Equipment
Here’s why Vijay Singh has red numbers written all over his irons
As one of the hardest-working and most precise golfers in the game, Vijay Singh can see and sense tiny changes in his golf clubs, so it’s important that he’s fully comfortable with the look and feel of his clubs.
On Tuesday at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club, I noticed that Singh had big red numbers written all over his Srixon irons.
Interesting.
After a closer look, it became clear that the numbers were each one digit higher than the “actual number” that’s stamped into the sole of the irons by the manufacturer.
So…what’s the deal? Why the mismatching red numbers?
As confirmed by Brian Rhattigan, who builds Singh’s clubs on the traveling Champions/PGA Tour equipment truck, Singh doesn’t like the look of offset on his irons. In case you don’t know, “offset” refers to the distance between the leading edge of the iron face, and the hosel of the iron. If there’s a large gap between the hosel and the leading edge, then the club is said to have a lot of offset.
Again, Singh does not like offset. He prefers the leading edge and the hosel to match, or even have “onset,” which is when the leading edge is actually in front of the hosel.
This makes sense since Singh prefers to play a cut shot, and more offset typically leads to a draw shot trajectory, which would be counter to Singh’s desired ball flight.
Therefore, Singh has each iron bent four degrees weak, which helps to more closely align the leading edge with the hosel and visually reduce the offset of the iron. That’s why Singh writes “8” on his 7-iron, (and so on), because his 7-iron is bent four degrees weak, which effectively makes it his 8-iron.
According to Rhattigan, Singh has been using this tactic for decades, so it’s not the technique that’s any different, it’s just the red numbers. The red writing simply helps reduce any confusion.
See more photos from the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship here.
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We enter week 4 of Thursday night men’s league feeling a little more confident in the game. BK is hoping to go a little lower and reduce the mistakes out there with these clubs in the bag. Watch the video for the full breakdown of why these clubs are getting the starting nod this week!
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 63 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Blue 7F5
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (-1 degree, flat Ssetting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 S
Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi 4
Shaft: Aerotech Steelfiber hls880 S
Irons: PXG 0317 Tour (5-PW)
Shaft: LA Golf A-Series 105 Low (4)
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50-08F)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F4 Wedge
Wedge: Ping S159 (56-10H)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Wedge: Ping S159 (60-08B)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Brandon
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Spec One
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
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Then-No. 1 player in the world Rory McIlroy began the week at the Wells Fargo Championship at 3-1 odds, if that gives you any indication of how well the Ulsterman was playing at the time. All he did at Quail Hollow was set the course record during his third round (61) and win the tournament by seven strokes.
Check out the gear Rory had in play nine years ago below.
Driver: Nike Vapor Pro (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70 X
3-wood: Nike Vapor Speed (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
5-wood: Nike Vapor Speed (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (4-9) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 7.0
Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56) Buy here, Nike Engage (58 degrees @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.
Ball: Nike RZN Black
WITB Time Machine is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Ryan
Nov 28, 2023 at 11:54 am
Srixon can’t send him a custom set with correct numbers?
Chuck
Nov 23, 2023 at 8:50 pm
Okay.
I like Vijay, and I like stories about his equipment and work habits.
But my burning question; What sort of red pen writes permanently on nickel chrome?
And with all of the exotic wedge stamping going on, why not just a new-number stamp (and paintfill) on the toe, with removal of all the paintfill from the OEM numbers?
vajayjay sing
Nov 17, 2023 at 11:51 pm
What a moron, would be easier to just know your iron lofts and that the little number doesn’t matter, just how you relate it to your distances.
Brian
Nov 17, 2023 at 10:33 am
This is a terrible solution. Just get clubs that work. Now he has a ton of bounce on every iron that either needs to be ground down or what?
C
Nov 16, 2023 at 7:35 am
Guess he can deal with the extra 4* of bounce because those soles don’t look ground down at all, interesting.
Leo
Nov 13, 2023 at 3:41 am
Please dear Srixon/Cleveland weld the old number and stamp a new updated number and degree for Mr. Singh!
Antler Spray Aficionado
Nov 10, 2023 at 10:52 am
These virtually meaningless arbitrary numbers written on my clubs are all wrong! I’m going to take a red sharpie and give these clubs new arbitrary numbers. Did I hit a 7? No way, see I wrote a red 8 on the club so I hit an 8!
Pro Jock
Nov 10, 2023 at 10:44 am
So not only does Singh work his caddie to death with his notorious love of practice, but also tries to confuse him with these mismatched irons? Respect!
Seriously though… why wouldn’t Srixon just custom build a properly numbered set? Dude has 3 majors and been a HOF’er since 2006.
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Kevin
Nov 9, 2023 at 2:38 pm
You’d think one giant red number would be enough.
jamho3
Nov 9, 2023 at 1:28 pm
It’s be cool if we could see his clubs at address.
NMBob
Nov 9, 2023 at 1:25 pm
4 degrees, thats some 4 degree of bounce added on those when you change loft
Payne Stewart was similar in he wanted offset, but did not want to see it., and apparently had a set built , by Tom Wishon I think, with the hosel piece hole off center or sanded down on one side so it would look less offset.
Mike
Nov 9, 2023 at 9:52 am
This article comes across that he go in the truck and has them bent weaker and puts the appropriate shaft length.
With all the custom ability that players have, why not just have a set built the way he likes it; as many players do? To each his own, I guess.
Wally
Nov 9, 2023 at 9:43 am
Boy thats going to add some bounce to them clubs
Wk