Rose Zhang: What's In My Bag

AGE 20

LIVES Irvine, Calif.

STORY Won 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 2022 and 2023 NCAA individual titles and her pro debut at the Mizuho Americas Open

CLOSE-KNIT TEAM Being part of two winning Curtis Cup teams as an amateur was incredible. It’s hard to describe how much it means to represent your country. I’ve been playing with a lot of the players on that team since I was very young, so we were very close.

DRIVER

SPECS Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond, 9°; Fujikura Ventus Red 5S shaft.

This driver is set to plus one, meaning it’s really 10 degrees. Still, the ball doesn’t balloon and get knocked down in the wind. I usually hit a draw, and it minimizes too much draw bias.

FAIRWAY WOODS/HYBRID

SPECS Callaway Rogue ST LS, 13.5°, 18°; Fujikura Ventus Red 6R shaft; Callaway Paradym, 21°, KBS Tour hybrid shaft.

I’ve had the Rogue ST fairway woods for two years. The R-flex shafts make getting the ball in the air easier, and a 4-hybrid is much easier to hit than a 4-iron, and it fills the yardage gap perfectly.

IRONS

SPECS Callaway Apex (5-iron through A-wedge); Nippon 850R shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet 60R grips.

I’ve been using Apex irons for six or seven years now. I enjoy these because they are so forgiving. Also, I’m not the longest player out here, so these give me a distance boost. I’ve tried other models, but these always win out.

WEDGES

SPECS Callaway Jaws Raw (54°, 58°); True Temper XP95 R300 shafts.

I carry only two wedges. I like using bounce, but I don’t necessarily need a Phil Mickelson-like lob wedge to hit shots way up in the air. I’m not too particular about grind as long as it’s versatile enough to hit the shots I need to. I also want to hit low shots, and these allow that.

PUTTER

SPECS Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K Double Wide; 34 inches, 3°, Odyssey Midsize Pistol grip.

I like a wider-blade-style putter. I played an Odyssey O-Works blade for about seven years. Eventually the insert gave out, and I couldn’t use it anymore. This has been a great replacement. I began using it my freshman year of college about a year and a half ago.

ONLY ONE FOR ME

The Callaway Chrome Soft X is high-spinning around the greens but low off the longer clubs. I use only one ball a round, provided I don’t lose it.

CHALK TALK

Some players use string to assess their putting line, but I prefer to use a chalk-line tool because it helps me to see how the ball is rolling.

JUMP-START

I carry a jump rope in my bag, and I always use it right before every round. I jump about 200 times before I start my warm-up. It really helps to get the blood moving.