Equipment
Don’t get AMP’d up. Rickie is just testing shafts, y’all
As you may have seen in our tour photos this week, Rickie Fowler has a new/old set of irons in the bag. Specifically, Fowler is gaming a set from 2013: the Cobra AMP Cell Pro.
But WHY?! Didn’t we just hear all the buzz about his self-designed Rev33? Well yes, we did.
Although the rumors and conspiracy theories may run wild, in this case, it’s a nothing burger.
He’s testing shafts folks, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100, specifically, to get ready for major season.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JULY 02: A detail of the bag and clubs of Rickie Fowler of the United States during the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 02, 2020 at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
But why didn’t he put them in the Rev33?
That’s a simple one as well: time and economics. Rather than pull apart his gamers or have a set chauffeured in from Carlsbad, Fowler, who was messing around with the AMP’s at home and who doesn’t have Rev33’s with X1oo’s hanging on his wall, brought them to Detroit this week to test.
If all goes well, we can count on a set of Rev33’s with X100’s to be built at HQ. If not, no harm, no foul, and we go back to the Rev33 with his normal KBS C-Taper 125 S+ shafts.
If anything, I find the coolest thing here is Rickie’s instinct to not be wasteful. That’s a good thing right?
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The year was 2012. Gangnam Style ruled supreme, its infectious beats and ludicrous horse-riding dance moves hypnotizing us with their stupidity. Everyone was talking about the Mayan calendar, convinced that the end of days was near. Superheroes soared on the silver screen, with the Avengers assembling in epic fashion. Katniss Everdeen survived The Hunger Games. And the memes! The memes abounded. Grumpy Cat triumphed. We kept calm and carried on.
In much the same way that automotive enthusiasts love classic cars, we at GolfWRX love taking a backward glance at some of the iconic designs of years past. Heck, we love taking iconic designs to the tee box in the present!
In that spirit, GolfWRX has been running a series inspired by arguably the greatest fighting game franchise of all time: Mortal Kombat. It’s not “choose your fighter” but rather “choose your driver.”
Check out some of the standout combatants of 2012 below.
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Nike VRS
Often harshly critiqued during its years releasing golf equipment (right, Phil Mickelson?), Nike’s tenure in the club-and-ball business gets a gloss of nostalgic varnish, with many of its iron and putter designs continuing to attract admirers. Among the company’s driver offerings, the 2012 VRS — or VR_S, if you will — drew high marks for its shaping and toned-down appearance. The multi-thickness, NexCOR face was no joke either.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Callaway RAZR Fit
Callaway’s first foray into moveable weight technology (married with its OptiFit hosel) did not disappoint. With a carbon fiber crown, aerodynamic attention to detail, and variable and hyperbolic face technologies, this club foreshadowed the tech-loaded, “story in every surface” Callaway drivers of the present, AI-informed design age.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Cleveland Classic 310
Truly a design that came out of left field. Cleveland said, “Give me a persimmon driver, but make it titanium…in 460cc.” Our 2012 reviewer, JokerUsn wrote, “I don’t need to elaborate on all the aesthetics of this club. You’ve seen tons of pics. You’ve all probably seen a bunch in the store and held them up close and gotten drool on them. From a playing perspective, the color is not distracting. It’s dark enough to stay unobtrusive in bright sunlight…Even my playing partners, who aren’t into clubs at all…commented on it saying it looks cool.” Long live!
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Titleist 910
While there’s no disputing Titleist’s “Titleist Speed” era of drivers perform better than its 2010s offerings, sentimentality abounds, and there was something classically Titleist about these clubs, right down to the alignment aid, and the look is somewhere between 983 times and the present TS age. Representing a resurgence after a disappointing stretch of offerings (907, 909), The 910D2 was a fairly broadly appealing driver with its classic look at address and classic Titleist face shape.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
TaylorMade RocketBallz
The white crown. The name. You either loved ‘em or you hated ‘em. TaylorMade’s 2012 offering from its RocketBallz Period boasted speed-enhancing aerodynamics and an Inverted Cone Technology in the club’s titanium face. Technology aside, it’s impossible to overstate what a departure from the norm a white-headed driver was in the world of golf equipment.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Ping i20
Long a quietly assertive player in the driver space, Ping’s i20 was more broadly appealing than the G20, despite being a lower-launch, lower-spin club. Ping drivers didn’t always have looks that golfer’s considered traditional or classic, but the i20 driver bucked that trend. Combining the classic look with Ping’s engineering created a driver that better players really gravitated toward. The i20 offered players lower launch and lower spin for more penetrating ball flight while the rear 20g tungsten weights kept the head stable. Sound and feel were great also, being one of the more muted driver sounds Ping had created up to that time.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
GolfWRXers, let us know in the comments who “your fighter” is and why!
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/29/24): Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft
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 Krank Formula fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft.
From the seller: (@well01): “Krank formula fire 10.5 degree with AUtoflex SF505. $560 shipped.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 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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Rory McIlroy WITB
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
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Shane Lowry WITB
- Shane Lowry what’s in the bag accurate as of the Cognizant Classic.
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Buy here.
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X
Irons: Srixon ZX Utility (3, 20 degrees) Buy here, Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5) Buy here, Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW) Buy here.
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X (3), KBS Tour 130 X (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID) Buy here, Cleveland RTX Full Face (58-8) Buy here.
Shafts: KBS Tour Wedge X Black
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Z Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV Buy here.
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Tdawg
Jul 4, 2020 at 11:30 pm
Im just confused as to why dabble in a tournament??? All these guys have the best of the best in home sims with all the data and the best facilities to test equipment.
Shane
Jul 4, 2020 at 4:06 pm
I can see the testing of the shafts, but why at an event where you’re playing for a living instead of just testing at home? Thanks for the article!!
jmho
Jul 4, 2020 at 10:43 am
IF this is true, this seems stingy on behalf of Cobra. But I am gonna assume that he’s trying different irons altogether but they want to keep pushing the 33’s and it’s harder to do that when Rickie is playing something else.
Chip2win
Jul 3, 2020 at 7:38 pm
Uh…I hate to say it, but he’s not just testing shafts. After he hit a shot today on TV, you could clearly see he’s got the AMP Cells in the bag this week. They are pretty cool looking blades.
Mr C
Jul 4, 2020 at 11:19 am
Of course he’s using the Amp Cell Pro this week. It’s the entire point of this article. He using a set of Amp Cell Pro with X100 so he can test the X100 shafts as he doesn’t want to pull the shafts from him current gamers and replace them with the X100.
gwelfgulfer
Jul 4, 2020 at 8:11 pm
Although its a bit of a weak argument. If the ‘gamers’ were working so well, why not just use them. It takes them nothing to build/rebuild a set of irons.
Brandon
Jul 3, 2020 at 9:38 am
Might want to stick with the amps as he actually played well for the first time in a while yesterday.
Mr. C
Jul 4, 2020 at 11:21 am
The Amp Cell Pro are the best blades Cobra has ever produced in my opinion. I’m not surprised he played well with them.
Jack
Jul 2, 2020 at 11:43 pm
This story is so shallow and lacking in research ! Waste of space..
John Wunder
Jul 3, 2020 at 12:18 am
How exactly? The point to the story is there is to inform that 1) He’s just testing shafts 2) This was the easiest way to do it 3) He isn’t planning on switching out of his Rev33’s . Lacking in what research? It’s straight from the person who builds his clubs.
matt
Jul 2, 2020 at 11:12 pm
makes absolutely no sense… what does he learn from testing a shaft in a completely different head? I mean sure he might love this combo – but doesn’t mean squat for the performance in different iron. I think the rev is done – that club is ugly as sin and I think Rickie is coming to grips with his ill-conceived thoughts for that club.
John Wunder
Jul 3, 2020 at 12:25 am
Makes sense to him and the people that work with him. Unless I’ve been talking to a Cobra Tour Truck Catfish that is obsessed with golf club cover ups and conspiracies . That would actually be a fun reality show. Anyway thanks for reading;)
Nack Jicklaus
Jul 3, 2020 at 1:48 am
I’d watch Tour Truck Catfishing the reality show.
John Wunder
Jul 3, 2020 at 7:11 am
Right!!?? So would I
Brandon
Jul 3, 2020 at 9:41 am
Did you happen to ask the tour truck guy why Rickie prefers the F9 to the SZ? He seemed to take the SZ out of the bag really quickly at the beginning of the season.
Geo P
Jul 3, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Cool story, John! All these clowns saying negative stuff are just keyboard warriors that can’t break 100…..so their useless drivel means nothing! Keep up the great work ????
matt
Jul 3, 2020 at 8:27 am
love your content Johnny… I don’t doubt that’s what you were told. honestly I’m an iron shafts nerd – i think its a good story unto itself. Wonder what Rickie is after with the switch? He had that cup of coffee with S400s last year and got back into the the C-tapers. My guess is its a stats thing – probably sees how great his driving and putting is and thinks maybe the irons aren’t quite right somehow.