Equipment
GolfWRX Insider: Week one on tour with the new Titleist TSi metal woods
The cat is outta the bag! After more than two years since the launch of the TS series metal woods, Titleist has cooked up something new, and from the response and comments on the Tour, this thing is a heater.
I had a chance to catch up with my buddy and Titleist Tour rep J.J. VanWezenbeeck while he is on a West Coast/East Coast whirlwind testing tour, and this is what he had to report.
JW: Overall, how are players responding to the new TSi drivers?
JJ: TSi launch has been a long time coming…but despite fires, heat, COVID-19 restrictions the product is coming out above it all. It has been 27 months since players have seen a new lineup from Titleist, so they were overly excited about seeing what we have been working on.
We have been working through playoffs, scheduling, travel restrictions, COVID rules/regulations, and safety needs to try and see as many players as possible, including this week in Portugal and Napa.
JW: In simple terms, what makes this driver unique/special vs other models?
JJ: TSi drivers have shown up in a big way from look, to feel, to launch monitor performance. Almost all players have to see ball speed increases out of the gate, but the stability of the head is what really is showing off—players are seeing incredibly consistent spin, speed, and direction numbers—this has let players find another gear (see Mark Blackburn post of Charley Hoffman TPI testing).
JJ Contd: We are incredibly excited about week one and what the coming weeks are going to bring with this product. The overwhelmingly positive comments from our staff is incredible. I would look out for some early and often success. Stephanie Luttrell and our R&D team did a phenomenal job. I can’t wait for all our Tour Staff and the rest of the golfing world to experience this product.
JW: How many players will most likely have it in play this week?
JJ: With players all over the globe, COVID-19, and scheduling challenges, we have not had a chance to see all our staff as we like to present the product in person and answer questions for them and get them fit perfectly. We have our worldwide teams on the road and seeing all of our staff over the coming weeks. This week, we have seen some early adopters on social media in Portugal after working with Liam McDougal, and we will have 15-plus players using the new metals in Napa after seeing them for the first time this week.
JW: Charley Hoffman has a white line down the face of his TSi3, what’s the reason?
JJ: Charley Hoffman has been drawing a vertical line on his driver for a while just to allow him to set up more centered. He was instrumental in helping with the new face graphics and felt like it framed the ball so well he may not need it. After discussing, he decided better to have and not need than not have.
*Tommy Fleetwood has also made the switch in Portugal, and from what I hear from my source, he’s killing this thing.
Driver: TSi3 9 @ 8.25 (D2 Surefit Setting) w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
From early reporting from Napa, these players will have TSi drivers in play: Blaum, Bramlett, Brown, Campos, Cauley, Duncan, Haas, Hadley, Hoffman, Hubbard, Kizzire, Ledesma, Malnati, Pan, Shelton, Spieth, Streb, Taylor, Uihlein.
And on the Euro Tour, beyond Fleetwood, Haotong Li is most likely putting in play as well.
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- Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G400 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 Tour X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125MSI 80 Tour X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom Hybrid 100 TX
Irons: Titleist 716 TMB (2), Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @55), SM10 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot RX Pt Customs No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
More photos of Patrick Reed’s WITB in the forums.
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Welcome to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
In the last two PGA Championships held at Valhalla, Tiger Woods won in 2000 – when he famously pointed his golf ball into the hole during the historic duel with Bob May – and Rory McIlroy won the 2014 event, basically in the dark on the final hole.
The point is, history shows that Valhalla tends to produce top-tier champions and plenty of drama.
This week at the 2024 PGA Championship, GolfWRX got its first up-close look at what some of the LIV Tour players have in their bags in 2024. We also caught back up with a few PGA Championship legends, such as Rich Beem and John Daly, and we dove into the bags of PGA Sectional qualifiers, too.
In total, we captured 47 different photo galleries this week, including 32 individual What’s In The Bag (WITB) forum threads. Click here to see all of our photos from the event, or continue reading to see my 10 equipment highlights from Valhalla.
1) Brooks Koepka’s new putter
Koepka was previously using a Scotty Cameron T5.5 putter with a slant neck, which he used to win at the beginning of the month in Singapore on the LIV tour. This week, however, he tried a T5.5 with a plumbers neck instead of the slant neck, and it’s immediately going in the bag. According to Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page, Koepka already loved the head, and now finds the plumbers neck a bit more familiar to the blade-style putters he’s used throughout most of his career.
2) The lead tape king returns, with putting goggles
Phil Mickelson has always been one of the GOATs when it comes to lead tape usage, so it was no surprise to see his 64-degree custom Callaway wedge slathered with slabs of lead tape on the back.
The big surprise was that lefty was spotted using ProAim putting training goggles on Wednesday during his warm-up session.
The ProAim goggles are helpful to find center lines and ensure proper alignment to the target.
See Phil Mickelson’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship
3) Dobyns’ old-school gamer setup
Speaking of lead tape, check out Matt Dobyn’s old Titleist 718 T-MB irons, which are so loaded with lead tape that the club is nearly unrecognizable.
Respect.
The head professional at Meadow Brook Club is making his sixth start in a PGA Championship, and he’s using a throwback Callaway GBB Epic driver with MOI-boosting lead tape and adjustable weight placements.
As GolfWRX Forum user “InTheBag” pointed out in our Matt Dobyns’ WITB thread, he has the type of setup that makes you want to hide your wallet: “I don’t know Mr. Dobyns, but one look at that bag tells me he can take your money,” writes InTheBag.
Spot on.
4) John Daly’s custom Sub70 irons and wedges
We first saw John Daly using $750 direct-to-consumer Sub70 659-CB irons and TAIII wedges at the 2023 PNC Championship, and he still has them in the bag, but he’s since stepped up the customization on the Sub70 clubs.
Does Daly ever NOT keep things entertaining?
View this post on Instagram
A true showman.
5) DJ’s custom putter
Dustin Johnson has always been one to test multiple putters week-to-week, and he has a keen eye for different alignment lines and crowns. This week, he’s opting for a completely gray TaylorMade Spider Tour “T3.0” prototype with a short slant neck.
See the rest of DJ’s WITB from the week here
6) Patrick Reed still rocking GrindWorks irons
Patrick Reed knows his stuff when it comes to equipment, and he’s a prolific tester. Still, however, the GrindWorks PR-101A irons are squarely in the bag after his departure to the LIV tour.
The most notable new addition to Reed’s bag is this Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood.
Click here to see Reed’s full WITB from this week
7) Beem’s Scratch set
Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, came to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a bag full of Scratch Golf irons, which are loaded with lead tape and equipped with some of the coolest custom ferrules in professional golf.
See Rich Beem’s full WITB here
8) Jon Rahm’s 10-iron
Before going to LIV, Rahm was using a Callaway Apex TCB pitching wedge.
Now, he’s using a Callaway Apex TCB “10 iron.”
He’s also since upgraded to three Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke metalwoods, and fresh stampings on his Jaws Raw wedges. Click here to see Rahm’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship.
9) “Why so serious?”
Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV player in the 2024 PGA Championship field, channels his inner Joker to ask everyone, “Why so serious?”
10) Block’s “Proto” iron, from address
As you probably know by now, Block switched out of his old TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 irons, and into a full set of TaylorMade’s new “Proto” irons. We’ve already seen the Proto 4-iron in the bags of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, but this is our first look at the higher-lofted irons in the set.
Here’s a look at the 7-iron from address:
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Proto irons in our Forums
And, with that, we say goodbye to Louisville, and the second major championship of the 2024 season. We’ll see you next week at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas after a champion has been crowned.
Until then, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week at the 2024 PGA Championship!
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We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much better last week, so he is hoping to continue that success and post another good score.
Here are the 14 clubs that will hopefully win him some skins!
Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X (2024)
3-wood: Cobra Dark Speed LS Titanium (14.5 degrees, set +1)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7x
Fairway: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8 X
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops 4h (22 degrees, Flat Setting)
Shaft: KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 85 S
Irons: TaylorMade P770 Phantom Black (5-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (50-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (56-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (60-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Putter: L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max
Shaft: Accra x L.A.B. White
Ball: Titleist ProV1 Enhanced Alignment
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ht
Sep 10, 2020 at 5:09 pm
A lot of professional PR jargon here. I understand that’s his job, but I still don’t know how this club differs from the other models, as asked in the first question. Saying it’s a little faster and a little more stable is nice, but every single new release from every single company says that. Would have been more interesting to hear the why behind all of the improvements instead of how “excited” titleist is for everyone to “experience this line”. Ok, great. I get it and you should be excited. I just wish I knew more about it because it’s a beautiful head. This is site made for golf geeks by golf geeks. Wouldn’t hurt to play to that audience a little more.
John Wunder
Sep 10, 2020 at 5:12 pm
Simple. Because Titleist hasn’t released any Tech data on it yet so beside excitement and first reactions there isnt anything more to say.We get the why, how and whats new VERY soon. Stand By.
Chuck
Sep 11, 2020 at 2:17 pm
John,
Three things:
First, your reply immediately above is of course absolutely correct.
Second, I have no doubt but that these new Titleist products are good. Tour players using them will hit drivers and fw’s longer and straighter.
Third — and this is the striking thing to me — is how artfully Titleist’s reps can go, to avoid saying the obvious. Namely, that the company can and will continue to design and build equipment to produce ever-increasing distances. So here, instead of saying that Charley Hoffman May get five more yards with new balls and drivers from Titleist, they say, “He’s able to find another gear,” or other such euphemisms.
8 Is The Number
Sep 10, 2020 at 4:57 pm
8 or 9 degrees? I saw some pictures with 8 and some with 9. I wish it will come at 8. Lower loft + tee-up high is a good formula for a low spin. I also wish Titleist sells different weights for TSi drivers.