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TOUR REPORT: This dominant PGA pro is using hybrids (and irons) from 11 years ago

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The Florida swing is officially underway this week as the PGA Tour moved to Palm Beach Gardens for the 2022 Honda Classic at PGA National. As you may or may not know, a slew of Tour players live in the nearby area, so this week is a home game for a lot of them. That has to be nice for guys who spend most weeks on the road.

OK, that’s great, but what clubs are they using?!

I know, we’re getting to that.

Honestly, this week is one of my favorite editions of the Tour Report thus far. There’s just something about professional golfers using old golf clubs that makes me happy, and we got our fill of nostalgia this week (just wait until you see Alan Morin’s bag setup).

Alas, let’s get to this week’s 7 most interesting gear topics from the 2022 Honda Classic.

Make to check out all of our photos from the 2022 Honda Classic here!

1) Rickie Fowler explains why he switched putters

Last week at the 2022 Genesis Invitational, Fowler used a TaylorMade putter for the first time in his career. This week, we not only got in-hand photos of the new TaylorMade Spider GT, but we also talked to Fowler himself to get insight on why he switched.

Below is a snippet of what Fowler had to say about the new putter (and head over to PGATOUR.com for our full report).

“I’ve always been a good putter, it’s something I’ve always just, not necessarily been able to just rely on, but take advantage when I’ve hit it close or help save rounds by making putts, Fowler said. “But, unfortunately over the last couple years, it’s not necessarily been there…I was hitting putts on one of the greens [at Riviera], and they have the bags set up, and I looked at a few different things because I was just not hitting some great putts. I looked at a few of the different necks and different sight lines. … The longer line that’s on there right now seemed to be the one, and the small neck just sat clean. It looked nice and was really easy to line up.”

2) Henrik Stenson is still rocking the Octane

After all these years, Henrik Stenson is still using a Callaway Diablo Octane 13-degree fairway wood, which was originally a retail release way back in 2011. And still equips it with that classic Grafalloy Blue Tour X shaft.

Stenson won the 2013 FedExCup title and the 2016 Open Championship using this fairway wood setup, so you can see why he’d still have it in the bag. Plus, he hits absolute seeds with it.

While he spent a bit of time testing newer models in recent years, the old Diablo is back in the bag and it seems to be staying. Every time I see Stenson’s bag, I secretly hope it’s still in there, and he didn’t disappoint this week.

He’s also still using Callaway’s Legacy Black irons, which were a JDM release in 2012. Pure nostalgia.

On our Instagram page, GolfWRX followers are chiming in with the oldest clubs currently in their bags. Check out the post below:

 

3) Cameron Young’s driver switch (and super custom putter)

Cam Young made a splash at the 2022 Genesis Invitational against some of the world’s top golfers with a T2 finish at Riviera.

His recent strong play comes after an important swing change, where he shifted from 6-7 degrees inside-out with his driver to a more neutral delivery. After making the swing change, he also worked with Titleist Tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck to change his Titleist TSi3 driver setting to better suit the new swing parameters.

For a guy who regularly hits drives at 190 mph of ball speed, every small equipment adjustment makes a difference.

Check out the full story on Young’s switch here.

On the opposite end of his bag, Young also bags an interesting custom Scotty Cameron T5 proto putter. The putter has a plumber’s neck that’s been elongated using a “knuckle,” which allowed the putter to be perfectly face balanced.

For more information on what this club building technique entails, Brian Knudson explains in our latest TG2 podcast below:

4) South Florida pro’s incredible WITB

Alan Morin is a PGA professional and South Florida PGA Hall of Famer who won the South Florida section Player of the Year honors for the 11th time.

Eleven times!

Morin is competing in the 2022 Honda Classic this week, and he has a bag that’s stacked full of cool gear.

He’s using a TaylorMade RBZ fairway wood from 2012, three TaylorMade Rescues from 2011, a set of TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons from 2011, and new Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedges with ports in the back cavities for weighting purposes. He also uses an Odyssey Versa 7 putter that’s stacked with lead tape.

Chef’s kiss.

Morin has been beating up on the South Florida PGA section for years, and the 52-year-old is doing it with clubs he’s had in the bag for over a decade. You just gotta love this bag setup.

Check out Alan Morin’s full 2022 WITB here. 

5) Charl Schwartzel finds a putter, thanks to Adam Scott

Ahead of the 2022 Waste Management, Adam Scott switched into a custom L.A.B. Golf (Lie Angle Balance) Mezz.1 Proto putter head.

Apparently, the change caught Charl Schwartzel’s attention.

After Scott’s T4 at the Genesis Invitational, Schwartzel, who’s been struggling to find the right putter for himself, gave Scott a call to get his thoughts on the Mezz.1 putter. Scott must have been convincing, because Schwartzel switched into a Mezz.1 prototype putter this week, even though he just saw the L.A.B. putter for the first time on Monday.

To get the weight just right for his lie angle, Schwartzel also has a strip of lead tape applied to the heel portion of the 8-weighted sole.

“I think it putts easier than any other putter because if you look on the arc of a stroke, it can basically stroke a ball by itself,” Schwartzel told GolfWRX. “No other putter can do that. So if you’re comfortable letting it go like that, it does basically by itself. It’s very well balanced and it feels good. It’s very sensitive to lie angle, though, you need to get the exact lie angle.”

For the full story on Charl Schwartzel’s switch and the backstory with Adam Scott, click here.

6) Lee’s gold putter is really a 1-of-many

While conducting some putter testing on practice green at PGA National, Lee Westwood was presented with a gold-plated Ping Sigma2 Fetch putter to commemorate his 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship victory.

Every time a Ping putter user wins a pro event, Ping creates a gold putter to go into the vault.

Westwood has won 44 worldwide professional events, which means he owns more real estate in the Ping vault than most any player ever. According to a Ping tour rep, Westwood’s gold putter collection is full of different models, too, so it was a surprise that Westwood was still using a Sigma2 Fetch putter nearly two years later.

See what GolfWRXers are saying about the putter (and awesome putter cover) in our forums.

7) Brooks Koepka’s commemorative Scotty

Like Westwood, Koepka was also awarded with a commemorative putter; his is a gold Scotty Cameron Teryllium TNP2 made for his 2019 PGA Championship win at Bethpage Black. Funny enough, that isn’t the exact putter model Koepka used to win that week (it was a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 SLT T10), but it is the putter model he uses now.

When I asked Koepka where he keeps the three other commemorative putters he has for his three other majors, he said, “They’re in my house somewhere, I just moved so I don’t know where anything is.”

I guess even four-time major winners have to deal with the struggles of moving. At least this week is a home game for Koepka so he can get caught up on the move into the new digs in Jupiter.

And that’ll do it for this week’s Tour Report from the 2022 Honda Classic. We’ll be back next week at the 2022 Bay Hill Invitational to do it again. In the meantime, make to check out all of our photos from the 2022 Honda Classic 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.

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Pingback: GolfWRX's top-read stories about equipment of the year - Fly Pin High

  2. Pingback: GolfWRX’s most-read equipment stories of the year – GolfWRX

  3. Pingback: The Top 10 gear stories of 2022 (so far): Where do Tiger’s FootJoy shoes rank? – GolfWRX

  4. Henry R Fitzgerald

    Feb 26, 2022 at 6:24 pm

    I think Fowler needs to concentrate on selling mortgages to people who can’t afford, beer to those who like to drink, and cheap insurance.

    He makes more money on advertising than on the course.

  5. Henry R Fitzgerald

    Feb 26, 2022 at 2:18 pm

    As long as people keep buying the BS line that they need the latest to perform, OEM’s will continue to sell the BS.

    As to Cameron’s copying spree, he couldn’t help himself with the gold putter thingy. Hoping for a Cameron original before he retires, lol…

    • Karsten Solheim

      Feb 26, 2022 at 3:41 pm

      Whuuuuuuut???? You don’t believe in the “German” Stainless forged in the magical mountains???

      • Henry R Fitzgerald

        Feb 26, 2022 at 3:51 pm

        Lol….Now, that’s the biggest baloney sandwich Cameron have sold to the cult members.

  6. Phree Theengker

    Feb 26, 2022 at 1:15 pm

    My comment about wrong think was deleted for wrong think.

  7. Phree Theengker

    Feb 26, 2022 at 12:30 pm

    I guess if you use old clubs, there’s no manufacturer to “pause” your deal for wrong think.

  8. CrashTestDummy

    Feb 26, 2022 at 11:07 am

    I totally understand the using older models. Different clubs have different feel which could mean that they may have to make alterations to their swing to compensate. They have those clubs so grooved, know exactly how they feel, and trust them 100% when hitting pressured shots.

  9. Teebo

    Feb 25, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    In reference to the PGA pro using old irons and hybrids that would be the norm if players weren’t paid to play the newest gear.

    • Tom54

      Feb 25, 2022 at 2:50 pm

      Although club pros aren’t paid to use their clubs I thought they still get stuff for free so it is strange for him not to use current models.

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Equipment

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

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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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Whats in the Bag

Alejandro Tosti WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Alejandro Tosti what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.

Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 80 TX

Hybrid: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour Rescue (22 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5 100

Irons: Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID, 58-10 MID, 60-06 LOW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid Tour Issue X100, S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron

Grips: Golf Pride MCC Plus4

Check out more in-hand photos of Alejandro Tosti’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)

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Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-8, PW), TaylorMade P760 (9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.

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