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TOUR REPORT: Bryson DeChambeau’s new “LA Golf” prototype putter, and Collin Morikawa makes a big change

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Wow, what a week it’s been for golf equipment so far at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

On Tuesday, Adam Scott surprisingly revealed mysterious new custom blade irons with his logo on them, and the Internet collectively went wild. What exactly are the irons, and who made them? Luckily, we spoke with Scott, who clarified everything we wanted to know.

Fellow Aussie Jason Day switched drivers, Carlos Ortiz explained why he continues to play irons from 2013, and we got a look at defending champion Patrick Cantlay’s current setup.

Also, if you like putter switches, this is your week.

Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa and Charles Howell III each put new putters into play. We also caught up with Brandt Snedeker, who switched out his $40 million-winning putter last week, and Jordan Spieth tested out two new custom Scotty Cameron putters ahead of the event.

Like I said, it was a busy week in the gear world.

Below, we cover the inside information on the noteworthy golf clubs and equipment from the Memorial Tournament. Enjoy this week’s Tour Report, and to see all of our photos from inside the ropes, click here.

Bryson DeChambeau’s new LA Golf putter

Long-hitting Bryson DeChambeau made his official return this week from an injury-induced hiatus. Ahead of the event, he tested out a number of LA Golf putters (which he confirmed are essentially identical to his previous SIK Golf putters) in a variety of different hosel lengths. He ended up switching into the putter pictured above on Thursday.

Not only did we take in-hand photos of his entire setup, but DeChambeau also went through his full WITB in the PGA Tour Twitter video below.

Also, check out his 5-degree Cobra King LTDx driver here. Yeah, 5 degrees.

Collin Morikawa switches to a mallet

Typically, you’ll find Morikawa rolling the rock with a TaylorMade TP Juno blade-style putter. After testing multiple mallet designs this week, though, Morikawa switched into a TaylorMade Spider GT Rollback mallet putter with a single short black alignment line on the crown.

Discussing the change with PGATOUR.com, Morikawa explained that he wanted his hands slightly higher at address, therefore going to a more upright 71-degree lie angle.

Carlos Ortiz speaks on the metal difference

Ortiz plays with a combo iron set, including Ping iBlade long irons (3-5 iron) and Ping S55 short irons (6-PW).

He’s not the only player on the PGA Tour still gaming the S55 irons, which were released to retail back in 2013; Bubba Watson and Matthew Fitzpatrick also still have the irons in their bags.

Curious to know why he personally hasn’t upgraded to new technology in the short irons, I spoke with Ortiz, who explained that it comes down to the metal.

“I think a lot of guys are still using them, like Bubba. The way they used to make the irons I think were better back then. The (iBlade) long irons, I think they can help you get them up in the air and everything, but the (S55) short irons, you don’t need help getting them up or longer or anything, you just need something reliable…”

“I think it’s the metal, it’s just more consistent. You might not hit it as high or as long, but you don’t need that with the short irons, and I think that’s why a lot of people haven’t really changed. I mean, obviously a lot of guys have used these ones to start, but there’s a big difference between these and the new material. They look exactly the same, it’s just the metal. It doesn’t make any difference. See, the metal they use is completely different…[the iBlade’s], you hit it higher, with less spin, and longer, but it’s not as reliable.”

Read the full story here.

Jason Day goes Stealth

Previously playing a 10.5-degree Ping G410 LST driver, Day had something different in play this week at the Memorial. After early week testing, Day switched into a 9-degree TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver equipped with a TPT 15 Lo shaft on Thursday.

Jason Day WITB 2022

Brandt Snedeker speaks on his $50 putter

I never thought I’d see the day that Brandt Snedeker would switch out of his longtime Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie putter. He’s historically been one of the best putters on Tour throughout his career, all while using his trusty Rossie.

Last week at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge, though, he finally benched it for a Odyssey White Hot XG #8 released in 2007. As he admitted, he’s been putting relatively poorly this year (currently 154th in Strokes Gained: Putting), so he wanted to go with something different.

Speaking with GolfWRX, Snedeker explained the entire backstory.

“It’s got the same insert that I always play, which to me is the most important thing. I’ve always dabbled with center-shafted putters at home. It helps me counteract what I do wrong in my stroke. A friend of mine at home has had this putter, and I’ve always grabbed it when I’m around him and hit a few putts with it.

“I’m like, ‘Can I just borrow this for a minute just to practice with it?’

“He said, ‘Absolutely, Sure.’

“That was like 4 or 5 years ago.

“So I’ve had it ever since then. I mess around with it every once in awhile. I’ve been putting terrible with it this year, so I brought it out to do some drills with it. I got my chalk line and it seems to be working. It kind of corrects a few faults and a few things I’ve been doing wrong. I can’t putt any worse than I’ve been putting this year, so I was like, ‘I’ll try it.’”

See more photos of the putter here.

Adam Scott goes deep on his custom Miura irons

Although Adam Scott has been using custom Titleist 681.AS irons throughout the year, he showed up on Tuesday with an entirely new set of mysterious custom irons with just his logo stamped on the back. As he revealed to GolfWRX, the irons were made by Miura to his exact preferences; he’s always opted for irons with more offset, higher toe sections and thin toplines, but he recently desired something with flatter soles that have less bounce than his previous models.

“Really it’s the sole design that’s the difference,” Scott told GolfWRX. “It’s just a little less bounce. They’re a little flatter and wider on the sole.

“My eye for a blade is very different than most of the stock blades that are being made by the companies today. I grew up with offset, which is almost a thing of the past. Even in larger headed irons these days, there’s little offset out here. But I like it, and it’s hard to find. Titleist made me an amazing set of 681.AS irons that had the offset and were pretty much like the clubs I were using (the Titleist 680 Forged). And this set was made with the idea of less bounce than those…

“I didn’t even ask really for them to stamp my logo on them, but they sent them, which is very cool. They probably knew if they stamped (my logo) on them I couldn’t resist. I got them out on the range pretty quick. They went from the box to the range in about 1.5 minutes.”

On Thursday, Scott officially switched into the new Miura irons.

On our most recent Two Guys Talking Golf podcast, Brian Knudson and myself discuss the Adam Scott Miura irons in-depth. Click here for the audio version of the podcast, and below is the YouTube version if you prefer to watch instead:

Check out our full story on the irons over at PGATOUR.com

Spieth tries out new Scotty Cameron putters

Spieth has used the same Scotty Cameron Circle T 009 putter for basically his entire career, and he’s had tremendous success with it both financially and in the win column.

On Tuesday, though, Spieth brought out two different options to test out, most notably including a Scotty Cameron Tour Only Teryllium TNP putter with a short flow neck. Being that his longtime gamer has a plumbers neck, seeing Spieth roll putts with a flow neck felt a bit odd.

As it turns out, though, the experiments were short-lived. Spieth had only his original 009 in the bag on Wednesday.

Maybe he just needed to scare his longtime putter into behaving better.

Check out more photos here.

Chucky 3 Sticks puts a new putter into play

Charles Howell III is tough to keep up with when it comes to putters. He tests new putters weekly, and he bounces between Newport styles and mallets. In a previous story on GolfWRX, I spoke with Howell III about his testing process and putter philosophies:

“So, for some reason I’ve putted my best historically with more of a Newport style putter with some amount of toe hang, but my eye always wants to go to a mallet putter,” Howell said. “It’s why we’re golfers I guess. We’re strange creatures.”

Ahead of the 2022 Memorial Tournament, I spotted Howell III testing out a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 putter. I asked him if he was going to put it in play this week. He said he was unsure, but he liked the technology and enjoyed practicing with it.

On Thursday, a photo on Getty Images confirmed that he did in fact end up switching into the putter. Will he keep it in play next week, or even next round? It’s always a toss up with Howell III. That’s why us gear heads love him.

And with that, we say goodbye to Jack’s Place in Dublin, Ohio. We will not be on grounds at the RBC Canadian Open next week, but I’ll try to provide as much gear news and insight as I can from off-site. The next event we’ll be at is the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline right outside of Boston. See you then.

For all of our photos from the 2022 Memorial Tournament, click 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.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Andrew J

    Jun 4, 2022 at 6:29 am

    Imagine that. Four Tour Pros change putters. All stops with P&SI-EGOS which guarantees them 27.xx PPR. It’s on ebay.

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Whats in the Bag

Lydia Ko WITB 2023 (September)

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  • Lydia Ko what’s in the bag accurate as of the the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 S

3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 S

5-wood: Ping G430 Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 S

Hybrid: Ping G430 (22 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD HY 65 S

Irons: Titleist T200 (5), ProtoConcept CO5 (6-9)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber fc 70

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 48-10F @49, 54-10F, 58-08F @59)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber fc 70 (46), AeroTech SteelFiber fc 80 (48-58)

Putter: Scotty Cameron TG6

Grips: Iomic

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

More photos of Lydia Ko’s WITB in the forums.

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Spotted: Amy Yang’s T.P. Mills Fleetwood putter

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This week, we spotted Amy Yang with a rare putter in her bag at the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. The putter was made by legendary putter maker T.P. Mills and the head shape is called “Fleetwood.” If you are not familiar with T.P. Mills, the company was founded in 1963 by Truett P. Mills, Sr. who wanted to make a better putter than what was available. His original putters were crafted with basic hand tools in his garage out of of carbon steel. His son David is now crafting the handmade putters after many years learning and working with his father. The company still offers the classic Softtail, Huey, Ming, 8802, and many more putters from his shop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The Fleetwood is considered heel-shafted and has a wide flange that blurs the line between blade and mallet. Amy’s Fleetwood features a single sightline on the wide flange and some “snow” stamping on the top of the bumpers. Those bumpers flare up at the toe and heel, pushing weight to the outside for added stability and a balanced feel throughout the stroke. The large back cavity has some snow stamping above “My Wand” text that is stamped and filled with white paint. The topline looks slightly rounded for a softer look and blends in nicely with the width of the putter. A half-shaft offset flow neck is welded to the head while the face features a shallow milling pattern and unique “Mills” stamping near the heel.

The “Super Bullet” sole contains a large oval cavity where material is removed to dial in the desired head weight of the putter. This main cavity is in combination with two additional round cavities out at the toe and heel area. Yang’s Fleetwood is milled from Swiss-German stainless steel, as that is what is stamped into the center of the sole.

A traditional chrome steel shaft is installed and the putter is finished off with a Rosemark 1.52 MFS (microfiber silicone) putter grip in a white and teal.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (9/27/23): National Custom Works wedges (Don White hand ground)

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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 a set of National Custom Works wedges (Don White hand ground).

From the seller (@cronejt): “Wedges: 50, 54, 60. Wedge heads. Don White Hand Ground. Raw finish, rust can be removed if desired. Highly Custom 1 of 1 stamping. Paid $1200 ($400 per head) for the heads alone. Took same time as iron set 1.  Club build was done by Mike at TXG in Toronto. Asking $1000.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: National Custom Works wedges (Don White hand ground)

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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