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Winners' Bags for David Toms, Suzann Pettersen

Monday, May 23, 2011 Comments
Two talented players enduring victory droughts ended their respective winless streaks this past week as David Toms captured the Crowne Plaza Colonial (his first PGA Tour win since 2006) and Suzann Pettersen won the LPGA Sybase Match Play (for her first victory on that tour since 2008).

For Toms the critical shot came on the par-5 11th hole when he used a Cleveland CG16 60-degree wedge (a Gold Medal winner on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List) to jar an 82-yard approach shot for eagle that, at the moment, put Toms up by two shots. Pettersen also used a wedge, Nike's VR, to great effect, setting up her winning putt on the final hole at Hamilton Farm GC. When the putt dropped it marked the first tour win for Nike's new 20XI ball (also a Gold medalist on Golf Digest's 2011 Hot List). 

David Toms 
Crowne Plaza Colonial
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 
Driver: Cleveland Launcher DST (Aldila RIP 60), 10.5 degrees 
3-Wood: Cleveland Launcher DST, 15 degrees 
Hybrids: Cleveland Launcher (18, 20.5 degrees) 
Irons (4-PW): Cleveland CG7 Tour 
Wedges: Cleveland CG16 (54, 60 degrees) 
Putter: Never Compromise Dinero Tycoon

Suzann Pettersen 
Sybase Match Play
Ball: Nike 20XI X 
Driver: Nike VR STR8-Fit, 9.5 degrees 
3-Wood: Nike SQ Dymo, 13 degrees 
Hybrid: Nike VR, 18 degrees 
Irons (4-PW): Nike VR Pro Combo 
Wedges: Nike VR Blade (48 degrees); Nike VR (53, 59 degrees) 
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider

--E. Michael Johnson
Follow on Twitter @EMichaelGW
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Glover, Lehman win with "old" drivers

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Comments
Modern technology is wonderful and there is no doubt today's golf equipment is better than that of five years ago. Every once in a while, however, familiarity and confidence outweigh technological advances -- at least when you have the kind of game possessed by Lucas Glover and Tom Lehman.

Glover won the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour using a Nike SasQuatch Sumo2 driver (the same driver he used to win the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in 2009), a club that debuted in 2006 and currently sells in golf shops for under $150. Lehman also won with old technology, wielding a TaylorMade r7 SuperQuad, a driver that won Gold on the Golf Digest Hot List in 2007 (as did the Nike SasQuatch Sumo2). 

Of course, neither of these clubs was the most interesting equipment aspect of this week's winners. That honor goes to Lehman and his iron set which was comprised of five different models of irons -- six if you count his Vokey wedges.


Lucas Glover 
Wells Fargo Championship

Ball: Nike One Tour D 
Driver: Nike SasQuatch Sumo2 Tour (Matrix Ozik XCON F7M2) 9.5-degree 
3-Wood: Nike SasQuatch2, 13 degrees 
5-wood: Nike SasQuatch2, 19 degrees 
Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro Combo 
Wedges: Nike VR (54 degrees); Nike VR Pro (60 degrees) 
Putter: Nike Method 003

Tom Lehman 
Regions Tradition

Ball: Titleist Pro V1 
Driver: TaylorMade r7 SuperQuad, 9.5 degrees 
3-Wood: TaylorMade V Steel, 13 degrees 
Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP, 19 degrees 
Irons (3): Cobra Forged; (4): TaylorMade rac; (5-8): TaylorMade Tour Burner; (9): TaylorMade MC Forged; (PW): TaylorMade R9
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled C-C (54, 60 degrees) 
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport

--E. Michael Johnson
Follow on Twitter @EMichaelGW

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Winning clubs for Watson, Hjorth

Monday, May 2, 2011 Comments
Bubba Watson had a lot going for him at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (clutch putting and leading the field in greens in regulation are a good start) and a lot going on with his equipment (a last-minute change to his putter grip as well as the addition of a Ping Tour-S TS 64-degree wedge), but with the bomber from Bagdad, Fla., it always comes back to the driver. Watson used his 7.5-degree Ping G15 (with a Grafalloy BiMatrx prototype shaft) to great effect at TPC Louisiana. Not only did Watson lead the field in driving distance at an eye-catching 331.4 yards, but was accurate, too, ranking T-13 in fairways hit. 

Ping came up a winner on the LPGA, too, as Maria Hjorth won the Avnet LPGA Classic. Hjorth used a Ping Pickemup putter longer in length than her Ping K15 driver (a club many consider to be a game-improvement type driver) while also opting for a pair of hybrids, thereby starting her iron set at the 5-iron--something many amateurs would be wise to consider.

Here's what was in the bags for Watson and Hjorth. 

Bubba Watson 
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x 
Driver: Ping G15 (Grafalloy BiMatrx prototype), 7.5 degrees 
5-Wood: Ping G15, 17 degrees 
Irons (3-PW): Ping S56 
Wedges: Ping Tour-W (52, 56 degrees); Ping Tour-S Rustique TS (64 degrees) 
Putter: Ping Redwood Anser

Maria Hjorth 
Avnet LPGA Classic
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x 
Driver: Ping K15, 9.5 degrees 
3-Wood: Ping K15, 16 degrees 
Hybrids: TaylorMade Rescue 11 (18 degrees); Ping G10 (24 degrees)
Irons (5-PW): Ping S56 
Wedges: Ping Tour-S Rustique (52, 56 degrees); Ping Tour-S TS (60 degrees) 
Putter: Ping Scottsdale Pickemup Long

-- E. Michael Johnson
Follow on Twitter @EMichaelGW
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Winner's Bags -- Baddeley, Tseng, Langer

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Comments
Although Aaron Baddeley is normally known for his stellar putting, it was Badds' accurate iron play that helped propel him to victory at the Northern Trust Open. Baddeley, now a three-time PGA Tour winner, used Adams' new Idea Pro Black MB irons at Riviera. "I'm definitely striking the ball beautifully, hitting lots and lots of greens, which makes it easier and gives me lots of birdie opportunities," said Baddeley after the third round. For the week Baddeley hit 72.2 percent of the greens in regulation to rank third in that department for the week.

On the Champions Tour, Bernhard Langer used his trusty Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Long putter (on which he also draws a black line across the two white spheres for added alignment) to lead the field in putts per GIR. Langer also used Adams' Speedline F11 driver--a silver medal winner on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List. Yani Tseng rounded out the big week for Adams Golf in winning the LPGA Thailand event will 11 Adams clubs in her bag. 

Aaron Baddeley
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Adams Speedline Fast 10 (Mitsubishi Diamana i'lima), 10 degrees
3-wood: Adams F11, 15 degrees
5-wood: Adams Insight, 18.5 degrees
Irons (3-PW): Adams Idea Pro Black MB
Wedges: Adams Puglielli (56 degrees); Titleist Vokey (60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport

Yani Tseng
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Adams Speedline 9032LS, 9.5 degrees
3-wood: Adams Speedline, 14 degrees
Hybrids: Adams Idea a7, (19, 22 degrees)
Irons (4-PW): Adams Idea Tech a4
Wedges: Callaway X Tour (52, 58 degrees)
Putter: Taylor Made Rossa Daytona AGSI

Bernhard Langer
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Adams Speedline F11, 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Adams Insight, 12.5 degrees
Hybrid: Adams Idea, 18 degrees
Irons (3-5): Ben Hogan Apex; (6-PW): Adams Idea Pro Black
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled C-C (56, 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Long

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Murray's old clubs are no joke at Pebble

Monday, February 14, 2011 Comments
Congratulations clearly are in order for Bill Murray, who teamed with pro partner D.A. Points to win the pro-am portion of the AT&T Pebble Beach national Pro-Am. Murray helped the team some 20 shots but it could have been more. It's clear the man either doesn't believe in technology or is hoarding his cash because the only thing older than some of the clothes he wore during the four days of play was his equipment. In fact, the only new sticks he was swinging were Titleist's 910F 3-wood and Vokey wedges. But hey, at least Murray used a driver that earned a Gold designation on the Golf Digest Hot List. Problem is, that driver was on the 2007 Hot List.

So what did Wild Bill have in the bag at Pebble Beach? See below.

Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TaylorMade r7 SuperQuad, 11.5 degrees
3-wood: Titleist 910F, 15 degrees
Hybrid: Cleveland Halo, 22 degrees
Irons (3-PW): TaylorMade r7
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled (54, 58 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Monte Carlo

-- E. Michael Johnson
(Follow me on Twitter: @EMichaelGW)
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Wilson wins with familiar sticks

Monday, February 7, 2011 Comments
There's not a lot of 2011 equipment in Mark Wilson's bag. Heck, even his golf ball is the 2009 version of the Titleist Pro V1x. But familiarity with his clubs has paid off for Wilson, who has now won three PGA Tour events in 25 months using the same Ping i10 irons during each victory. Wilson led the field in greens in regulation in winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale by hitting 61 (out of 72) greens overall and never fewer than 15 in any round. The i10 irons were a silver medalist in the 2008 Golf Digest Hot List, where we wrote that the irons, "provide the same kind of comfort as your dog bringing you your slippers." Wilson no doubt would agree.

Mark Wilson's lineup
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Ping i15 (Grafalloy Tour X), 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Cleveland HiBore XLS, 13 degrees
Hybrids: Ping i15 (17, 20 degrees)
Irons (4-PW): Ping i10
Wedges: Ping Tour-W (52, 58 degrees) 
Putter: Ping Karsten Anser

--E. Michael Johnson
(Follow me on Twitter @EMichaelGW)
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Winner's Bag: Bubba Watson

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Comments
Bubba Watson put on his usual power display at the Farmers Insurance Open, averaging 316.6 yards per drive using his 7.5-degree Ping G15 driver. What most people don't know, however, is that Watson uses one of the shortest driver shafts on the PGA Tour, a 44.5-inch Grafalloy BiMatrx prototype.

bubba_300.jpgFor a player with the prodigious length of Watson, that may seem like an odd choice, but Watson has long felt that shorter shaft, not a longer one, is the key to distance. Watson once had Ping build him a 48-inch, 5.5-degree driver "That didn't work at all," Watson told Golf Digest. "It threw my timing off, and I didn't hit the ball much farther even when I nailed it. ... Most players should, if anything, try a shaft half an inch shorter than what's in their driver. Tiger Woods at his longest used a relatively short 43 1/2-inch driver, with a steel shaft to boot. You'll find it easier to hit the sweet spot with a shorter shaft, and you can go after tee shots without losing much control."



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Winners' Bags: Jhonattan Vegas, John Cook

Monday, January 24, 2011 Comments
When Nike first introduced golf equipment, it was forged blade irons, a choice many felt curious. However, Nike's chief designer, Tom Stites, had experience designing such clubs for the Ben Hogan Co., making the decision seem logical. At the Bob Hope Classic, Jhonattan Vegas used Stites' latest such iron creation, the Nike VR Pro Blade.

vegas_470.jpgVegas used Nike VR Pro Blades en route to hitting 69 of 90 greens in regulation at the Hope. Photo by Getty Images

For the 90 holes at the Hope, Vegas hit 69 greens in regulation. But it was a non-GIR approach, his 156-yard, 9-iron to 13 feet that set up the winning putt (after a drive in the water) on the second playoff hole that proved to be the most important shot of the week. Vegas' bag also housed several products that made Golf Digest's 2011 Hot List. For a look at those clubs and what else was in Vegas' bag (including a driver shaft few are familiar with), see below.

On the Champions Tour, John Cook won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Classic, shooting a staggering 22 under par for just three rounds. Such numbers obviously mean Cook was rolling the rock, as he averaged just 26 putts per round (ranked second in the field) and 1.558 putts per GIR (also second in the field), using a Nike Method putter, a Gold Medal winner on the 2010 Hot List. 

Jhonattan Vegas' lineup:
Ball: Nike One Tour D
Driver: Nike VR Pro STR8-FIT (UST Mamiya Nventix Nunchuk) 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Nike VR Pro, 15 degrees
Hybrid club: Nike VR Pro, 19 degrees
Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro Blades
Wedges: Nike VR (53, 59 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport

John Cook's lineup:

Ball: Nike One Tour 
Driver: Nike VR STR8-Fit Tour, 8.5 degrees 
3-Wood: TaylorMade Burner, 13 degrees 
Hybrid: Nike VR, 18 degrees 
Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro 
Wedges: Nike VR (53, 59 degrees) 
Putter: Nike Method

-- E. Michael Johnson
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