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TOUR REPORT: J.R. Smith’s purple Bettinardi, JT’s new 1-of-1 Scotty, and Ping Raw wedges spotted

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Welcome to Wilmington Country Club in Delaware, host site of the 2022 BMW Championship. While the golf media was abuzz this week over a secretive player meeting that Tiger Woods flew in to attend, I was busy checking out the equipment that BMW Championship participants had in the bag.

Unexpectedly for this time of year, there were plenty of interesting gear switches, new products spotted, and fresh custom one-off prototypes to hold us over until next season. Justin Thomas made a surprising putter change, we dove into former NBA player J.R. Smith’s golf bag to find an unbelievable (and very purple) 1-of-1 putter, and Ping unveiled fresh raw wedges.

Let’s stop wasting time and get right into this week’s Tour Report from the BMW Championship.

JT’s ultra-custom Scotty Cameron putter

 

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It seemed that Justin Thomas was perfectly content with his custom 1-of-1 Scotty Cameron Phantom T5 putter that he used to win the 2022 PGA Championship. That was until Tuesday at the BMW Championship when the Scotty Cameron rep delivered him another custom 1-of-1 T5 Proto with a custom black sole plate, his logo in the back cavity, a custom Tour Only “Thumb’s Up” logo and his initials on the outer toe, cherry bombs on the back bumpers, a knuckle neck, and a lightly milled face with some more cherry bombs on it.

Tough life switching from one custom Tour Only putter to another, huh?

The custom additions are undeniably awesome, especially if you’re JT, but the real purpose for the switch is the shorter length; the new 1-of-1 is 0.5 inches shorter than the old one. He’s switching from 34.5 inches into 34 inches.

JT explained his reasoning for the shorter length on Wednesday, saying his arms and shoulders sit more comfortably with a slightly shorter length.

 

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GolfWRX profiled the switch over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report this week.

More in-hand photos of JT’s new putter here

Ping unveils new Glide Pro Forged Raw wedges

It’s been years since Ping has offered a raw wedge option, but with enough player demand on Tour, Ping finally delivered. This week, Ping unveiled a slew of Glide Forged Pro Raw wedge options for Tour players. Joaquin Niemann and Taylor Moore wasted no time putting a set of them in the bag.

According to Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates, the raw wedges will rust over time, so we’ll keep an eye on how long that takes and update with photos at a later juncture. Until then, enjoy the photos of Niemann’s wedges below, or check out the full lineup of lofts and grinds here.

NBA star J.R. Smith’s purple Bettinardi, and full WITB

 

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J.R. Smith showed up at the 2022 BMW Championship Pro-Am with dyed orange hair, a matching orange sweater, and a Rolex watch with the diamonds dancing. It was his putter that stole the show, though.

We went deep into the details of the putter over on PGATOUR.com, with comments from J.R. himself, so if you want more info than just the photos, I suggest checking that out. But if you get stuck fawning over the in-hand photos, I completely understand.

Between J.R. and JT this week, it’d be a tough decision which custom one-off putter I like better. I’ll leave that argument to the comments instead.

J.R. Smith WITB

Driver: Titleist TSi3 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-IZ 6 X

3-wood: Titleist TSi3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-BB 7 X

Hybrid: Titleist TSi3 (20 degrees)
Shaft: KBS Tour Hybrid Prototype 95 X

Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9 iron)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (46-10F, 52-12F, 56-10S and 60-04L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx X100

Putter: Bettinardi Inovai 6.0 “J.R. Smith” custom purple

No Laying Up co-founder Chris “Soly” Solomon makes an appearance

While some may argue Solomon needs a putter upgrade or re-shaft ASAP, I personally believe…well, you’re probably right. That being said, I love the look and character of old and used equipment so much that I’ll give him a pass. Plus, it takes some serious Tour Sauce to show up to a Pro-Am with that flatstick.

In case you don’t know who he is, Solomon is the co-founder and co-host of the No Laying Up podcast. He played alongside J.R. Smith and Tony Finau in the Wednesday Pro-Am, and he was flashing some really cool, old-school inspired headcovers.

Check out all the photos of Soly’s gear here 

Additional photos from Boise

While I was holding it down on the east coast at the BMW Championship, GolfWRX photographer Greg Moore was out in Idaho covering the 2022 Albertsons Boise Open.

And cover it he did.

Greg took 27 photo galleries full of WITB photos, as well as 5 other general galleries, and a forum thread of Scotty Cameron’s custom potato headcovers.

If you wanted Korn Ferry Tour photos, you definitely got them this week. Check out all of the photos here.

Cameron Young’s absurd driver numbers

 

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I’d be curious to know whether Cameron Young would be willing to trade driver launch numbers with me. I don’t have much else to add, those numbers are perfect.

And with that, we say goodbye to Delaware…and Boise. We’ll see you next week in Hotlanta for the Tour Championship where the big money is on the line.

See all of our photos from the BMW Championship and Alberstons Boise Open

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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.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (11/30/23): Artisan MB irons

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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 Artisan MB irons.

From the seller: (@Brandan): “Artisan MB 4-P. Matte black modus 120s. Close to mint condition. $1800 OBO.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Artisan MB irons

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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Will Zalatoris switches to L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max broomstick putter at Hero World Challenge

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Prior to getting back surgery in April of 2023, Will Zalatoris had established himself as one of the premiere ball strikers in golf. In his last full season on the PGA Tour (the 2021-2022 season), he ranked 3rd in Strokes Gained: Total, 11th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 1st in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and 13th in Driving Distance.

Simply put, Zalatoris stripes the ball.

On the greens, however, Zalatoris has had well-documented struggles, especially on short putts, and he ranked just 103rd in Strokes Gained: Putting in the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season.

His putting has always been his big question mark, but during the seven-month recovery period from surgery, Zalatoris has taken measures to rectify those issues.

Following in the footsteps of L.A.B. Golf putter users Lucas Glover, Adam Scott, and Camilo Villegas, Zalatoris showed up to the 2023 Hero World Challenge using an L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max broomstick putter, as reported by PGATOUR.com.

Previously, Zalatoris used an armlock-style putter, but it seems that Zalatoris is hopeful for the new broomstick style, which helps with both his stroke, and alleviating pressure off his surgically-repaired back.

 

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“I ordered a couple armlocks [from L.A.B.], and they ended up sending me a couple of broomsticks, and it took me probably three months before I was actually able to start practicing with it,” Zalatoris told PGATOUR.com. “But immediately, I loved it. I can see the line so much better. It’s just more comfortable, too…I mean, I know I was a pretty streaky putter. I mean, I’d always be a zero-strokes-gained guy, but I’d blow a few short ones here and there. But so far so good…the misses are just so much better.”

As Glover, Scott and Villegas have found out themselves, the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max putters use “Lie Angle Balanced” technology to ensure stability throughout the stroke. The winged-mallet putter heads are designed with a multi-material construction, consisting of 6061 aircraft aluminum bodies, and a 303 stainless steel midsection. They’re also individually weighted to help achieve lie-angle balance for each intended user, and the crowns have contrasting lines to help ensure proper alignment to the target.

Glover won back-to-back events at 2023 Wyndham Championship and the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship in August using the L.A.B. putter, and Villegas captured a win of his own at the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Maybe, just maybe, Zalatoris has found the answer to his putting woes, too. Surely he’ll need a few tournament reps before getting back into prime playing condition, but we’ll get a good look at his new broomstick putting stroke this week as he puts it to the test for the first time in competition following back surgery.

Head over to PGATOUR.com to read the full report on Zalatoris’ putter switch

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What you need to know about Tiger Woods’ new Graphite Design Tour AD-VF driver shaft

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Tiger Woods is making his PGA Tour return at the 2023 Hero World Challenge this week, which marks the first time we’ll see him tee it up in competition since the 2023 Masters.

On Tuesday, we spotted Woods in the Bahamas using a new, unreleased TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver prototype equipped with a new Graphite Design Tour AD-VF 6 X red and black shaft.

Back in September, if you remember, Justin Thomas switched into a Graphite Design Tour AD-VF 5 X shaft in his Titleist TSR3 driver. Thomas wanted a longer driver option, and he found 15 more yards thanks to the new 45.625-inch driver.

This week, Woods showed up with the same shaft model (just slightly heavier and stiffer, due to the shorter length compared to Thomas).

So, what is it about this AD-VF shaft that’s attracting top names such as Thomas and Woods?

According to Graphite Design’s website, the AD-VF metalwood shafts have a “FIRM+” butt section, a “STIFF” mid-section, and a “VERY STIFF” tip section.

The “VF” stands for “Victory Force,” and the design promotes a low/mid launch, with low spin. The shafts, which are designed and manufactured at the Graphite Design Japan Factory, use “TORAYCA M40X” pre-preg material in the butt section, and “TORAYCA T1100G” pre-preg in the mid/tip sections to produce better control, stability, and feel.

Here’s how the AD-VF shaft compares to other shafts in the Graphite Design family, according to the company’s website, and as you can see, it’s as stiff as anything Graphite Design offers across the butt, mid, and tip sections. Reductively, you could call it the “stiffest shaft in the lineup.”

As a reminder, Woods most recently gamed the Fujikura Ventus Black with a TaylorMade Stealth Plus head at the Masters in April.

Woods is set to tee off on Thursday at 11:52 a.m. EST alongside Justin Thomas.

See Tiger Woods’ full WITB at the 2023 Hero World Challenge

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