Equipment

Slabs of silver in the Lone Star State: Lead Tape Report, Valero Texas Open

Published

2 months ago

Apr 2, 2026

Camilo Villegas

Camilo Villegas tees it up this week in the Valero Texas Open, and we are pleased to see his bag qualifies for him in this week’s Lead Tape Report. Villegas is seen here with Srixon ZX7 irons with the back cavity covered in tape. Along with that, he has his TaylorMade Qi35 16.5 HL fairway metal with some tape near the toe. His Titleist GT3 driver also has lead tape on the toe, rounding out a very nice custom club array. We will see lead tape on the toe for ball flight, favoring right-to-left, or if the player hits draws, it can straighten it out ever so slightly.

Neal Shipley

Neal Shipley has his set of Ping clubs and a couple of putters out to try. His patina’d Anser PLD putter and another PLD to compare and contrast. This Ping PLD is a variation of the Anser 4D putter, but it has a new insert compared to the stock offering. With that, some tour grade one-inch wide lead tape on the bottom of the putter for good measure. This will be Shipley’s debut appearance at the Valero Texas Open, some recent missed cuts. This will be a great week to get back on track for the 2026 season.

Jordan Smith

Coming off a third-place finish at the Valspar Championship and tied for 44th at the Texas Children’s Open, Jordan Smith makes his debut at the Valero Texas Open. He also makes his debut in the Lead Tape Report with his Titleist T100 long iron. With the notable winds that can blow at the Valero, this club can come into play this week for keeping it below the elements. Jordan has made 6 of 8 cuts this season on tour and is looking for another podium finish at TPC San Antonio.

Kevin Roy

Kevin Roy has a bag spanning a few different brands. Clubs seen from Titleist, TaylorMade, Odyssey but the one with the lead tape is the Vokey 58 degree L Grind. This wedge is now available through the Vokey Wedge Works. This L Grind has four degrees of bounce with heel and toe relief. With the L Grind, Kevin can play open-faced shots if he happens to miss a green with the club, keeping the leading edge low to the ground. This will be his third time playing in the Valero Texas Open, finishing 40th in 2025.

Kensei Hirata

Kensei Hirata enters the Lead Tape Report for the first time, and with that, the Mizuno T22 wedges caught my eye. These look to be in the bag for a bit of tournament play as the lead tape is still on the club but close to worn off. A true battle-tested look. We will see tour players commonly switch out their lob wedges the most, while their pitching wedge and gap wedges can last in the bag a bit longer. That’s with more full-shot usage. Players do not want to see their wedges spinning off the green all the time with full shots, and they want a more consistent check and stop on less-than-full wedge shots. This is Kensei’s first time at TPC San Antonio. In 8 events this season, he has made 4 cuts, including one top 25 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Equipment

Interesting clubs at top of bag – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

20 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, users are talking about top of bag setups that are non-traditional or thought-provoking in some way. Original poster @SuperSpurs106 inquired about other members who might use unorthodox set-ups to help with gapping issues or weak spots.

They wrote:

“I currently have a PING G430 driver, TM Qi35 3W and a TM Qi4D 7W. Driver and 7W are fine but can’t get on with my 3W and have always struggling with this club over the years. Thinking of adding a 2H which I know would look odd. Just wondering if anyone else had a weird set up at the top of their bag?”

Our members in the forum have offered up their thoughts and personal experiences with non-traditional top of bag set-ups, and their reasoning for thinking outside of the box to begin with. 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.

BowMain42: “Don’t worry about what “looks” odd. If the club does what you need it to do, it’s the right club.”
scooterhd2: “I cant hit 3 woods either. Thats why I roll with a unicorn XL Hibore 2 wood. 400 cc head at 16 degrees of loft and its just a monster 3 wood off the tee. Off the deck, we are playing the f6 baffler. 5 wood at 41.75 inches and its easy to control.”
phizzy30: “I had driver, 3 metal, 2/4 hybrid once upon a time as a higher ss player. 4 hybrid is gone and in place is a driving iron nowadays. I don’t think what you’re proposing is weird in anyway, however the yardage gap might be glaringly huge between driver and 2 hybrid. What is it about your 3 metal that has got you all messed up? You could always go 4 metal with shorter shaft and see if that works.”

Entire Thread: “Interesting clubs at top of bag”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Equipment

Members of the Mini Driver Club – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

20 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has gone searching for fellow users of a mini driver. In a post, @TightFade asked for other mini driver users to chime in with their weapon of choice, the reason for employing a mini, and what club follows it in the bag.

@TightFade asked:

“What mini are you playing? What spot in the bag did it take over? What’s the next club after it? For me: Elyte mini 13.5. Replacing 3w. Next up club looks like it’ll be 5w.”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own bag setups featuring the mini driver, and the various reasons they purchased one in the first place. 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.

RCGA: “Ping G430 Max 12* ‘Thriver.’ Next club is a 4w and 2i (I play a weird course).”
JMB3: “R7 at 12.75 with Diamana BB 63s. 3w replacement. Next Club: Elyte Ti 5w at 17*.”
ColdOkieGolf: “R7 15.5 turned down to 13.5 It replaces the 3w. I found it surprisingly easy to hit off the deck, and it’s very rare that I need or want to hit something beyond 250 from the fairway, so next club is my 7w.”
ChaosTheory: “I’m sub-90 MPH with driver. But I’m able to hit DOD. I have been wanting something like the R7 15.5, so I just ordered one. I have a spot in the bag so nothing has to go. But I could see it replacing my trusty 4 wood, which I never use for approach shots. Just tee shots and lay ups. If I drop the 4 wood, I will turn my 7 wood down to ~20 degrees and will have good gaps. I recently tried a thriver build: 12 degree driver turned to 14, with a heavier 44 inch shaft and added head weight. I hit it great. Very accurate and not overly high, but the problem was that it sometimes went as far as a typical drive. And that’s not what I needed. So I will probably turn the 15.5 up to 16.5 or even 17.5. It’s all theoretical at this point. ?”

Entire Thread: “Members of the Mini Driver Club…Check In.”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Whats in the Bag

Chris Gotterup WITB 2026 (June)

Published

20 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Chris Gotterup had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Drivers: TaylorMade Qi4D (8 degrees), Ping G440 LST (9 degrees @8), Ping G440 LST (7.5 degrees)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS T1100 Handcrafted 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g