Why pros routinely make this equipment change for the Masters

Question: I know pros sometimes make equipment changes for the majors, but the Masters is the only one contested at the same course. Is it the same equipment changes each year? And if so, which one is the most common?

Answer: Playing the same course every year makes the equipment changes at the Masters more predictable. Sure, you'll get an odd-ball addition — Phil Mickelson going with two drivers in 2006 and adding "Phrankenwood" in 2013 — but for the most part, you can hang your hat on pros making two adjustments for Augusta National.

They'll likely add a high-lofted fairway wood, if they don't have one already, to attack the gettable par 5s, and they replace their wedges with fresh grooves to have enough bite to keep it on the complex greens.

If there's a new trend to watch going forward, it's an uptick in mini driver usage this week. With the 3-wood going too for some pros in the field — first-world problems, we know — the mini has turned into a strong secondary option off the tee when it's necessary to hit a landing area around 290-300. The short shaft makes the club easier to control compared to the driver.

There's a reason why Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Akshay Bhatia, Tommy Fleetwood and Max Greyserman recently added a mini to the bag. It's a club that'll see a lot of action.

If we're talking about the most common change for Augusta, it has to be adding a fresh lob wedge. The tightly mown areas around the greens usually force players to opt for less bounce to ensure the leading edge gets under the ball at impact, so pros go with a low-bounce option if they don't already have one in the regular rotation. The last thing you want to do is catch the leading edge and blade one clear across the green.

The lobber sees more action in practice sessions than any other wedge in the bag, so the grooves have a tendency to wear out well before the gap wedge or sand wedge needs to be replaced. Again, you're trying to stop the ball on a shelf the size of a small card table in some cases. The last thing you want to do is execute a deft chip shot and watch it trickle past the hole — and off the green.

As for why pros don't replace their entire wedge setup, it has to do with something called "groove decay." In many cases, pros like Justin Thomas will break in a fresh gap wedge or sand wedge at home before throwing it in the bag to ensure it doesn't spin too much. They're looking for predictable spin, not something that stops and sucks back away from the pin.

“Those two wedges are already high spinners for a lot of pros,” said Vokey tour rep Aaron Dill. “The face is hitting on the ball more solidly, more often. Getting those to spin a little less is the goal. [Justin will] tell you when he gets a new pitching wedge and gap wedge, he doesn’t put them in the bag right away. He breaks in the grooves and doesn’t bring them out until the grooves on his current wedges are shot. He wears in the sweet spot because he trusts it and knows what it’s going to do.”