Equipment

Billy Horschel gets hilariously trolled by Justin Thomas while talking about his custom Titleist irons

Published

2 years ago

Jul 7, 2022

Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas have banned together recently in their loyalties to the PGA Tour, speaking out against the players who have decided to join the LIV Golf tour. Horschel had a heated press conference this week at the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open discussing the issue, and Thomas roasted Talor Gooch for his comments comparing LIV and the Ryder Cup.

In a Wednesday interview with GolfWRX, however, the pair enjoyed a bit of light-hearted fun.

As I was speaking with Horschel about the custom Titleist 620 MB irons he’s been using over the last year (and to win the recent 2022 Memorial Tournament), Thomas photobombed the interview, unbeknownst to Horschel. The moment is going viral over on GolfWRX’s Instagram and new TikTok.

Check out JT’s hilarious antics in the full YouTube video below (JT enters the scene around the 1:10 mark):

Not to be overlooked, however, there was a serious gear explanation by Horschel going on during the interview.

Here’s what he had to say about his custom irons:

“I’ve had issues over the last couple years with spin rates with certain irons being all over the map,” Horschel told GolfWRX. “Spin rates being a little too low, and then when I hit three-quarter shots, it’s really low, so a three-quarter shot goes just as far as a full shot.

“I wanted to go back to a full blade. I worked with Titleist at the Zurich last year. Unfortunately with the way my lofts are – I’ve always played a little bit stronger lofts – the irons just dug way too much for me.

“So the Titleist boys got together and put their heads together, and they actually came up with an idea. My 7 iron is a 6 iron head. If you look at it on the ground, it’s a 6 iron head. So what they did is they took a 6-iron head, bent it back to my loft, which obviously took the offset off, and added bounce. It had too much bounce, so they had to grind this little perforated edge here so this club could get in the ground a little bit and it wouldn’t bounce of the ground.”

“The Titleist boys do some great work and the irons have been really successful for me over the last year. Distance control has gotten better. Iron play has improved, so I can’t thank them enough.”

Of course, Thomas himself plays some one-off custom Titleist irons, too. At last year’s 2021 CJ Cup, Thomas debuted Titleist 621.JT irons that were constructed to have zero offset, and he used the irons to win the recent 2022 PGA Championship.

For all of GolfWRX’s recent content from the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open, check out the links below:

WITB and general photos
Scotland course tours (North Berwick and The Renaissance Club)
Instagram interviews
TikTok interviews

Stay tuned, because GolfWRX has a lot more on the way from Scotland!

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Andrew Tursky

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.

8 Comments

Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty

Jul 8, 2022 at 1:58 am

Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas have *BANDED* together recently…

Reply Report comment
- Elton John
  
  Jul 9, 2022 at 12:08 pm
  
  You’re right. Justin’s the bottom.
  
  Reply Report comment
Brian

Jul 7, 2022 at 10:39 am

The more I see/hear of JT, the more I like him. When he first hit the Tour, I didn’t care for him for silly reasons…I just though he had a smug, punch-able face. He’s really grown on me.

Reply Report comment
- Throat Puncher
  
  Jul 7, 2022 at 1:03 pm
  
  I’d like to punch him in the throat.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jed
    
    Jul 7, 2022 at 9:30 pm
    
    That’s a bit silly.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Throat Puncher
      
      Jul 7, 2022 at 9:52 pm
      
      Yeah. You think silly, till you get punched in the throat Jed.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Professor
  
  Jul 8, 2022 at 10:45 am
  
  Agreed! He’s proven himself to be quite thoughtful and he’s definitely dedicated to his craft. He’s getting better each season. Of course, being mentored by the GOAT doesn’t hurt.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jimmy
    
    Jul 9, 2022 at 8:39 pm
    
    Jack Nicklaus is mentoring Billy horschel
    
    Reply Report comment

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Equipment

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

Published

11 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

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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