Equipment
Mickelson using an RBZ 3 wood in China
Many GolfWRXers speculated that Mickelson was playing a 3 wood of some sort with a slot on the bottom at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. While the club appeared to be a black-painted TaylorMade RBZ fairway wood, the photos were inconclusive, leading to theories that the 3 wood was actually using a soon-to-be-released Callaway product.
We’ve learned that Mickelson is indeed using an RBZ 3 wood in China, albeit a heavily modified one. It is bent 11.5 degree and includes a lighter-than-normal shaft for Mickelson as well as a lot of lead tape to lower the center of gravity.
Not Mickelson’s, but an example of a black-painted RBZ
How do we know? Frequent GolfWRX poster and Callaway Senior Vice President of Marketing Harry Arnett confirmed it in the forums. Read his post in its entirety below, in which Arnett rewards a GolfWRX member for discerning from photos that Mickelson was using an RBZ 3 wood with a prize, and provides other members with a dozen HexBlackTour golf balls.
Click here to read the thread in its entirety.
Callaway_HarryA:
“First of all, these guesses here were awesome. And I am going to make our R&D and product guys read this thread because there were some killer ideas/concepts you guys threw out. Should have known that the dark knights of club ho-edness could come up with some cool stuff.
Here’s the answer, and I think it will surprise many of you. But like I said when we jumped into this and as part of our mission to be a “different” company, a new company, we are going to do things differently and be more straight shooting and transparent.
About two weeks ago, Phil said that the HSBC at Mission Hills isn’t a course where he can hit driver at all. He doubted he would hit driver on any of the holes. He wanted to play a high COR fairway wood there because he wanted a club that went farther than his current 3 wood but not as far as his driver. He knows we have one coming and he asked to play one of our prototypes. Unfortunately we are not ready to launch this product yet and didn’t have the right lofts in left-handed for him. Our primary interest is supporting our players at all times so we told him to play whatever he wanted until he thinks we have the best possible product for him which we believe we will have imminently. This is pretty much standard operating procedure for us. Not well known to many is that Phil has one of the most flexible equipment contracts of any top player and has played other equipment from time to time during his relationship with us, and is well within his right to do so.
That, gentlemen, in Phil’s hands, is a modified RBZ 13 degree, bent to 11.5, “driving 3-wood.” Phil painted her up matte black because he thought that looked cool, put in a lighter shaft than normal so he could actually launch it in the air, and put a crap load of lead tape on the bottom of it to move the CG location so it could actually get up in the air. Result? He has a mini driver that’s good for 290 [yards] off the tee, right between his current 280 3 wood gamer and his 305 driver. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Phil Mickelson, the Crowned Prince of this Forum and club junkies everywhere.
SethPistol gets the win. Seth, HashtagChad will be reaching out to you to pick/claim your prize.
Everyone else who played? Since nobody’s a loser with the new Callaway, we’re going to send you all a dozen HexBlackTour golf balls. HashtagChad will DM you for your address.
Thanks for playing. Tip your waitresses on the way out….
ps: we have a product coming that will instantly replace this FrankenFairway in his bag…”
Click here to read the thread in its entirety.
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- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Mike Kotter
Aug 11, 2013 at 3:01 am
Actually, looking at my friend’s pic of Phil’s bag it appears to say X HOT or HOT X and it didn’t look lime green on the back of the head it looked Denver Broncos orange. Which is my only doubt that it’s a RZR. I think personally the RBZ 3 wood is the best club I have ever hit. It jumps off the face well, unlike anything else I have hit. Better than the R1 in my opinion.
Mike Kotter
Aug 11, 2013 at 2:46 am
I looked in Phil’s bag at the PGA Championship at Oakhill In Rochester during the 1st round. In fact it was on hole 2 & I swear he has a Calloway RZR 3-wood. I have the TM-RBZ driver, 3 wood, & 5 wood. I understand that last year he hit the TM-RBZ but as of Aug 8, 2013 he is swinging a RZR. I had plenty of drinks before He tee’d off that day but I was right behind Bones when I saw it in his bag. Is this thread old news & if so could you point me in the direction of the most current info? Whatever he is hitting, if it is the new RZR 3 wood bent to 11.5 he is hitting it well. I’m sure it was the same club he hit at Muirfield because he didn’t have driver in his bag. I beg everyone their pardon if I am wrong on this. I don’t think I am breaking any news here but I have yet to find any info newer than this message board as of yet.
Blopar
Dec 22, 2012 at 11:36 am
You must be blind Petter!
Petter
Dec 18, 2012 at 1:42 am
Why is he using a right handed club…?
Vint
Dec 3, 2012 at 8:50 pm
I would love to know how and where he put the lead tape. The club is so light I couldn’t feel the clubhead. I tried adding tape into the recessed part of the sole to no avail. After 3 layers of tape I had to put it away.
MJ
Dec 2, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Callaway: “Do you really have to use RBZ?”
Phil: “I can paint it black.”
Lee H.
Nov 20, 2012 at 3:31 pm
11.5 Deg Fairway Food…
Exotics just released the XCG6 line of Drivers and Fairway woods. They do, in fact, have a 11.5 degree fairway wood. I hit it a week or so ago at a local golf shop. Great feel to it. This could in fact replace my current Driver later next year if I still struggle with a new Driver I am getting.
phil04
Nov 6, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Why would Phil not use this magic Rocketballz 3 wood bent to 11.5 deg in the majors in 2013.? His contract is fluid with Callaway, and 290 yards in the fairway works everytime !
tlmck
Nov 4, 2012 at 2:39 am
I would buy a 10.5 or 11.5 degree 3 wood and ditch my driver if available. I have never quite gotten used to the 460cc driver heads. With the right shaft, I could probably hit it as far as the driver.
Derick
Nov 2, 2012 at 8:22 pm
I couldn’t post since I’m a new member to this site. I knew Lefty wasn’t using a new callaway Fairway wood, since Callaway hasn’t released them yet. It looked alot like a RBZ 3wood all taped up to counter the weight and to get alot of loft to get it in the air farther for Lefty…