News
Morning 9: Golf ball biz big for 4 American towns | Tringale’s massive distance gains (and good advice for you)
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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected]; @benalberstadt on Instagram)
September 25, 2019 Good Wednesday morning, golf fans. Might want to stick to the jumbo packs of toilet paper and steaks next time you’re at Costco…
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1. Bloom off the K-Sig rose for good?
Apparently resurrected from the dead, the Kirkland Signature golf ball is once again deceased (seemingly by its own hand).
All this said, good on the company for honoring its vaunted guarantee after serving up a batch of-what’s the technical term?- piece-of-shit golf balls.
(Refund letter from Costco’s VP/GMM Merchandising in the image above)
2. One-arm Murray
Golf Channel’s Jason Crook on a wounded Bill Murray tuning up for the Dunhill Links…”Murray, 69, was reportedly involved in a four-vehicle crash on Tuesday in St Andrews, but he didn’t let that stop him from getting some practice in, even if it meant he could only use one hand.”
“While no one was seriously injured in the crash, the “Caddyshack” actor showed up for his practice round at St. Andrews with a bandaged hand and a makeshift sling made out of a dress tie.”
Of course the sling was made out of a tie. That’s a given! Get well, Bill! (and never change)
3. Golf ball biz big for four American towns
Excellent feature from Bomb & Gouge on the place (and prominence) of the premium golf ball business in the U.S… “Unlike the rest of the equipment in your bag, the golf ball is still largely made in America. Not Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam or China. Rather, it’s New Bedford (Titleist) and Chicopee (Callaway) in Massachusetts. Or Covington (Bridgestone) in Georgia. Or Liberty (TaylorMade) in South Carolina. About nine out of every 10 premium golf balls sold in the United States come from one of four factory towns in three states.”
4. Inside Tringale’s massive distance gains
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin…“Tringale’s clubhead speed increased 8.6 mph — from 111.3 to 119.9 mph — from 2018 to 2019. That’s the largest single-season increase in clubhead speed since the TOUR started recording radar data in 2007.”
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5. Bahamas Strong Pro-Am
Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker…”Golf and the courses on the islands are low on the priority list, but the game has a deep connection in that part of the world with the Bahamas a popular destination for everyone from the casual fan to PGA Tour player. Which is why those in the golf community are trying to do what they can to get the people there, several hundred of whom work at Baker’s Bay, The Abaco Club and other courses, back on their feet.”
6. Pettersen + Easterbrook?
The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”Suzann Pettersen is now linked forever with Syd Easterbrook, an English golfer and little more than a footnote in Ryder Cup history.”
7. New Trump Scotland course greenlighted
BBC Report on the approved track and surrounding development…”Plans for a second golf course at US President Donald Trump’s resort in Aberdeenshire have been approved.”
8. Smart putter grip
Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura…”In cooperation with gripmaker SuperStroke, Arccos unveiled an adapter that allows its sensors to work with the company’s CounterCore and Traxion putter grips. SuperStroke’s Countercore grips allow the user to counterbalance their putter grips with a weight that fits in the butt of the grip. That weight prevented the Arccos sensor’s post from screwing securely on the top of the grip. Likewise, the SuperStroke Traxion putter grips feature a “Tech Port” that allows for counterbalancing the grip.”
9. Long-term commitment to swing changes key
Good stuff from Andrew Wright at National Club Golfer...
“It’s hard to jump full throttle into something that you’re not quite sure is going to work.” This statement from Danny Willett in his post-victory interview jumped out to me as something that amateurs of all levels can learn from.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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