Equipment
Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
So, with a couple of weeks off following his latest start at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Thomas sought to re-address his driver setup with the remote help of Titleist Tour fitting expert J.J. Van Wezenbeeck. About two weeks ago, Thomas and Van Wezenbeeck reviewed his recent driver stats, and discussed via phone call some possible driver and shaft combinations for him to try.
After receiving Van Wezenbeeck’s personalized shipment of product options while at home, Thomas found significant performance improvements with Titleist’s TSR2 head, equipped with Thomas’ familiar Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX shaft.
Compared to Thomas’ longtime TSR3 model, the TSR2 has a larger footprint and offers slightly higher spin and launch characteristics.
According to Van Wezenbeeck, Thomas has picked up about 2-3 mph of ball speed, to go along with 1.5 degrees higher launch and more predictable mishits.
“I’d say I’d been driving it fine, not driving it great, so I just wanted to, honestly, just test or try some stuff,” Thomas said on Tuesday in an interview with GolfWRX.com at Quail Hollow Club. “I had used that style of head a couple years ago (Thomas used a TSi2 driver around 2021); I know it’s supposed to have a little more spin. Obviously, yeah, I’d love to hit it further, but if I can get a little more spin and have my mishits be a little more consistent, I felt like obviously that’d be better for my driving…
“This (TSR2) has been great. I’ve really, really driven it well the week I’ve used it. Just hitting it more solid, I don’t know if it’s the look of it or what it is, but just a little bit more consistent with the spin numbers. Less knuckle-ball curves. It has been fast. Maybe just a little faster than what I was using. Maybe it could be something with the bigger head, maybe mentally it looks more forgiving.”
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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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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Bernice
Jun 15, 2024 at 9:14 pm
A Bigger head? Are not they both 460cc’s?
BobbyG
May 14, 2024 at 1:14 pm
He needs to switch to Ping.
Frank
May 9, 2024 at 7:33 am
The poor kid will never win again, ever since his “sensitivity”training hes never been the same it wont matter what driver he chooses.