Equipment

Putters Aplenty: A look at the flatsticks we shot at PGA Tour Q-School

Published

5 months ago

Dec 20, 2023

Putters: They’re very low-lofted but very highly regarded. (How’s that for a lede?) In all seriousness, no other club in the bag is quite so fussed about and fawned over as the flatstick.

And at the professional level, even greater intrigue abounds. Some players roll it with essentially off-the-rack offerings with tremendous success for years. Some strictly utilize wands that would make a luxury jeweler jealous. Some switch putters as frequently as they change socks.

It’s a boom time for putter variety as well. Ditto putter grips — and shafts! Long, long gone are the days of the Bullseye with a wrapped leather grip.

When it comes to the shortest club in the bag, it’s the Wild West, and we’re here for it.

Check out some of the putters we got in-hand photos of at last week’s PGA Tour Q-School.

Harry Higgs

The fan-favorite opts for a TaylorMade Spider GT Rollback putter with a five-gram weight near the face and equips it with a standard TaylorMade Pistol Grip. We previously saw him most often in a center-shafted Spider.

Patton Kizzire

The Auburn alum continues to roll the rock with a well-traveled mallet-style Scotty Cameron GoLo putter with deep milling.

Spencer Levin

Perhaps the most unexpected putter at Q-School was cult hero Spencer Levin’s hammY. Released 20 years ago, the long, center-shafted blade is designed to facilitate a more “natural” putting motion with the player setting up in an open stance with hands separated on the grip, right-hand low (Hence the two-piece SuperStroke Traxion grip).

Kris Ventura

Former OSU teammate of Viktor Hovland, Kris Ventura arrived at Q-School with a seasoned Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter with a pair of 20-gram sole weights. The sole shows the mileage on this classic design!

Mark Goetz

Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native Mark Goetz prefers the beach. More specifically, he’s elected to putt with a “beached” or “floating face” Scotty Cameron 009-style putter. Milling a slot in the sole of the putter changes its sound (and thus feel). The closer the slot is to the face, the higher-pitched the sound.

Rob Oppenheim

The 20-year veteran had a mid-mallet-and-Anser hybrid PLD Ping Anser D putter in play in Florida. Oppenheim is a longtime Anser guy, so it’s no surprise to see him with this Putting Lab Design model. Ping PP58 Cord grip here as well.

Sam Bennett

Another Ping PLD offering in the bag of a much less seasoned Ping staffer. 23-year-old Sam Bennet had a Ping PLD Oslo 4 putter in the bag with a patina finish.

Callum McNeill

Piretti sighting! Callum McNeill showed up with what looks to be an 801 putter (thanks, Corey) with plenty of stamping and a single site dot. The Scot opted for a graphite L.A. Golf TPZ putter shaft and a Lamkin Deep Etched putter grip.

Carter Jenkins

The No. 7-style shape fits the Raleigh, North Carolina, native’s eye. Toulon Design Las Vegas with a Midnight Black finish and a deep diamond mill pattern. Another L.A. Golf TPZ putter shaft here, paired with what looks to be a 21-inch SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0P grip.

Check out more putters in our collection of Q-School photos in the GolfWRX forums.

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Equipment

Limited-edition gear spotted at the PGA Championship

Published

14 hours ago

May 15, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

The second major of the season is here, and with it, custom gear aplenty! Taking inspiration from both Louisville, Kentucky, and host course Valhalla, the OEMs have been having some fun with the designs.

Check out PGA Championship staff bags, some custom kicks, and a very cool putter grip from SuperStroke.

2024 PGA Championship staff bags

Callaway

PGA Championship Staff Bag Giveaway ? See below how you can win the bag and headcovers being used this week by #TeamCallaway at the second major of the year:

-Follow @callawaygolf
-Tag 2 friends in the comments pic.twitter.com/8HbGdPHiFK

— Callaway Golf (@CallawayGolf) May 13, 2024

Cobra

TaylorMade

From the stables to the fairway. ?

This year’s PGA Championship staff bag and accessories pay homage to the Derby City with callouts to the run for the roses, the fastest lap in track history and more.

Dive into all the details of this beauty: https://t.co/afhEVKHWLj pic.twitter.com/8eoP6tDZq1

— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) May 13, 2024

Scotty Cameron’s putter cover features the Scotty Dog in Viking helmet

Bettinardi’s KFC-inspired putter covers

Ping’s bourbon-inspired putter cover

Rory McIlroy’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail-inspired Nike Air Zoom Victory Tour 3 shoes

FootJoy x Todd Snyder Mint Julep Premier Series

(Photo courtesy of FootJoy)

Brooks Koepka’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail-inspired Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour shoes

(Photo courtesy of Nike)

SuperStroke’s PGA Championship grip

Check out all of our photos from Valhalla here.

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Whats in the Bag

John Daly WITB 2024 (May)

Published

17 hours ago

May 15, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

John Daly WITB accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 6-Dot

3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 4-Dot

Hybrids: Ping G430 (17, 22, 26 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold

Check out more in-hand photos of John Daly’s clubs here.

Irons: Sub70 659-CB (6-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Wedges: Sub70 TAIII (50, 54, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Check out more in-hand photos of John Daly’s clubs here.

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Milled One T CH
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

Grips: SuperStroke custom

More photos of John Daly’s WITB in the forums.

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

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Equipment

Toulon Golf collaborates with Valhalla Golf Club for latest Small Batch putter

Published

18 hours ago

May 15, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Toulon Golf has today officially announced its latest Small Batch putter — the Valhalla.

Discussing the putter, Preston Toulon of Toulon Golf said: “This putter is a collaboration with the club at Valhalla and incorporates three of the many things that make the state of Kentucky great – horseracing, bourbon and championship golf. The head of the putter and headcover have several allusions to a jockey’s silk and there are thoroughbreds on the sole.”

Inspired by Toulon’s classic tri-sole Santa Monica design, the company sought to modernize the profile and design leveraging its 904 stainless steel and 6061 aircraft aluminium across the sole. Toulon describes the Valhalla’s profile as “slightly oversized blade whose proportions are meticulously balanced to maintain the look and feel of the Santa Monica, while increasing the putter’s inertia to create one of the most forgiving putters we have ever designed.”

Throughout numerous prototypes, Toulon paid particular attention to the L-neck, with its full shaft of offset, adding a bit of length for better blending with the slightly wider and longer blade.

On the rear of the putter are homages to horse racing in the form of jockey silk diamonds and Churchill Downs-inspired font.

The sole of the putter features a large cavity covered by a 6061 aircraft aluminum sole plate. According to Toulon, this allowed for the addition length to the putter and improved inertia as well as moving more mass to the perimeter for greater forgiveness.

In another nod to Valhalla, Toulon uses a milled watermarked limestone pattern, a reference to stone featured widely on the property.

As with all the Toulon Small Batch putters, the team paid particular attention to the topline thickness and radius to achieve a desired look. “Soft yet crisp was the design intent,” according to the company.