Srixon's new Z 785 driver unveiled to tour staff at the Travelers Championship

The Travelers Championship is known to provide players a welcome respite as it often comes on the heels of the more arduous U.S. Open. That was particularly true this year as many players made the trek from (relatively) nearby Shinnecock Hills Golf Club to the more friendly TPC River Highlands outside Hartford, providing one of the best fields in tournament history. The event also features one of the best practice facilities on tour, allowing us easy access to take a look into player’s bags. Here’s some of what we found.

Srixon had a new driver, the Z 785, it showed to its tour staff at the Travelers and many were interested to take a look, including Russell Knox and Graeme McDowell, both of whom tested it extensively but are waiting to put it into play. William McGirt, however, had no such reservations. As usual with clubs that are not yet on the market, the company wasn’t speaking about the technical details of the club, however it was readily apparent the new Z 785 driver boasted a carbon fiber section in the crown. Doing so would allow Srixon engineers the ability to save weight and move it to areas of the head that could foster forgiveness. There’s also a weight in the rear of the sole that can be replaced with a different weight. That didn’t stop McGirt from slapping a little lead tape on the toe of the sole to keep it from closing too fast during the swing.

Jason Day returned to his TaylorMade P750 irons after a stint with the company’s muscleback blade P730 model. Day first put the P750s in play at the 2017 Tournament of Champions. Day’s P750s are bent with on-set, something not often seen on tour. Day has this done because he likes to fully release the club through impact, but wants to avoid the left miss. The on-set allows him to release fully with just a hint of a draw.

The tour validation process of Titleist’s TS2 and TS3 drivers continued in Cromwell with more players making the conversion. One of them was long-hitting Jason Kokrak, who put the TS3 model in the bag. The TS3 does not have the weight screw of the TS2, but it does feature the company’s SureFit weight, allowing for more customization. Titleist is unveiling its TS2 and TS3 fairway woods to tour staff this week at the Quicken Loans Invitational.

After a stretch with TaylorMade’s Spider Tour, Beau Hossler returned to the company’s TP Ardmore 2 Red mallet that he used to great effect earlier in the season at Houston. Unlike the standard version which is all red save for a pair of sightlines in the rear cavity, Hossler’s Ardmore 2 has a white cavity with black sightlines and a white topline. The change agreed with Hossler, who putted well at TPC River Highlands, finishing with a 1.786 strokes gained/putting mark, ranked fourth for the week en route to finishing T-2 in the event.