Equipment

Aaron Dill gives deep dive into Nelly Korda’s wedge set-up

Published

3 years ago

Jun 23, 2021

Nelly Korda is flying high in 2021, winning the LPGA Meijer Classic last weekend to become the first player this year to win multiple times on tour.

The 22-year-old fired her career low-round of 62 at the event on Saturday and heads into this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as one of the favorites as she looks to break her major duck.

Titleist gave golf fans an awesome deep dive into both Nelly and sister Jessica’s WITB earlier this year, and now, master craftsman Aaron Dill has provided fans with an in-depth look at Nelly’s wedge set-up.

Speaking on the process behind fitting Korda for her SM8 wedges, Dill says Nelly sent her current gamers to him, which he then spec’d out to figure out what was missing so that he could then make the perfect set for her.

@vokeywedgerep

On Nelly’s SM8 (50-08F) Gap Wedge:

AD: “This is a great wedge for her; it’s really an extension of her irons. It’s a way for her to branch out of the pitching wedge and into something a little shorter with a little more versatility and short game feel. So this is a great fit for her and matches her gaps nicely.”

On Nelly’s SM8 (54-14F):

AD: “Before, she had less bounce. She had a lot of clubs that were on the lower bounce spectrum, and it limited her on how much short game she could really do or the shots that she could get out of each one.

So as we tested, we began to realise that she was missing some higher bounce clubs in that wedge set, and this one fits that nicely because it doesn’t limit her around the greens. She can hit it from the fairway, in the bunkers, pitches and chips, into the grain – great fit for her.”

On Nelly’s former SM8 (58-08MV):

AD: “She started with a 58 M grind with a V. This was a good fit for her in the beginning, but as we began working together more, she realised that ‘these golf courses I’m playing on, the types of shots I’m trying to hit. I need a little less bounce from time to time.’

And it wasn’t a lot less bounce; it was really more ‘I just need it to be a little less here and there, especially when I’m in the sand.’ This wedge was a little bit wider.”

On Nelly’s SM8 (58-10S):

AD: “This is slightly thinner, with a little ribbon on the back. Ten degrees of bounce, but the bounce is all right here (sole). So when she’s hitting those square faced shots, she has that protection and the bounce that she needs, but when she needs to be creative, the ribbon on the back and the thinner flange helps her have that versatility around the greens.

But then we took it a step further, and I said, ‘Hey, for you to really maximize potential, especially when you’re going from course to course, that’s when we bring in something a little bit less, into a 58T.”

On Nelly’s SM8 58T:

AD: “I think for her, it was really a moment where she could really take a breath and relax and say, ‘Okay, if things firm up, I’ve got the best wedge for that (58T), if things stay soft, I’ve got this too (58-10S).’ So she carries both. She takes them from course to course; she decides which one fits based on conditions.”

On Nelly’s Aerotech SteelFiber i95 wedge shafts:

AD: “She plays a SteelFiber graphite shaft at 1/2 an inch over as she’s very tall and Tour Velvet grips, and she’s a little bit upright. So she likes to have more of that straight to slightly draw-biased ball flight – it’s a great way to help her bring her ball flight down, keep that spin up and carry that number that she’s trying to hit at the time.”

Check out the video in full below.

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Follow Aaron Dill on Instagram here and Nelly Korda here.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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