Max Homa has time to kill as another pop-up shower makes its presence known at Floridian National Golf Club. A whirlwind content shoot has been put on hold, allowing him the opportunity to ponder a question he’ll certainly get from peers and fans alike at PGA Tour’s season-opening The Sentry: Why Cobra Golf?

For more than a decade, Homa’s staff bag was filled with Titleist clubs that helped him go from relative unknown on the Korn Ferry Tour to one of the most marketable names on the PGA Tour. Five tour titles in a two-year stretch reinforced the belief that Homa was more than a social media darling.

Expectations were at an all-time high entering the 2024 season, but results didn’t match the forecast.

Homa failed to win for the first time in three years and missed out on the Tour Championship. In the aftermath, he started to take inventory of the game and noticed a worrying strokes gained/off-the-tee trend. After finishing no worse than 41st in the statistical category the previous two seasons, he struggled to keep it in play and plummeted to 164th.

A “weird year” led Homa to contemplate something he’d never seriously considered: switching club brands.

“I drove it poorly for the first time, so I just thought it wasn’t necessarily the golf club that makes the ball go straight,” Homa told Golf Digest. “My caddie [Joe Greiner] said it proves the golf club doesn’t make the ball go straighter every time. You make it go straight. Go find something that can do that. Go through the business process and see what’s what. I think that gave me the confidence to go shop around. So when the time came for the opportunity to look around, I did. It’s been a weird year. Making golf fun can be tricky, and sometimes change is fun.”

With myriad suitors rolling out the red carpet to land one of the biggest draws on tour, Homa opted to take it slow, go through the courting process for the first time in his career and embrace being the cynosure.

“I like to consider myself low maintenance,” he said. “I don’t enjoy being the centre of attention. Being truthful, I wanted to experience what that feels like [to be the centre of attention]. Feeling wanted is a nice thing. Even in my own family, I’m fourth in line behind the dog. So it feels good to feel that.”

Years prior, Homa admitted to daydreaming about being on staff with Cobra Golf, but he never considered pursuing the musing to see if it had merit. But as Homa started to seriously assess the equipment landscape, Cobra quickly stood out as a brand that checked plenty of boxes. Their gear more than held its own during head-to-head testing. A smaller, more intimate tour staff that already featured good friends Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland was also a plus. So, too, was the opportunity to work with Ben Schomin, Cobra’s Tour Operations Manager, in an official capacity.

During Cobra’s initial pitch to Homa, the 34-year-old found himself interviewing Schomin to get a feel for how he fit pros in the past. The equipment was good, but Homa wanted to make sure the guy working on his gear had the chops.

“I was interviewing Schomin more than anybody in the room, just to make sure he could fit [clubs],” Homa said. “A lot people make really good stuff— I haven’t hit every club in the world—and everyone’s technology seems to be getting closer together. It makes the fitting process very important, and I learned that the last few years. I’m not really a gearhead. That’s why it’s so important that I trust Ben, because I’m going to put a lot of faith in his work. The two or three times we’ve worked together, I was keen to know how he goes about his business. I have talked to [Rickie] a lot about Ben and know he gets along with him and trusts him. I do think that’s a massive part of all of this.”

It didn’t take Schomin long to prove his bona fides after Homa and Cobra came together on a multi-year club agreement. As the duo kicked around ideas for new equipment that would best suit his skill set, the conversation eventually led to the irons, long considered the best part of Homa’s game. Initial testing with Cobra’s King MBs made Homa believe a change could be in the cards, but a few issues persisted. The toe profile, topline width and offset were a noticeable detraction from the Titleist blade profile he’d grown accustomed to seeing for nearly two decades.

Could Schomin and team replicate the old look in a Cobra iron?

Until a few years ago, such a request would have required a herculean effort. According to Schomin, a one-off forged product requires five tools to be made, pushing the turnaround time to anywhere from six to 18 months for an initial prototype. Homa’s timeframe was somewhat shorter at four weeks. It could be debated that no one has embraced 3D printing more than Cobra. When Bryson DeChambeau was on staff, Cobra’s R&D team created countless prototypes using 3D printing technology. Fowler and Woodland have benefitted from the rapid design process as well, along with recreational golfers following the release of Cobra’s Limit3d iron. In other words, the idea-to-creation timeframe wasn’t an impossible ask.

Instead of scoffing at the inquiry, Schomin and Ryan Roach, Cobra’s Director of Innovation, worked behind the scenes to bring Homa’s request to life. Two sets of blades were made from different metals (316 Stainless Steel and 17-4 Stainless Steel) to give Homa options in the feel department. Even better? The sets came to fruition in less than four weeks — just in time for Homa to test them prior to the President’s Cup. (Homa chose the softer 316 Stainless Steel heads during testing.)

“I wish I could’ve captured his reaction on video when we handed them to him,” Schomin said. “He was freaking out about the look, and he hadn’t even hit them yet. He was so stoked. Not only did we make him a bespoke set, we made two. One of the interesting things about the 3D stuff is the response on feel. Players can’t quite put it into words. It feels at least as good as forged, but there’s no other category. There’s nothing above that. Spin numbers were great, flight. This can be a complicated process, depending on how the player wants to make it. I want the player to experience and see what we have, but when you take the step, and he hits them and likes them, it’s a huge weight off your shoulders. We nailed it. To establish a baseline was a huge step.”

An early “win” on the gear front allowed Homa to see Cobra’s 3D technologies at work, opening the doors for future projects that Schomin believes could produce immediate dividends for their newest signee.

“I think those irons showed him we were not only serious about working for him, but doing it in a unique way,” Schomin said. “Max has a great brand. He’s very unique in that he has a great personality, he’s funny, good socially. He checks all the boxes. Anyone would have been lucky to have him. When you have someone who’s that good across the board, you need to give them a reason to pick you. I think our design capabilities give us an edge.”

Nailing the mid and short irons paved the way to explore different options in 4- and 5-iron, where Homa generally transitions from traditional blades into more forgiving offerings that don’t penalize mishits nearly as much. While the exact combination remains a game-time decision for Kapalua — it will likely include King CB and Limit3d — Homa noted the Limit3d long irons offered several jaw-dropping moments during recent testing with Schomin.

“[The Limit3d] 4-iron feels like a rocket ship when you hit it,” Homa said. “Every time I hit it I tell Ben it feels like it’s going too far. But then he shows me the numbers and I can see it isn’t going too far; it’s nailing the numbers. I think that’s one that’ll make its way into my bag. It just feels so good—like more of a driving iron than one you’d hit into a green. That area of the bag has been pleasantly surprising since we started working together.”

As for the club that eventually led Homa to begin the equipment brand search in the first place, the driver has many layers.

First and foremost, it needs to sound a certain way. Homa describes the sound of Cobra’s DS-Adapt LS as a “dull hollow with some meat behind it” — a sensation that meets his audible requirements. It also needs to perform when called upon, something that occurred with regularity during head-to- head testing between Titleist and Cobra. The Cobra wound up producing comparable numbers with a tighter dispersion and improved spin rates on mis-hits, leading Homa to believe it was ready for a tournament setting.

“You assume what you’re using is the best thing, and that almost means you think the [performance] gap is bigger,” he said. “At least that’s how I saw it. Once I started hitting the Titleist and Cobra in a head-to-head, I saw the speed wasn’t down and the spin seemed similar. We still have to tweak a few things, but the speed and audio doesn’t seem far enough off to think this can’t be as good, if not better. I love the feel, but it feels like it can be the total package.”

If there’s one aspect of the driver Homa’s still getting acclimated to, it’s Cobra’s new Future Fit 33 hosel technology. With 33 distinct loft and lie angle settings (that’s not a typo), Homa has the ability to dial in his driver to the nth degree — without switching heads. During the content shoot, Homa was alternating between 10.5-degree DS-Adapt LS heads set in the A1 (standard) and A3 (one-degree flat and one-degree lower loft) but felt the “A3” was giving him the best results.

“It does seem like we’re moving in this new direction where you can make a driver as custom to yourself as you want,” said Homa. “For the everyday golfer who doesn’t have the luxury I do — I have people to make a club for me — they can grab a driver, and once you understand all the clicks and settings, make it how they want it. That’s a massive thing. The more options the better, for sure.”

While the gear has performed well at home, Homa won’t know how it works in a game setting until he steps foot on the tee at Kapalua. It’s natural to feel some trepidation when breaking in a new set of clubs for the first time, but Homa is fully prepared to embrace the experience of putting each club through the ringer in a punishing environment that requires him to go through his entire arsenal of flights and shot shapes.

“Getting to go to Kapalua will be the best way to hyper speed [the acclimation process],” he said. “If I were to do this for the first time in Palm Springs where it doesn’t blow and everything is flat, it’s easier to play practice round golf. Getting to go to [Kapalua] will teach me quickly to trust it, because you’re hitting downhill shots off crazy lies with a lot of wind. Especially with the driver. I’ll have such a massive amount of internal data on how it performs in a bunch of different situations.”

One thing that will help ease the anxiety of a full-on club transition is the golf ball. Unlike other brands with a ball in the equipment lineup, Cobra only offers hardgoods, which allows Homa to keep playing the same Titleist Pro V1x and maintain a relationship with the manufacturer. Compared other gear opportunities that would have required him to make wholesale changes across the board, Cobra offered a best-of-all-worlds scenario. Plus, Homa wasn’t interested in going through rigorous ball testing again after switching from the Pro V1 to Pro V1x last season.

“Even the noise off a putter is drastically different [during testing],” he said. “To have to do that all over again with a different company, it just sounded like a headache. We did a little bit of it, but I didn’t love the process. I love the Titleist ball. Getting to maintain that constant when we were changing a bunch of other stuff was good. Rickie’s doing something similar, so it wasn’t like I was breaking the mold here. I get to mix a couple things I really like.”

As the rain begins to subside, Homa prepares to head back to the range. But there’s still one more question that needs to be answered: Has he considered the reaction to his signing on social media? With more than 1.4 million followers combined across Instagram and X, Homa has a loyal following tracking his every move. As much as he’d like to believe the commentariat will embrace his decision for a fresh start on the equipment side, Homa isn’t naive. He knows the Monday morning quarterbacks will surface.

Homa’s been working hard on trying to care less about what others think, and he views this particular change in scenery as an opportunity to put on his Teflon armor, block out the noise and prove last season was a fluke through strong results on the course. And, hopefully, a win or two follows.

“If it’s on social media, it’s going to be negative,” he says. “We can sit here and question [the move], but at the end of the day, it’s not like I did this just because I wanted to do it. I like playing good golf more than anything, outside of being with my family. I like playing good golf more than any amount of money. I like playing good golf more than damn near anything in my whole life. I did my due diligence. I’m very pleased with what I’m hitting now. I’m excited for the change and to see where it takes me.”

The post ‘It’s been a weird year’: Why Max Homa made a surprise move to Cobra appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Much was made during the week that Robert MacIntyre had his father on the bag at the RBC Canadian Open. The son made his papa more than proud by remaining steadfast during the final round and notching his first PGA Tour win in what seemed like a walk, but ended up being a nailbiter.

MacIntyre dropped a 10-footer on No. 7 for birdie and followed that with a staked tee shot at the 193-yard, par-3 eighth to three feet for another birdie. At the 11th a 22-footer fell for another birdie, stretching the lead to five shots before things got interesting.

A pair of bogeys at 12 and 13 and a three-birdie binge from 15 through 17 from Ben Griffin cut the margin to one, but MacIntyre held on for the win, annoying those who put a few dollars on Griffin to win at 30-1 odds on the 11th hole.

It’s not often a winner ranks outside the top 25 in both strokes gained/off the tee and approach to the green (29th and 44th, respectively), but MacIntyre came up big around and on the greens.

Ranking first in strokes gained/putting, the Scot was a remarkable 11-plus strokes better than the field average for the week. Of course it doesn’t hurt when you’re making 106 feet worth of putts per round, second in the field. MacIntyre’s putter is TaylorMade’s Spider Tour T3 mallet, a model similar to that used by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Around the greens he was served well by his Titleist Vokey SM10 wedges, ranking eighth in strokes gained while getting up and down 14 of 21 times.

The clubs Robert MacIntyre used to win the 2024 RBC Canadian Open

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X), 9 degrees

3-wood: Cobra Aerojet LS, 14.5 degrees

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2, 19 degrees

Irons (4-9): Titleist 620 CB

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (46, 50, 56, 60 degrees)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour T3

Main Image: NurPhoto

The post The clubs Robert MacIntyre used to win the 2024 RBC Canadian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Mike Stachura and E Michael Johnson
What do real golfers like you think about the latest clubs? That’s why our panel of players is such a key part of our process. Together, they provide input that helps the Hot List judges determine the leading clubs in Performance and Look/Sound/Feel, two of our four Hot List criteria which together account for 65 percent of a club’s score.

But we know you want as much specific advice as you can get about what club is exactly right for you. So why not see which of our players matches best to your game and see what they were thinking. What follows are some of the top choices in each of our full swing categories from each player on our panel, choices that are informed by data from the Rapsodo MLM and GCQuad launch monitors. Certainly, you’ll see a lot of repeats as you go through these lists (that’s why those products tended to do well on the Hot List overall), but consider this another piece of information as you continue the search for the right club for you. Of course, we firmly believe that search needs the wisdom of a good clubfitter to finish the process, too. Each player’s basic data is listed below, along with their individual lists and accompanying swing videos from the Rapsodo MLM app.

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Jason Guss

Age: 45; Handicap: 0; Driver swing speed: 101; Driver distance: 260; 7-iron swing speed: 80; 7-iron distance: 162\
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)’
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS; Cobra LTDx LS; Ping G425 Max | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST LS; Ping G425 LST; TaylorMade Stealth Plus | HYBRIDS: Cobra King Tec: Cobra LTDx; Wilson D9 | PLAYERS IRONS: Henry-Griffitts TS+; PXG 0311T; Srixon ZX7 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Cobra King Forged Tec; Mizuno Mizuno Pro 225; Proto-Concept CO5 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Cobra King Forged Tec X; Cobra LTDx; XXIO X

Molly Braid

Age: 34; Handicap: 0; Driver swing speed: 86; Driver distance: 215; 7-iron swing speed: 72; 7-iron distance: 135
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Cobra LTDx Max; Titleist TSi2 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Ping G425 Max; PXG 0341XF; Titleist TSi2 | HYBRIDS: Cobra Air-X; PXG 0317XF; Titleist TSi2 | PLAYERS IRONS: Srixon ZX7; Proto-Concept C03; Titleist T100 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Pro; PXG 0311P; Srixon ZX5 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Ping G425; Titleist T300

Ricky Brown

Age: 43; Handicap: +4; Driver swing speed: 108; Driver distance: 270; 7-iron swing speed: 88; 7-iron distance: 170
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS; TaylorMade Stealth Plus; Titleist TSi3 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Cobra LTDx; Ping G425 LST; Titleist TSi3 | HYBRIDS: Callaway Epic Super; TaylorMade Stealth Plus; Titleist TSi3; PLAYERS IRONS: Callaway Apex Pro; PXG 0311 T; Titleist T100 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Mizuno Mizuno Pro 225; Titleist T100•S; Titleist T200 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Cleveland Launcher XL; Cobra Forged Tec X; PXG 0311 XP

Larry McCoy

Age: 57; Handicap: 6; Driver swing speed: 97; Driver distance: 245; 7-iron swing speed: 80; 7-iron distance: 156
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Mizuno ST-Z 220; Ping G425 LST; Titleist TSi3 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Mizuno ST-Z; Ping G425 Max; TaylorMade Stealth Plus | HYBRIDS: Titleist TSi3; Cobra Air-X; Mizuno CLK | PLAYERS IRONS: Cobra King Tour; TaylorMade P7•MC; Titleist T100 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: PXG 0311 P Gen 4; TaylorMade P•770; TaylorMade P•790 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Apex DCB; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300

Paul Ianniello

Age: 60; Handicap: 5; Driver swing speed: 92; Driver distance: 220; 7-iron swing speed: 80; 7-iron distance: 162
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: PXG 0811 X; TaylorMade Stealth Plus; Titleist TSi3 | FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade Stealth; TaylorMade Stealth Plus; Titleist TSi2 | HYBRIDS: Cobra Air-X; Ping G425; PXG 0317X | PLAYERS IRONS: Callaway Apex TCB; Srixon ZX7: Proto-Concept C03 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Proto-Concept CO5; TaylorMade P•790; Titleist T200 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: PXG 0311 XP; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300

Sean Harper

Age: 50; Handicap: 8; Driver swing speed: 89; Driver distance: 225; 7-iron swing speed: 79; 7-iron distance: 152
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Ping G425 Max; PXG 0811XF; Srixon ZX5 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Ping G425; TaylorMade Stealth Plus; Titleist TSi2 | HYBRIDS: Callaway Apex; Ping G425 Max; Titleist TSi3 | PLAYERS IRONS: Cobra King Tour; Mizuno JPX921 Tour; PXG 0311T | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; Mizuno JPX921 Forged; TaylorMade P790 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Apex DCB; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300

Ryan Kroll

Age: 46; Handicap: 8; Driver swing speed: 98; Driver distance: 235; 7-iron swing speed: 79; 7-iron distance: 155
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Ping G425 Max; Titleist TSi2 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Cobra LTDx; Mizuno ST-Z | HYBRIDS: Mizuno CLK; PXG 0317X; Titleist TSi3 | PLAYERS IRONS: Proto-Concept CO3; Titleist T100; Wilson Staff Model CB | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; Mizuno JPX921 Forged; Srixon ZX5 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300

Tom Allen

Age: 57; Handicap: 6; Driver swing speed: 95; Driver distance: 245; 7-iron swing speed: 80; 7-iron distance: 155
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Titleist TSi2; Ping G425 Max | FAIRWAY WOODS: PXG 0341X; Srixon ZX; TaylorMade Stealth | HYBRIDS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Mizuno CLK; Ping G425 | PLAYERS IRONS: Mizuno JPX921 Tour; PXG 0311T; Titleist T100 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; Ping i525; TaylorMade P790 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Ping G425; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300

Alejandra Bedoya

Age: 23; Handicap: 5; Driver swing speed: 90; Driver distance: 225; 7-iron swing speed: 75; 7-iron distance: 146
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Cobra LTDx; Ping G425 Max; TaylorMade Stealth | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; PXG 0341XF; TaylorMade Stealth Plus | HYBRIDS: PXG 0317X: Mizuno CLK; Cobra Air-X | PLAYERS IRONS: Mizuno Mizuno Pro 223; PXG 0311T Gen 4; TaylorMade P•7MC | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Mizuno Mizuno Pro 225; PXG 0311 P Gen 4; Titleist T200 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: PXG 0311 XP Gen4; Srixon ZX4; Titleist T300

Anand Mudaliar

Age: 39; Handicap: 9; Driver swing speed: 105; Driver distance: 265; 7-iron swing speed: 84; 7-iron distance: 164
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; PXG 0811XT; XXIO X | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Ping G425 Max; Titleist TSi2 | HYBRIDS: Callaway Apex; PXG 0317X; Tour Edge Hot Launch C522 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Pro; Proto-Concept C05; PXG 0311 P Gen 4 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Cobra LTDx; Srixon ZX4; Titleist T300 | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Cobra T-Rail; XXIO 12; Wilson Launch Pad

Peter Lee

Age: 54: Handicap: 9: Driver swing speed: 97; Driver distance: 245; 7-iron swing speed: 80; 7-iron distance: 156
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Ping G425 Max; PXG 0811 XF | FAIRWAY WOODS: Mizuno ST-X; Ping G425 Max; TaylorMade Stealth | HYBRIDS: Callaway Rogue ST Pro; Cobra LTDx; Ping G425 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; Ping i525; PXG 0311P | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Apex DCB; Callaway Rogue ST Max: Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max OS; PXG 0211Z; Titleist T400

Gary Abbott

Age: 34; Handicap: 15; Driver swing speed: 98; Driver distance: 235; 7-iron swing speed: 81; 7-iron distance: 153
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Ping G425 Max; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist TSi3 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Cobra LTDx Max; TaylorMade Stealth; TaylorMade Stealth Plus | HYBRIDS: Ping G425; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist TSi2 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; TaylorMade P790; Titleist T200 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max: Ping G425: TaylorMade Stealth | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max OS; Cleveland Launcher XL Halo; Titleist T400

Dan Lupo

Age: 29; Handicap: 14; Driver swing speed: 97; Driver distance: 225; 7-iron swing speed: 87; 7-iron distance: 160
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Ping G425 Max; PXG 0811XF; Titleist TSi3 | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway; Rogue ST Max; Cobra LTDx; TaylorMade Stealth | HYBRIDS: Cobra King Tec; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist TSi1 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Cobra King Forged Tec; PXG 0311P Gen 4; TaylorMade P•790 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: PXG 0311XP Gen 4; TaylorMade Stealth; Titleist T300 | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max OS; Titleist T400; XXIO 12

Alex Reinhart

Age: 37; Handicap: 12; Driver swing speed: 102; Driver distance: 248; 7-iron swing speed: 82; 7-iron distance: 160
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Ping G425 LST; TaylorMade Stealth | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Cleveland Launcher XL Halo; Titleist TSi3 | HYBRIDS: Cobra LTDx; Mizuno CLK; TaylorMade Stealth Plus | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Cobra King Forged Tec; Ping i525; Titleist T200 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: PXG 0311 XP Gen4; Cleveland Launcher XL; Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max OS; PXG 0211 Z; XXIO Prime

Wei Mao

Age: 51; Handicap: 15; Driver swing speed: 90; Driver distance: 220; 7-iron swing speed: 78; 7-iron distance: 145
TOP CLUBS (in alphabetical order)
DRIVERS: Callaway Rogue ST Max; Titleist TSi2; TaylorMade Stealth | FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST Max D; Srixon ZX; Tour Edge Exotics E722 | HYBRIDS: Ping G425; Srixon ZX; Tour Edge Exotics E722 | PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS: Callaway Apex; Ping i525; Proto-Concept C05 | GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Apex DCB; XXIO X; TaylorMade Stealth | SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS: Callaway Rogue ST Max OS; PXG 0211 Z; Titleist T400

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The post WATCH: Inside the Hot List — Our testers reveal their preferred clubs appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Bryson DeChambeau is a notorious complicator of matters, most often after a poor round. It’s never just “I played bad,” but rather, the equation was off, there were too many variables he was not adequately prepared for, his quadratus lumborum wasn’t working, etc., etc.

But after a one-over 71 in which he hit just four of 14 fairways, DeChambeau took a page out of the book of his good buddy Brooks Koepka, summing up the day in a short but sweet manner.

“I said it yesterday or a couple days ago. If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that’s great,” he said. “But with the driver right now, the driver sucks.”

The driver sucks. Rarely, if ever, does DeChambeau go the facts-only route, which was extremely refreshing to hear after watching him attempt his “hit-it/find-it/ hack-it-out” strategy at Royal St George’s. He simply said what we all saw and what we we’re all thinking—the driver sucks.

That’s not to say DeChambeau can’t turn it around or his strategy can’t work in this event. Like he said, if he straightens the driver out, there is no reason he can’t put up a low one on Friday and thrust himself back into the mix. As Louis Oosthuizen’s opening-round 64 proved, there are plenty of birdies to be had. DeChambeau has also overcome bad first-round performances in majors plenty of times before, like when he shot a five-under 67 following a Thursday 76 at the 2021 Masters, or when he bounced back with a Friday 69 after a first-round 73 at Torrey Pines last month.

For that to happen, though, the driver needs to stop sucking, which he, of course, expanded on as only he can.

“It’s not a good face for me and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it good on the mis-hits. I’m living on the razor’s edge, like I’ve told people for a long time. When I did get it outside of the fairway, like in the first cut and what not, I catch jumpers out of there and I couldn’t control my wedges.

“It’s literally the physics and the way that they build heads now. It’s not the right design, unfortunately, and we’ve been trying to fix it, just haven’t had the results yet.”

Ahhh, that’s more like it.

UPDATE: 2:30 p.m. ET — Cobra tour operations manager Ben Schomin, who caddied for DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, responded to DeChambeau’s complaint in an interview with Golfweek. “Everybody is bending over backwards. We’ve got multiple guys in R&D who are CAD’ing (computer-aided design) this and CAD-ing that, trying to get this and that into the pipeline faster. (Bryson) knows it,” Schomin said. “It’s just really, really painful when he says something that stupid.”

Schomin also said, “It’s like an 8-year-old that gets mad at you. They might fly off the handle and say, ‘I hate you.’ But then you go. ‘Whoa, no you don’t.’ We know as adults that they really don’t mean that and I know that if I got him cornered right now and said, ‘What the hell did you say that for,’ he would say that he was mad. He didn’t really mean to say it that harshly. He knows how much everyone bends over backwards for him, but it’s still not cool.”

UPDATE: 6:15 p.m. ET — DeChambeau took to social media later on Friday to apologise for his comments.

 

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The post Bryson DeChambeau complains about his driver, apologises after Cobra rep responds appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
As Rickie Fowler continues to search for answers on the course, he also appears to be seeking the right equipment combination to jumpstart his game. We identified some key changes made by players atop the leader board—plus Fowler’s change—at the Honda Classic last week in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Fowler continues to mix it up

Rickie Fowler has shuffled up his bag in a pretty significant way over the past couple of events. At the Players, Fowler changed irons, going from his RF Rev 33 prototype blades to Cobra’s King Forged CBs in his 5-iron through pitching wedge, in addition to using the company’s AMP Cell Pro CB 4-iron and a Cobra King F9 4-iron more as a utility iron. According to Cobra, Fowler felt the irons, which had more offset, would help him with his start line.

At the Honda Classic, Fowler switched up the driver, too, changing to a Cobra Radspeed XB Palm Tree Crew edition driver. The XB head has a higher moment of inertia, making it a touch more stable. “Typically, Rickie hasn’t liked that feeling,” said Ben Schomin, PGA Tour rep for Cobra. “But so far his misses have been a little tighter.” Fowler, who has been known to apply generous amounts of lead tape to certain clubs, did so with this driver as well, adding weight up front and to the sides on the sole of the driver.

RELATED: Rickie Fowler responds to Nick Faldo’s Masters/commercial dig

Fowler made the cut at PGA National, but a third-round 78 sent him way down the leader board. He finished T-65.

A couple of Wise decisions

Jared C. Tilton

Aaron Wise shook up the long and short end of his bag, putting in a 9-degree TaylorMade SIM2 driver with a Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6X shaft and an Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas mallet putter at the Honda Classic. Both moves worked well as Wise got off to a fast start before settling for a T-13 finish.

The putter, in particular, was working well in the early rounds. Wise, who ranked T-4 for the week in putts per green in regulation, made an impressive 230 feet of putts during the first 36 holes, leading to rounds of 64-64.

“We have been working on things for a while, and the stroke felt really good,” Wise said after the second round. “Obviously, the putter change might have just clicked it into the next gear. But overall, my technique’s felt good for a while. It was just finding a putter that suited my eye and I felt comfortable with and so far, it’s been working great.”

RELATED: Aaron Wise’s shocking three-putt from three feet on Sunday at PGA National

McCarthy’s driver switch

Jared C. Tilton

Denny McCarthy got our attention with a hole-in-one at the Players, but his T-3 finish at the Honda Classic was more lucrative. McCarthy made a driver change at PGA National, opting to go to a 10.5-degree Titleist TS2 with a Fujikura Ventus shaft, giving his TSi3 a break for now.

For the week the move worked. McCarthy hit 73.21 percent of his fairways (41 of 56) to rank T-7 for the week—an important stat to do well on given the number of water hazards on the Champion course, where finding fairways is key to success.

The post Rickie Fowler’s search for answers includes significant equipment changes appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
As the PGA Tour returns to action next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, it will mark the first tournament play in some three months. That’s certainly a long break for the players, yet in many ways, it’s been even more drawn out for another group directly involved in the competitive golf environment: the tour reps who service the players’ equipment needs.

Tour reps are modern-day gipsies, often on the road for approximately 40 weeks a year. It’s a life most relish—and then came COVID-19, with play halted at the Players Championship in March. Players and reps accustom to seeing each other on a weekly basis were now separated for several months.

That separation was in geography only, however. While many players took advantage of the downtime to put their clubs away for a while, others saw it as an opportunity to work with their equipment company—something almost everyone contacted for this article said has increased as the return to play got closer.

“The PGA Tour players I work with had been fairly quiet until recently when the Tour posted an updated schedule,” said Aaron Dill, who works on the bulk of tour player wedges for Titleist. “Since then, I’ve been busy placing orders and building wedges. The players I have spoken with over the last few weeks have been practising their short game a lot and wearing out wedges. They also have been requesting backups and occasionally something new they wish to test before tournament play begins. I’ve also been working with Max Homa, Ben An and others to create some interesting stamping and customization for when they come back.”

As you might expect, how golfers, equipment companies and tour reps have been handling things varies.

Ping, for example, used the downtime to reach out to its players via Microsoft Teams meetings and connect them with the company’s R&D department to achieve a better understanding of their equipment needs and desires.

The meetings were borne out of a conversation between Ping’s engineering and tour departments, centring on the fact they had three players in the top 10 on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, and how each used different types of irons—Harris English (Blueprint), Corey Connors (iBlade) and Tyrrell Hatton (i210). “We wanted to pick their brains about why they chose the irons they did,” said Dr. Paul Wood, vice president of engineering for Ping. “It was great because we quickly realized there is no such thing as tour average. … So we expanded it and scheduled an hour with more than 20 PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Champions and collegiate players.”

Player access to tour vans will be limited in the PGA Tour’s return.

The upshot was Ping not only learned quite a bit, but some club builds came out of it as well. Sebastian Munoz requested a new lob wedge and another player a long iron. “When someone talks about their gear in-depth for an hour, something is going to come up that might not come up in casual conversation,” said Kenton Oates, PGA Tour rep for Ping. “You also learn things about players you might not have known. Like how Jeff Maggert hits his pitching wedge exactly 127.5 yards or listening to Lee Westwood talk about how he has multiple pitching wedges and gap wedges built that he employs on certain courses because they’re all yardage specific. In fact, he writes the yardages on the back cavity so he doesn’t get them mixed up.”

Mizuno also used the time to engage its players through its R&D process, sending, in some cases, plastic printout models of prototype wedges and irons and inviting its players to mark them up or provide other feedback.

“Typically, such work is done at an event, midseason,” said Chris Voshall, Mizuno’s golf marketing manager. “So even though we get great feedback, it’s still a bit rushed and the players aren’t able to give loads of time to really dive into each part of the design. This year was great because we received some very valuable input that you’ll see work its way into future products.”

Cleveland/Srixon had more immediate concerns with its staff. “I did some Zoom meetings with players like Graeme [McDowell], Shane [Lowry], and one with Keegan [Bradley] as well,” said Rodney McDonald, the company’s VP of tour operations. Those conversations led to Lowry discussing that during the downtime he found he needed more bounce on his wedges and that McDowell needed a fresh set of irons.

Graeme McDowell is one of the players Cleveland/Srixon worked within Zoom meetings.

The company also found a way to be innovative with its tour vans. “Our big rig is at our tour driver’s house,” McDonald said. “He drove it home from the Players to Richmond, Va., and we had the trailer fully stocked. We sent him club boxes and other kinds of boxes in anticipation that we might get shut down in our building and we might have to use that as our tour department. For the first six weeks, we didn’t have a lot of requests other than guys needing golf balls or gloves. But once the Tour set the schedule, we started getting a lot of wedge requests, and club requests.”

The company also is putting its Korn Ferry Tour van to good use. The van and its driver are based in Delray Beach, Fla., so before the re-start the van is going to the Palm Beach area to visit Ernie Els and Bradley; then it’s on to Orlando to see McDowell and Ted Potter Jr. before heading to Jacksonville to touch base with Sam Ryder and Russell Knox. Korn Ferry Tour players in those areas also can get whatever they need before play picks up again.

But why all the preliminary work? Unlike pre-COVID, where tour reps were able to access the range at tournaments and bring equipment easily to and from the vans, the scene will be much different going forward. When the season restarts at Colonial, the PGA Tour will use a system in which a player can have his caddie and one other person on the range, much like the Masters. That allows some access, but clubs still need to go through a sanitation process, making equipment work done on-site for golfers a bit more challenging.

“What we can and cannot do on-site has prompted players to reach out,” said Ben Schomin, PGA Tour rep for Cobra, who worked with Rickie Fowler on a new set of irons during the break. “Duf [Jason Dufner], was like, ‘I want to re-grip my clubs, but it sounds like it’s going to be a pain on site. I think I’ll just do it at home.’ ”

Schomin also has a plan for next week at Colonial. Instead of hindering his players’ practice time, he’s let them know work such as re-gripping and loft and lie checks can be done after hours. The players can leave their bags after finishing practice, and Schomin and his crew will do the work in the evening and get the clubs through the return sanitation process in time for the morning.

Kellen Watson, PGA Tour rep for Callaway, is a 13-year veteran of the range and knows the value of getting ahead in this new normal. It starts with already producing backup wedges for every staff player. The company’s tour department also has been conducting weekly Thursday night Zoom meetings to stay in touch and share ideas. At PXG, tour rep Joel Kribel reports that players such as Pat Perez, James Hahn, Wyndham Clark and Ryan Moore—all of whom are local to the company’s Scottsdale headquarters—have taken advantage of the proximity to get fresh grips and loft and lie angle checks done, while offering feedback on some prototype clubs.

Stanley Chou

Ryan Moore is among the PXG players who has taken advantage of living close to the manufacturer’s headquarters in Scottsdale.

Interestingly, most of the reps report that no major equipment changes came during the break, which they claim wasn’t that surprising. The reps cite the fact that most players prefer to get dialled in by the Players and then go through the major championship schedule with minimal changes.

Still, there will likely be some new sticks in some player’s bags come the Schwab. Titleist reported that Denny McCarthy was testing driver heads and Webb Simpson was dialling in hosel settings and shafts on his driver. At Callaway, Watson said the big change came from Dylan Frittelli, who used the downtime to hit the gym. “I had a conversation about two weeks ago to get a new driver out to him because with all the added muscle and power, he’s seen an increase in clubhead speed and some of his launch conditions have changed,” Watson said. “We’re trying to get him dialled in before he gets to Colonial.”

Of course, no equipment piece would be complete without checking in on Bryson DeChambeau.

“With Bryson, we’re always working on prototype stuff, and through the course of this quarantine we’ve gotten a number of different projects in,” Schomin said. “One of them was new irons. When the irons came in, they needed a lot of bench work. They were in a very raw state. Normally we have a small army of machinists and engineers and techs to help facilitate things. But now that small army is pretty much me. So that slows down the process.”

As such, FaceTime calls became more common. “We typically wouldn’t do that,” Schomin said. “I’d just say, ‘Hey, I’ll show you this in a week.’ But now we’ll jump on FaceTime to show a cosmetic sample and get feedback.”

DeChambeau also could have a new driver in the bag, with Schomin saying six different prototype driver heads with different face textures have been created for him to test. “I’m flying in on Friday before Colonial, and we’ll have the tour truck there as well, so we’re going to set up at his club on Saturday and Sunday for him to do some testing and get some work done that we don’t perceive to be as easy on site at Colonial.”

In other words, for both players and tour reps, the re-start to the Tour season brings with it a welcome two words: Break’s over.

The post Equipment reps are busy getting players ‘reunited’ with their clubs ahead of PGA Tour restart appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Answer the simple question below, fill in the required details and you are in the draw to be conducted December 31, 2017. Good luck!

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The post WIN! A New Cobra King F7 TI Driver appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Cobra’s new King F7 driver, incorporating Cobra Connect tracking technology powered by Arccos, puts genuine innovation in the hands of the serious player and weekend warriors alike.

A sensor in the butt of the club’s grip, combined with a smartphone app in your front pocket, allows you to track all those fairway splitting drives…and even those rare ones that just trickle into the first cut of rough. Furthermore, the F7’s built-in technology turns your mobile into a GPS range finder device at more than 40,000 courses worldwide as well as offering real time analytics of your driving.

The technology is a boon for the social media savvy golfer who can now connect with friends to share their long drive win on multiple platforms; you can even compete in virtual long drive competitions. For the more serious amateur, the ability to analyse your trends off the tee is a gateway to better golf.

The innovation in the F7, which landed late January 27 at eGolf Megastore, doesn’t stop there. The F7 has three different center of gravity positions, allowing you to optimise your desired ball flight. There are three weight ports complete with a pair of two gram weights and a heavier 12 gram weight. Positioning the heavier weight forward produces a lower flight, while placing the heavier weight to the rear promotes a higher flight. Positioning the heavier weight in the heel helps to square the face at impact, helping straighten out fades or slices.

Along with the centre of gravity adjustability, the F7 employs MYFLY 8 with SMARTPAD. Together these allow for eight different loft and lie combinations without changing the face angle, numerous options to tinker with to achieve your desired ball flight and shape.

The F7’s crown is also 20 percent lighter than its predecessor. The use of lighter carbon fiber has enabled Cobra’s engineers to redistribute that weight lower and further back in the club head, promoting forgiveness and ensuring the new King F7 is extremely adjustable, forgiving, practical and a good looker to boot.

With the amount of adjustability and two models in the range, including the F7+ for the lower handicapper, its vital to get custom fit to ensure you make the most of the technology. At eGolf Megastore we have the expertise and equipment to dial you in for longer and straighter drives that are no longer the thing of legend. The proof is in your pocket. —with Kent Gray

Jason Ashley is Senior Custom Fit Specialist at egolfmegastore.ae

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