Equipment
TOUR REPORT: Bryson DeChambeau’s new “LA Golf” prototype putter, and Collin Morikawa makes a big change
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.
Back at it ?@B_DeChambeau takes you through his bag ahead of his return @MemorialGolf pic.twitter.com/tAWbRzUa6g
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2022
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.”
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.
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.
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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Whats in the Bag
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
- Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond T (15 degrees @16)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-AW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue (AW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F @55), WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #7S
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Will Zalatoris WITB 2024 (April)
- Will Zalatoris’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X (44.5 inches)
3-wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T150 (4-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Prototype G.O.S.T. 10 ST X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
New Level launches new 480-DB irons, blending performance and forgiveness
New Level has been making some really good golf equipment since the company started up in 2018. Offering irons that are more geared towards the better player, precision has been a fundamental philosophy for New Level in creating irons and wedges.
The 480 line of irons has been the flagship of the brand, and the newest member of that team is the 480-DB iron that is now open to pre-orders. A new cavity design is what the whole 480 line is about, and the 480-DB takes advantage of that with added ball speed and a larger sweet spot.
For players who require their irons to offer the best feel, rest assured the DB is a fully forged (from 1020 carbon steel) one-piece golf club. No multi-piece, hollow design with this iron.
While the 480-DB is the next generation of the popular 902-OS, New Level didn’t follow the current trend in golf by chasing distance with the new iron. They actually weakened the lofts on the 480-DB with the spec sheet showing a 33-degree 7-iron and 45-degree pitching wedge. These lofts allow the DB to have less offset while still offering consistent distance off the face.
A traditional design was also at the forefront of the new irons to make sure that golfers with an eye for detail can look down at them with confidence that they will perform under any condition.
A weight low in the back cavity will allow their master club builders to dial in the perfect weight for the golfer, no matter the length or shaft being used. New Level believes that the new 480-DB is one of the most forgiving one-piece forged irons on the market today. A pre-worn leading edge on the sole should get through the turf quickly and with reduced digging for better turf interaction.
You can pre-order the New Level 480-DB right now on the New Level website.
Pricing specs availability
- Irons: 4-PW
- Price: $149/oron
- Availability: Pre-order
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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.
Not cool
Jun 4, 2022 at 7:08 am
Shut up you dog