NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
The game has changed dramatically since Tiger Woods won the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and one of his equipment tweaks last week highlighted the difference.
Woods benched his 5-wood and added a TaylorMade P770 2-iron in its place while also replacing a TaylorMade P7TW 3-iron with a P770 3-iron. The P770s offered increased ball speeds, which set him up for long-iron stingers off the tee despite Southern Hills playing considerably longer than it once did. He went to that well several times – those stingers were a key for him in his 2007 win – while grinding to make the cut last week.
On a handful of occasions, a conservative approach off the tee by Woods coincided with playing competitors such as Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth blasting a driver well past him. Many were questioning his strategy and equipment choices, saying that Woods should have been more aggressive while also forgoing long irons in favor of a higher-lofted wood. Some players did exactly that coming into the week, including Dustin Johnson who inserted a 24-degree TaylorMade Stealth 9-wood.
Regardless of strategy or gear moves, Woods had intriguing comments on the stark contrast in playing styles.
“I was playing to my spots, and those guys obviously have a different game plan,” Woods said. “It's just different. The game is played very differently now, and it's very aggressive. We were talking about it today, (caddie) Joey (LaCava) and I. The days of the Lee Janzens and the Scott Simpsons and the (Nick) Faldos of the world … playing that kind of golf is gone. You go out there and hit driver a lot, and if you have a hot week, you have a hot week and you're up there.”
Another gear story of interest came from Bubba Watson, who fired a 7-under 63 in round two to get himself into contention. Watson finally switched out his relatively ancient Grafalloy BiMatrix shaft – which True Temper introduced in the late ’90s – for a much lighter Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 60TX.
“Out of nowhere, I don't know why or how it worked out, but I decided to change driver shafts,” Watson said. “I've been using the same shaft since 2002. It's roughly 90 grams, so I switched to a 60-gram shaft, and as I get older, clubhead speed – even though it doesn't sound like very much, it's a lot when it comes to the golf swing.”
Watson clarified that he has experimented with the lighter shaft over the years but had never fully invested in using it in competition. With how he performed this past week, it’s a near certainty we will continue to see the new shaft.
A few other random gear notes from the week: Johnson also implemented a TaylorMade Spider GT Splitback putter, but it didn’t help as he lost nearly two strokes to the field on the greens and missed the cut by two strokes. Tony Finau used a Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond S 3-wood, a departure from the Ping G400 Stretch he had been gaming. Since winning the Northern Trust last year, Finau has only recorded one top-10 finish and is clearly seeking a spark.
And one interesting tidbit on the bunkers at Southern Hills: the grittier sand made the bunkers true hazards last week, and it also added a lot of work for the equipment vans on site. Many players were requesting new wedges and consistent groove refurbishment, an anomaly for a major-championship week.
Sean Fairholm