NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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At 41 years old, Gary Woodland leads the PGA Tour in clubhead speed so far this season, averaging 128.19 mph.
With his speed back, Woodland made a switch back to his old iron shafts a week before winning for the first time in seven years at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
“My speed is definitely back to where it’s been,” Woodland said after his opening round at Memorial Park. “The last couple years it was down and it’s back now. I switched back to an old iron shaft that I played forever and it tightened everything up.”
Woodland swapped out his True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts and returned to the KBS C-Taper 130 X iron shafts that he played for years including 2019 when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. The KBS shaft is stiffer, particularly in the tip section, resulting in a lower launch and lower spin.
Gary Woodland switches back to his KBS C-Taper 130 X iron shafts before Houston win.
mike mulholland, getty images
“Switched out of it last year just because my speed had dropped and I was trying to find something that was a little more forgiving,” he said. “My speed’s back and I put those babies back in and it was nice.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in those shafts. It was hard for me to get out of them because I played them for so long and had a lot of success, but with my speed the way it is right now, I need that extra stiff, that extra boardy feel in there. It’s allowing me to work the golf ball again and control it more than anything, control the spin, so it’s been really good.”
A bigger part of Woodland’s rejuvenation can be attributed to his working again with swing coach Randy Smith. Woodland calls Smith “more than a coach” considering their relationship as Woodland battles PTSD from his 2023 brain surgery. But the coaching stuff still matters a lot.
“I’ll credit Randy,” Woodland said of his recent return to form. “I didn’t hit it well there for about three, four years. I went back to him a year and a half ago, whatever it was. He pretty much called me soft, told me I was kind of guiding it, and that’s not ever how I played in my whole life. He wanted me to get back to swinging hard and aggressive, kind of playing to my strengths. It’s been a process to get there, but we’re starting to swing at it again like I used to, I think. Definitely comes with some confidence.”
Woodland’s confidence carries over into his putting, where he led the field in strokes gained at Memorial Park (+8.325) with his Scotty Cameron GoLo Tour Prototype. Again, Woodland credits the work to another renowned coach.
“I missed a lot of putts right earlier in the year,” Woodland said. “My putting coach, Phil Kenyon, and I were on the putting green at Sawgrass, we were talking about it. Found out I was aimed a little left and probably shoving my putts all year. So, we switched to a different Scotty Cameron that allows me to line it up. I guess it helps when you line it up right because we haven’t really changed anything besides got the line a little better and the ball’s rolling in.”
Scott Michaux
