Equipment

Lead Tape Report: Plenty of lead at The Players

Published

3 months ago

Mar 12, 2026

The Players Championship is underway, and with the championship season now here, players are catching their stride and fine-tuning their tools. Here are some that caught my eye this week.

Wyndham Clark

Wyndham Clark arrives at the Players Championship this week with a new putter in the bag. This one is a little different in terms of where he procured this putter: At his home club of Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, Arizona, something caught Clark’s eye in the pro shop. That was a Bettinardi Antidote SB1, a center-shaft, style-blade model. With the T-line alignment aid and a nice, wide strip of lead tape added to the bottom of the putter. Wyndham is ready to get the ball in the hole.

In another move rarely seen on tour (and more commonly visible in a Friday skins game), Clark has elected to leave the price tag sticker on as well. Without a full-bag club contract, this is the flexibility you see with equipment among the world’s best.

Sungjae Im

SungJae Im is back for the second event of his 2026 season, after starting his campaign off last week at Bay Hill. Im had been sidelined to start the year with a wrist injury. While rehabbing in Korea, Sungjae was testing new irons and found some information. He moved on from his Titleist T100 set into the T150’s. The new T-150’s in his bag were bent one degree weak for more launch, a little more ball speed and an added peak height in his long irons. Very important as course conditions firm up in the championship season. But the thing that really has my attention here is the custom Titleist lead tape logo.

Rickie Fowler

Rickie is sporting a brand new citrus-themed Cobra bag for the Players Championship, but what has my attention here is the irons. Fowler plays the 3DP-RF Prototype irons, and on his 7-,8-, 9-irons, he has lead tape. The tape is balanced in appearance and in weight, just on either side of the Cobra logo. The logo is being showcased and taped for the proper weighting performance. I also cannot help but notice that his mini driver has the silver stuff.

Maverick McNealy

Maverick McNealy joins this week’s report as well, seen here with some tape on his TaylorMade P7CB irons and TaylorMade wedges. A really nice game-used look here! McNealy has made 3 of 5 cuts at the Players; his best finish is T9 in 2024. Our Greg Moore and Alistair Cameron learned he has just switched back to a Toulon putter he won with at the RSM Classic in November 2024.

Akshay Bhatia

Akshay, who rolled into TPC Sawgrass with the oversized winner’s check in the back of the car, is in championship form. This is his third playing of The Players Championship, with a missed cut in 2024 and a tie for third place last year. What caught my eye is Akshay’s use of lead tape on his Rogue driver and wedges. Bumping up the swing weight on the scoring clubs is a common reason for lead tape addition. Bhatia seems to be favoring a little more head weight on the feel shots around the green and more weight on the driver for a full rip off the tee.

Equipment

Interesting clubs at top of bag – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, users are talking about top of bag setups that are non-traditional or thought-provoking in some way. Original poster @SuperSpurs106 inquired about other members who might use unorthodox set-ups to help with gapping issues or weak spots.

They wrote:

“I currently have a PING G430 driver, TM Qi35 3W and a TM Qi4D 7W. Driver and 7W are fine but can’t get on with my 3W and have always struggling with this club over the years. Thinking of adding a 2H which I know would look odd. Just wondering if anyone else had a weird set up at the top of their bag?”

Our members in the forum have offered up their thoughts and personal experiences with non-traditional top of bag set-ups, and their reasoning for thinking outside of the box to begin with. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

BowMain42: “Don’t worry about what “looks” odd. If the club does what you need it to do, it’s the right club.”
scooterhd2: “I cant hit 3 woods either. Thats why I roll with a unicorn XL Hibore 2 wood. 400 cc head at 16 degrees of loft and its just a monster 3 wood off the tee. Off the deck, we are playing the f6 baffler. 5 wood at 41.75 inches and its easy to control.”
phizzy30: “I had driver, 3 metal, 2/4 hybrid once upon a time as a higher ss player. 4 hybrid is gone and in place is a driving iron nowadays. I don’t think what you’re proposing is weird in anyway, however the yardage gap might be glaringly huge between driver and 2 hybrid. What is it about your 3 metal that has got you all messed up? You could always go 4 metal with shorter shaft and see if that works.”

Entire Thread: “Interesting clubs at top of bag”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Equipment

Members of the Mini Driver Club – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has gone searching for fellow users of a mini driver. In a post, @TightFade asked for other mini driver users to chime in with their weapon of choice, the reason for employing a mini, and what club follows it in the bag.

@TightFade asked:

“What mini are you playing? What spot in the bag did it take over? What’s the next club after it? For me: Elyte mini 13.5. Replacing 3w. Next up club looks like it’ll be 5w.”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own bag setups featuring the mini driver, and the various reasons they purchased one in the first place. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

RCGA: “Ping G430 Max 12* ‘Thriver.’ Next club is a 4w and 2i (I play a weird course).”
JMB3: “R7 at 12.75 with Diamana BB 63s. 3w replacement. Next Club: Elyte Ti 5w at 17*.”
ColdOkieGolf: “R7 15.5 turned down to 13.5 It replaces the 3w. I found it surprisingly easy to hit off the deck, and it’s very rare that I need or want to hit something beyond 250 from the fairway, so next club is my 7w.”
ChaosTheory: “I’m sub-90 MPH with driver. But I’m able to hit DOD. I have been wanting something like the R7 15.5, so I just ordered one. I have a spot in the bag so nothing has to go. But I could see it replacing my trusty 4 wood, which I never use for approach shots. Just tee shots and lay ups. If I drop the 4 wood, I will turn my 7 wood down to ~20 degrees and will have good gaps. I recently tried a thriver build: 12 degree driver turned to 14, with a heavier 44 inch shaft and added head weight. I hit it great. Very accurate and not overly high, but the problem was that it sometimes went as far as a typical drive. And that’s not what I needed. So I will probably turn the 15.5 up to 16.5 or even 17.5. It’s all theoretical at this point. ?”

Entire Thread: “Members of the Mini Driver Club…Check In.”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

Whats in the Bag

Chris Gotterup WITB 2026 (June)

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Chris Gotterup had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Drivers: TaylorMade Qi4D (8 degrees), Ping G440 LST (9 degrees @8), Ping G440 LST (7.5 degrees)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS T1100 Handcrafted 6.5 TX 70 g, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Grey 6.5 TX 70 g