Equipment

Insider info on Titleist’s new 2-wood + 10 interesting gear photos from The Players Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

Mar 14, 2024

Welcome to The 2024 Players Championship at the famed Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

TPC Sawgrass is home to one of the most exciting and nerve-racking par 3’s in all of golf; the Island Green at 17. It’s where dreams and nightmares come true.

The 71st hole of the event is sure to produce some drama, but there was also some early-week drama in the world of golf equipment in the lead-up to the tournament.

Titleist dropped a surprise 2-wood, SuperStroke unveiled a St. Patrick’s Day grip, Lucas Glover made a shocking putter switch, Taylor Montgomery took us into the new-age of green-reading technology, and much more.

Check out our top-10 equipment photos from the week below, and don’t forget to check out all of our photos from The 2024 Players Championship here.

1) Cam Young tests out Titleist’s new 2-wood

Last summer, Cameron Young and the Titleist design team began prototyping a new 2-wood to fit his eye, and provide a second option off the tee that produces about 8-10 mph less speed than his driver.

This week at The Players, Young finally got to officially test out the new creation. Although the 2-wood is still very much a prototype – with no certain sites on hitting the retail market – Young approved of the new design, and it might even make it into his bag for competition this week.

I wrote about Young’s experimental 2-wood in-depth over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s what Titleist Tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck had to say about the new prototype product:

“We had some discussion with Cam Young that he was looking for something that was a little more optimized off the tee,” Van Wezenbeeck told GolfWRX.com. “So, Tom Bennett – who’s the principal engineer for our fairway woods and hybrids – spoke with him. He had designed some internal prototypes of 2-woods in the past, and we went through a discussion of what type of volume (size) we would be looking for, what type of loft we would be looking for, and what type of performance.

“(Young) was looking for a certain ball speed and yardage gap from his driver. One of the things for him with the 3-wood is he wanted something with a little more volume that he felt more confident off the tee with, so he was looking for a little bigger footprint and something that was a little bit more penetrating than some of the 3-woods he’s played in the past. This will be a club he’ll hit 90 percent off the tee, versus the ground, so for the golf courses that set up for that, that’s what he’s looking for…

“This may or may not ever come to retail. It’s a chance for us to learn and put it in future products that may not be exactly this … It has forward and aft CG (center of gravity), similar to our TSR4, and we’re just seeing where that is shaking out, like do players prefer the forward or back CG? What setting are we ending up in?

“We had less than 10 heads this week. We’re truly trying to just learn about this product and who’s it for, and what type of performance variables do we want and need. The great part is this is the first week with it, and we’re getting lots of positive feedback on performance, on sound, on looks. All of those seem to be checking a lot of boxes.”

Click here to see more photos of the 2-wood

2) Taylor Montgomery tries out the PuttView X goggles

Taylor Montgomery, who’s currently ranked 7th in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour in 2024, tested out the PuttView X augmented reality goggles on the putting green this week at TPC Sawgrass.

Using special software and Microsoft’s HoloLens2, PuttView’s X visualizer glasses help golfers see things like the ideal line, setup lines, and contours.

If putting is a mix of art and science, this is certainly covering the science end of the spectrum. It’s cool to see one of the best putters in golf embracing technology like this, and it will be interesting to see if Montgomery continues to use this in the future, or whether it was a one-time experiment.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the PuttView X goggles here

3) SuperStroke gets festive ahead of St. Patty’s Day

SuperStroke unveiled a custom grip design this week ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, which is on March 17, but be on the lookout before then for information on purchasing one of the grips for yourself.

Rumor has it that Irishman Shane Lowry received one this week; we’ll see if it makes it onto his putter, or if it remains a festive keepsake.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the SuperStroke St. Patty’s Day special grip here

4) Scottie Scheffler speaks on his winning Spider

Scottie Scheffler blazed the field at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational during his first week using a new TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet putter, after months and months of putter testing.

Click here to read my full breakdown of Scheffler’s new putter over on PGATOUR.com, or continue reading to see what he had to say about it on Tuesday during his press conference at The Players:

“I had tried a Spider during the playoffs last year,” he said. “It was a little bit of a different type of Spider than the one I used last week. At times last year I struggled lining the ball up in the middle of the face, so I lined the ball up on the toe sometimes, and I struggled with a tiny bit of a heel strike, and that was just — you know, just became kind of my miss. Like if I was fighting a duck hook off the tee, I was fighting a little bit of a heel miss with the putter…

“This Spider putter is really easy for me to line up. I don’t have to use the line on the ball. I line the putter up really well, and I line up in the middle of the face, and pretty much as simple as that. Kind of gives me just a really good visual…it’s good for me visually, and I like the way the ball comes off the face, and so it’s helping me just be more kind of outward with my putting than focusing on what’s going on right here, just focusing on the picture of the putt.”

See Scottie Scheffler’s full WITB for 2024

5) Ping unveils special-edition staff bags

New this week, Ping staffers (and their caddies) are using new special edition gold-black-and-white PLD staff bags in celebration of the success of the company’s PLD (Putting Lab Design) putters that continue to gain popularity on Tour and in the marketplace.

See more photos of the special edition staff bags here

6) Collin Morikawa speaks on his new Logan Olson prototype putter

Last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Collin Morikawa switched into a new Logan Olson prototype putter.

This week at The Players, we caught up with Morikawa to get his take on the new design. Here’s what he had to say:

“Yeah, I’ve switched putters my entire career, but, you know, just what we’ve seen, I like how it rolls off the face,” Morikawa said. “When you actually get the data, it’s incredible how much better it rolls, even though the TaylorMade rolled in insanely good. It’s nearly the exact same putter, the same look. We cleaned up a few things that I actually never looked at.

“What’s crazy about professional golf is that we have everything at our disposal. Like, you can change anything. You can change all this, change all that, and, you kind of go down this path sometimes where you’re like, it’s too much and you don’t really know what you need. And sometimes what’s there is good enough.

“But it’s cool. You know, we went through a lot of little tweaking here and there, seeing the face, not seeing it, the dot, and he just cleaned it all up. So I’m loving it … it’s been fun. He’s [Olson] incredibly smart. He has a knack for just asking all the questions on what you’re trying to see and what you’re trying to get out of a putter, and, it’s been awesome.”

7) Lucas Glover goes back in the LAB

After switching to L.A.B. Golf’s Mezz.1 Max broomstick putter last season, Glover reeled off two straight wins at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Well, as confirmed on Thursday at The Players, Glover has officially switched into a new L.A.B. DF3 prototype broomstick putter.

As the story goes, L.A.B. Golf gave Glover a DF3 prototype broomstick putter at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week to try out. The head is made with additional volume and weight ports on the sole to balance out the weighting of the longer putter.

Since the putter wasn’t technically meant to go into play yet, Glover’s version is made of 6061 aluminum, and doesn’t even yet have the typical anodized finish for durability protection. However, Glover liked the putter so much that he wanted to put in straight into play. While L.A.B. is putting the finishing touches on an anodized version of the head, Glover is busy using the prototype in The Players Championship.

See more photos of Glover’s new L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter here

8) Tom Kim might be going back to blade

Unfortunately, Tom Kim had to withdraw from the event due to illness on Thursday, but earlier in the week, we saw him yet again experimenting with a custom Scotty Cameron blade-style putter, after most recently using a center-shafted Scotty Cameron mallet.

Clearly, Kim is still in putter testing mode, so when he starts feeling better and gets back out onto the course, we’ll keep an eye on what putter makes in into his bag next.

9) Toulon’s new Small Batch – Texas

This week at The Players, we spotted a new Toulon Small Batch Texas putter, made of high-quality 904L stainless steel, with a brilliant black PVD finish and a super-fine double fly face milling.

The limited Small Batch putters are currently available for $1800.

10) Custom Players headcovers, with swag

Swag Golf consistently makes custom covers for big events on the PGA Tour, so of course they had Nick Hardy covered this week with some headcover heat.

Swag’s signature skull design got the full island treatment, and the putter cover is made in a gold colorway, in honor of The Players Championship Gold Trophy (which weighs 7.6 pounds and is made of sterling silver and 24K gold vermeil.

And, with that, we say goodbye to The 2024 Players Championship and the island green. We’ll see you next week on the Gulf side of Florida for the 2024 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook.

See all of our photos from The 2024 Players Championship here

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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.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

Published

4 hours ago

Mar 28, 2024

Andrew Tursky

As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons?

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that?

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man.

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

Published

4 hours ago

Mar 28, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. ~~$799 shipped in the US.~~ ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

Published

24 hours ago

Mar 27, 2024

Brian Knudson

Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!