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Brooks Koepka spotted with TaylorMade SIM driver in Abu Dhabi

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When it comes to golf equipment, Brooks Koepka is a man who doesn’t change things unless he wants to. That’s the beautiful thing afforded to any golfer who is an equipment “free agent.” So, when the world’s number one golfer changes something in his golf bag, we take notice.

This week in Abu Dhabi, there were a couple of big changes to some favorite clubs for Koepka, who is coming back from season-ending knee surgery and playing for the first time since October 2019.

The first, and potentially most notable change, is a TaylorMade P790 long iron replacing the Nike Vapor Fly 3-iron that had been a staple in Koepka’s bag for the better part of four years. Four years is easily considered a long-term relationship for any club. He even switched full iron sets in that same time period—from Mizuno JPX 900 Tours to the 919 Tours—all while keeping the Nike in the bag. When talking to any professional, a full-scale iron change is on the biggest hurdles, but for Koepka, it appears to be less of an issue. There is one older model club that continues to have staying power, his Titleist Vokey SM4 TVD- L Grind 60 degrees.

The other big change relates to the driver. Brooks switched from the TaylorMade M5 to the all-new TaylorMade SIM standard model with adjustable front weight track. Although we don’t have a confirmation of specs yet from TaylorMade or Koepka himself, it appears as though it is shafted with his reliable and trusted Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70TX.

Interestingly, even though this has been his go-to shaft and head combo for the past few years, he was spotted testing what looked to be a Fujikura Ventus along with the new Mizuno ST200g driver on the range before the event this week on the European Tour (see below). However, when the starter announced his name Thursday, the SIM was in the bag.

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Sound on @bkoepka ???? #ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. J Dawwwwwgggggg

    Jan 16, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    Mustve been a slow day at the office if this is worthy of an article.

  2. Joe

    Jan 16, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    It says SIM Max in the picture

    • David Montgomery

      Jan 16, 2020 at 5:56 pm

      Definitely says SIM Max.

      • Joe

        Jan 16, 2020 at 11:14 pm

        Do we get a job at wrx since we can read? I’m interested if so lol love the site but good lord some of these guys can’t get some simple stuff correct. Like the fact you could tell Brooks has a Tensei white in the new 790 if you were watching the tournament

  3. 19_Majors

    Jan 16, 2020 at 3:50 pm

    The driver change is not “big news”. BK has switched to the newest Taylormade driver every single year since Nike exited the equipment business…

  4. Wyatt Ramsey

    Jan 16, 2020 at 2:58 pm

    Is it 790p 3 iron or the UDI? He still rocking a 10.5 degree driver?

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Whats in the Bag

John Daly WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 6-Dot

3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 4-Dot

Hybrids: Ping G430 (17, 22, 26 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold

Irons: Sub70 659-CB (6-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Wedges: Sub70 TAIII (50, 54, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Milled One T CH
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

Grips: SuperStroke custom

More photos of John Daly’s WITB in the forums.

 

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Toulon Golf collaborates with Valhalla Golf Club for latest Small Batch putter

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Toulon Golf has today officially announced its latest Small Batch putter — the Valhalla.

Discussing the putter, Preston Toulon of Toulon Golf said: “This putter is a collaboration with the club at Valhalla and incorporates three of the many things that make the state of Kentucky great – horseracing, bourbon and championship golf. The head of the putter and headcover have several allusions to a jockey’s silk and there are thoroughbreds on the sole.”

Inspired by Toulon’s classic tri-sole Santa Monica design, the company sought to modernize the profile and design leveraging its 904 stainless steel and 6061 aircraft aluminium across the sole. Toulon describes the Valhalla’s profile as “slightly oversized blade whose proportions are meticulously balanced to maintain the look and feel of the Santa Monica, while increasing the putter’s inertia to create one of the most forgiving putters we have ever designed.”

Throughout numerous prototypes, Toulon paid particular attention to the L-neck, with its full shaft of offset, adding a bit of length for better blending with the slightly wider and longer blade.

On the rear of the putter are homages to horse racing in the form of jockey silk diamonds and Churchill Downs-inspired font.

The sole of the putter features a large cavity covered by a 6061 aircraft aluminum sole plate. According to Toulon, this allowed for the addition length to the putter and improved inertia as well as moving more mass to the perimeter for greater forgiveness.

In another nod to Valhalla, Toulon uses a milled watermarked limestone pattern, a reference to stone featured widely on the property.

As with all the Toulon Small Batch putters, the team paid particular attention to the topline thickness and radius to achieve a desired look. “Soft yet crisp was the design intent,” according to the company.

Toulon Golf Small Batch Valhalla specs

  • Material: 904L Stainless Steel/6061 Aluminum Sole
  • Face Mill: Fine Double Fly with Big Tuna
  • Finish: Kentucky Bourbon PVD
  • Grip: Custom Toulon Collection Vintage Blue Pistol
  • Shaft: Chrome Stepless Steel
  • Headcover: Valhalla Custom Leather
  • Head Weight: 355 g
  • Toe Hang: 40 degrees
  • Loft: 3 degrees
  • Lie: 70 degrees

Pricing and availability

The Small Batch Valhalla is available for purchase today via the company’s website — ToulonGolf.com.

Supply is extremely limited. The price is $1,800.

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Max Homa is the latest to put prototype Titleist 2-wood in play

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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.

Titleist’s new 2-wood prototype first popped up on the TOUR at the 2024 PLAYERS Championship, in the bag of Cameron Young, who had been working with Titleist on the design since 2023.

Here’s what Titleist Tour fitter J.J. Van Wezenbeeck had to say about the design back at THE PLAYERS Championship:

“(Young) was looking for a certain ball speed and yardage gap from his driver,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “One of the things for him with the 3-wood is he wanted something with a little more volume that he felt more confident off the tee with, so he was looking for a little bigger footprint and something that was a little bit more penetrating than some of the 3-woods he’s played in the past. This will be a club he’ll hit 90 percent off the tee, versus the ground, so for the golf courses that set up for that, that’s what he’s looking for … this may or may not ever come to retail. It’s a chance for us to learn and put it in future products that may not be exactly this.”

Since the initial unveiling of the product at THE PLAYERS Championship, fellow PGA TOUR players such as Homa, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas have also taken notice…

“[The new 2-wood) helps me draw it a little bit better,” Homa told GolfWRX.com on Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship. “I don’t draw the ball well, so left-to-right winds it’s quite helpful.”

Now, according to Van Wezenbeeck, Homa has two different options off the tee: A flat-trajectory cut shot with his TSR3 driver, and a “spinny draw” with his new TSR 2-wood, which flies farther than his former 3-wood.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.

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