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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Everyone associated with the PGA Tour has been eagerly awaiting a return to play, including tour equipment representatives who are accustomed to spending roughly 40 weeks on the road each year traveling from tournament to tournament.
The tour’s pandemic-prompted break ends this week as the trailers head to the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Equipment reps will not be allowed on the practice range, in the clubhouse or in the locker room, but can interact with players in a unique way. Players will place clubs that need work at a “sanitation station,” and reps will pick up and drop off at the same location as clubs are cleaned between switching hands. Many have likened the situation to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where a similar system is in place because three courses are played during the tournament.
Players and caddies normally spend plenty of time in trailers during any given week, but will not be permitted in them for at least the first four events.
While players and reps have been separated for almost three months, equipment tinkering has continued in many cases. There have been few major changes – reps say players in normal years tend to avoid significant moves from the Players Championship through the Tour Championship – but a slew of virtual meetings and check-ins have resulted in some gear updates.
Graeme McDowell needed a fresh set of Srixon Z 745 irons and Shane Lowry realized he needed more bounce in his 51- and 58-degree Cleveland RTX-4 wedges. According to Aaron Dill of Titleist, many players have been wearing out their wedges because of increased short-game practice, so he has been busy building new wedges. Be on the lookout for creative stamps on the wedges of players like Max Homa and Ben An.
Others who were concerned about the process of equipment work during the actual tournament have tried to get all work done before a given event. Cobra rep Ben Schomin said they will offer players the chance to leave their clubs overnight at the course so they can be re-gripped and go through lie and loft checks without interfering with practice routines.
Kellen Watson of Callaway reported that staff member Dylan Frittelli has been hitting the gym during the break and needed a new driver sent to him because his launch angle had changed with an increase in swing speed.
No matter the case for each player and brand, the tinkering likely will continue throughout the restart. The process won’t look the same as it has in the past, but making quick adjustments is the name of the game moving forward.
Sean Fairholm