Equipment

WRX Insider: Inside the bag of Kevin Chappell

Published

4 years ago

Oct 6, 2020

Over the past several years, equipment sponsorship deals on the PGA Tour have changed dramatically with more players opting to go the “free agent” route and not sign a deal that ties them to a single manufacturer. As this “use what works best” approach continues to pick up steam, Kevin Chappell has become the first tour player to officially partner with brand-agnostic club-fitter True Spec Golf, as it launches its Tour Department Program.

To dial in his new gear, Kevin worked with Tim Briand, True Spec’s Executive Vice President—who we should note took part in our GolfWRX’s fitter panel to help determine our “Best driver 2020“. Interestingly, Chappell went through the same fitting process any other golfer that chooses to get fit at True Spec Golf would go through; using launch monitor data alongside the company’s club component matrix.

I had the opportunity to speak with Tim about what it was like working with Kevin on dialing in his gear, any equipment preferences he had going into the process, and the areas where Kevin saw the greatest improvements.

RB: When you started working with Kevin, did he come in leaning towards certain clubs based on previous experience, or was he looking for a top to bottom overhaul of his equipment?

TB: When we started working with Kevin, he was 100 percent committed to the process of finding the best 14 clubs for him and his game. The one factor we didn’t change and used as a constant during the process was his golf ball—the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. Kevin was really comfortable with its performance around the greens and the window it created on full shots.

Beyond that, it was game on from top to bottom in figuring out which clubs would ultimately end up is his bag.

RB: How did it work when you started the fitting process?

TB: Like with any golfer that comes to us at True Spec for a fitting, it all began with a conversation around what he likes, and any issues he felt he had with hitting certain shots, distances or trajectories, along with blueprinting his current clubs.

It was through those conversations that Kevin told us his favorite irons he had ever used were his old Nike VR Pro Combos. Since he had worn out and no longer had the short irons we blueprinted the remaining 4-iron from the set that he did have and used that as a testing baseline. For Kevin, that iron checked every box; feel, looks, ground interaction, flight window, everything. As you can see from his WITB, it’s a club he still carries, and in a way it further justifies our agnostic fitting process—if it’s not broken don’t try and fix it!

RB: With that in mind, let’s talk about irons. How did you narrow it down to the final set?

TB: The great thing is Kevin truly came in with an open mind to look at, and test everything. We basically laid out all of the available iron heads and began the process of elimination.

What started at roughly 20, quickly got chopped down to around 10 based on looks, and Kevin’s preferred head shape. From that 10 we started to test and hit balls to whittle down clubs based on feel and ground interaction. At that point, we had 4-5 irons that checked all the boxes, and then we began the detailed process of looking at total performance to determine the best irons for him. The end result was as mentioned already, meant keeping his Nike VR Pro Combo 4 iron and going with a set of Wilson staff model blades from the 5-PW.

RB: Let’s move into the longer clubs, specifically the fairway woods. Looking at his final setup, he has non-matching fairway woods from 2 different OEMs. Did he start with a matching set?

TB: When we started out, Kevin was using a matching 3 and 5-wood, but we quickly determined the 3-wood was underperforming in the areas where he needed that club for particular shots. Just like with amateur players, a 3-wood has to be extremely versatile since it is used in all kinds of scenarios, so just like with the irons, we started with every option before coming to the final decision.

The interesting note with his 5-wood is, it actually plays like what I would call a “6-wood”, to get the ball higher in the air and increase the descent angle to hold greens.

RB: Last but not least, since you just mentioned greens, did you do much work with Kevin’s putter, or was that another club that didn’t need any tweaking like the Nike 4-iron?

TB: Kevin came in with a putter he loved (custom weld neck Scotty Cameron) so we used Quintic to take a look at his launch conditions and made some minor lie and loft tweaks to optimize roll. He also ended up in a new grip.

Beyond that, we left it alone and worked with Kevin to send the new specs of his putter to the team as Scotty Cameron to produce a backup since its a total custom weld-neck and not something that could be easily replaced.

Kevin Chappell WITB 2020

Driver: TaylorMade SIM
Shaft: LA Golf Partners Trono

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

5-wood: Cobra SpeedZone
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo (4), Wilson Staff Model Blade (5-PW)
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 120 X

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (52, 56, 62 degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Custom Circle T

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x (Left Dash)

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Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

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Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

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TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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