News
WOTW: Jon Rahm’s Rolex Sky-Dweller in stainless steel and bright blue
Jon Rahm earned his first green jacket with a four-stroke win over Brooks Koepka, who was leading to start the day. Jon played some great golf through some tough weather and long days of more than 18 holes. As he put on the iconic green jacket he was wearing his trusty Rolex Sky-Dweller on his wrist.
WOTW Specs:
Name: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller
Reference: 326934-0003
Limited: No
Date: 2017 – Present
Case: 904L Oystersteel
Bezel: White Gold Fluted
Dial: Bright Blue
Size: 42mm
Movement: Calibre 9001, 40 Jewels
Power Reserve: 72 Hours
Glass: Saphire Crystal, Cyclops Lens
Waterproof: 100 Meters
Bracelet: Rolex Oyster, 904L Oystersteel
Price: $15,650 (~$24,450)
Rolex launched the Sky-Dweller in 2012 and since then it has been the most complicated watch they have ever made. The watch was designed for travelers as the Sky-Dweller is made to track an addition time zone. The case is on the larger side for Rolex at 42mm and made from Rolex’s own stainless steel, 904L Oystersteel. Rolex uses 904L because it is extremely corrosion resistant compared to a traditional stainless like 303. The caseback is solid stainless steel that threads into case, helping give the watch a 100 meter water resistance rating. On the right side of the case is the screw-down crown that features Rolex’s Twinlock double seal system.
On top of the case is the iconic fluted bezel that is crafted from Rolex’s own white gold alloy. White gold can fade over time and Rolex created their own foundry in order to produce a white gold that will keep its luster longer through everyday wear. The bezel also features Rolex’s Ring Command that works with the mechanical movement to set the date and time on the watch. Rotating the bidirectional bezel into one of three positions allows you to set the local time, second time zone, or the month and date. This unique system gives you the ability too easily set a very complicated watch. Under a sapphire crystal is a Bright Blue dial with an off-center ring around the middle. The off-center ring tells the time of a second time zone in a 24hr format. Around the dial are hour markers made from white gold and filled with Rolex’s Chromalight luminescent material for a bright blue glow in low light. Above each hour marker is a white, or red, square that indicates the current month. The date is at the 3 o’clock position and only needs to be set once per year as the Sky-Dweller is an annual calendar. It is engineered to distinguish between the months with 30 and 31 days so you only need to set it on March 1st each year.
Inside the Sky-Dweller is currently Rolex’s most complicated movement, the Calibre 9001. The 9001 is a self-winding automatic with the aforementioned annual calendar and Ring Command. It contains around 380 parts and that is a lot to package into its 33mm diameter. The 9001 is unique as it works with the bezel and that feature alone takes 60 parts to function correctly. Rolex designed and builds the 9001 completely in-house and it offers the wearer around 72 hours of power reserve. Like all Rolex movements, the 9001 is COSC (Swiss Superlative Chronometer) certified to ensure it is extremely accurate through all temperatures and conditions.
The Sky-Dweller is a very collectable and desired watch, with the blue dial being one of the most popular versions. These are not easy to find at a retail store and typically require some time on a wait list. If you do get one from your Rolex dealer, expect to pay $15,650 to own the most complicated Rolex. On the secondary market a Sky-Dweller with a Bright Blue dial will cost you more at around $24,450.
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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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