Equipment

What it’s really like inside the ropes at a PGA Tour event

Published

2 months ago

Mar 24, 2026

Editor’s note: Our Andrew Von Lossow got his first taste of life inside the ropes with a media credential at a PGA Tour event. He has assembled a few of his impressions below.

Ready for Launch in Houston

Monday morning was relatively slow as players filtered in for the new week. However, there was a special launch in the space city. Titleist unveiled its new GTS line of drivers for tour testing. The GTS 2, GTS 3, and GTS 4 models were all ready for player testing on the range. The Titleist team was on the range with players as well, gathering feedback on launch, mishit spin rate, and overall ball speed. Early indications from the small sample size I saw were that players really liked the spin numbers with their traditional mishits. It will be interesting to see how many put the driver in play this week for tournament play.

Monitoring on the Green

Seen on the forums in recent weeks, a new putting device has been installed on the practice green. It is from the company Grasp Technology; this machine measures speed, line, and impact location. This makes for fine-tuning the putting stroke to the degree with the multiple lasers and cameras on the machine. The machine reads players’ tendencies for their putting stroke.

Adjustments are made to the player’s stroke when there are major differences for each stroke or a predominant miss. For example, if a player lines up seven degrees open and always hits their mark, their “zero” point is seven degrees. Putting is an art form, but this level of technology helps determine what part of the player’s style is and what adjustments can be made to be more consistent.

Putting Around

Seeing the array of putters is really another game within a game in the tour setting. The variety is astonishing in person to a newcomer, but nothing out of the ordinary for the experienced on tour. You predominantly see certain styles on television during the week, but there is another world that awaits inside the gates of the practice green. Countless finishes, styles, lengths, and grips. You see some putters that would be a perfect addition to your collection, and you see some other putters you think you could play in the Saturday game.

A fair number of blades are on display for players to try, but the choices are fairly dominated by mallets. What was once experimental designs with a blade foundation has moved to more prototype-looking mallets. What it comes down to is the hundreds of options for the tour player. When good golf is played with simplicity, all of the options are there to make it as simple or complex as you would like.

Fairway Wood Talk

In addition to drivers, Titleist GTS fairway metals have made their way into a few bags for on-course testing. The player feedback on the driver performance was intriguing, prompting players to give fairway woods a try as well. These fairways have a low profile and a stainless steel face, unlike previous versions. The stainless steel look gives the player a bit more loft at address, while still maintaining a traditional and strong appearance.

The Vibe

It was cool to see the rhythm of the week kick off on Monday. Not a completely packed house with the full field arriving on the property by tomorrow afternoon. Players are coming in from the Valspar, and some were already in town. Players went through their drills and routine on the practice green, and then warmed up and did light practice on the driving range.

I saw a few players being fitted for new drivers and some putters. One player on the range was trying a new driver. The player and manufacturer narrowed it down to 2 different head styles and 5 different shafts. From there, they fine-tuned the launch monitor using the best combinations. As the week goes on, with a couple more holes left to play in the practice round, the decision for the gamer can be made.

As with putters, once a player found a style he liked from the staff bags, he had one made to his specifications by the end of the day and went through his drills and routine. It was the feel of a tournament week in the air, but the professionals know it is about pacing yourself on another week on tour. It is a marathon, not a sprint, after all.

Equipment

Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:

“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.

I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.

I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”

Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who 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, @negncic has a Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter up for grabs.

From the listing: “34” Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset. Ping composite shaft Ping PLD Pistol grip. No issues. $345 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Equipment

I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

4 days ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:

“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.

I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.

Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.

Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer

MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot

Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”

And our members have been sharing their reactions in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”

Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”