Equipment
WRX Insider: Top 5 equipment stories at the PGA Championship
This week at Harding Park had a few key stories to track from a WITB standpoint. Some were huge, some were subtle. All are interesting.
Here are the top five equipment stories from the PGA Championship.
#5. Fleetwood goes to Ventus
Tommy Fleetwood has one of the most eclectic bags on Tour. The Englishman is the epitome of finding the right 14 sticks no matter what. This week at Harding Park, he made what I would call a pretty substantial change to his driver set up. Being a player that has trusted the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70 TX for a while now, Tommy not only switched shafts but switched companies going into the ever-popular Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X.
According to my source, Tommy was fighting a left miss with the normal setup and was searching for a way to stabilize the head a bit. The Ventus not only helped that but also kicked up the ball speed a touch. Obviously it helped, at the time this article was written he was two back of the leaders having put on a ballstriking display with a Friday 64.
#4. Fleetwood swaps in TM Proto 4 and 5-irons
Tommy also swapped out his Srixon Z785 4 and 5-irons for two TaylorMade prototypes. The switch was in an effort to bridge the gap between his 5-wood and 4-iron. In past weeks, he had tested a TaylorMade SIM Max 4 Rescue. The switch required him to strengthen his 5-iron to gap properly, but ultimately that recipe wasn’t the right fit.
#3. Koepka goes back to his M5
If anything has been holding Brooks Koepka back this year, it has been his driver. Notoriously an intimidating player off the tee (especially on tough golf courses), Koepka had been struggling in 2020.
He started the season with SIM Max and quickly swapped that for the Callaway Mavrik he used up until early this week. According to my source, BK liked the ball speed and feel from the Callaway but felt going back to the M5 he used in 2019 put him back in a comfortable pocket, and as you can see, he is right at the top of the leaderboard again.
Another interesting nugget is the M5 switch required no tweaks, straight into the bag. When no wrenching is needed, you know that club is dialed.
Koepka has also gone back to his trusty Nike Vapor Pro 3-iron. Previously, BK had the TaylorMade P790 UDI in play, but this return comes as no surprise—that particular club draws strong affections from certain players, namely Koepka and Tony Finau.
#2. DJ lands on a 7-wood
Height, spin, and gapping have become a huge theme in the past weeks—especially in that no man’s land between 3-wood and 5-iron. Dustin Johnson is a player who is not afraid to experiment, and he has checked off every possible box.
At any given point this year he has had a 3-iron, 4-hybrid, utility, and now a 7-wood. Although these changes will be course-specific, the trend I’m seeing is players are looking for spin and versatility wherever they can find it. Most clubs in that range tend to be low spin, so if there is a way to find 400-500 RPMs flying out of the same window, its a bonus.
#1. Tiger ditches the “Elder Wand” (it won’t last)
At this point, I think the story even made it to CNN. When Tiger switches anything its world news, especially his trusty Scotty Cameron. In this case, he moved into a Scotty Cameron “Timeless Prototype,” which is a lead into the 2020 Studio Select collection at retail.
Two things going on here
- Ability to manipulate head weight to match up with green speed. Tiger’s gamer is, by today’s standards light at 327 grams. This experiment allows him to add subtract weight out of the head via weight ports in the sole.
- Added length to take the pressure off his back. Not the first time a player has done this. Freddy Couples, Rocco Mediate, and many others have gone to longer putters to encourage more upright posture.
At posting time, Tiger putted it all over the place on Friday, so although this switch is newsworthy, it won’t last. He’s just putting the Elder Wand in the reflection chair as I do with my kids.
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Whats in the Bag
Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2024 PGA Championship
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees @10.1) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX (45.5 inches)
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees @14.4) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees @19.7) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-10) Buy here.
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-10)
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-10S @57) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-K @61) Buy here.
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC Align
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
Check out more in-hand photos of Xander Schauffele’s clubs in the forums.
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Xander Schauffele WITB 2024 (May)
- Xander Schauffele what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees @10.1)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX (45.5 inches)
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Mizuno MP-20 (3), Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-10)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid X100 (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-10)
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-10S @57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-K @61)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC Align
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
Check out more in-hand photos of Xander Schauffele’s clubs in the forums.
More Xander Schauffele WITBs
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2023 (August)
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2022 (July)
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2022 Scottish Open
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2022 Travelers Championship
- Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele’s winning WITBs: 2022 Zurich Classic
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2022 (January)
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2021 (October)
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2021 (September)
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2021 (May)
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2021 Masters
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2020 (October)
- Xander Schauffele WITB: 2020 Tour Championship
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2020 Olympics
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2020
- Xander Schauffele WITB: 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: Sentry Tournament of Champions
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2018
- Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB: 2017 Tour Championship
- Xander Schauffele WITB 2017
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Whats in the Bag
Cam Smith WITB 2024 (May)
- Cam Smith what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X
3-wood: Ping Max G430 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 7 X
7-wood: Titleist TS2 (21 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Elements Proto 8F5
Irons: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi (2, 3), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X Custom Series
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-08M, 60-04T)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130X (46, 52, 56, 60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Tack
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Cam Smith’s gear here.
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RJH
Aug 9, 2020 at 1:05 pm
Tommy changed from z785 long irons not z765.
Micela Simpliciano Medina
Aug 9, 2020 at 11:01 am
You put the Elder wand in your kids?
Benny
Aug 8, 2020 at 4:19 pm
Seriously Tiger comes into 2020’s first major with a new Tour Scotty and says its his back?
Give me a break. This is all about marketing and for the best thing that ever happenned to Scotty Cameron…. Tiger Woods!
Jj
Aug 8, 2020 at 5:35 pm
And during an election year!