Equipment
Why Viktor Hovland made a sneaky club switch during the FedEx Cup Playoffs
Ping staffer Viktor Hovland has bounced around to a couple of different lob wedges throughout 2022, but none of them were a Ping-branded product (see his February and June WITBs here). In fact, he only briefly used a Ping lob wedge as a professional when he first turned pro.
Ahead of the 2022 BMW Championship, however, Hovland worked with Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates to get fitted up into a new lob wedge, and he ended up putting a Ping wedge into play for the remaining two playoff events.
According to Oates, Hovland likes to look at a straighter leading edge. He also prefers to play shots around the greens with an open face, so he wants some heel relief for the sole to sit flatter, and he also benefits from a slightly higher bounce option. With Hovland’s preferences laid out, Oates and Hovland got to work.
Here’s how the pre-BMW Championship wedge session went down:
“Viktor has used and liked a straighter leading edge,” Oates told GolfWRX. “During his testing, we used a Ping Glide 4.0 60/S with sole relief and a straightened leading edge. We also tested Glide 2.0 58/TS and 60/TS options, which have lower bounce and a naturally straighter leading edge.
“Right away, Viktor was led to the Glide 2.0 58/TS, which we adjusted to 60 degrees. This provided more bounce, which was great, and it had enough relief so that he was able to open the blade and hit higher, softer shots with ease. It improved his capture and contact, and the added bounce allowed him to hit lower-launching, higher-spinning shots around the green, too.”
Hovland had a hot start with the new lob wedge, finishing 14th in strokes gained: around-the-green at the BMW Championship. For a guy that finished the year 191st in the category for the 2021-22 season, that’s a promising performance. He back-tracked a bit at the Tour Championship, finishing 23-of-29 players in the SG: ATG stat, but all things considered, it’s an improvement.
As the off-season gets underway and players disperse to conduct further equipment testing, we’ll catch back up with Hovland in his next start to see what lob wedge he ends up using next season.
Check out our latest WITB for Viktor Hovland here
- LIKE81
- LEGIT9
- WOW3
- LOL2
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB1
- SHANK3
Whats in the Bag
Russell Henley WITB 2024 (March)
- Russell Henley WITB accurate as of the Cognizant Classic.
Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5 TX
3-wood: Titleist TS3 (16.5 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT Hybrid 100 TX
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (7-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 50-08F @51, 54-10S, @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron T5 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Whats in the Bag
Vince Carter WITB 2024 (March)
- The NBA legend was teeing it up in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am.
Driver: Ping G430 Max 10K (9 degrees)
3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees)
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (21 degrees)
Irons: Ping i230 (4-PW)
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (50, 54, 58)
Putter: Ping
Ball: Renegade Mbu
Check out more photos of Vince Carter’s WITB here.
- LIKE6
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Equipment
From the Forums: I need more forgiveness in my irons – Looking for recommendations
In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving irons currently on the market. WRXer ‘TheShark1’ is on the hunt for a new set of irons, saying:
“Currently gaming the Mizuno Pro 225’s but think I need more forgiveness in my irons. My well struck shots are real nice, but my mishits are not performing as good as I had hoped anymore. I really like hollow body irons so if I could find something more forgiving in a hollow body iron that would be great.
Open to any and all recommendations other than Ping. Can’t hit Ping irons at all.”
And our members have been sharing their best suggestions in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- AvidSwampThing66: “Another vote for the super forgiving and fast Paradym irons. They look really good for being a GI iron.”
- bobfoster: “I just went from MP20 MMCs to the new 245s in my scoring irons (just played my first round with them today). If you have a chance to try them, you might find them worth a serious look.”
- vman: “Shoot me down, but spend the money on lessons.”
- J_Tizzle: “i525s are great off the heel in my opinion.”
Entire Thread: “From the Forums: I need more forgiveness in my irons – Looking for recommendations”
- LIKE4
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL3
- IDHT1
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK2
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Tour pro calls Anthony Kim a ‘f*****g idiot’ following Instagram comeback post
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
This Rory McIlroy post-round ‘The Match’ moment is going viral…but all is likely not what it seems
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago
Anthony Kim WITB 2024 (February)
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Scottie Scheffler WITB 2024 (March)
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Anthony Kim’s speculated LIV Golf sign-on fee may surprise you
-
Tour Photo Galleries2 weeks ago
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
The total sum that Sergio Garcia needs to pay in fines if he wants to return to DP World Tour revealed
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Joaquin Niemann names 3 PGA Tour events he’d love to play each year ‘in a perfect world’
MP
Sep 1, 2022 at 7:28 am
Viktor needs to get on to National Custom, sounds like exactly the profile that the guys made for me…
DB
Aug 31, 2022 at 9:36 am
I agree with him. Glide 2.0 and 2.0 Stealth are the best, and a TS grind with 8 bounce would be just perfect.
BC
Aug 30, 2022 at 7:30 pm
I do not undeerstand why Ping went with simuch a round leading edge on the 4.0’s. I am not a fan of it either.