Equipment
6’9”, 211 mph ball speed: Inside James Hart du Preez’s setup
You may have heard some rumblings about a 6-foot 9-inch golfer who averages 373 yards off the tee, and is teeing it up at the 2022 American Express this week at PGA West’s Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.
His name is James Hart du Preez, a 26-year-old South African Ping staffer who’s making his PGA Tour debut this week.
Previously, Bryson DeChambeau and Wilco Nienaber (a fellow Ping staffer) were the kings of distance on the PGA Tour. It looks like there may be a new head honcho in town, though.
I’ll admit, I was initially skeptical of du Preez’s distance (he averaged 373.1 yards in 2020/2021 on The Sunshine Tour, a South African tour. For reference, DeChambeau led the PGA Tour in driving distance in 2021, averaging 323.7 yards per drive). To get some verification, I got in touch with du Preez’s Ping club fitter Brad Millard. I also wanted to know what’s different about the club setup of a guy who is so tall and hits the ball so far.
Millard, the Player Development Manager at Ping’s Headquarters in Phoenix, personally fit du Preez for his current Ping equipment. In speaking with Millar on Wednesday ahead of The American Express, it appears all of the rumors are true. Du Preez really does hit his drives with 208-211 mph of ball speed.
He’s also done something that no other golfer has accomplished at the Ping fitting facility; he carried the back net of Ping’s range from the indoor hitting bay. That’s something Bubba Watson, Tony Finau, Cameron Champ, or even Wilco Nienaber have ever done. According to Millar, it was a 375-yard carry, with over 143 mph of club head speed.
Apparently, du Preez is the real deal — at least when it comes to distance.
Check out my Q&A with Millar below, and for more photos of du Preez’s equipment setup at the 2022 American Express, click here.
Tursky: First off, can you talk about what it’s like working with du Preez, and is 211 ball speed real? Also, what are some of the challenges that with working with a guy who’s that tall?
Millard: He’s done something we’ve never seen at Ping. James Hart is the only guy I’ve seen hit one over the fence from our bay. It was a 375-yard carry, with over 143 club head speed to launch it over our net.
I would say the biggest challenge is his height and getting clubs long enough. He had never really tested shafts out. He was using X100s when he came to us, and I switched him into a little heavier and stiffer X7, which seemed to help for his height and strength.
The biggest thing that we had to focus on for him was making sure we didn’t get him into equipment that would produce fliers. You can imagine with how far he hits it; he creates gaps bigger than most players do.
How far does he hit a 7-iron?
Around 225 yards. His 8-iron went about 190-195, so we had to make sure we got him into something that would spin enough so it didn’t produce fliers. We didn’t want him to hit a ball 230 when he was trying to hit 220 because the ball didn’t spin enough.
That was one of the main focuses on our fitting, was gapping and going through and making sure he didn’t have anything that would go too far, so if he had a number in mind he didn’t hit it over that.
What does he do with length, loft and shaft on his driver?
So the shaft is 46 inches, which, for him obviously, it looks as comfortable as a 45 or 45.5-inch driver would look to a normal human. It was more about comfort. We didn’t want to go too long, so we went with something comfortable for him that he could control. That’s how we landed with 46 inches. As far as loft, he obviously doesn’t need a lot of loft because of his club head speed it just spins too much.
It’s a pretty low lofted driver, a 9-degree Ping G425 LST head (with 8 degrees of actual loft), and a very stiff shaft in that Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green (80 TX, tipped 1-inch).
What are the lengths of his other clubs? Does he have to go super long?
Yeah, plus 2 inches.
What problems does that create, if any, with the build?
The only issue is that it makes the swing weight extremely heavy, but due to how strong he is, he doesn’t seem to mind whereas other players might feel that, just due to his size and strength.
What are his swing weights?
E0, and most other players play their clubs between D2-D5. They’re pretty heavy.
So for his other clubs, he has a 3-wood and a driving iron?
Correct, and he uses those a lot since due to his length, he doesn’t always need driver.
I’m not sure if you’ve worked with Wilco Nienaber at all, but is he longer than Wilco?
Yeah, I had Wilco in two days before and yes, he is a little longer than Wilco. Not by much, I mean Wilco still hits it out there, but he definitely has Wilco by a few.
I was recently watching Wilco hit drives at the hitting bay and I thought there’s no way a golf ball can father than that, but I guess it can…
Yeah, and partially why Wilco hits it far – I’ve seen Cameron Champ and I’m sure you have, too – but part of the reason Wilco hits it so far is due to his launch conditions. I would say Wilco was about 202-205 ball speed, and James was 208-210 or 211 ball speed, and with similar launch conditions, so that gave him a few extra yards.
Anything else I need to know about this kid?
I think all of us are anxious to see how he performs at this level. Obviously he has the tools and the length to play, it’s just whether he can hit it as close as these guys and make putts to make a cut. So I think we’re all curious to see.
When he came in and we were just warming up, he got to his 7-iron and I was like, holy cow, he’s swinging his 7-iron 110 mph like my driver. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I pulled in some people, like John Souza who manages our WRX department who’s worked at Ping forever, and Christian Pena was there. I’m like, you guys gotta see this. Then he flew the net, and I basically shut down the fitting. I’m like, OK, there’s nothing else I can do when you’re hitting it that far and that straight, over the net. It’s like, ‘I think you’re driver is good, bud.’ I’ve never seen anybody hit it over that net except James.
Make sure to check out all of our photos of du Preez’s equipment in our forum thread.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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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.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Length Police
Jan 22, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Nobody cares about his length. He’s currently in 152nd place out of 156. Way to go.
MrHogan
Jan 22, 2022 at 10:55 am
I have seen this guy play and he does in fact hit it extremely long and straight. When he learns to hit his irons and becomes a better putter, just like all long hitters it’s gonna be a huge learning curve for him before he can contend.
It’s absolutely incredible watching this guy hit a ball that far, and the incredible part is, he stays in balance and doesn’t appear to swinging for the fences. Unlike DuhShampoo who always appears to be off balance and swings out of his shoes.
DuhShampoo
Jan 22, 2022 at 2:34 pm
We’ve seen you swing too MrHogan, we weren’t impressed. Tell the wife I said “hey” too. Me and Davonte the Bull will be over sometime this week.
RSA
Jan 21, 2022 at 4:43 am
There are plenty of good South Africans who have won over here who actually deserved this spot at the AMEX, this guy has won nothing and barely makes a cut on our smaller South African sunshine tour. Who wants to watch some one drive greens but can’t even break par – over hyped and under whelming
Alex Harper
Jan 21, 2022 at 12:46 am
Has anyone looked into his stats after today’s round?
Statman
Jan 21, 2022 at 10:12 am
10/18 greens 8/14 fairways 324 off the tee and lost 1.5 strokes in SG putting
2 doubles – both the result of H2O balls with approach shots
How many not how far
Jan 20, 2022 at 9:19 pm
76 – think what he would have shot if he hit it 10 yards longer……
Drkviol801
Jan 20, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Im over 6’6″ and Club Champion fit me for irons only a quarter inch over standard!! Never go to club champion total chumps.
More to it than height....
Jan 20, 2022 at 9:17 pm
well, height alone does not determine any fitting adjustments. 6’2” with short arms could be fit for longer clubs than 6’5 with long arms….
Brandon Bolt
Jan 20, 2022 at 10:46 pm
I am 6’6″ and a bit of change and my irons are plus 1.5 imch for reference. Unless you are stretch armstrong, it is tough to believe that plus quarter inch would be enough.
drkviol801
Jan 21, 2022 at 12:19 am
Yes! Thank you bro that’s exactly right.
U. Bin Gaffled
Jan 20, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Will we still be in awe of his swing speed and simulator numbers when he misses the cut? Asking for a friend.
Big Russ
Jan 20, 2022 at 3:20 pm
You sound like a miserable person…smh
Hartman
Jan 20, 2022 at 3:58 pm
You sound like you bought land in the Metaverse. SMH.
Bigger Russ
Jan 20, 2022 at 5:48 pm
First I shook my head, then you…..SMD
leezer99
Jan 21, 2022 at 6:24 am
You sound like ‘that guy’.
Tony Dyck
Jan 20, 2022 at 11:11 am
“You’re gonna need a bigger net!”