On the next installment, we’re diving into the bag of a serial tinkerer – and we mean that in a good way. PGA Tour winner Ryan Gerard grinds harder than most in the game. He even made a 10,000-mile trip from the U.S. to Mauritius to earn himself a spot in this year’s Masters. 

He takes that same attitude to his bag setup, always looking for new equipment to test to see if he can get to the next level. 

For Gerard, a lot of the bag focuses on one aspect – launching the golf ball. The American is first to admit that his swing fundamentals mean that he delofts the club more than most at impact, so his clubs are fit accordingly.

Driver: Titleist GT3 11 degree (Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 X) C3 SureFit

With an 11-degree head, set at C3 in the Titleist SureFit adapter (+.75 degrees), Gerard’s driver is set up to do one thing. Get it in the air. 

“It’s a lot of loft, but I do tend to deloft it a little bit,” Gerard said. 

Along with the higher loft on the face, Gerard’s GT3 features plenty of back-weighting to shift the center of gravity rearward to help increase the launch angle and also spin. 

“It helps my start lines be a little more consistent,” Gerard added. “It’s kind of a heavier shell with like a slightly lighter track weight, which has helped me find what I’m looking for in flight and spring off the tee.”

Gerard predominantly plays a left-to-right shot off the tee, averaging just 89 feet in apex height, well below the PGA Tour average, and believes that his spin is on the higher side, up to 2800 rpm on some hits. 

“I could probably gain a few yards if I dropped spin, but I’m really looking to hit the window and keep it in the fairway.  

Woods: TaylorMade Qi10 HL 3-wood 16.5 degree (Fujikura Ventus TR Red 7X), TaylorMade Qi35 9-wood 24 degree (7X)

Gerard’s 3-wood didn’t come from a Tour truck, and it wasn’t sent to him to try out. 

“I actually bought this online,” Gerard told GolfWRX. “I’ve gone through three or four 3-woods and I just keep buying them online because they’re still available, so please don’t buy all of them because I might go buy more.”

The high-lofted 3-wood, which helps Gerard achieve a better descent angle and apex, is one of two TaylorMade woods he’s added to his setup, thanks to the forgiveness they offer when hitting them off the turf and allowing Gerard to use them off the tee. 

He also uses a Qi35 9-wood, which reads at 24 degrees, but in fact, he’s bent it down closer to 22 to help with gapping. 

“If I took a 7-wood and added loft, it would look more shut to me,” Gerard said. “But taking a 9-wood and bending it down, it gives the flight and trajectory that I’m looking for, which is high and spinny, but looking square when I put it down, and I feel very comfortable that I can hit it straight.”

Irons: Titleist T250 4-iron (Mitsubishi MMT Hybrid 100 TX), T100 5-9 irons (KBS C-Taper 125 S+)

Gerard recently upgraded his 4-iron to Titleist’s new T250 after damaging his previous T100. Let’s just say it decided to hug a tree in Napa, California. The less said about that, the better.

“The only reason I did that, is because I knew I had a backup that I liked,” Gerard joked.

With the new T250, Gerard has been able to flight it better than he expected, thanks to the MMT Hybrid 100 TX he’s equipped it with. It’s another club in the bag that he’s added loft to, though, to help overall with his stock launch and apex. It’s actually 24.5 degrees, which is more than the standard 5-iron loft in the set. 

“It’s a lot of loft for a big 4-iron, and that’s just because I’m delofting at impact, but it’s also a big profile, so it’s going to want more ball speed to begin with. So I don’t want tons and tons of ball speed. … The way I launch and deliver it, it hits the numbers I’m looking for.”

Progressing through the irons, Gerard’s 5- and 6-irons are both bent weak, but then from 7- to 9-iron they’re closer to standard. This helps with his gapping, for which he likes “13 to 14-yard increments.”

All the clubs in Gerard’s bag are half an inch longer than standard, so to help with the weighting in the irons, he plays B-weighted (slightly lighter) iron heads. 

Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 50.08F, 54.10S, 60.08M wedges (KBS C-Taper 125 S+ (46)), (Dynamic Gold S300 (50-60))

Ryan Gerard might not be cleanly shaven, but his wedges are. 

His custom Vokey wedges feature, or should say, do not feature the traditional BV logo. It’s because the team decided to grind away most of the head where the insignia should be.

Unlike his irons, which are made slightly lighter than standard because of his height, Vokey wedge rep Aaron Dill and his team have to shed excess head-weight to help with Gerard’s feel 

“I used to play wedges that had bore holes, so they’d take two small bore holes on either side, but they stopped doing that,” Gerard said. “The material they use now is a bit more amenable to being ground off, so we’re grinding off logos and essentially just looking to lose a little bit of material to get that swing weight down.

“I’m a very feel player and I don’t want to feel something really heavy in my hands when I’m around the green because you’re just living in a world where the ball might come off a little hot or come off a little more unpredictable if you don’t have control of the club face.” 

Putter: Scotty Cameron…something…

Most weeks on Tour, Gerard will carry at least two putters in the bag leading up to the event. In some tournaments, he’s used up to three or four putters during competition.

Models that he regularly sees in the bag are his Scotty Cameron Newport 2, a Tour prototype Phantom 3 or a Phantom 5.2 Circle T (with which he won the Barracuda Championship), a Phantom 9

“I really like it (Phantom 3) because it matches the characteristics of a smaller mallet with the feel of a blade,” Gerard told GolfWRX. “I’ve been a blade guy my entire life, and then started messing around with mallets here recently.

“I don’t think anything matches the feel and speed control of a blade. … I always try to have a Newport 2-style blade in the bag, just to have a back-up option that could go into play at any moment.”

Therefore, this part of the bag will most likely be different depending on when it’s read. 

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Despite looking for more launch throughout the bag, Gerard plays the Pro V1 for the feel and spin that he can tap into in his short game, especially in the case of short-sided spots found out on Tour. 

“It gives me the feel I’m looking for, especially around the greens, … It allows me to make a confident and committed swing on short shots,” Gerard says. 

This week in my league, we are going with a rather interesting setup with old and new clubs. The PXG 0317 CB irons are one of the most underrated forged cavity back irons out there. Great soft feel and good perimeter weighting make them pretty darn playable on misses as well. In the bag will be one of my favorite putters that I just don’t seem to use as much as I should, but I have a soft spot for Scotty’s Catalina.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees @ 11)
Shaft: Project X Titan Black 60 6.0

3-wood: Tour. Edge Exotics Mini (11.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6s

5-wood: Callaway Quantum Ti (18 degrees @ 17)
Shaft: Project X Denali Frost Silver 70 6.0

Utility: Mizuno Pro Fli Hi (4)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 85s

Irons: PXG 0317 CB (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS PGI 100 Stiff

Wedge: PXG 0317 CB (GW)
Shafts: KBS PGI 100 Stiff

Wedge: Mizuno Pro T-1 (56-10 M)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Wedge: Mizuno Pro T-1 (60-06 X)
Shaft: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 115

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Catalina

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour Triple Diamond

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag

Sergio García captured the 2016 AT&T Byron Nelson title, earning his ninth PGA Tour victory after taking down Brooks Koepka on the first playoff hole at TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas. García entered the final round tied for the lead and closed with a steady 68 to finish at 15 under.

Check out the gear the Spaniard had in play 10 years ago, below.

Driver: TaylorMade M2 (9.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver TiNi XTS 80 X

3-wood: TaylorMade M1 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver XTS TiNi 80 X

5-wood: TaylorMade M1 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver XTS TiNi 80 X

Irons: TaylorMade PSi Tour (3-PW)
Shaft: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130 X

Wedges: TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF Tour Grind (52-09 @50, 58-12)
Shaft: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus Tour 130 X

Putter: TaylorMade Monte Carlo Prototype

Ball: TaylorMade Tour Preferred X (#49)

Grips: SuperStroke’s S-Tech