Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Scottie Scheffler’s last-minute gear change pays off

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.

Super shafts

With his PGA Tour card already locked up for the 2019-20 season, Scottie Scheffler bolstered his chances of earning the top priority slot with a win at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Instead of rolling with the same setup that earned him a spot in the Tour’s three-event finals, Scheffler chose to make a change to his irons and wedges, replacing the KBS shafts with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100.

The switch wasn’t a drastic one for Scheffler, who has used Dynamic Gold in the past. However, he didn’t make the decision to pull the trigger on the shafts until Wednesday’s pro-am. After trying out a friend’s irons the week prior, Scheffler asked True Temper’s Tour rep to build him a 7-iron with Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 to test during the round.

Midway through the pro-am, Scheffler called the rep and requested a full set of irons and wedges built with Dynamic Gold. A final test of the range was all he needed to make the switch official.

With Dynamic Gold back in the bag, Scheffler ranked fourth in greens in regulation (79 percent) at Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet course en route to the win. Not bad for a last-minute equipment change.

Keep ’em guessing

Viktor Hovland continued his search for the ideal iron setup during the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, swapping his Ping i210’s for a blended set of iBlade (4-6) and Blueprint (7-PW). Hovland finished T11 in Columbus while ranking 15th in greens in regulation (73.6 percent) with the new irons. In six starts since he turned pro at the Travelers Championship, Hovland has used three different iron combinations — an unusually high number for someone who has been well above average in the ball-striking department. While the constant iron changes are unconventional, Hovland is in position to earn his PGA Tour card with two events remaining in the season.

Thanks, Webb

Patrick Reed received an assist from former Ryder Cup teammate Webb Simpson, who suggested the 2018 Masters champion might want to consider changing balls during the Wyndham Championship. At the time, Reed was playing Titleist’s Pro V1 Left Dot prototype, a Tour-only variation of the ball that was flying too low and not spinning enough for his liking on approach shots.

Simpson offered a solution: Titleist’s 2017 Pro V1. Reed received a dozen balls from Simpson and put it in play during the final round, where he closed with a 7-under 63 to finish T22. One week later, Reed ended up in the winner’s circle at Liberty National.

Tighten it up

Hoping to tighten dispersion at the top of the bag, Corey Conners chose to focus on one club in particular at Medinah: a Ping iBlade 4-iron. Conners’ iBlade irons are outfitted with Project X’s 6.0, but he found a much more consistent shot pattern during testing by simply changing out the 6.0 flex for a slightly stiffer 6.5 in the 4-iron.

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