Equipment

Michael Phelps’ mind-blowing gold Scotty Cameron + 10 awesome WM Phoenix Open photos

Published

3 months ago

Feb 8, 2024

The WMPhoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale provides golf fans and party-goers the perfect environment to celebrate what they love to do most: Watch golf, and party.

As such, the WMPO also provides apparel and equipment companies the perfect inspirations to make cool, fun and custom gear for the people to enjoy.

The creative and custom merch never ceases to please, and this year was no different. Actually, I think everyone turned up the heat on making cool stuff for this year.

Also, as always, we had some celebrity sightings during the Wednesday Pro-Am, and we dove into the celebs bags to see what kind of golf clubs they’re using. Big names such as Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez, Nick Saban, and DJ Kygo lead the way.

Below are 10 stand-out equipment stories from the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, and don’t forget to click here for all of our photos from the week.

1) Michael Phelps’ gold 1-of-1 Scotty Cameron putter (and Olympic Gold Medal TaylorMade wedges)

Michael Phelps, a 23-time Gold medal-winning Olympic Swimmer, deserves to play a custom golden putter, and Scotty Cameron delivered.

Based on the “DSS” stamping in the back cavity of the putter, it’s made of Demascus Stainless Steel, with a glistening gold finish.

“Scotty sent me the putter, and I told him I don’t know if I even want to play it [because of how beautiful it is],” Phelps told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at TPC Scottsdale. “Scotty said, ‘You better play it.’”

So, as instructed, Phelps used it in the WMPO Pro-Am on Wednesday.

If the gold 1-of-1 putter wasn’t enough, Phelps also uses custom TaylorMade MG2 wedges, which feature gold-and-silver star stampings that represent each of Phelps’ medal wins, in the precise order that he won them.

If I’m being 100% honest, that’s the coolest wedge stamping I’ve ever seen. Not sure how anything could top it, especially since you’d need at least 23 Gold medals to even compete. Looks like Phelps wins again.

See more Phelps WITB photos here

2) Alex Rodriguez, and his blacked out irons

Legendary baseball player Alex Rodriguez showed off a set all-black PXG 0311P Gen6 irons, which his caddie confirmed with GolfWRX.com that they were new in the bag for the event. He also uses a game-improvement Miura PI-401 long iron to add a touch of forgiveness at the top of the set.

Anecdotally speaking, for anyone curious about A-Rod’s power off the tee, he drove the ball nearly greenside on hole No. 10, which measures 373 yards from the Resort tees. It remains unconfirmed whether the ball took its first bounce off a cart path, but on a wet-and-rainy Wednesday, it was a colossal drive regardless. A-Rod has certified home-run power on the golf course (as much it pains this New York Mets fan to say).

See all the clubs Alex Rodgriquez has in the bag

3) DJ Kygo joins Cobra’s “Palm Tree Crew”

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, a.k.a. DJ Kygo, is a world-famous music DJ from Norway, and he wow’d the golf equipment world by having a new Cobra Darkspeed “Palm Tree Crew” custom driver in the bag at the 2024 WMPO.

Some would even say his new driver Stole the Show…

4) Nicolo Galleti’s Silkyy custom Ping PLD putter

With all the talk of celebrities so far, I wanted to remind everyone that a serious PGA Tour event is also being played this week, and Monday qualifier Nicolo Galletti – a former ASU golfer and roommate of Jon Rahm – will be using this raw Ping PLD putter.

See Galletti’s full WITB here

5) Waste Management custom gear

As discussed previously, the equipment companies turned up this year at the 2024 WMPO with their custom gear.

Below is a collection of photos from Bettinardi, Ping, SuperStroke, Odyssey and Swag Golf.

6) Higgo switches to a DF3 for south paws

In case you didn’t know, L.A.B. Golf recently launched a new line of DF3 (Directed Force 3) mallet putters, and left-hander Garrick Higgo has one in his bag this week.

7) Coach Nick Saban is still Coach Nick Saban

The legendary Nick Saban recently retired from his longtime head coaching gig at the University of Alabama, and accepted a job as an analyst for College GameDay. Although Saban will now be part of the media, he’s still Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide at heart, as displayed by his “Roll Tide” Ping Glide 4.0 wedge, and “Coach Nick Saban” stitched golf bag.

Check out Coach Nick Saban’s full WITB here

8) The 2021 National League Cy Young winner, Corbin Burnes, brings the heat

Three-time MLB All-Star Corbin Burnes, formerly a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, and currently a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, had a TaylorMade SIM “Rocket” 14-degree 3-wood in the bag, and this custom TaylorMade Spider GT putter on Tuesday at TPC Scottsdale.

See Burnes’ full WITB here

9) Spotted: New Scotty Cameron T-9 and T-9.5 putters

Scotty Cameron unveiled a slew of new T-9 and T-9.5 model putters this week, including compact mallet shapes with a slew of new alignment lines on the crown, and several different hosel styles. The one-piece milled crown allows Scotty Cameron a clean canvas for extended sightlines, while still providing angular shapes within the design to frame the ball at address.

Check out all of the new Scotty Cameron putters here

10) A 16th Hole miracle

The rain-shortened Wednesday Pro-Am, which also featured a brief hail storm, turned into a closest-to-the-pin contest for all of the celebrities on the 16th Hole. Within minutes following the contest, a double rainbow sprouted out of the grandstands.

Somehow, the photo above isn’t an A.I.-generated advertisement for Whoop, but a real photo that I took of a double-rainbow hovering over the 16th green.

Truly awesome.

And, with that, we say goodbye to the biggest party on grass, and we’ll see you next week at Tiger’s event: The 2024 Genesis Open in L.A.

See all of our photos from the 2024 WMPO here

Your Reaction?

LIKE30
LEGIT7
WOW3
LOL3
IDHT1
FLOP2
OB0
SHANK5

Up Next

Bettinardi Golf launches 2024 INOVAI series

Don't Miss

Odyssey Ai-One Cruisers join Ai-One putter lineup

Andrew Tursky

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.

1 Comment

Pingback: Putters Aplenty: Flatsticks in focus at the WM Phoenix Open – GolfWRX

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

9 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

Your Reaction?