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TOUR REPORT: McIlroy switches drivers during Genesis Invitational (plus Tiger’s iron change)

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Welcome to the 2023 Genesis Invitational – a.k.a Tiger’s event – at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Tournament host Tiger Woods was always expected to be on site for the event, but he surprised the golfing world by actually playing in the tournament despite lingering questions about his injuries. Lucky for us, we got a special look at his golf clubs, including his famous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter.

Aside from Woods’ clubs, it was an entertaining week in golf equipment overall, with notable switches from Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, and Adam Scott.

Let’s get into this week’s Tour Report below for all of the equipment highlights.

Jordan Spieth (finally) changes putter grips

Spieth is still using his familiar Scotty Cameron 009 putter head, but he switched into a new SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0 grip this week. It was about time, too, because his previous SuperStroke Traxion grip was nearly falling off because it was so worn out. As previously reported, SuperStroke’s new Zenergy grips feature enhanced texture in the gripping zone, and a number of new colorways. Justin Thomas switched into a new “JT” Zenergy grip last week, and Xander Schauffele switched into one this week, too.

Tommy Fleetwood makes a putter change

Fleetwood is a prolific putter tester, but he’s not always a putter switcher. Although he frequently tries out new putters, he tends to revert to his familiar Odyssey White Hot Pro #3. This week, however, Fleetwood tested out an Axis1 TM Elite prototype putter with a face insert, and he decided to put it in play.

Here’s a closer look, thanks to Axis1…

 

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Click here for more in the GolfWRX Forums

Adam Scott’s putter from down under

 

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On Monday, while playing a practice round at The Los Angeles Country Club North course in preparation for the 2023 U.S. Open, Scott started testing out a custom blue L.A.B. Golf MEZZ.1 long putter with dancing kangaroos on the sole, equipped with a TPT prototype shaft. Apparently, the testing session went well because he put the putter in play this week at the Genesis Invitational.

Aside from the blue colorway, L.A.B. also adjusted his lie angle from 79.5 to 78 degrees, helping Scott get the putter more flush to the ground at address. He also tested out a Ping G430 LST driver, but decided to stick with his former TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver, which offered a slightly more penetrating flight to navigate this week’s windy conditions.

Adam Scott’s full WITB at the 2023 Genesis Invitational

Rory McIlroy makes a mid-event driver switch

We spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus at the 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open, but he ended up staying in his original Stealth Plus. And, although he started out the Genesis Invitational using the Stealth Plus in round 1, he switched into the new Stealth 2 Plus for round 2 after a range session following his first round. According to a TaylorMade rep, he found the Stealth 2 Plus to offer faster speeds and overall distance.

See Rory’s full WITB here

The GOAT’s putter, and an iron change

Woods made two minor changes to his bag setup since the last time we saw him at the 2023 PNC Championship. He switched out his previous P-770 3-iron for the new 2023 P-770 model, and he switched out the Scotty Cameron putter grip he used at the PNC, replacing it with a familiar Ping PP58 Pistol grip.

 

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This week, we also got an especially up-close look at Woods’ famous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter that he’s used to capture 14-of-his-15 major championship victories.

More up-close photos of Woods’ putter in our GolfWRX Forums

And with that, we say goodbye to Riviera and the 2023 Genesis Invitational. We’ll see you next week at The 2023 Honda Classic for the start of the Florida swing.

For more WITB photos from this week at the Genesis Invitational, 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.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Carolyn

    Feb 18, 2023 at 11:30 pm

    Come on people get a clue if some of the best Drivers of the golf ball in the world cannot hit a fairway with a custom version of a club what chance is there a $700 copy of that driver is going to work for the amateur. All smoke and mirrors. a good swing hits the fairway not an expensive golf club.

  2. M

    Feb 18, 2023 at 1:16 am

    Tampon tampon! Put a stamp on!

  3. Benny

    Feb 17, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    If thats GSS then why is it rusting? His GsS was uikt several years before any GSS made it into Cameron putters. 6-7yrs from what I remember.

    Why has Cameron tried so hard for so many years to get Tiger to switch?

    Is that GSS really gss?

    If the world were to find out a magnet sticks to Tigers wand it would certainly ruin the GSS empire Cameron built.

    Just saying….

    • Paulo

      Feb 19, 2023 at 6:13 am

      I doubt anyone would care

    • Tom 54

      Feb 21, 2023 at 11:05 am

      I’m just wondering why his putter has so many dings on it. I’ve had nice Scotty Cameron putters for years and as long as it’s covered mine still look damn near perfect. As yes that rust is very concerning too.The cover comes off when you walk to the green and it gets put back on when you leave. Even though that putter has won 14 of his 15 majors it sure looks beat up to me.

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Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)

MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype

MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.

Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype

We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS

Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.

Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2

This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.

Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype

This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.

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Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

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Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.

Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.

The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.

Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.

Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!

 

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Whats in the Bag

Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.

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