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PGA club pro Michael Block makes hole-in-one at the 2023 PGA Championship using irons from 2014!

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Michael Block’s story somehow gets even more fascinating once you take a look at the golf clubs he’s using at the 2023 PGA Championship.

Block is a PGA professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, where he reportedly charges $125 for a 45-minute lesson. He’s all booked up on PGA Championship Sunday, though, because has a tee time with Rory McIlroy at Oak Hill Country Club.

With his fine play, a dash of showmanship, and a ton of appreciation for the moment, Block finished his third round in the PGA Championship at even par, sitting at T8. Soon after the round ended, he learned he’d be playing with McIlroy on Sunday.

Block isn’t a complete stranger to major championships – this is his seventh appearance in a major, and he won the 2022 PGA Professional Player of the Year award.

Although he works as a teaching pro day-to-day, he’s a professional gamer on the golf course.

As if Block’s perfect week couldn’t get any better, he also made a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th hole while playing alongside McIlroy.

Block probably won’t win the event, but he’s certainly won the hearts of golf fans everywhere.

The gearheads will love him, too, because he’s using TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons from 2014, an original Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball (Tour Filled) putter, a TaylorMade MG3 TW-Grind 60-degree wedge with a custom grind on the sole for added heel relief, and a TaylorMade M5 5-wood from 2019. He also received a fresh TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver this week, which is equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft.

He has the type of club setup where you see him on the first tee at the club and immediately know it’ll be a tough match. The clubs have seen a lot of success, and they’re seeing even more this week.

Check out Block’s 2023 PGA Championship WITB below!

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-Wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 70TX

5-Wood: TaylorMade M5 (19 degrees)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 70TX

Driving Iron: TaylorMade Stealth UDI (4 iron, 23 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 85 Hybrid X-Flex

Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 (5-9 iron)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG3 (48 and 60 degrees), TaylorMade Milled Grind (52 and 56 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-ball (Tour Filled)

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more photos of Block’s WITB 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. Pingback: Charles Schwab Challenge Photos 2023 - Fly Pin High

  2. Pingback: Photos from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge – GolfWRX

  3. Pingback: Michael Block gets a HUGE money offer for his “hole-in-one” 7-iron – GolfWRX – Diverse Outlook

  4. Pingback: Michael Block receives a HUGE offer of money for his "hole in one" 7-iron - Fly Pin High

  5. Kevin O

    May 22, 2023 at 5:06 am

    What a cool bag and a fun story!

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Whats in the Bag

Ruixin Liu WITB 2023 (October)

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  • Ruixin Liu what’s in the bag accurate as of the Walmart NW Arkansas LPGA Championship.

Driver: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (9 degrees @8)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana

3-wood: Titleist TSR1 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 55 S

Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Hybrid: Ping G430 (22 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Hybrid: Ping G430 (26 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Irons: Titleist T200 (6-PW), Titleist T150 (7-PW)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber i95

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (48-10F), WedgeWorks Proto (54-M), Miura MG-R01 (58)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber i95 cw (48, 54), UST Mamiya Recoil 95 (58)

Grips: Golf Pride MCC, Grip Master

More photos of Ruixin Liu’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Will McGirt WITB 2023 (October)

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  • Will McGirt what’s in the bag accurate as of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

5-wood: Ping G430 Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 Tour Rack (50-10 Mid, 54-12 Full, 58-09 Full)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 125 Wedge

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Victory Cord

More photos of Will McGirt’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Club Junkie Review: Graphite Design Tour AD VF wood shaft

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Graphite Design has been a legendary brand in the world of premium golf shafts since the company was founded in 1989. Graphite Design has had some popular shafts over the years, but they are probably most well known for the Tour AD DI that was released in 2010. Today we are talking about the newest shaft in the Graphite Design lineup, the new VF. The letters do stand for something, Victory Force, and according to Graphite Design every victory requires force! For a more in-depth review, please check out the Club Junkie podcast below or on any streaming platform. Just search “GolfWRX Radio.”

Out of the box, the VF has a very familiar look with a red handle section and a black tip section that are separated with the traditional 10 silver rings. The color combination is definitely more subtle than some of the other Tour AD shaft combinations. Graphite Design doesn’t make too many low-launching shafts, so the VF is filling that need. The VF will suit players looking for low/,id launch and low spin shaft to put in their driver or fairway wood.

The shaft profile is a firm+ handle section, it matches the stiffest handles Graphite Design shafts, with a stiff midsection, and finally a very stiff tip. Exotic materials are used along with MSI Design to maintain stability and consistency. Graphite Design uses Torayca M40X carbon fiber in the handle section to make it stiffer and enhance control of the shaft. Ultra-high modulus Torayca T1100G is used in the middle and tip section for added stability without losing that smooth feel.

I built up the VF shaft using a universal tip system that allows me to use the shaft in any driver head. The building went extremely smoothly as every Graphite Design shaft I have ever installed has a consistent tip diameter and I have never had any issues with a sloppy fit. Once the VF was cut to length and installed, the shaft has a great look that doesn’t jump out as distracting or eye-catching. If you are playing a TaylorMade Stealth 2, then the shaft blends in naturally and they look to visually be great partners!

You would expect a smooth and responsive feel from any Graphite Design shaft and you will get just that with the VF. For me the shaft was exactly as Graphite Design describes, being mid/low launch and offering a very penetrating ball flight. The Tour AD XC might launch a touch lower, but I like the feel and consistency I get from the VF just a little bit more. No matter what driver head I used, the VF seemed to offer ball flight in a similar window, slightly lower than the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue I was using. Even shots into the wind showed no real signs of rising or ballooning. Spin was also lower than I expected with the VF shaft. On the course, I noticed a penetrating, boring flight no matter where I hit the ball on the driver face. Shots struck low on the face held a good amount of distance and even the low heel strike seemed to launch lower and carry further.

I even took a couple of driver heads out to the range with a launch monitor and noticed that I rarely saw a spin number with a “3” in front of it. Almost every shot, good and not so good, seemed to spin around that 2,600 RPM number. With many fittings and shaft tinkering, that is usually on the lower end of what I find with my swing. As I said with the shaft being mid/low launch I was seeing an average of around 11 degrees while using a couple of 10.5-degree driver heads. On course, the VF was very straight and consistent and while it seemed easier to square up than I expected, it did not want to go left as easily as some other shafts. I would consider the flight just slightly fade biased but if you release the club properly you will be rewarded with a straight shot down the fairway.

Overall, the Graphite Design Tour AD VF is a really solid mid/low launch and low spin option with a smooth feel. It is starting to gain some traction on the professional tours and could be a great shaft for your swing as well.

Graphite Design Tour AD VF Specs

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