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Forum Thread of the Day: “Best equipment change for you this year?”

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Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from Eagle1 Eagle1, who asks fellow GolfWRX members what equipment change made the most difference for their game in 2018. For Eagle 1 Eagle 1, the move that helped the most was putting a Ping G400 Stretch 3-wood in the bag, and there have been plenty of other new additions that have aided our members out on the course this year.

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.

  • Gamble Gamble: “M3 Driver with Tour AD DI 7X.  I am already down 3.1 shots in my handicap and should be able to push down to mid-single digits if I actually warmed up before my rounds and did not start bogey/double/bogey to start my rounds like I have on my last five rounds.”
  • noodle3872: “Coming back to Mizuno irons and wedges after trying PXG 0311’s, TM P730’s and P790’s. All great clubs in their own right, however, Mizuno feel, playability and consistency earn them placement in my bag.”
  • Bye: “Taking an inch off the length of my driving. And buying a Rogue 3 wood, possibly the best I’ve ever had.”
  • beaney: “Putter change for me too. Finally accepted that although I love the look of Scottys, I putt badly with them. The odyssey o works 1w tank, has been a fantastic find!  Looks good, feels nice, suits my stroke and distance control is great.”

Entire Thread: “Best equipment change for you this year?” 

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. James

    Dec 5, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    Two things to do to your current stuff that absolutely help.

    1) a REAL PUTTER FITTING on SAM Putt
    lab. Absolutely amazing. I’m 6’2,
    big & 3 back surgeries. Had the
    loft ‘right’ for my stroke & since
    I putt open & stand a little taller
    2° up – like everything else I had
    felt fine. I suffered from liprosy
    for years which ceased to be
    amusing and cost me A LOT of money
    playing mini tour & section pro
    events. Avg 2 a round.

    After a day of training to use the
    SAM system, I went through the
    fitting & the loft was good, I
    didn’t change my set up or stroke
    but the Dave Pelz/NASA print out
    suggested going 3° flat. Never in
    my wildest dreams would I ever even
    have considered anything like that.

    We bent it a total of 5 degrees & I
    rolled 9/10 in immediately from 12′
    on our putter fitting platform.
    No lip outs next dozen rounds.
    Missed some for sure, but zero lip
    outs.

    2) Most graphite driver shafts are
    pretty good compared to the GARDEN
    STAKES painted the company color &
    shoved in – or co-branded (I never
    understood that – “Diamana by
    Titleist – or Nike” whatever – they
    were “Junk” compared to the real
    ones, and the anon ‘TM or Callaway’
    branded shafts were same grade.

    Graphite technology is eons better
    than a decade ago. Our customers
    who get fit and DON’T want to spend
    2-500 more on a super high end
    stick will get the best available
    no extra charge or low cost
    optional ‘upgrade’ and then have it
    SST PURED. Puring WORKS. PING is
    probably our best selling ‘stock’
    driver and most folks have us pull
    & PURE the shaft and are very happy

  2. Patricknorm

    Dec 5, 2018 at 11:57 am

    I replaced my blade Nike Method ( counter balanced) with an EXO 7 works putter. I wanted better alignment and as a result my handicap went down nearly three strokes over about 8 weeks. Talk about strokes gained improvement. It’s the club you use the most , so any improvement is gold.

  3. A. Commoner

    Dec 3, 2018 at 8:30 pm

    Kind of weary hearing about ‘junk’ shafts. Maybe the self-imagined elitists could get an invitation to Monday morning’s executive meeting at ___ Golf Equipment Co. and join the discussion on ‘how we can limit our sales by pedaling a trashy product just like our competitors do.’

  4. Ol' Gaffer

    Dec 3, 2018 at 6:51 pm

    Went from a 12º driver to a 15.5º PING G2 driver with a 37 inch whippy soft stock shaft. Now I can hit the ball over 200+ yards consistently and straight. A miracle….!!!

    • Ol' Gaffer

      Dec 3, 2018 at 6:53 pm

      oooops… that’s 47 inch long shaft… for smooth effortless power …!!!!

  5. Tom

    Dec 3, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Upgrade your wood shafts, stock offering from OEM’s are low quality. Heads pretty much all the same, warmed over designs marketed as breakthrough…

  6. TigerFan91

    Dec 3, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    I bought a Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 6S shaft, tipped it an inch, and made the final length of my M2 driver 44 3/4″. Made a world of a difference in my driving accuracy.

  7. ogo

    Dec 3, 2018 at 11:21 am

    Yes.. yes.. yes….. it’s all in the equipment you have in your WITB weapons of golf destruction. Never mind any swing change because your swing is perfect as it is… it must be new equipment that you need to get you under the 90+ hump. Jeeeez….

    • Evan

      Dec 3, 2018 at 12:16 pm

      Sometimes it’s the confidence that comes with different clubs that may improve a golfer’s performance however. You’re right, swing changes are necessary and will have a bigger impact.

      • ogo

        Dec 3, 2018 at 6:47 pm

        Correct… and when the 460cc pineapple big drivers came on the scene golfer confidence shot up and everybody deluded they could conquer the game off the tee. Of course it didn’t happen because the stock graphite shafts were so bad the jumbo drivers flopped about in final release due to face angle disaster. Confidence mounted, performance dived.

  8. Dan

    Dec 3, 2018 at 9:54 am

    Replaced my TM M1 w my old Titleist 904 R w real 757 speeder. Lost about 5yrs and now get to hit from the short grass again

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Equipment

Adam Scott testing green “Masters Use Only” putter + 6 interesting equipment photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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Welcome to the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which, for your geographical reference, is about 25 minutes from Dallas.

In early-week equipment news, we saw some interesting putter testing from Adam Scott, a Maxfli golf ball signing on the PGA Tour, a 16-year-old’s WITB, a PGA Tour player using another PGA Tour player’s backup putter, and Jordan Spieth weighed in on why he recently switched out just his 7-iron (and then made a hole-in-one with it).

With so much to report and so little time to waste on the intro, let’s get right into this week’s equipment rundown from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

See all of our photo galleries from the week here 

Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. putters

Before we get into a couple of the new prototypes Scott has been testing, above is a photo of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max prototype putter that he’s been using, and will likely continue to use this week in Texas.

That being said, following the Masters, Scott was looking to try a couple putters with a slightly lighter weight to help with his feel on fast greens.

One of the new prototypes we spotted on Tuesday was a L.A.B. Golf DF3 “Proto 2.1”, custom-built with Scott’s preferred blue colorway, and an Australia-inspired Kangaroo laser engraving…

We also spotted him with a green-colored “For Masters Use Only” Mezz.1 Max prototype…

While it’s unlikely Scott will make a switch this week, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward, especially on courses with faster greens.

We also got a peek into Scott’s full WITB this week, which consists of a super-mixed set of Srixon irons, including a ZX Utility 3-iron, a ZX-5 MkII 4-iron, ZX-7 MkII mid-irons (5-7) and Z Forged II short irons (8-9).

See Scott’s full WITB from the CJ Cup here

An update on Daniel Berger’s Odyssey Jailbird

Last week in New Orleans, we highlighted Daniel Berger’s Ai-One Jailbird Mini putter because of its unique sightlines.

Well, we have an update.

According to Callaway Tour Manager Joe Toulon, who spoke with GolfWRX.com this week, Berger’s Jailbird Mini is actually from fellow Tour player Tom Kim’s stash. Kim is a prolific putter tester, and the exact putter Berger is currently using was actually originally made for and tested by Kim. The putter didn’t make it into Kim’s starting lineup, however, so he gave the putter back to Odyssey, and it eventually made it’s way onto Berger’s gamer roster.

Jordan Spieth’s new 7-iron

As the story goes, Jordan Spieth changed out his Titleist T100 7-iron on Wednesday before the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and then on Thursday, he used the 7-iron to make a hole-in-one from 199 yards on the 16th hole.

Good timing on that switch, Jordan.

On Tuesday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, GoflWRX.com caught up with Spieth to get the full story on why he switched just the 7-iron.

Our full story is over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s a snippet of what Spieth had to say:

“I hit my 7-iron a lot, especially on my own. The spin rates, relative to my 6-iron and my 8-iron, were lower, so it was going too far. I was trying to figure out why, if it was something in the makeup of the iron. I got the lies and the lofts checked, and everything was fine. So finally I was like, ‘Can I just get a new one and see if it fixes it?’

“Maybe there was one other time throughout my career where I changed just one iron, so it’s very unusual. I think it’s just because the grooves were worn down from hitting it too much.”

Ben Griffin signs with Maxfli to play the golf ball

At the beginning of the year, LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson signed a deal with Maxfli to play the company’s golf ball, and now, Griffin has officially joined team Maxfli, as well, thus expanding the company’s Tour presence.

GolfWRX.com caught up with Griffin on Wednesday in Texas for a video interview about his new golf ball of choice, and how he marks it…

 

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A 16-year-old is playing on the PGA Tour this week, using a 2-iron!

Amateur golfer Kris Kim, at just 16 years of age, is making his PGA Tour debut this week after receiving a sponsors exemption into the event. In 2023, Kim won both the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the European Boys’ International Championship.

On Tuesday in Texas, we got a look into Kim’s bag, which revealed that he’s currently playing a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron, and a bag full of TaylorMade clubs.

Check out Kim’s full WITB here

A smart golf ball stamping

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a big math guy, because I’m not. However, I do recognize David Nyfjall’s purple ball marking as a square root symbol.

While I don’t know the particular significance of the square root symbol for Nyfjall, I do know you have to be fairly intelligent to even consider using a marking like that. Pretty cool stuff from the Northwestern alum, and 2023 Byron Nelson Award winner.

And, with that, we say goodbye to Texas and TPC Craig Ranch. We’ll see you next week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for more insider equipment news and storylines.

For now, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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Whats in the Bag

Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)

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  • Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3

Grips: SuperStroke, Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

More photos of Wesley Bryan’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Why Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week

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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. 

…Flash forward to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2024 at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas, and Bryan is still playing with a mixed Takomo set, except he’s added a new 101 U 4-iron, plus a Titleist T200 4-iron, and he’s dropping his 5-iron.

That bears repeating: Bryan is switching to an iron setup that consists of two 4-irons and no 5-iron.

On paper, that looks wrong, but when you look at yardage gapping instead of the number on the sole of the iron, things start to make more sense.

As Bryan explained to GolfWRX.com on Tuesday in Texas, his Takomo 301 CB 6-iron goes about 195-200 yards. Then, his new hollow-bodied Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which he recently started testing “a couple weeks ago” and bent about 2 degrees weak, goes about 220 yards, and the Titleist T200 4-iron goes about 235 yards.

Speaking on his new Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which sells for $119, Bryan had this to say:

“It’s super forgiving and launches high, and it has a bit longer of a profile to where it looks really good,” said Bryan. “If people are willing to play something that doesn’t have an expensive price tag on their club…[I started testing it] in the last couple weeks and it’s in the bag.

“I just made it like 2 degrees weaker. Basically that gap from 205 to 225 I was in a little bit of a dead space, so I’m going to try and fill that gap better.”

Check out Wesley Bryan’s full WITB here.

Read the rest of the article at PGATour.com. 

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