Connect with us

News

Morning 9: Bryson’s Masters prep plans | Rory searching for speed? | Koepka feeling healthy | Tour Truck report

Published

4 years ago

on
1. Koepka feeling healthy, ready for return in Vegas
Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…“Rehabbing his injuries the past two months in San Diego, Koepka said he underwent another round of platelet-rich plasma injections in his left knee and also had a cortisone shot in his hip. If the issue persists, he said, he’s looking at surgery and a nine-month recovery. But asked how he feels now compared to when he began the year, he said: “A million times better.”
  • “I didn’t know how bad I felt until I actually feel good,” he said.
  • “Koepka began hitting balls about 10 days ago and traveled to Las Vegas last week to work with swing coach Butch Harmon. After a painful season, he was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his shots and reported no limitations.”
  • “After this week’s CJ Cup, Koepka will return to San Diego for more rehab. He’ll also play the Houston Open at Memorial Park – where Koepka served as a consultant for the redesign – in the week leading up to the Masters.”
2. DeChambeau’s pre-Masters plans
AP report…”DeChambeau left Winged Foot with the U.S. Open trophy and headed straight to Denver to start working out. Upon leaving Las Vegas, he plans to be in Dallas “practicing every day, working out every day and doing a lot of speed training.”
  • “Every other day I’ll do a speed training session trying to get my swing speed, at least with a 48-inch driver, up to 200 (mph) on average,” he said.
  • “The 48-inch driver, used primarily in long driving competitions, is what he hopes to bring to Augusta National, where he expects to play all the long holes (except No. 10) differently than they’ve ever been played.”
  • “DeChambeau said he would take one scouting trip to Augusta National ahead of the first Masters ever held in November.”
3. Rory revving the engine
Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com…“With some speed work in the gym and a lighter shaft in his driver, he posted on Instagram that he’s getting up around 190 mph ball speed and 340 yards of carry.”
  • “Has he been inspired by DeChambeau? Well, yes, but only to a point.”
  • “Yeah, for the last couple weeks I was working on some stuff,” McIlroy said from Las Vegas, where eight of the top 10 and 70 of the top 125 from the final 2020 FedExCup standings will take on Shadow Creek. “I think as a golfer, we’re so ingrained to trying to hit the ball where you’re looking, and I think with – I think that’s one of the great things that Bryson’s done.
  • “Bryson, when he speed-trains, he just hits the ball into a net, so he doesn’t really know where it’s going,” McIlroy continued. “He’s just trying to move as fast as he can … and sort of making the target irrelevant for the time being and then you can sort of try to bring it in from there. From what I’ve done and what I’ve been trying – you know, sort of experimenting with the last couple weeks – it’s the fastest I’ve ever moved the club, the fastest my body has ever moved.”
4. How the PGA Tour made the one-year move of its Asian events 
Daniel Rapaport for Golf Digest…The full piece is well worth a read, but here’s a morsel of the logistical considerations the Tour was looking at…”When those restrictions took place,” said Ty Votaw, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the PGA Tour, when discussing the status of the tour’s Asian swing events, “we were confronted with the reality that if [the restrictions] stayed in place between then and the tournament, very few, if any, players would fly to Seoul, sit in a hotel for 14 days, then fly to Jeju Island for the CJ Cup.”
GolfWRX Recommends 
 
We think a quarterly journal is the best complement to a website that publishes dozens of articles daily. And while that might not make sense to you now, it certainly will once you subscribe to The Golfer’s Journal and dive into some of the best golf writing and photography around. 
 
GolfWRX may earn a commission on sales of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.

 

 

5. Embracing Danny Noonan

 

T.J. Auclair for Caddie Network…“After years and years of being recognized as Noonan, O’Keefe said something happened in 2007 that allowed him to embrace it.”
  • “I had a great thing happen – one of the many great things that happened while I was caddying at the Open a couple of weeks ago,” said O’Keefe, who caddied two practice rounds in the 2020 “U.S. Open for PGA Professional Danny Balin at Winged Foot, a place where O’Keefe caddied as a teen in the early 1970s. “Jimmy Roberts did an interview and I was able to tell him this story about how my whole way of relating to the movie changed in 2007.”
  • “That year, O’Keefe was shooting a TV pilot and the wardrobe designer, he explained, was a big fan of Caddyshack.”
  • “When I came in for the meeting, almost one of the first things she said was, she mentioned the movie,” he said. “And, you know, actors are always wanting to be remembered for bodies of work and different performances. Me, personally, I wouldn’t mind it if somebody recognized my work, say, from the 21st century.”
6. LPGA Apprentice Brittany Ferrante plays 200 holes and raised $52,000 for breast cancer  research
Let’s just celebrate a good thing here, shall we? Hope Barnett for LPGA.com…“Headlights were beaming onto the green as Brittany Ferrante dropped to her knees and burst into tears. She had done it. The LPGA Apprentice accomplished more than she thought was possible.”
  • “…Helping people and golf; when you put the two things together, it sounds like a dream to Ferrante. On one summer day in Long Island, New York, these two things combined in a way that no one could wrap their head around. Not even Ferrante.”
  • “Ferrante directs the Junior Golf Program at The Village Club of Sands Point. Not only does she help children every day, but she helps raise money for Babes Against Cancer every year; an organization that funds breast cancer and prostate cancer research, which lives underneath the American Cancer Society.”
7. Fowler, McIlroy say Shadow Creek is a good tuneup for ANGC
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…“players in this week’s CJ Cup are finding the Las Vegas course is serving surprisingly well as preparation for next month’s Masters.”
  • “I think this is actually a great place for-you know, to kind of have a little checkpoint of where things are leading up to Augusta,” said Rickie Fowler.”
  • “Speaking to the media Wednesday, both Fowler and Rory McIlroy commented on the similarities between the Georgia and Nevada properties. Specifically, the comparisons of green complexes.”
  • “I was saying yesterday with how good the greens are here and how slopey and how fast and how the course is set up, it’s actually-it’s not a bad place to prepare for Augusta,” said McIlroy, who owns five top-10s as the Masters. “It’s bent, the same conditions you’re going to get there in terms of grass anyway.”
8. Could this keep a green jacket off Bryson’s shoulders?
Something to keep an eye on. An interesting thought from Golf Digest’s Alex Myers who has taken his eyes off Instagram long enough to publish this piece...”during the second round of the 2019 Northern Trust, Bryson DeChambeau took an astonishing two minutes and 20 seconds before attempting an eight-foot putt. It’s the kind of thing you have to see to believe. It’s also the kind of thing you probably won’t see from DeChambeau-or anyone else-at next month’s Masters.”
  • “That’s not because the Masters cracks down on slow play more than other tournaments-although, Tianlang Guan might beg to differ-but rather, because officials at Augusta National Golf Club don’t allow the detailed green-reading books that have become so prevalent on the PGA Tour.”
9. From the GolfWRX Classifieds…
A few notes from our Johnny Wunder regarding adjustments various staffers are making ahead of play at Shadow Creek.
TaylorMade…
  • Rory McIlroy: To no one’s surprise, Rory made the switch into the Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X in his driver. The lower-lofted 10.5-degree head is set at 8 degrees (45.5, D3, Golf Pride BCT 58R grip, 59.5-degree lie, 2-degree sleeve)
  • Jason Day switched back to his trusty P760 irons (4-PW) after a brief (one week) run with TM’s new P7MB.
  • Collin Morikawa: Testing and may switch into TaylorMade’s new FCG putter.
Titleist…
  • Jimmy Walker (not in the field) is testing a T100 4-iron as well as testing a new TSi3 driver with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (@45.75 inches). This would be an increase of an inch from his previous spec. Walker also shot a 61 at home with the new Pro V1 in the bag.
  • Justin Thomas will have a 9 degree TSi3 driver in the bag with the new Mitsubishi Diamana TB 60 TX shaft.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 2
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Related Topics:

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

Published

2 days ago

on

May 10, 2024

By

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.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

Your Reaction?
  • 3
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

Equipment

Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter

Published

3 days ago

on

May 9, 2024

By

Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.

This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.

Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.

The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.

Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.

Your Reaction?
  • 25
  • LEGIT2
  • WOW2
  • LOL1
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange

Published

4 days ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

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. 

…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.

Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.

Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.

According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.

He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.

Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

Your Reaction?
  • 45
  • LEGIT11
  • WOW4
  • LOL4
  • IDHT2
  • FLOP2
  • OB0
  • SHANK7

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag2 days ago

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

Matthieu Pavon WITB 2024 (May)

Pavon’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Ping G430 Max (9...
Whats in the Bag3 days ago

WITB Time Machine: Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB, 2015 Wells Fargo Championship

Then-No. 1 player in the world Rory McIlroy began the week at the Wells Fargo Championship at 3-1 odds, if...
Whats in the Bag4 days ago

Akshay Bhatia WITB 2024 (May)

Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos...

Facebook

Trending