Equipment
Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama make big gear changes in Napa
Andrew Tursky was on site at the Fortinet Championship this week and got all he could handle in terms of new equipment news. There were new irons, drivers, and even headcovers all over the range, so we had to dig into two of the biggest stories out there on this week’s Two Guys Talking Golf Podcast (give us a follow on Instagram: @tg2wrx).
Rickie Fowler’s new irons
Rickie Fowler has been changing a lot of equipment in his bag as he has struggled to get his golf game back into shape. We have seen him with different drivers, shafts, irons, and putters throughout the 2021-2022 season. Fowler has typically played some form of blade during his career, and Cobra even made him some signature Rev33 blades that were beautiful, but razor thin and intimidating for us mortal golfers.
Rickie showed up to the Fortinet with some brand new, unreleased, Cobra King Tour irons. The King Tour irons look a lot like the current Cobra King Tour MIM irons, and we can only assume that the new Tour will replace the MIM.
The interesting thing about the King Tour irons is that they look a little larger than his preferred blades and that they might have a little more ball speed and distance built into them. From the images you can tell there is a little slot behind the face that might be filled with some type of polymer.
Rickie didn’t get into the tech of the new King Tour irons but did tell Tursky that he was gaining around 3-4 yards on shots that he stuck low on the face. He finished the first round of the Fortinet Championship in the top four, so the new irons have seen some success under pressure. I know many of us hope to see Rickie back to form soon, and maybe these new King Tour irons can be the catalyst.
Hideki Matsuyama’s driver change
The other big story comes from a former Masters Champion testing out some new drivers on the range, Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama is well known as a golfer who loves to test and tinker with new golf equipment. Each week there is a good chance that he will have multiple drivers, irons, and fairways in the bag searching for the perfect club that week.
Earlier this week, Hideki was spotted with some new, unreleased, Srixon drivers out on the range in Napa. We spotted a few pros testing the new Srixon ZX7 MkII and ZX 5 MkII LS on the range.
Andrew spoke to the Srixon reps and learned Hideki has been trying the new drivers and seems to have settled on a Srixon ZX5 MkII in 10.5 degrees of loft (and his trusty Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX shaft).
The ZX5 MkII LS looks to have an adjustable weight on the sole that is moved far forward —closer to the face — to possibly lower the spin. We haven’t heard anything specific from Srixon on the new drivers, but with their recent success, we would expect to see some solid performance out of the line.
Check out the full TG2 podcast, below
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Whats in the Bag
Michael Johnson WITB 2024 (July)
- Michael Johnson WITB accurate as of The Ascendant presented by Blue. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 70 6.5
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 90 6.5 TX
Irons: PXG 0317 CB Raw (4-9)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: PXG Sugar Daddy II (48-10S, 50-12S, 56-12S, 60-07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (50-60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #5 DB
Grip: SuperStroke Pistol Lock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
See more in-hand photos of Michael Johnson’s clubs here.
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Equipment
New Callaway Opus, Opus Platinum wedges announced
We spotted Callaway’s new Opus wedges on the PGA Tour in May. The design, however, in its “S6” incarnation, has been present in pros bags for much longer, game by the likes of Jon Rahm, Yuka Saso, and Xander Schauffele.
Today, Callaway is officially announcing the retail launch of its Opus and Opus Platinum wedges and pulling back the curtain on the most tour-tested, tour-validated wedge in company history in the process.
2024 Callaway Opus wedges: What’s new, key technology
Spin Gen Face Technology
Callaway engineers combine three elements for what they’re calling “Spin Gen Face Technology.” More grooves are present on the face thanks to decreasing the distance between each groove. As with previous designs, engineers also leverage offset groove-in-groove design for more spin, particularly on open-face shots. Finally, the face has been aggressively blasted with quartz to create additional roughness. The sum total of all these elements? More spin, particularly from the rough and in wet conditions, as well as lower launch.
Tour feedback
As a result of extensive testing and input from tour professionals, Opus wedges feature a higher toe peak, refined leading edge radius, and smooth hosel transition for what the company calls its “best wedge shape ever.” Owing to professional input, Callaway offers Opus wedges with a full range of grinds.
2024 Callaway Opus wedges: Additional model details
Opus Platinum wedges
In addition to the standard Opus wedge, Callaway is also unveiling premium MiM (metal injection molded) Opus Platinum wedges. The wedges feature 17 grams of tungsten bonded high in the topline of the club for lower launch with more spin as well as a proprietary blend of metals in the body of the club for optimum feel and performance.
What Callaway says
On the name…Paul Winterhalter – Product Manager: There is an art to the game, and we really felt this quote summarized what this product really meant: where the art meets science. So, with that, introducing the new name for our franchise of wedges is Opus. In general, the name has an air of elegance to it. There’s a sense of beauty, and especially as you look at the product and we get these in your hands, you’ll see that there really is just a new look, just a beautiful sense to them. They’re quite elegant…for us, there was a ton of time and effort put into this product, and we really felt that the product was befitting of the name Opus.
On the different design mentality…Brian Herr – R&D Manager, Wedges: “We started with a different mentality this time. We didn’t design a wedge and then bring it out and see what they thought. We started from the ground up, we started with shaping. We had multiple different shapes that we brought out and showed, we got their feedback, we iterated, we got their feedback, we iterated again. So, we really let the Tour players design this product to a shape they wanted. And then after we got a shape that we loved, we started on the sole grind. So, there’s notes here all over of what Dean tested and what he built and how he went about making products for players and getting their feedback. But really, it was 18 months in the making of going and testing and then iterating and then going back out, getting as many players as feedback as we could and helping them to have them help us design it.”
On the available grinds…Paul Winterhalter: “Looking at the grind offerings, as wedges go, this is crucial for us. On the right-hand side, we have the S and W grinds where we do the lion’s share of sales. The S is our standard everyday grind with a standard sole, while the W has a wider, more forgiving full sole…We also wanted to create a product that’s a better fit for better players, so we introduced the T grind, which is new, and the C grind.
Brian Herr: The T grind is narrow and sits low to the ground, incredible for open-faced shots, particularly for players who pick the ball cleanly without taking a divot. On the other hand, the C grind is a departure from what we’ve done before, designed to keep the leading edge low when opening the face, suitable for versatile shot-making from various lies. The wider sole in the C grind provides better feedback through the turf compared to the T grind. Both grinds cater to skilled players who want to make any shot around the green.
On the Opus Platinum wedge design…Paul Winterhalter: The Opus Platinum looks super premium with MIM (Metal Injection Molding) lines in the back and elevated curb appeal. As a quick elevator pitch, we have the Spin Gen face technology as with Opus and Tour-validated shaping so those are kind of baked into the product. But what we’re doing to take it up another level is that trajectory control using tungsten. And then that unique MIM construction. We’ve talked about this already but through a large amount of tungsten being bonded into that topline to help the CG placement…and the next piece of that is the Metal Injection Molding – it’s not caste, it’s not forged, it’s kind of something new for us.
Brian Herr: MiM is a different way to manufacture, it’s more precise, and it also provides better feel. We’ve done extensive testing on MIM versus other manufacturing methods. MIM dampens better than other materials even the same material in different methods. MIM is a better dampener, so you’re going to notice a premium good, soft feel.
Pricing, specs, and availability
- Price: Opus ($179.99), Opus Plantium ($229.99)
- Pre-sale: 7/19
- At retail: 7/26
- Opus finishes: Brushed chrome, black shadow
- Opus Platinum finishes: Blue, chrome
- Stock shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold MID 115 grams (steel), UST Recoil DART HDC 65 grams (graphite)
- Stock grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet +2 Gray
Full Callaway Opus specs
Callaway Opus
Callaway Opus Platinum
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (7/15/24): TaylorMade MySpider X L-Neck putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade MySpider X L-Neck putter.
From the seller: (@Need4spd): “TaylorMade MySpider X L-Neck. Asking $315 • Plays 33.5” • Dead mint condition • SuperStroke Pistol Tour (used for four rounds) – It’s the black and white one, pic won’t upload for some reason. • New and unused MySpider headcover included.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade MySpider X L-Neck putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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No donkeys allowed
Sep 17, 2022 at 9:52 am
Where’s the big donkey Kuchar?