Equipment
SPOTTED: Wilson C300 prototype driver and forged irons
On the range at the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, we spotted new Wilson C300 driver and iron prototypes in staffer Ricky Barnes’ bag. Based on the photos we shot of the clubs, it’s clear the company is sticking with some familiar technologies, including speed slots, and “FLX Face,” which was a technology used in its C200 and D300 irons to boost forgiveness and distance. Based on stampings on the new C300 iron prototypes, the irons are also forged.
Here’s what Wilson had to say about Barnes’ prototypes:
“A central part of our innovation process is play-testing and refining clubs with our Wilson Advisory Staff before we introduce them to the market,” said Tim Clarke, President of Wilson Golf. “We are excited to introduce our new C300 clubs to golfers by year’s end. Ricky’s feedback has led to something we are very excited about and his use of the C300 Driver reinforces that.”
And here’s what GolfWRX members are saying about the new equipment. Check out more photos of the clubs below.
Wilson C300 driver proto
Wilson C300 Forged iron protos
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the C300 prototypes in our forums.
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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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Per-Eric Gustavsson
Nov 7, 2017 at 3:17 am
The C300 irons look fantastic. I play Wilson V4 and they are really smooth. Hopefully the new ones are as smooth as the V4: s and forgiving as the C200. I also hope that Wilson will build C300 in left version as well and do not abandon us that are left handed.
It would be nice if someone from Wilson gives us lefties a confirmation that they will give us C300 irons.
Pelle G, Sweden
Randy Kitts
Nov 1, 2017 at 3:55 pm
I recently bought a set of Wilson C200 irons new,at a great price and got back the distance I lost with my 3 year old Ping I 25 irons and they aren’t forged either. They sure are sweet to hit!!!! C300’s look great !
Randy Kitts
Nov 1, 2017 at 3:51 pm
Wilson is very under-rated! Even if the face is forged and the rest cast,what difference does it make? You’re going to feel the forged face,not the cast body!!!!! As for the price on the made for TV driver,it’s no different than the other guys(TM,Callaway) After 6 months to a year the price drops rapidly.So what? You don’t have to buy it. Has nothing to do with the quality,it’s just todays marketing!
SK
Nov 8, 2017 at 6:10 pm
Ummm, no. To feel the forged face impact the feel ‘shock’ must go through the cast body and hosel to get to the shaft and into your hands, where you feel the ‘feel’.
You can’t just mount a roll forged plate on what is essentially a cast steel club and then claim a soft buttery ‘forged’ feel. Sorry.
Scott
Nov 1, 2017 at 2:43 pm
So, these are the RickyB Protos
Rich
Nov 1, 2017 at 12:43 pm
These look super. I very interested in the irons .I have the V2 Tour irons and if these are better than those then I’m all in on getting a set..The Driver looks interesting and if it’s better than the Triton it has to be KingKong of golf!!!!!!!
PCR
Nov 1, 2017 at 11:38 am
Topline of the iron looks nicer than I remember Wilson’s previous flex face irons. The driver looks nice and compact.
Simms
Nov 1, 2017 at 1:36 am
How come you see most Wilson players using Taylormade Drivers? How about that great made for TV driver they sold, I see it for $149 everywhere and even $129 at one place…Wilson hasn’t ever recovered form when they tossed out John Daly after he won the British Open….
Thomas A
Nov 1, 2017 at 10:35 am
Same could be said for Mizuno, Bridgestone, PXG, and Srixon staffers. Wilson has recovered. Go test them out. I’m playing the FG Tour F5 irons and PMP wedges. They’re awesome.
Ben Jones
Oct 31, 2017 at 4:49 pm
Wilson had the original flex face iron with the Reflex.
Ron Wolsted
Oct 31, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Yah, but this new model has a face-forged faceplate and the rest of the clubhead is cheap cast steel and for top dollar.
Thomas A
Nov 1, 2017 at 10:36 am
Cheap cast steel. LOL.
RegW
Oct 31, 2017 at 4:21 pm
As for the driver, if it’s good enough for Ricky Barnes it should be even better for the average golfer who can’t break 90 in their score or club speed.
C.B.
Nov 2, 2017 at 2:06 am
And you’re one of them, we all know.
RegW
Oct 31, 2017 at 4:16 pm
The emblem plaque in the cavity looks chintzy. The slots in the sole will fill with mud and ruin performance. Wonder if it’s 100% forged, or just another club with cast steel body welded to a forged faceplate. Next.
...........
Oct 31, 2017 at 9:05 pm
I’m 99% positive the slots are filled with some type of polymer like TM irons.
Thomas A
Nov 1, 2017 at 3:04 pm
Judging from the photos I’m 100% sure the slots are filled with a polymer.