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Tour Report: Fowler switches to a TaylorMade putter, JT makes a wedge change

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2 years ago

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Tucked within the mansion-laden hills in Pacific Palisades, California, rests a beautiful and historic golf course – named The Riviera Country Club – where Tiger Woods hosts a yearly PGA Tour golf event.

As picturesque and story-filled the course may be, the competitors must properly prepare themselves for a challenging 72-hole test.

In this week’s Tour Report, I discuss the gear changes that the pros have made to properly arm themselves to tackle this week’s difficulties and other interesting findings from inside the ropes.

Enjoy this week’s eight hottest takeaways from the 2022 Genesis Invitational.

1) Kikuyu confusion

The fairways and rough at Riviera are made of Kikuyugrass – a native grass of Africa – that’s quite spongy. While nice to look at, the texture of the grass can cause issues with turf interaction on pitches and simple chip shots around the green.

To deal with the difficulties of Kikuyu, according to Titleist Vokey wedge rep Aaron Dill, players are either adding more bounce to add forgiveness or taking away bounce to allow the leading edge to work through the turf quicker. That means players are going with two opposing strategies to solve the same problem.

“This golf course is unique; this grass is unique,” Dill told GolfWRX. “Kikuyugrass is just weird. It’s a weird grass and in a weird way it makes wedges feel really sticky. It presents some challenges for chipping and wedge play. I’m seeing some guys switch bounces…you got JT, he’s going in with a K-grind this week. He knows that this grass just grabs stuff, so he wants to feel some forgiveness going out. Then you’ll see some guys gravitate to the opposite end, where they’ll say they want to feel the wedge working through the ground fast. And that usually means we have to reduce bounce, so we’ve seen some guys do that, as well.”

Justin Thomas has chosen the higher bounce option this week by adding in Vokey K-grind, a high-bounce wide-sole option to ensure his wedge doesn’t dig too much into the Kikuyu.

2) Rickie Fowler’s first time in a TaylorMade putter

Fowler, who’s most recently used Scotty Cameron and Cobra putters, has switched into TaylorMade’s new Spider GT Black mallet this week. While many versions of the new putter are available to Tour players, Fowler’s version has the following specs:

  • A single sightline on the crown
  • 35 inches in length
  • 3 degrees of loft
  • 70-degree lie angle
  • A fluted shaft
  • TaylorMade rubber pistol grip

The company also says it’s Fowler’s first time ever using a TaylorMade putter in competition.

3) Beverly’s ports

It’s not completely uncommon for pros to use clubs that have holes in their back cavities; this process is also known as “porting.” Something was different about the placement of Beverly’s ports, though, so I had to ask Dill for his insight on the build.

According to Dill, the holes helped reduce his swing weights down to D3-D5, offsetting the weight added from his +0.5-inch lengths. They’re also placed out on the heel and toe portions to avoid intruding on the “Bob Vokey” wings. Now that’s how you pay respect to the wedge legend Bob Vokey himself.

To read the full story about Beverly’s wedges, click here!

4) Rory and DJ iron things out

Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson are both switching things up at Riviera in the top end of their bags by removing a hybrid and replacing it with a 3-iron.

For McIlroy, he’s opting for a new TaylorMade P790 3-iron, equipped with an extra stout Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10TX shaft. Check out Rory’s full WITB here!

Johnson, on the other hand, has added in a TaylorMade DJ Proto blade 3-iron, equipped with his usual True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 iron shaft.

5) Hadwin’s Tour Drills

In a new segment called “Tour Drills,” I highlighted Adam Hadwin’s incredibly simple, yet effective, drills that he’s incorporated into his range practice at PGA Tour events. If you’re looking to shape your shots with better control, or you want more speed with the driver, these drills will be for you.

To learn how to conduct these drills for yourself, click here!

6) PGA Tour looper Reynolds Robinson provides real insight

PGA Tour veteran caddie Reynolds Robinson (caddie for Joseph Bramlett) dropped a bunch of gems on this week’s Caddie Corner. Click here for the full 15-question Q&A, and check out my favorite quote from him below regarding his advice for amateurs based on his time working with PGA Tour pros:

“Play within your means,” Robinson says. “Don’t try to hit the hero shot, just focus more on course management than you do on spectacular shots. If I had the swing to go with the knowledge I had now, I’d be a hell of a player. I just don’t have the swing these guys do. The one thing I learn from these guys is that even though they have the shots, they’ve learned how to manage their way around the golf course when it’s not looking good. They won’t take the hero shot. They’ll make the smart play. So for amateurs, play within yourself and don’t make the hero play, just manage the course and you’ll probably save a lot of strokes over the course of a round.”

7) Finau’s arrow

Tony Finau found winning success with this custom Ping PLD Anser 2D putter last year at The Northern Trust, and it still isn’t out of the bag.

Finau’s prototype is unique for two main reasons: 1) It’s made to perfectly match his look and feel preferences, and 2) It has alignment lines drawn on with permanent marker on both the top line near the hosel and on the head below the hosel portion.

In speaking with Ping tour rep Tony Serrano, we learned that Finau uses the lines to help with the position of his hands at setup.

“He uses the arrow and the line on top so when he gets behind a putt, he can get into the right address position,” Ping Tour rep Tony Serrano. “His hands tend to get too forward and drop a little bit, so the permanent marker lines help to get him in position. When he sees them disappear, he knows he’s good to fire.”

Just because he’s a PGA Tour winner doesn’t mean he’s too good for permanent marker lines on his custom putter.

8) Charl Schwartzel’s “Wilson” putter?!

While Schwartzel was testing putters on the putting green, I was confused when he started using a putter with an upside-down Wilson logo in the back cavity.

Upon further inspection, it was actually just a piece of Wilson lead tape that’s made for tennis, which he placed onto his 2007 Scotty Cameron Catalina Classic putter to add weight to the head.

Classic mixup by me. I promise I’ll be better next week as I report in from the 2022 Honda Classic.

See you next week!

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2022 Genesis Invitational here!

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Pingback: Tony Finau’s old Nike driving iron sells for ABSURD money on eBay – GolfWRX

  2. Pingback: PGA Tour, GolfWRX announce agreement – GolfWRX

  3. Pingback: TOUR REPORT: This dominant PGA pro is using hybrids (and irons) from 11 years ago – GolfWRX

  4. ProjectX

    Feb 21, 2022 at 8:05 am

    So Finau just turned his Ping Putter into a Seemore…got it.

    Reply Report comment

  5. Professor

    Feb 19, 2022 at 4:29 pm

    Great read but I believe the Riv is 71 holes…

    Reply Report comment

  6. Joe Intravaia

    Feb 19, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    Missing you on Fully Equipped good luck in the new job.

    Reply Report comment

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Whats in the Bag

2023 Ryder Cup WITBs: Team USA

Published

3 hours ago

on

Sep 25, 2023

By

Let’s take a look at what the players on Zach Johnson’s side are expected to put in play in Rome at Marco Simone Golf Club for the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup.

(Team Europe WITBs to follow later this week)


Sam Burns WITB

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond T (16 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-AW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold x100 Tour Issue (AW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-14F), Titleist WedgeWorks B7 Proto (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue (56, 60)

Putter: Odyssey O Works 7S Black

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Patrick Cantlay WITB

Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 @8.75 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX

3-wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), AP2 (4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (46-10F @47, 52-08F), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @57, 6o-T @61)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Wyndham Clark WITB

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 60 6.5 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 100HY X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 52-12F @51, 56-10S @55), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey Jailbird Versa
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0 17”

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Rickie Fowler WITB

Driver: Cobra Aerojet LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Prototype 70 X

3-wood: Cobra Aerojet LS (14.5 degrees @13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 75 TX

5-wood: Cobra LTDx LS (17.5 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya LINQ 8F5

Irons: Cobra King Tour (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 125 S+

Wedges: Cobra King (54, 56, 58 degrees)
Shafts: KBS Tour 610

Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird
Grip: SuperStroke Tour 3.0 17-inch

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Tack

Ball: TaylorMade TP5

Brian Harman WITB

Driver: Titleist TSi2 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 5 S

3-wood: Titleist TS2 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution II S

5-wood: Titleist TS2 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution II S

Irons: Titleist U-500 (3-5), Titleist 620 CB (6-PW)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 90 (3, 4), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 (6-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-04L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade Spider OS CB

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Max Homa WITB

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 65 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 8 X

5-wood: Titleist TSR2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 9 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist T100S (4), Titleist 620 (5-9)
Shafts: KBS Tour Hybrid 105 X (3), KBS S Taper 130 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (P, G, S, L)
Shafts: KBS S Taper 130g (P) KBS HI-REV 2.0 135 X (G,S), KBS HI-REV 2.0 125 X (L)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

More photos of Max Homa’s WITB in the forums.

Brooks Koepka WITB

Driver: Srixon ZX5 LS Mk II (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D Limited 70 TX (44.5 inches, tipped 1 inch)

3-wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Nike Vapor Pro (3), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-9)
Shaft: Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 95 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack Raw (46-10 Mid), RTX6 ZipCore Tour Rack (52-10 Mid, 56-10 Mid, 60-6 Low)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (52-60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord (Midsize)

Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Collin Morikawa WITB

Driver: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P7CM (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-08LB), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 1.0

Ball: TaylorMade TP5 (2021)

Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord

More photos of Collin Morikawa’s WITB here.

Xander Schauffele WITB

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond High Launch (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li White 90 TX

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (56-10), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-K @61)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Odyssey Toulon Prototype 7CH
Grip: SuperStroke Traxion Tour 2.0

Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X Proto

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Scottie Scheffler WITB

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-06K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS tour prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Jordan Spieth WITB

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees @9.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X

3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 75 TX

Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD Hybrid IZ 95 X

Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 125 6.5

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F @47, 52-08F @51.5, 56-10S @55.5), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T @60.5)
Shafts: Project X 125 6.5 (46), Project X 120 6.0 (52-60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009 prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: SuperStroke S-Tech

More photos of Jordan Spieth’s WITB in the forums.

Justin Thomas WITB

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 5 X (45.625 inches)

3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi AV Raw Blue 85 TX

5-wood: Titleist 915 Fd (18 degrees @19.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X

Irons: Titleist T100 (4), Titleist 621.JT (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F @47.5, 52-08F @52.5, 56-14F @57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T @60.5)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (52-60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (9/25/23): The Nicest Miura CB-302’s you’ll see

Published

8 hours ago

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Sep 25, 2023

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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 the “nicest Miura CB-302’s you’ll see.”

From the seller (@RN4LGolfer): “$2450 – MIURA CB 302 4-PW OBAN CT115 STIFF PURED SHAFTS – You won’t find a nicer set of Miura’s. Club Champion quoted me $4100 for this exact setup, get them for a fraction of the cost. Grips and ferrule from Shaft Connect. Golf Pride MCC Grip standard and Project North white ferrules. Oban CT115 Pured stiff shafts. Played 4 rounds. Never hit range balls. Clubs are in mint condition. Irons always have head covers on. Faces were cleaned and put into head covers after every strike. 4i and 5i have never been hit, 6i probably only hit twice.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Nicest Miura CB-302’s you’ll see

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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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Dougherty WITB 2023 (September)

Published

3 days ago

on

Sep 22, 2023

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Driver: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (8 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 70 6.5

Mini driver: TaylorMade 300 Mini Driver (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 80 6.5

Irons: PXG 0311 X Gen2 (3), PXG 0311 ST Gen4 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X LZ

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (52-12F, 56-14F, 60-04L, 60-12D)
Shafts: Project X LZ 6.5 (52), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

More photos of Kevin Dougherty’s WITB in the forums.

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