Equipment
Wunder: Launch season is coming – Top 4 things I’m excited about
In normal times, October represents the kickoff to one of the best times of the year: launch season!
OEMs will start to tease, release, seed, and ultimately get the golf heads of the world all jacked up on what’s coming.
Golf is bigger than ever, and from the rumblings I hear from marketing, engineers, and tour reps, the excitement around what’s coming is a few ticks short of total pandemonium. We always talk about “best ever,” and I have heard that term thrown around more than normal.
I guess we will only know when we know, but from where I sit, I’m fired up. I know these people well, and I can tell when something special is coming. Even late last year, the whispers about TaylorMade’s new “P790B” and Titleist’s “new idea” driver was something that brought smiles to the folks that were dying to discuss but just couldn’t yet. In those cases, the excitement was real as both products are top of the class.
So, what else is coming?
Here are my top 4 things to get excited about and why
New TaylorMade Driver
I’ve heard very little, but what I have heard is TaylorMade has something serious coming to market. In my opinion, SIM was TM’s best driver to date, so to hear that something is coming that makes SIM a potential afterthought is certainly newsworthy.
I’m not sure what direction they will go after the leap they took with SIM, but I guess we shall see. The point is, when I hear whispers like this (and it’s not very often) history has shown me something special is coming. The last time I heard anything like this was in the summer of 2018 and the buzz was about some new Cobra driver…
The Ping I210 and IBlade Replacement…or a new idea
The driver cat is out of the bag with the USGA posting pics of the soon to be released G425, so no need to dive into that quite yet.
Ping is Fort Knox when it comes to early info. So much so to the point that I personally don’t even chase it down—it’s a fool’s errand.
Personally, all my info on what Ping has coming is pure speculation and personal opinion. That’s it. What I do know is, based on launch cycles, Ping is due for a new players cavity back and something to fit in between that and the Blueprint.
However, If I was to guess, I’d bet they blend the two ideas and make a players type version of the I210 and give players a chance to either blend or for the traditionalists get into the Blueprint.
That leaves room for Ping to focus on its hollow body category and make that more appealing to better players. In that scenario, the lineup would have all boxes checked off and options that can be mixed and matched to fit any player’s needs. Just a thought. It’s kind of the way to go these days.
Callaway’s New Apex MB/CB Line
I got my first glimpse of the idea back at RSM late last year. Aaron Price was testing the new MBs with the screw in the muscle, and up close, the profile looks pretty amazing. The idea of putting more mass behind the hitting area is not a new one, but it’s one that has proven to work. Callaway has always done a great job in the MB category, like Titleist, engineers keep things fairly simple and try to make something that satisfies the tour staff.
The official version can be seen in our tour photos, and it’s almost identical to the prototype—beyond the raw finish.
Spy pics of the CB are floating around on different platforms, but any info on them is nil. The Apex Pro is still an iron the tour staff adores, and my hunch is Callaway had to really dig deep to find its replacement.
New Srixon Irons
Ask any fitter across North America, and I’d bet a good majority would say Srixon more or less rules the conversation in the players iron category. Not to say that other OEMs aren’t competitive, but for the last four or five years, Z series irons have been the darlings for fitters and builders. Feel, quality and consistency are the keywords used and now finally the popular Z785 has its new iteration. The ZX7.
No details as to when they will hit the market or the story behind them, but what I’ve heard is, they took the cult classic Z745 and last year’s Z785 and blended them together to make an iron that finally converts the die-hard Z745 user into the ZX7. The 745 has been an iron that even Tour staff have had a hard time getting out of. Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell. Jerry Kelly, Brian Gay, and a few others still have them in play—and keep in mind Srixon has launched two new irons since that time. That’s why the ZX7 needed to be a game-changer.
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Kris Dunn
Oct 5, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Excited to see Srixon irons, 765 are the best thing I’ve ever hit. Apex MB’s don’t look as nice as the New Hogan Ft Worth (Apex). Taylor Made has a new driver every 3-6 months, and none ever go straight, Sergio was hooking or fading everything yesterday from Driver – 5W. He’s one of the best drivers on tour. Gotta get a TSI or Ping driver.
Trevino
Oct 5, 2020 at 9:19 pm
Twist face is something Taylormade needs to figure out how to get away from ASAP. They boxed themselves into a corner with twist face being “more accurate,” but it’s significantly less accurate. They need to do some serious marketing spin to get themselves back into a traditional face.
Craig
Oct 6, 2020 at 5:43 am
Agree with the TM drivers, not sure how the author thinks SIM is their best to date. The last couple of models since the 2017 have basically been terrible off the rack and need some serious fitting to get right.
Cobralegit
Oct 5, 2020 at 8:10 pm
FYI the new COBRA line will be called RAD. The color scheme is neon yellow but they kept matte black in line.
Dan
Oct 5, 2020 at 5:00 pm
I was a titleist guy until I saw the Z785’s in a pro shop and was sold on the profile alone. Now I game Z785 with Modus3 Tour 105R Hard-Stepped and love them. I can’t wait to see the new Z’s in person. Srixon irons are a best kept secret around my area.