x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
Wall-to-Wall Equipment: How 1 gear change took Garrick Higgo’s game to new heights
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
      • Emergency 9
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • Emergency 9
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

Great for yourself...or your Dad

InsideGOLF
Gear

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: How 1 gear change took Garrick Higgo’s game to new heights

By: Jonathan Wall
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on Instagram
June 14, 2021
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
garrick higgo

Garrick Higgo claimed his first PGA Tour win last week at the 2021 Palmetto Championship.

Getty Images

Welcome to Wall-to-Wall Equipment, the Monday morning gear wrap-up in which GOLF equipment editor Jonathan Wall takes you through the latest trends, rumors and breaking news.

Shaking it up

Basking in the glow of his first PGA Tour title at Congaree, Garrick Higgo was asked what he was most proud of following a chaotic back nine that saw the South African grab a share of the lead (and win) while he signed his scorecard.

“I’m just proud of the way I hung in there,” he said. “It was tough all the way from the start. Definitely didn’t have my A game in terms of off the tee, but I like that sometimes. I like not having to play perfect golf. I enjoy scrambling and making a couple putts, which I did, which was awesome.”

Higgo’s success on approach shots and around the green can be attributed to a ball change he made back in March at the Qatar Masters. The switch from Titleist’s Pro V1 to the Pro V1x just happened to coincide with a stretch of golf that included two wins on the European Tour in less than a month.

“I used to play the Pro V1, but my weakness was around the greens,” Higgo told GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast. “I wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t there in terms of strokes gained around the greens. I tried the [Pro V1x] and it’s amazing how much better my confidence is around the green, because I know the [Pro V1x] is going to stop.”

What Higgo found in the V1x was a level of shot-stopping spin around the green that led to a higher percentage of makable putts during each round.

“I did some testing at home and found the Pro V1x consistently stopped about three feet shorter than the Pro V1 for me. So the Pro V1 was rolling out an extra three feet, and that’s exactly what I was seeing on the course. It was good but still released. Now I’m hitting shots around the green and having shorter putts, which obviously makes a big difference.”

While the greenside spin ultimately led Higgo to change balls mid-season, a lack of significant changes in other aspects of his game sealed the switch.

“There was a slight uptick in long game spin, but I was willing to do it for better feel and more spin around the green,” he said. “And driver spin was exactly the same from the Pro V1.”

Back to black

dustin johnson putter

Dustin Johnson’s run with a TaylorMade TP Bandon 1 putter (and multi-material LAGP shaft) came to an end at the Palmetto Championship, where the two-time major winner returned to his trusty TaylorMade Spider Itsy Bitsy and a stepped steel shaft.

Johnson finished T28 in SG: Putting with the old wand en route to a T10 finish in his home state.

Red-hot run

bo van pelt putter

Prior to last week, Bo Van Pelt’s last runner-up showing came nine years ago at the now-defunct AT&T National. Erik Compton’s first top-20 finish in six years occurred two weeks ago at Colonial.

What the two share in common is a putter that’s trending upward on Tour — Axis1 Golf’s Rose mallet.

Dating back to the PGA Championship, Justin Rose, Compton and Van Pelt have been near the top in SG: Putting during their strong finishes. Rose led the field at Kiawah and ranked 6th in the statistical category at Colonial, while Compton and Van Pelt ranked 3rd during their recent strong finishes with the same Rose mallet.

Quick-hitters: Tommy Fleetwood made a mid-tournament putter change, replacing his TaylorMade TP Bandon 1 with an Odyssey White Hot OG #1 (LAGP putter shaft). … College golf’s top-ranked player, John Pak, signed a multi-year equipment deal with TaylorMade. … Former Oklahoma State standout, Austin Eckroat, signed a multi-year gear deal with Ping. … 19-year-old Akshay Bhatia qualified for the U.S. Open with a full bag of Callaway gear, including an Epic Max LS driver, Apex TCB irons, Odyssey 2-Ball Ten putter and Chrome Soft X golf ball.

Want to overhaul your own bag? Visit the expert fitters at affiliate partner, True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ivHVy9ArBjAYh49oJDBH4

Latest In Gear

3 hours ago

J.J. Spaun's clubs: Inside his U.S. Open-winning setup

7 hours ago

What Bettinardi's father-son operation means to them | Fully Equipped

13 hours ago

Golf's ultimate gear nerd is at it again — and it's fueling a U.S. Open charge

1 day ago

How Bettinardi built a U.S. Open-winning putter in 1 night

JWall

Jonathan Wall

Golf.com Editor

Jonathan Wall is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s Managing Editor for Equipment. Prior to joining the staff at the end of 2018, he spent 6 years covering equipment for the PGA Tour. He can be reached at jonathan.wall@golf.com.

  • Author Twitter Account
  • Author Instagram Account

Related Articles

Putters
justin thomas scotty cameron t5 putter

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Justin Thomas' surprise playoff gear change

By: Jonathan Wall
Accessories
tony finau lamkin grip

Tony Finau has one piece of equipment that will blow your mind

By: Jonathan Wall
Gear
hovland ping putter

7 things I noticed while inspecting Viktor Hovland's gear | Wall-to-Wall Equipment

By: Jonathan Wall
Irons
billy horschel titleist 620 mb irons

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Why Billy Horschel's irons are a gear unicorn

By: Jonathan Wall
Irons
adam scott miura irons

How Adam Scott's Jack Nicklaus-esque Miura irons came to life

By: Jonathan Wall
Gear
webb simpson titleist t100 irons pga

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: 'Stubborn' major winner finds instant success after making key change

By: Jonathan Wall
Putters
justin thomas scotty cameron putter

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Putter change has Justin Thomas primed for PGA Championship

By: Jonathan Wall
Fairway Woods
rory mcilroy stealth 3-wood

Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler's gear changes have 1 thing in common

By: Jonathan Wall
Gear
scottie scheffler irons

7 things I learned talking gear with Scottie Scheffler | Wall-to-Wall Equipment

By: Jonathan Wall
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version