Equipment

Mizuno Golf selects GolfWRXer for new campaign

Published

11 years ago

Mar 11, 2013

Lee Baughman, who Mizuno described in a press release as an “absolutely average player” from Pittsburgh, has been named as the first member of Mizuno Golf’s “Play Famously” campaign team.

Baughman, 30, said he found out about the opportunity on a GolfWRX forum.

“I remember sitting there with my wife, on the laptop and actually showed her the contest,” he said. “Usually she doesn’t care too much about GolfWRX or golf in general, but I said ‘Look at this one. This would be a crazy contest to win,’ even though there wasn’t much information. So I entered on the site and didn’t expect to hear much out of it.”

When told of how Mizuno described him as an “absolutely average player,” Baughman chuckled. Baughman said he could be a better golfer if he had more time, but his job as a product manager in the mining industry and being a father of two children has limited the time he can play the game.

“The game is not very forgiving if you don’t give it a lot of time,” he said. “And I actually picked up the game very late. It was after college and I didn’t start taking it too seriously until a few years ago.”

Mizuno launched its Play Famously campaign to “champion the cause and determination of the ‘everyman’ golfer using Mizuno’s JPX-825 line of game-improvement irons.” To kick off the event, Luke Donald and the Mizuno Golf team hosted a press conference, introducing Baughman as the latest member of the team.

The JPX-825 was recently released by Mizuno to fit along with its Play Famously theme. Mizuno says the iron has an extra large sweet spot on its ultra-thin, ultra-hot face, which enhances the trampoline effect to create extra distance on shots.

“A lot of people still view Mizuno as a brand for only elite players, but that’s a misconception,” said Dick Lyons, vice president and general manager of Mizuno Golf, in a press release. “We know that we have the longest and most forgiving irons on the market in the JPX-825s, but we’re not asking golfers to take our word for it. We challenge any mid to high handicap players to put the JPX-825s up against anything they are playing now, and they will see for themselves.”

The JPX-825 will be just one of the clubs that Baughman and the rest of the yet-to-be-determined “average Joe” team will be using. The members will be outfitted with a number of Mizuno irons, drivers, woods and apparel. They will also receive instruction and tips from PGA Mastor Instructor Gary Wiren, and get a chance to compete in Mizuon’s inaugural JPX Invitational this September in Atlanta.

“The passion of amateur golfers is at the heart of our sport,” Donald said in a Mizuno press release. “It’s what drives our sport and it’s really special that Mizuno is going to these lengths to celebrate them with this campaign. Let’s be honest, I don’t think any of us pros are at risk of losing our jobs. For guys like Lee, consistently breaking 90 can be life-changing, and the right equipment makes all the difference.”

The rest of the team will not be announced until this summer. Golfers who want the opportunity to be selected for one of the other 11 spots available can do so via the Play Famously website.

Until May on the Play Famously website, players who have tested the JPX-825 can can to the website and leave feedback on the club. They will also be able to leave an essay, photos and/or videos demonstrating their passion and determination to the game, and why they should be selected to the team.

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Whats in the Bag

Pierceson Coody WITB 2024 (April)

Published

15 mins 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

1 hour 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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Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Billy Horschel’s winning WITB, 2017 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

5 hours ago

May 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

The tournament bearing the name of one of golf’s all-time greats is now known as the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Back in 2017, it was still the AT&T Byron Nelson and Billy Horschel was still a full-bag PXG staffer. The Florida Gator leveraged those wares to a playoff victory over Jason Day securing his fourth PGA Tour win in the process.

Check out the clubs Horschel had in play seven years ago in Texas.

Driver: PXG 0811X (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 6 X

3-wood: PXG 0341X (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 75 6.5