NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Many professional golfers have a problem that the majority of us can’t even fathom.
It’s common for tour players – particularly those with high swing speeds – to have an issue with getting too much distance out of their fairway woods. Instead of maximizing length, they often want their fairway woods to be attacking clubs that offer a higher trajectory and have the ability to stop quickly on greens.
A prime example is Wyndham Clark, the recent U.S. Open champion. Last month, we went into detail about Clark’s Odyssey O-Works Jailbird putter and its close connection to Rickie Fowler, who uses the same flatstick. But Clark has an even more intriguing setup with his TaylorMade Stealth 2HL 3-wood.
The club comes with a stock loft of 16.5 degrees – the “HL” stands for “high launch” – which is 1.5 degrees more than the standard 3-wood loft. However, Clark bends his 3-wood to 15 degrees from the original 16.5.
In addition, the shaft is only 41.75 inches, which is considerably shorter than the 43-inch standard 3-wood length.
These specs are unusual and promote a distinct fade. A shorter shaft leads to more of a descending blow, and the higher loft with a bent face promotes extra spin. It’s also easier to create more solid contact with a shorter shaft.
For Clark, his ability to control his power has been critical to his ascendance. Last season, the former Oregon Duck finished No. 72 in the FedEx Cup standings and registered no top-five results in 30 starts. His driving distance numbers were impressive, but there were significant holes in the rest of his game.
Clark was No. 130 in strokes gained tee-to-green, No. 173 in strokes gained approach and No. 182 when approaching the hole from 250-275 yards.
Contrast that with this year and Clark has made a massive jump. He is No. 19 in strokes gained tee-to-green, No. 25 in strokes gained approach and No. 59 when approaching the hole from 275 yards or more – that is when his unique 3-wood is used most often.
It’s also worth mentioning that Clark is not just riding a hot putter during his rise to becoming an elite player who is likely to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team. While his recent putter switch was well-documented, his putting stats are almost identical compared to last season (No. 31 in strokes gained putting last season, No. 35 this season).
Clark has been a reliable putter throughout his PGA Tour career. In four of his five full seasons, he has been among the top 40 putters on the tour.
It’s impressive to see dramatic ball-striking improvement, especially with learning to dial in the longer attacking clubs. Clark was a PXG staffer until early 2022 when he switched to Titleist. He now has all Titleist clubs except for that TaylorMade 3-wood.
Sean Fairholm