By E. Michael Johnson

Over the last decade or so professional golf has become a power game with an equipment focus on balls that fly like flubber and drivers the size of saucepans. Less noticed, however, has been the role of the fairway wood. Quietly, the club has gone from one used to reach the green on par 5s to, in many instances, a second driver.

Photo: J.D. Cuban

There are few tournaments where that holds as true as at the Players, where many in the field hit driver only a handful of times. One of those players was eventual winner Tiger Woods, who hit the big stick sparingly and let his 3-wood and, at times, his 5-wood carry the load.

"I'm hitting 3-wood over 300 yards," said Woods. "This 5-wood I was hitting most of the week was going 280, and I was carrying it easily 260. Those are big numbers."

Ya think?

The bigger question, is how are these distances possible? The short answer: Driver technologies such as springy faces, higher moments of inertia (which produce better results on mis-hits) and longer shafts have trickled down to fairway woods, making them easier to gain distance with off the tee. Some outside-the-box thinking has helped too. Adams and TaylorMade have employed slots to boost ball speed, Nike's VRS_Covert fairway woods (used by Woods) have an open cavity on the sole and Callaway's X Hot 3Deep has (as the name implies) a noticeably deep face -- all with the thought of providing additional yards.

"It has been relatively easy to get to the USGA and R&A limit on springlike effect for many years," said Dr. Alan Hocknell, senior VP of R&D for Callaway. "It's taken a little longer to get there in fairway woods because you're working with a smaller size and, in most instances, stainless steel instead of titanium." That smaller head meant a reduced trampoline effect and stainless steel is not as durable as titanium, meaning it was more difficult to make the face thin without risking caving in.

A combination of improved manufacturing processes and more durable steels allowed designers to begin thinning the face (as well as other areas of the clubhead) and moving the center of gravity forward -- both favorable to increased distance. With that, interestingly, has come a shift toward higher lofts on the 3-wood within the PGA Tour ranks.

At the 2010 Players, slightly more than half of the 3-woods (52.4 percent)had less than 15 degrees loft, with 56 of the 145 players in the field (38.6 percent) using a 3-wood with 13.5 degrees of loft or less. Just three years later those numbers have shrunk to 47.6 and 22.8 percent, respectively. One of the reasons is that the more forward center of gravity combined with today's low-spinning golf balls make it more difficult to achieve the proper launch angle. Just as with a driver, a 3-wood off the tee requires a high launch with low spin to produce optimal results. The forward CG helped the low-spin part. More loft assisted the necessary high launch.

Such improvements in fairway woods have helped limit the use of drivers at TPC Sawgrass. The last 10 winners of the Players have combined to hit just 72 tee shots of 300 yards or more (an average of 7.2 per year). Over the last five years the winners have averaged just 6.6 such tee shots. But that doesn't mean there's a power outage off the tee.

"There's really no room to hit driver except for a few par 5s," said Woods. "I hit 5-wood off the tee [on No. 5] because I was afraid of hitting 3-wood up over the hill and through the rough and into the bunker. Even that 5-wood I think was 310."

For the record, ShotLink had it at 289 yards. But that doesn't diminish the fact players were getting more than enough off the tee with their fairway woods. "You've got to play the golf course for what it gives you," said Woods. "Certain years it's soft and it's wet, and I hit a lot of drivers. This is one of the weeks where I didn't."

As it turned out, he didn't need to.

TOUR STORIES

KEEGAN BRADLEY // A pair of 4s

Phil Mickelson has used two drivers, and there have been some instances of tour players heading into action with a pair of putters. At the Players, however, Keegan Bradley took on TPC Sawgrass with two 4-irons.

That's because one of the 4-irons actually behaves more like a 3-iron for the 2011 PGA champion. Bradley's iron set is Cleveland Golf's CG7 Tour model, a modest cavity-back favored by better players. The second 4-iron, however, is the company's 588 MT. Although the MT is a full iron set, many on Cleveland's PGA Tour staff have employed the beefy longer irons as hybrids or utility irons. At the Players, Bradley also worked with 2- and 3-iron 588 MTs with the possibility of adding one or both to his bag at Merion for the U.S. Open.

NEW STUFF

Nike VR_S
PRICE: $200 (Models: 3- and 5-wood, adjustable)

Tiger Woods used these fairway woods at the Players. A dual-axis hosel allows for independent loft (five to choose from) and face-angle adjustments.

nikegolf.com

BAG ROOM

Now healthy and saying, "I'm able to generate the speed like I used to, and I'm able to handle that shaft again," Tiger Woods changed driver shafts at the Players, returning to the Mitsubishi Diamana White Board he used for most of 2007 through 2009. ... Another player switching to a Mitsubishi shaft was Louis Oosthuizen, who after testing the 'ahina model in his Ping Anser driver said he felt he was gaining up to 10 yards. Oosthuizen then backed up his claim, leading the field in driving distance at 300.6 yards -- the only player to crack the 300-yard mark for the week. ... If it looked as though David Lingmerth was using a shorter-than-normal putter, it's because he was. Lingmerth's Ping i-Series Craz-E is just 33⿡ inches long. ... At the other end of the putter-length spectrum was Roberto Castro. The first-round leader put a new club in the bag at TPC Sawgrass -- a TaylorMade Daddy Long Legs putter. The counterbalanced mallet was 38 inches long with 3 degrees of loft. ... Jeff Maggert is known as one of the most particular players on tour when it comes to equipment. How precise is Maggert? He has the swingweight on his irons down to the decimal point. The swingweight on his Ping S56 irons are D2.2. ... Wilson was showing its prototype adjustable woods to players this week, and Padraig Harrington liked the hybrid enough to put the club (21 degrees of loft) in the bag. No word when (or if) the clubs will be brought to market.

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By E. Michael Johnson

The greens at Quail Hollow left a lot to be desired. Photo: Stephen Szurlej

Whether the greens are shaky or not or you're a wizard on the greens or a yip waiting to happen, you're in a hole before every single putt you hit. Literally. That's because each time your ball comes to rest on the green it settles in a depression of some kind. And you have to get it out before you can start the ball on a true roll.

That's where skid comes in. Ask most recreational players if a putt begins rolling forward from the moment it is struck, and you're likely to get an affirmative answer. But that's incorrect. Just as with other clubs, putters have loft -- between 2 and 4 degrees in most standard-length versions, a little less in most long putters. The loft helps lift the ball out of its hole and sets it on a path that includes backspin and skid before it settles into its roll.

Over the last decade some putt- ermakers have taken a different approach, raising the center of gravity to produce more immediate roll. One of those was California-based Aserta. The company said its putters had a high center of gravity because those with a low CG created backspin that made the ball skid and hop before it started rolling, resulting in off-line putts.

That, however, was a minority opinion. According to several members of Golf Digest's Hot List academic panel, a high CG promotes skidding and offsets all the advantages of gear effect. "You don't need a 'greater transfer of energy,' as some of the companies claim," said Martin Brouillete, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. "Everybody can get the ball to the hole."

Related: Hot List: Major-winning putters

In fact, some contend that skid isn't bad at all. It's when you get too much backspin that there's a problem. But a ball has to have some skid because you have to get it out of that hole. In other words, a putt that begins rolling from the start can sometimes change direction more than a putt with skid can.

Instead of trying to achieve a true roll from the start of a putt, ideally you'd realize true skid -- a parallel line where the ball has neither backspin, nor topspin. That would require striking the ball at around a 2.5- to 3-degree launch angle.

And therein may be the next step in clubfitting for everyday players -- putter fitting. Just as a launch monitor can help a player find the right driver loft, the same can be done for putters. Most top manufacturers have the ability to determine the path and launch angle of a putt in their studios, and as that technology is increasingly being made available, it has brought more comprehensive putter fitting to the masses.

Or you can simply adopt Fowler's mindset at Quail Hollow: "Compared to the greens I grew up on around home and played when I was a kid and through high school golf, these are pretty good."

That kind of attitude along with some technology will get you out of the hole a little easier.

NEW STUFF

Rife Island Series Aruba
PRICE: $175 (Lengths: 34, 35 inches; others custom order)

Rife's Aruba model features the company's patented RollGroove face technology designed to produce a more immediate forward roll.

rifeputters.com

Adams Idea Super 9031
PRICE: $200 (Lofts: 16, 18, 20 and 23 degrees; 18 and 20 degrees for lefties)

Although many hybrids now have clubheads so large they often are confused for fairway woods, Adams is bucking that trend with the introduction of its Idea Super 9031 hybrid -- a club with a head that is just 80cc. The white-headed 9031 has a Cut-Thru sole slot as well as a crown slot to promote fast ball speeds. Also aiding distance is a springy 455 Carpenter steel face. The club comes stock with a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 82-gram shaft.

adamsgolf.com

BAG ROOM

Phil Mickelson continued using his 8.5-degree Callaway X Hot Phrankenwood off the tee at the Wells Fargo Championship, but the club had a new shaft -- Mitsubishi's Diamana Kai'li 60xx. ... For his win in New Orleans, Billy Horschel will receive a gold-plated replica of his Ping Scottsdale TR Piper putter and one will go in the company's putter vault. However, due to the custom weld on the hosel, Ping made three additional copies: two gold-plated (in case Horschel wins again) and one to duplicate Horschel's gamer specs to serve as a backup. ... Padraig Harrington has been an advocate of banning anchored putters, making his decision to use a TaylorMade Ghost Spider S belly putter (and anchor it) at the Wells Fargo Championship somewhat curious. The results for the three-time major winner, however, show anchoring is not an easy stroke to perfect: Harrington used 66 putts over 36 holes in missing the cut.

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Stephen Hamblin is executive director of the American Junior Golf Association, whose pace-of-play program has cut the time of a threesome by 10 minutes in the past two years. He answers five questions from Mike Stachura.

Q: Why try to fix the slow-play problem?
We never wanted anyone to point their finger at us and say, "That's where the problem starts." Our system works, and now the USGA is looking at it for its amateur events.

Q: How do the mid-round timing checkpoints help fight slow play?
It's taken the dynamic of the rules official as the bad guy and made it black and white. Plus, you have to execute a penalty to have a legitimate system, and we do.

Q: What was your take on 14-year-old Tianlang Guan getting a slow-play penalty at the Masters?
He's played a few times with us, so he knows there's a shot clock. I gotta say, though, trying to pull a club for a regular junior golf event versus the 12th tee at the Masters is probably a different challenge.

Q: Since 2007 there have been 175 slow-play penalties in AJGA events, 175 more than on the regular PGA Tour. Is that good?
I've never really worried about a DQ penalty if a kid signed a wrong card, or a pace-of-play penalty, because I've always figured, 'Thank goodness it happened here, so it doesn't cost the kid an NCAA championship, or a U.S. Amateur or qualifying for tour school.' You can learn those lessons here where you're under the radar, improve and move on.

Q: Is it easier to penalize kids in junior events than pros on the PGA Tour?
These kids are playing for college scholarships. You figure out what it is to go to Duke or Stanford. It's not like they're out here playing for funsies. A shot penalty has cost people winning tournaments.

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By Ashley Mayo

It ain't heavy: Ping's new carry bag weighs just 2.5 pounds.

Some walkers think standard-size carry bags are too large. All these golfers need are a few pockets and enough room for a set of clubs. Ping's Moonlite ($90), a 2.5-pound bag, builds on its previous model, the Moon-Lite II. Improvements include double straps and a water-resistant belly, which is essential because the bag doesn't have a stand system, and golfers lay it on the ground between shots.

The Moonlite can accommodate 14 clubs and has a water-bottle slot, a pocket for balls, and an apparel pocket with a valuables pouch tucked inside. An adjustable standing strap locks perpendicular to the ground, making it easy for golfers to lift the bag without bending over. It comes in five colors.

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By Mike Stachura

Chilly dip: This was an all-too-familiar sight in February. Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

The memories of our long, cold, snowbound winter are not an exaggeration. A report from the National Golf Foundation shows rounds played in February were down 6 percent compared with last February and down 8 percent for the year. The culprit was clearly the weather. Winter storms Nemo and Q led to a decline in rounds played by as much as 92 percent in the Northeast and North Central regions. Rounds also were down in the Mid-Atlantic (80 percent) and South Atlantic (10 percent), and precipitation levels in both regions were up about 80 percent.

Several cities in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas received record rains and even some snow. The percent of rounds played fell by double digits in Atlanta, Greensboro, N.C., and Myrtle Beach. The bright spots? Colorado, Texas and Oregon saw double-digit increases in rounds played, including a 64-percent bump in Colorado and a 23-percent boost in Texas.

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Ken Morton Jr., 41, is vice president of retail and marketing for Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop in Sacramento, home to one of the country's largest golf expos (April 26-28). He answers five questions from E. Michael Johnson.

Q: How has your expo grown?
This is our 38th year. The first year we had two vendors. Now we have 190, and more than 22,000 attend each day. Every year we try to add a twist to bring people back. This year, we have Isaac Sanchez from Golf Channel's "Big Break," 2012 RE/MAX World Long Drive champion Ryan Winther, and Cindy Morgan, who played Lacey Underall in "Caddyshack." They'll sign autographs and answer questions.

Q: You also allow other courses to exhibit at your expo for free. Why?
We believe more rounds played is good for everyone in the game, whether at Haggin Oaks or elsewhere. All we ask of them is to donate some rounds to The First Tee. We will have 30 courses exhibiting.

Q: Do golfers have the same enthusiasm for equipment as they used to?
The golfer is the eternal optimist. Although product cycles are shorter and the benefits not as easy to detect, the belief remains that the new arrow will shoot straighter and go farther than the last one.

Q: Is explaining technology getting harder?
We actually do less explaining of the features and benefits of a product and more showing what the product can do. Launch monitors give us data, and that supersedes almost everything else.

Q: What's the last piece of equipment you added to your bag?
I put some of the new Cleveland 588 Rotex wedges in a couple of weeks ago. I had been playing wedges with the old grooves and thought it was time to get with the program.

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By E. Michael Johnson

Breaking up may be hard for some folks, but when it comes to irons PGA Tour pros have no qualms about splitting up matched sets. Heck, it's the thing to do.

Just four years ago at the 2009 Honda Classic, no more than a dozen players were using mixed sets. Lately, however, iron lineups on the tour are seeing more breakups than a busy divorce lawyer.

At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 68 players had at least one iron that was a different model from the rest of their set. Of that number, 25 had two or more clubs that varied from the rest.

The use of mixed sets has changed over the last decade, with many players gravitating toward them in the early-2000s before a slowdown later in the decade when hybrids became more prominent. Now the return of utility irons as a viable long-iron alternative has swung things back the other way.

Although splitting iron sets is again fashionable, it is not revolutionary. When Lynx introduced its game-improvement Black Cat irons in 1995, Fred Couples put the 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-irons in his bag while keeping his Lynx Parallax 6-iron through pitching wedge. Johnny Miller also said that when Callaway came out with its Great Big Bertha tungsten-titanium irons, he replaced his Callaway X-10 long irons with the easier-to-hit clubs.

According to Rodney McDonald, director of tour operation for Cleveland/Srixon, the process is just part of the evolution of set makeup.

"From a player standpoint it is just a continuation in the process of fine- tuning their equipment and worrying more about what 14 clubs are best for their game rather than about whether their clubs all 'match' cosmetically," said McDonald. "From the manufacturer's standpoint, as players go in this direction, it is our responsibility to provide them with options. We can't expect to bind them contractually to 11 or more clubs and not have these choices."

Related: The best without a major

Of course, astute players have always paid attention to their set composition. It started with wedges and then moved to the long end of the set with fairway woods and then hybrid clubs. Players will hit whatever they have to hit to carry the ball a certain distance and stop it.

Charlie Beljan is an example. Earlier this year he noticed that he almost never hit his 3-wood because it didn't fit into any distance slot he normally faced. Not liking hybrids, Beljan emptied his bag of all fairway woods and added three Cleveland 588 MT irons (2- through 4-iron) to go with his Cleveland 588 CB irons (5-iron through PW). "I've always loved to hit irons," said Beljan. "When I won the U.S. Junior, I used a 1-iron and didn't have a 3-wood then either. Now I have a good transition through my iron set."

One of Beljan's Cleveland stablemates, Jason Kokrak, employs three types of irons, using a 588 MT 3-iron, 588 CB 4- and 5-irons and the 588 MB model for his 6-iron through pitching wedge. Other players utilizing three types of irons include Titleist's Graham DeLaet and Martin Flores, Callaway's Luke List and, on occasion, Nike's Carl Pettersson.

Although many players who break up their iron set stay within a given company's clubs, some do not. Brian Gay, who for years used three or even four different types of Mizuno irons to make up his set, currently uses TaylorMade's RocketBladez 4- and 5-irons and Mizuno's MP-60 for the rest of his irons. That allows Gay to get the height and distance he needs with the long irons and control with the shorter clubs.

Related: Hot List 2013: Golf Balls

Consumers pay attention to anything that's going on at the professional level with equipment, and split sets are no exception. In fact, the idea has been tried before with mixed results. Langert Golf's Transition irons and Cleveland Golf's "One-at-a-Time" system in the early 1990s are examples of an idea that may have been before its time as both failed to catch on. Companies now, however, are much more willing to accept special orders for sets that comprise two or even three different models at minimal cost or even no charge.

Then there's the fact that some "split sets" are not truly "split sets." Nike's Pro Combo model, for example, is really three different sets of irons in one. As a result, players benefit from the extra attention designers have paid to each end of the iron spectrum -- particularly in the better-player designs. Sets that used to start and end with the same basic design are now more likely to morph from club to club. Long irons now boast wider soles with cavity-backs that provide greater perimeter weighting while, in some instances, short irons are more blade-like, with narrower soles and centers of gravity higher up to help keep ball flight down -- something most better players desire in their scoring clubs.

Still, some prefer a different look, including Champions Tour star Bernhard Langer, who uses a set comprised of Ben Hogan Apex long irons (3- through 5-irons) and Adams Idea Pro Black MB (6-iron through pitching wedge).

"I've tried going with one or the other, but this combination just seems to work for me," said Langer.

Since Langer has won the money title four of the last five years, there just might be something to mixed sets.

NEW STUFF

PRICE: $305 (Adjustable: $340)

Variable-depth grooves milled directly into the face (deeper in the center and shallower toward the heel and toe) are designed to make mis-hits go the same distance as center strikes.

ping.com

BAG ROOM

Jason Dufner played a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Futura X prototype mallet at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The club is the same model as the one Adam Scott used to win the Masters, but unlike Scott, Dufner's was a conventional-length 34 inches. ... One player who had been anchoring but did not at TPC Louisiana was Retief Goosen, who switched from a TaylorMade Spider midsize to the company's new counterbalanced Daddy Long Legs model. The move worked: Goosen ranked fifth in strokes gained/putting in his first tournament with the club.

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By E. Michael Johnson

It took awhile for consumers to latch on to hybrids, but once they did, the movement was swift and substantial. During the past five years, hybrid sales have often accounted for 30 percent or more of the metalwood market. However, Golf Datatech's February sales report (the latest available) reveals that hybrid sales comprised just 24 percent of the metalwood market.

Is the trend reversing?Probably not. Craig Zimmerman, general manager of RedTail Golf Center in Beaverton, Ore., says that more clubmakers are integrating hybrids into "combo" iron sets.

Some of these sets have two or three hybrids included," he says. "So although fewer individual hybrids are being sold, the total number is likely the same. These are still extremely helpful clubs for a large number of golfers."

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[Illustration by Eddie Guy]

L.D. Waters and his family have run Bonaventure Discount Golf, just off the Bobby Jones Expressway in Augusta, Ga., since 1955. He answers five questions from Mike Stachura.

Q: What's your store like during Masters Week?
I don't even have to put an ad in the paper that week. They're coming anyway. You cannot move in my store if it rains. They're elbow to elbow in here because they've got nothing else to do. They can't shop, because they can't see what you got.

Q: Any players stop in?
There's a few that I've known for a long time that'll come by the store to sit and talk a little. Angel Cabrera has come here every year since his first Masters. He'll bring 20 people with him, and they'll end up buying $10,000-$15,000 worth of stuff.

Q: What do players buy?
Shoes are the main thing. I carry about 200 different styles, and they see something they ain't ever seen before, and they'll buy something like that just because they never had seen it before.

Q: How much business do you do?
Well, it's basically like Christmas in April. We do as much in those seven days as we do in December, our biggest month. It's a wonderful thing, and we love it to death, but we're glad when it's over.

Q: What has been the key to making it in golf retail?
With all the manufacturers going to the sporting-goods stores, it's just going to get tougher. The reason I can operate, and the reason big stores won't bother me, is that my business is probably 80 percent trade-ins. They can't operate the way I do, and they don't want to. In a lot of cases we're going to make more on a trade-in than a new club.

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By E. Michael Johnson

Augusta National has long had a reputation as a course ruled by bombers who demolish the par 5s by going for them in two and making easy birdies and the occasional eagle. Ten years ago, however, Mike Weir won the Masters with a decidedly different philosophy -- one that called for a heavy reliance on his wedge game.

"Going for it in two is not always a bargain depending on the pin position," said Weir. "There are places where you can get a wedge closer than you can a long putt on those greens."

In 2003 Weir hit the par 5s in two just once (actually, zero times technically as the one instance he went for it in two the ball ended up on the fringe). Still, he played the holes in 10 under for the week. Among the key shots was one on No. 15 in the final round when he laid up short of the water and knocked a sand wedge to four feet, leading to a critical birdie.

Related: D.A. Points wins Shell Houston Open with help from his mother's putter

At the Masters wedge play takes on a new dimension and importance. Sure, the scoring clubs are always critical, but when the field hits just 60.1 percent of the greens in regulation (as it did last year -- 12th fewest of all the courses on tour), making sure you have clubs that work around and into the greens is critical.

Accordingly, players have been readying their wedges for Augusta National for weeks. But unlike past years, there has been less grinding work done on the clubs. "We've been seeing more players looking for new wedges that match their current gamers, but with fresh grooves," said Mike Taylor, Nike's master model maker for wedges. One reason is the Masters used to present significantly different conditions than other tour layouts. Now more courses have tight, firm turf so the need to modify grinds is less. But since the groove rule was adopted in 2010, players have been looking for fresh grooves more often.

Fresh grooves weren't always sought for the Masters. In fact, before the groove rule players would often get new wedges weeks in advance in order to dull the grooves a bit prior to Augusta. There were two reasons, both of them having to do with excess spin. First, grabby grooves not only would spin the ball back too much on the fast and firm putting surfaces, but extra spin from fresh grooves often meant the ball would balloon, the added spin sometimes eating up as much as five yards in lost distance. For players who make their living by being precise with yardages, that's a non-starter.

Related: More Hot List 365

Messing around with new grinds can be a risk. Altering a wedge's bounce may help it play better off the turf, but it can affect how it performs out of the sand too. There's also the inexact science of grinding a wedge. "There's no such thing as the perfect wedge," said Bob Vokey, Titleist's wedge master craftsman. "It doesn't exist. That's why I prefer to creep up on a grind instead of just taking a bunch off at first. It's like a haircut -- you can always take more off, but you can't put it back on."

As such, the attention has shifted from grinds to proper loft gaps, with a number of players asking for very specific lofts. A 52-degree wedge might be bent to 51 degrees or a 60-degree bent to 61 degrees. The pros know Augusta National well and know exactly the distances they need to hit these clubs.

Of course, sometimes players go beyond the normal limits. Like 153 yards. That was the distance of Bubba Watson's all-world shot from the right trees on Augusta National's 10th hole that led to his playoff win over Louis Oosthuizen last year. That shot was struck with a 52-degree gap wedge. Not exactly the same type of finesse Weir used with his wedges a decade ago, but the result was the same: a green jacket.

TOUR STORIES

D.A. POINTS // SMother knows best

The Ping Anser is one of golf's most enduring putter designs. Just ask D.A. Points. At the Shell Houston Open, Points returned to an Anser putter made in the 1980s that he said he originally took out of his mother's golf bag when he was 11 or 12. According to Ping, Points sent the putter to them seven or eight years ago to be refurbished, including the addition of tungsten weights in the heel and sole areas to make the club heavier and more balanced.

"It's just a really good-looking putter, and I brought it with me this week because I just had been putting so bad," said Points after an opening-round 64. "I thought maybe I'll pull this old putter out of the garage and maybe it will have some magic in it." The club had plenty of magic during Points' opening-round 64, when he had 23 putts. For the week Points ranked 10th in strokes gained/putting en route to his second PGA Tour victory. As for whether or not Mom will be asking for the club back, Points said, "She might now. I've had it for a long time. I think she's been praying so badly for me to make some putts, she's probably happy for me to have it."

NEW STUFF

PING Tour Gorge
PRICE: $130 (Lofts: seven, ranging from 47 to 60 degrees)

D.A. Points hit critical pitch shots on the 71st and 72nd holes with these wedges that feature deeper, sharper-edged grooves than previous Ping wedges.

ping.com

BAG ROOM

Lee Westwood changed to a Ping Scottsdale TR Anser B putter at the Shell Houston Open. The club comes with an adjustable-length shaft, which Westwood set at 38 inches. Westwood, however, does not anchor the longer-than-standard putter. The extra length merely provides a heavier weight that Westwood prefers. ... Friday in Houston Phil Mickelson ditched his driver and instead employed two 3-woods. Mickelson's second 3-wood was Callaway's new X Hot 3Deep model, which he used primarily off the tee. Mickelson continued with the dual 3-wood strategy for the weekend, finishing T-16 while ranking 40th and T-66 in driving distance and accuracy, respectively. Lefty also hinted that he had a "special club" he was considering for the Masters. ... At the Chiangmai Golf Classic in Thailand, Ernie Els took a break from his belly putter, using a conventional-length Odyssey Black Series i #1 model. The club featured a prototype version of Boccieri Golf's Secret Grip -- a grip that weighs approximately 155 grams (most putter grips are in the 50- to 60-gram range) to provide a counterbalancing effect to assist stability during the stroke. Els, however, said the putter would not be in the bag at the Masters, as he feels the greens are too fast for him to control the short putter. ... Although Ryo Ishikawa putts with a conventional-length putter, he practices with a belly-length model. Having become accustomed to the heavier rubber grip and wanting to maintain the same feel as with his practice putter, the Japanese star uses a Golf Pride B-140 flat front 21-inch mid-grip cut down to 13 inches on his Odyssey putter for competition.

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