Winning the Open Championship is a feat to be celebrated. Winning it by seven shots on the Old Course at St. Andrews is beyond impressive. Well that’s exactly what Louis Oosthuizen did in 2010, and you might be surprised by some of the clubs he had in his bag.
Driver
Ping Rapture V2 (9°) with a Project X X6B7 shaft
The Ping Rapture V2 followed in the footsteps of the original Ping Rapture driver — which to this day remains the only driver Ping has ever built with a carbon composite crown. The V2 went back to a titanium construction and was a dramatic shift in geometry with a flowing crown and flat sole that placed tungsten weights at the extreme rear of the club to boost MOI while lowering spin.
The Rapture line marked the first time Ping offered a full line of competing “premium” products under a different name in the marketplace against the traditional “G” and “i” lines at a higher price point. The Rapture line was followed by a full line of Anser clubs in 2012, and one of those hybrids was used by Phil Mickelson when he won his Open Championship in 2013.
Fairway Woods
Nike SQ Sumo 3-wood (13°) and 5-wood (19°) with Project X X6B7 shafts
If there were ever clubs that would stand out like a sore thumb it would be Nike fairway woods in a Ping staffers golf bag. No offense to Nike, but beyond staff players including Scottie Scheffler — who just recently replaced his old Nike VR 3 wood, there weren’t many golfers in this era using any Nike clubs without a contract.
The other standout element of Louis fairway woods is the fact that he used the same weight shafts in his 3 and 5-wood as he did in his driver — the original Project X Series X6B7. This is not a common way to build fairway woods since most players will use a shaft that weighs 10-20 grams heavier compared to the driver.
Irons
Ping S56, (3-9-iron) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts
The Ping S series irons marked a dramatic shift in design philosophy for a company that never really pushed the envelope into the blade-like iron category. The original model was the S59 released in 2007, followed by the S58, S57, and eventually the S56 used by Louis.
Even with their smaller shape they still offered a relatively high MOI thanks to a tungsten weight positioned in the low toe of the club — just like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, the Ping engineers “find a way”.
Wedges
Ping Tour S Rustique: 47°, 54° & 60° with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts
For Ping, this era marked a lot of firsts for the company, with another making its way into the bag of the eventual Open Championship winner — rusty wedges. After enough consumer and tour player demand, when the Tour S wedges were released they were offered in both a chrome and oil-can type finish that would intentionally wear and rust over time.
Ping has since moved on from raw wedges completely in favor of there hydropearl chrome which helps increase friction and maintain spin in wet conditions.
Putter
Ping Redwood Anser – Long Neck Prototype
To offer some background for those that don’t possess the sometimes crippling amount of nerdy equipment knowledge that roams around in my brain, the Redwood series was the first time Ping offered a one-piece milled stainless steel putter to the general consumer. Think of the Redwod putters at the grandaddy to the modern PLD series.
Louis’ putter was a prototype long plumbers neck verion of the Redwood Anser, which helped make the head more face balanced and it was never released to the public.
Before the Redwood, Ping offered a milled titanium and tungsten putter line in 2002 called the JAS but the hefty price tag of close to $500 created by the manufacturing processes and materials it never became a mainstream success.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.
