Equipment

What we know about Bryson DeChambeau’s 3D-printed Avoda irons

Published

3 weeks ago

Apr 12, 2024

Bryson DeChambeau fired an opening-round 7-under 65 at Augusta National, hitting an impressive 15 of 18 greens in regulation in the process. Golf’s mad scientist’s play grabbed headlines and so too did his equipment. In place of the Ping i230 irons he had in the bag last week for LIV Golf’s Miami event, DeChambeau is gaming a prototype 5-PW set of irons from little-known direct-to-consumer manufacturer Avoda.

What is Avoda Golf?

Founded by Tom Bailey, also a Mike Schy student like Bryson DeChambeau, Avoda Golf is a direct-to-consumer golf equipment company that currently manufactures both single and variable-length irons in one model that are available for pre-order.

What irons is Bryson DeChambeau playing?

Per multiple reports, DeChambeau is playing a custom-designed set of single-length irons that incorporate bulge and roll into the face design. The two-piece 3D-printed irons were reportedly only approved for play by the USGA this week, according to Golfweek’s Adam Schupak.

Regarding the irons, DeChambeau told Golf Channel the irons’ performance on mishits was the determining factor in putting them in play this week. “When I mishit on the toe or the heel,” DeChambeau said. “It seems to fly a lot straighter for me and that’s what has allowed me to be more comfortable over the ball.”

What can we tell about the design of the clubs?

These days, it is a little hard to speculate on what is under the hood with so many hollow body irons. DeChambeau’s irons look to be hollow on the lower section as they do flare back a decent amount. That “muscle” on the back also looks to be fairly low on the iron head, but we can assume that is progressive through the set, moving up higher in the short irons.

A screw out on the toe is probably used to seal up the hollow cavity and used as a weight to dial in the swing weight of the club. From pictures, it is hard to tell but the sole looks to have a little curve from heel to toe while also having some sharper angles on them. A more boxy and sharper toe section looks to be the design that suits Bryson’s eye based on the irons he has gravitated toward recently.

What are bulge and roll, again?

Two types of curvature in a club face, traditionally incorporated only in wood design. Bulge is heel-toe curvature. Roll is crown-sole curvature. Both design elements are designed to mitigate gear effect on off-center strikes and produce shots that finish closer to the intended target line. (GolfTec has an excellent overview of bulge and roll with some handy GIFs for the visual learner)

What else is in DeChambeau’s bag?

Accompanying his traditional Sik putter, Bryson builds his set with a Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, a Krank Formula Fire driver and 5-wood, and a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver, all with LA Golf graphite shafts.

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Whats in the Bag

Adam Scott WITB 2024 (May)

Published

10 hours ago

May 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Adam Scott what’s in the bag accurate as of the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 TX

Driver: TaylorMade BRNR (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees), TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X, Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Adam Scott’s WITB here.

7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI Black 9 X

Irons: Srixon ZX Mk II (3), Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (5), Srixon Z-Forged II (6-9)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Check out more in-hand photos of Adam Scott’s WITB here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 54-08M), SM9 (LW), WedgeWorks (LW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-54), S400 (LW)

Putter: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Proto

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

See the rest of Adam Scott’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Pierceson Coody WITB 2024 (April)

Published

12 hours ago

May 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi 10 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi 10 Tour (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Pierceson Coody’s WITB here.

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (3), TaylorMade P7MC (4-6), and TaylorMade P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 54-11SB, 58-08LB)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Check out more in-hand photos of Pierceson Coody’s WITB here.

Putter: TaylorMade TP Reserve Juno

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

Check out more in-hand photos of Pierceson Coody’s WITB here.

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Equipment

Why Ben Griffin is making the surprising switch to a Maxfli golf ball

Published

13 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Brian Knudson

Ben Griffin might be a little too young to remember some of the iconic Maxfli golf balls that won on tour, but that isn’t stopping him from putting the newest Tour X ball from the brand in play. Today, Maxfli and Griffin announced an exclusive partnership that will see the PGA Tour player using the company’s four-piece golf ball.

While Griffin might be the first PGA Tour player to put a new Maxfli golf ball in play, he isn’t the first profesional golfer to do so. Lexi Thompson has been playing the Maxfli Tour golf ball on the LPGA Tour since the beginning of the 2024.

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We caught up with Ben at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas this week to ask him about the new ball switch.

“I was able to finally get my hands on some and try it and immediately I saw faster ball speed with the driver, which is always something every golfer wants to see.

“Then I had to test a lot around the greens and test irons, test spins, test everything like that. Basically, I came to the conclusion that I thought this was probably one of the best golf balls for my game.

“And so I decided to make it official and partner with them and very excited to help kind of launch this golf ball and see where it takes us.”

Griffin’s ball of choice is the Maxfli Tour X, a four-piece golf ball that is made for highly skilled players that want consistent distance off the driver and spin around the green. An updated core design helps add the ball speed that Griffin mentioned and two ionomer mantle layers separate low spin driver shots from higher spin iron and wedge shots. Maxfli uses Center Of center-of-gravity balancing to ensure each ball has consistent flight in the air and roll on the green. Like all golf balls on tour, the Tour X features a cast urethane cover for maximum performance, and it has a tetrahedron dimple pattern to enhance aerodynamics.

It is exciting to see a golf ball at a lower price point — $39.99 at Golf Galaxy — being used by a top 100 ranked player in the world like Ben Griffin, and equipment junkies will be keenly watching his performance with the new ball.

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