Equipment

Adam Scott testing green “Masters Use Only” putter + 6 interesting equipment photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

1 month ago

May 2, 2024

Welcome to the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which, for your geographical reference, is about 25 minutes from Dallas.

In early-week equipment news, we saw some interesting putter testing from Adam Scott, a Maxfli golf ball signing on the PGA Tour, a 16-year-old’s WITB, a PGA Tour player using another PGA Tour player’s backup putter, and Jordan Spieth weighed in on why he recently switched out just his 7-iron (and then made a hole-in-one with it).

With so much to report and so little time to waste on the intro, let’s get right into this week’s equipment rundown from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

See all of our photo galleries from the week here

Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. putters

Before we get into a couple of the new prototypes Scott has been testing, above is a photo of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max prototype putter that he’s been using, and will likely continue to use this week in Texas.

That being said, following the Masters, Scott was looking to try a couple putters with a slightly lighter weight to help with his feel on fast greens.

One of the new prototypes we spotted on Tuesday was a L.A.B. Golf DF3 “Proto 2.1”, custom-built with Scott’s preferred blue colorway, and an Australia-inspired Kangaroo laser engraving…

We also spotted him with a green-colored “For Masters Use Only” Mezz.1 Max prototype…

While it’s unlikely Scott will make a switch this week, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward, especially on courses with faster greens.

We also got a peek into Scott’s full WITB this week, which consists of a super-mixed set of Srixon irons, including a ZX Utility 3-iron, a ZX-5 MkII 4-iron, ZX-7 MkII mid-irons (5-7) and Z Forged II short irons (8-9).

See Scott’s full WITB from the CJ Cup here

An update on Daniel Berger’s Odyssey Jailbird

Last week in New Orleans, we highlighted Daniel Berger’s Ai-One Jailbird Mini putter because of its unique sightlines.

Well, we have an update.

According to Callaway Tour Manager Joe Toulon, who spoke with GolfWRX.com this week, Berger’s Jailbird Mini is actually from fellow Tour player Tom Kim’s stash. Kim is a prolific putter tester, and the exact putter Berger is currently using was actually originally made for and tested by Kim. The putter didn’t make it into Kim’s starting lineup, however, so he gave the putter back to Odyssey, and it eventually made it’s way onto Berger’s gamer roster.

Jordan Spieth’s new 7-iron

As the story goes, Jordan Spieth changed out his Titleist T100 7-iron on Wednesday before the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and then on Thursday, he used the 7-iron to make a hole-in-one from 199 yards on the 16th hole.

Good timing on that switch, Jordan.

On Tuesday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, GoflWRX.com caught up with Spieth to get the full story on why he switched just the 7-iron.

Our full story is over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s a snippet of what Spieth had to say:

“I hit my 7-iron a lot, especially on my own. The spin rates, relative to my 6-iron and my 8-iron, were lower, so it was going too far. I was trying to figure out why, if it was something in the makeup of the iron. I got the lies and the lofts checked, and everything was fine. So finally I was like, ‘Can I just get a new one and see if it fixes it?’

“Maybe there was one other time throughout my career where I changed just one iron, so it’s very unusual. I think it’s just because the grooves were worn down from hitting it too much.”

Ben Griffin signs with Maxfli to play the golf ball

At the beginning of the year, LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson signed a deal with Maxfli to play the company’s golf ball, and now, Griffin has officially joined team Maxfli, as well, thus expanding the company’s Tour presence.

GolfWRX.com caught up with Griffin on Wednesday in Texas for a video interview about his new golf ball of choice, and how he marks it…

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A 16-year-old is playing on the PGA Tour this week, using a 2-iron!

Amateur golfer Kris Kim, at just 16 years of age, is making his PGA Tour debut this week after receiving a sponsors exemption into the event. In 2023, Kim won both the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the European Boys’ International Championship.

On Tuesday in Texas, we got a look into Kim’s bag, which revealed that he’s currently playing a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron, and a bag full of TaylorMade clubs.

Check out Kim’s full WITB here

A smart golf ball stamping

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a big math guy, because I’m not. However, I do recognize David Nyfjall’s purple ball marking as a square root symbol.

While I don’t know the particular significance of the square root symbol for Nyfjall, I do know you have to be fairly intelligent to even consider using a marking like that. Pretty cool stuff from the Northwestern alum, and 2023 Byron Nelson Award winner.

And, with that, we say goodbye to Texas and TPC Craig Ranch. We’ll see you next week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for more insider equipment news and storylines.

For now, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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Up Next

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Don't Miss

Why Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week

Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

2 Comments

E

May 3, 2024 at 2:17 pm

Not meaning this as a bash because I genuinely like the guy but Adam switches gear so often, how does any brand really build a relationship with him? For example, Miura San, creates a special one off set, there’s an awesome video about the whole trip, meeting him, the grinding, etc Then seems like a couples weeks after he’s playing another set of irons.

Reply Report comment
- FRL
  
  May 3, 2024 at 11:15 pm
  
  Plus Scott’s actual play hasn’t been relevant in 5+ years.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

In-hand photos of Bryson DeChambeau’s 3D-printed Avoda irons and his explanation of their “bulge and roll”

Published

3 mins ago

Jun 11, 2024

Andrew Tursky

At the 2024 Masters, Bryson DeChambeau spoke publicly about his custom, 3D-printed Avoda irons, saying, “they have just got a different curvature on the face than other equipment. Most equipment is flat. These have a different curvature on the face that allows me to have my mis-hits to go a little straighter sometimes….when I mishit on the toe or the heel, it seems to fly a lot straighter for me, and that’s what has allowed me to be more comfortable over the ball.”

Most equipment aficionados assumed DeChambeau meant that the irons had “bulge and roll” on the face, just like a driver, 3-wood, or hybrid does. On Tuesday at the U.S. Open, however, DeChambeau seemed to have cleared up the confusion.

Bryson DeChambeau shows off his custom five iron as he prepares to take on Pinehurst No. 2. ? #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ydDrpZXjGS

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 11, 2024

While speaking with Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner, DeChambeau spoke on the designs, and gave a demonstration of what’s really going on with the face curvature.

“[It’s got] roll on the face – well, bulge. Well, whatever term you want to use. But essentially it doesn’t roll this way (from the top to the bottom, a.k.a. “roll”), it rolls this way (from heel to toe, a.k.a. “bulge”). Can you guys see the curvature on the face? It’s kind of like a driver, or a hybrid, or whatnot…but it does cave in on the heel, and it caves in on the toe, as well, which creates that curvature. So for the speeds that I have, when I hit it on the toe or the heel, it doesn’t overcorrect. So, most people think that irons, MOI (moment of inertia) there doesn’t really effect the curvature, but it actually does at my speeds, at [lower lofts and higher speeds]. So essentially when I hit it on the toe, I was hooking it like crazy. Heel – I was missing it right like crazy. So I created curvature on the toe and the heel to get it to start it a little farther right on the toe, and on the heel, start it a little farther left, to make sure it doesn’t go too far offline.”

Essentially, DeChambeau is saying that his irons are made with “bulge” on the face, which means they curve from heel to toe, but they do not have “roll,” which would mean they would curve from top to bottom. For DeChambeau, this custom face design helps his toe strikes start farther to the right, and then hook back, while his heel strikes start farther to the left, and then slice/cut back. Therefore, when his toe-hits hook to the left, and his heel-hits slice to the right, they are working back toward the target line, rather than starting on the target line and curving away from it.

DeChambeau also implies the curvature is greater on his lower-lofted irons, where he’s creating higher ball speeds. This would mean the “bulge” is progressive throughout the set, with more curve on the longer irons, and less bulge on the shorter irons.

On Monday, GolfWRX.com got in-hand photos of DeChambeau’s Avoda irons, for a better look at the face curvature and design of the irons.

Bryson DeChambeau’s Avoda 5-iron

Bryson DeChambeau’s Avoda 9-iron

Learn more about DeChambeau’s Avoda irons here, and check out DeChambeau’s full 2024 U.S. Open WITB here.

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Whats in the Bag

Neal Shipley WITB 2024 (June)

Published

6 hours ago

Jun 11, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Neal Shipley what’s in the bag accurate as of the U.S. Open. Two 3-woods pictured. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

See more in-hand photos of Neal Shipley’s clubs here.

3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (13.5 degrees, B2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

5-wood: Ping G430 Max (18 degrees @16.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 8 X

See more in-hand photos of Neal Shipley’s clubs here.

Irons: Ping i230 (3), Ping Blueprint S (4), Ping Blueprint T (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100

Wedges: Ping s159 (46-12S, 50-12S, 54-12S, 60-08H)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (46-54), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)