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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
When you visualize what a professional golfer’s equipment looks like, sparkling wedges and perfectly manicured drivers come to mind. The reality, however, is that performance far outweighs appearance.
The sole of Xander Schauffele’s Odyssey O-Works Red No. 7 CH putter was smothered in lead tape last week at the U.S. Open, a tactic that added 30 grams to the head. A picture of the head made it look like the lead was spray-painted on, an effect of using a razor to smooth out the tape and then trim along the edges.
The reason for applying the lead tape has to do with moving weight downward and providing a more consistent roll. Schauffele switched to an arm-lock style putter two weeks earlier at the Memorial Tournament and only felt more confident with the switch at Torrey Pines.
“I just felt like it’s such a big advantage that I could utilize, especially on poa annua,” Schauffele said. “They’re tricky greens to putt on. The longer the day goes on, the bumpier they get with people walking on them. Launch conditions are very important out here, and I feel like my launch is even more consistent with this arm-lock style putter.”
There were others coating clubs in lead tape. The back of Billy Horschel’s Titleist 620 MB irons looked like burritos wrapped in foil, a move to manipulate the center of gravity. Those irons also were bent by four degrees, adding bounce and effectively turning each iron into the next iron down (like making a 6-iron into a 5-iron). The numbers on the irons were changed to reflect their new lofts.
On the topic of a club’s appearance, multiple players got creative with wedge stamps. On his 55-degree Titleist Vokey SM8, Will Zalatoris has actor Owen Wilson’s trademark “Wow” stamped into the clubhead as a tribute to the actor many say Zalatoris looks like. On his 60-degree WedgeWorks, Zalatoris pokes fun at his slender frame with the quote “If he lays down sideways ya can’t see him.”
Max Homa, on the other hand, went patriotic with his wedge stamps. He has “USA” in large bubble letters on his Vokey SM8s.
LA Golf announced that Dustin Johnson will be a “major shareholder” and have a seat on the board of directors alongside Bryson DeChambeau. Johnson has implemented an LA Golf shaft for his driver and putter recently.
Titleist dominated the shoe and glove count at the U.S. Open, taking home 57 percent of the shoe count and 40 percent of the glove count.
Sean Fairholm