017 at 2:13 am
We know its you Smeagol, why don’t you just go ahead and jump into the cauldron and fizzle
Rex
May 2, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Stop!
tlmck
May 2, 2017 at 5:43 pm
I would like to submit my new/old Titleist 909 D3 for consideration. Far superior to any new tech on the market.
taco breath
May 2, 2017 at 9:13 pm
i was thinking of something similar but for me its the 905r
Dj
May 3, 2017 at 8:17 am
Lol that thing wouldn’t come within 5 mph of ball speed of the m1 and epic
golfraven
May 2, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Please learn from series one and don’t f.. with R&A and USGA so next driver actually has a chance in the market. I like that Wilson are bold and give this a shoot though.
JS
May 2, 2017 at 2:13 pm
the tv money must outweigh the money they lose on these drivers.
chinchbugs
May 2, 2017 at 1:53 pm
***Conforming drivers not required***
Blake
May 3, 2017 at 4:53 pm
This was what i said also. Someone should go in and tell wilson “Why are you trying to compete with tit, tmag,etc on conforming drivers when 99% of golfers never play in a usga sanctioned event. Own the non conforming driver market. And therefore own the amateur market”
TR1PTIK
May 5, 2017 at 4:11 pm
How many guys in your foursome use non-conforming clubs (that were purchased as non-conforming clubs)? Wilson would be dealing themselves a much quicker death if they followed your advice.
Robert
May 2, 2017 at 1:27 pm
I would think season 2 will be much better now that it’s a known entity. They should get way more entrants. I was surprised at some of the teams that actually made the show and thought the WRX Driver you guys built was the best of all of them.
setter02
May 3, 2017 at 11:18 pm
Wilson is a known entity, how’s that working out for them?