Surely you don’t read the weekly Tour Report for my personal stories, but if by chance you do, you’re in luck with my intro this week.

I have what I deem to be a special connection to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, owing to my one meeting with the legendary Arnold Palmer.

As the story goes, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis the day before the 2008 Somerset (New Jersey) County High School Championships. The prize money was small (there was no prize money), but the stakes were large: The winner was to be awarded the winning trophy by the King.

Against doctors orders, I played, and somehow I won. I beat out second-place finisher Alex Edfort for the title, which was especially satisfying because he spent the summer prior beating me in every junior event and side game that we played in.

Approaching the stage to receive the trophy, I was immediately greeted with a quick-witted remark from Arnie, who delivered a hilarious dig the way only he could. I stood 6-feet 2-inches tall as a 140-pound high school senior. Arnie took one glance at me walking up the steps to the stage and said, “You look like a human 1-iron.”

The crowd erupted in laughter, probably because he was right. I did look like a human 1-iron: an old-school blade 1-iron with a thin topline and no offset. I was rail thin, and Arnie came up with the best school-yard nickname I had ever heard within seconds of seeing me.

What a great memory.

This version of the Tour Report is dedicated to Arnold Palmer. I only met him once, but my feeling is that everyone who ever met him has a memorable Arnie story to tell. He was one of the best golfers of all time, but more importantly, he had an infectious attitude and energy that golf fans and people in general cherish to this day. He is greatly missed.

Below, we talk some gear, but let’s keep Arnie at the top of our minds this week. He deserves our respect.

• Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational here!

1) Max Homa’s unique toe grinds

To start off this week’s Tour Report, we enlist Titleist Vokey wedge rep Aaron Dill to explain what exactly is going on with the toe grinds on Max Homa’s Titleist SM9 wedges. There was a bit of speculation going on in our GolfWRX Forums about the build process, so I figured I’d reach out to man who grinded the wedges himself.

As Dill explained to GolfWRX: “We welded out the loft numbers and polished. Then, I stamped in the area with the letters that you see. The numbers were fine, but it was more fun and interesting to have this toe engraving. No additional weight was added and we didn’t weld using any heavier material.”

Homa always does things a little different than the usual, and his wedges are no exception.

2) Rahm’s 4th round putter switch

World No.1-ranked Jon Rahm had been using an Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie prototype (pictured on the left) for awhile, and it helped him win the 2021 U.S. Open. Letting go of a winning putter can’t be easy, but Rahm had a stroke issue to fix.

Ahead of the 2022 Genesis Invitational, Rahm worked with Odyssey Tour rep Joe Toulon on finding a different look. The duo settled on the Odyssey White Hot OG #7S with a short slant neck, which helped him keep the putter head closer to the ground and release the head easier through impact.

Rahm switched to the #7S for the final round of the Genesis, shooting a Sunday 65, and he kept the putter in play for the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

For a deep dive into Rahm’s switch, read the full story here.

3) Scott goes driver-less

Adam Scott hasn’t been driving the ball terribly accurately so far this season; he ranks 183rd in Driving Accuracy on the PGA Tour, hitting just 52.71 percent of fairways.

With driving accuracy being a premium at Bay Hill this year since the rough is up more than usual, Scott decided to leave his driver in his locker for the first round (literally). Scott played the first round of the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational without a driver, opting instead for a 13.5-degree TSi2 fairway wood.

Scott explains his decision in-depth over at PGATOUR.com, so check that story out here.

Here’s a brief tidbit from Scott regarding the driver-less first round:

“The basic stats are you hit more fairways with a shorter club than you do a longer club, and a 3-wood you hit more fairways than a driver,” Scott said after his Thursday 68. “I thought it was a premium on hitting fairways here this week. … It’s kind of hard to figure how I’m going to get (the driver) back in the bag for tomorrow. I want to. It’s inspiring to watch Rory (McIlroy) drive it, and I’d like to hit a couple. I’m going to hit a few on the range and see how it feels, but my game plan worked pretty good so far. It’s hard to criticize it.”

4) Annika the GOAT

Annika Sorenstam has been a longtime Callaway staffer, and she’s also widely regarded as the greatest women’s golfer to ever tee it up. The 10-time major champion played in the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am this week, so were able to get a glimpse at the clubs she has in the bag currently.

The biggest takeaway here is that Sorenstam is using Callaway Apex irons, which are built for more distance and forgiveness than the Callaway irons typically seen in the bags of PGA Tour players. For amateurs, I implore you to answer this question: Should you be using less forgiving irons than the greatest women’s player of all time?

Just food for thought. For more photos of her setup, check out our photos here.

5) Dot’s pretty cool

Scott Stallings employs a Scotty Cameron Newport 2.6 Tour Only prototype putter. When you stop looking at how short of a hosel he has on his center-shafted putter, check out the red dot that’s placed below the topline of the putter head below the hosel.

What’s that dot there for? Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page explains: “Scott has a tendency to get too far ahead or behind him with his hands at address. Using a center-shafted putter, [the red dot] helps him return to the same start position every time.”

It’s just a simple dot, but the reminder at address can help immensely with consistency at address. If you want to try this out for yourself, apply a small dot using a Sharpie marker in the same position as Stallings. If you don’t like it, you can always wash it off using some nail polish remover (just be extra careful using nail polish remover on a black finish).

6) Sergio’s settings

Sergio Garcia has bounced between equipment companies of late, so it’s especially intriguing to see what he has in the bag these days.

Most interestingly, we got an in-hand look at his driver setup ahead of the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational. In 2022, Garcia is opting for a TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver, but he’s taking advantage of both the sole weight adjustability and the hosel adapter.

Garcia plays a 10.5-degree head, but he’s placed the sole weight in the far draw position, and he couples that setup with a hosel that’s cranked down into the “lower” position, meaning he’s reducing loft by 2 degrees. All things considered, Garcia’s driver will play at around 8.5 degrees with a face that’s slightly open, and the bias of the driver will be a draw.

For amateurs, don’t forget to consult with your local fitter or teaching professional to get dialed into the right driver setting for your game. You’d be surprised how much those settings can influence ball flight and overall performance.

View Sergio Garcia’s full 2022 WITB here!

7) Takumi Kanaya has two 5-irons

Takumi Kanaya may be a name you’re unfamiliar with, but the 23-year-old Japanese player is currently ranked No. 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s also in the field this week at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational, so we got an in-hand look at his clubs.

In addition to the photos, I also spoke with Will Yanagisawa, the Collegiate Player Development Manager at Ping who’s worked with Kanaya throughout his amateur and professional days.

According to Yanagisawa, Kanaya places emphasis on the exact carry yardage that he hits the ball, rather then the number or loft of the club. That being the case, he plays with two 5-irons. One is a Ping G710 iron that’s designed for increased ball speed, height and forgiveness, while the other is a Ping i210 that’s more of a compact player’s iron designed for performance.

He’s also still using a Ping Sigma2 Arna Japan-only putter which he’s had in the bag since his amateur days. Yanagisawa says Kanaya’s short game is his strength, so there’s no reason for him to switch out putters now.

See Takumi Kanaya’s full bag setup here.

8) TaylorMade’s Bay Hill ball

TaylorMade’s Pix golf balls can help with alignment and visibility, but these particular golf balls are special.

Matthew Wolff and Tommy Fleetwood both gamed these custom Arnold Palmer logo’d golf balls during the Wednesday Pro-Am, and word has it that Wolff is using the golf ball during the actual competition this week. In other Wolff news, TaylorMade says that Wolff switched into a Spider GT Black putter with a Single Bend hosel and a short single sight line.

9) A new Rogue shaft on the way?

Aldila’s Rogue series has proven to be one of the most popular shafts in golf in recent history, and the shaft series could be getting a new update in the future. When exactly? Well, we can’t be sure, because it seems Aldila isn’t sure itself.

Aldila rep Preston Toulon told GolfWRX what he can say thus far about the new shaft: “It’s a new Rogue part we’re working on with the team in Japan. Nearly none of it is final, just wanted to get some thoughts from some folks out on Tour on cosmetics. Aside from that, I can’t say much about performance or tech because it’s still genuinely TBD.”

As always, we’ll update you with more info when we have it, but until then, join in on the speculation in the GolfWRX forum thread.

10) Paul Casey…disappoints?

It’s always entertaining, and sometimes informative, to see what golf clubs the equipment free agents on the PGA Tour decide to have in their bag. Being that Paul Casey is one of the top-ranked golfers who remains a free agent, I love to check out his setup to see what new equipment he has.

As it turns out, however, Casey has basically changed nothing since the last time we caught up with him in September 2021. I understand that comfort and performance outweigh changing out clubs for no reason, but c’mon Paul, throw in one new club for us to report!

With Arnold Palmer in our hearts this week, that concludes this version of the weekly Tour Report. We’ll be back next week at The Players Championship for more of the latest gear switches and insight from inside the ropes.

Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational here!