Part of his improved play from Thursday’s 72 can be attributed to Koepka’s improvement off the tee. The five-time major champion lost more than four-tenths of a stroke Off-the-Tee on Thursday but gained nearly nine-tenths on Friday, according to DataGolf.
What caused the sudden turnaround? Koepka made a switch on his Titleist GT3 driver’s SureFit hosel setting.
It just wasn’t one he knew he needed to make.
“Yeah, just drove it better. Some of my setting on the driver switched from A1 to B1. No one noticed it,” Keopka revealed after his round Friday. “Switching back to A1, which is what we usually had it and just driving it better.”
According to @DataGolf, Brooks Koepka gained .89 strokes OTT today in his second-round 69 after losing .41 yesterday.
Apparently, Koepka realized his Titleist GT3 hosel setting was in B1 (.75˚ flat) instead of his preferred A1 setting (standard).
He later confirmed he discovered the setting on the driving range on Thursday afternoon after his opening round and changed it back then.
The B1 setting sets Koepka’s driver three-fourths of a degree flatter than the standard setting he usually plays with. That can either naturally cause his driver to play slightly more right-biased or move his impact position out to the toe, but it can also cause the opposite effects if he was subconsciously reacting to the change.
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GT3 offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization. With a speed-tuned design that allows you to precisely match performance to your most frequent contact location, you can make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.
For players with a relatively consistent impact location, GT3 offers a precisely adjustable CG Track to max out distance and directional control.
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A breakthrough in internal weighting unlocks longer drives and enhanced directional control in GT3. The Adjustable CG Track now sits closer to the face for more dynamic CG control, while additional discretionary mass is pushed to the back of the club to maintain optimal stability through impact.
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GT3 features a new raised tail contour that represents a dramatic shift in driver aerodynamics. Previously impossible to execute due to design constraints, this advanced shaping results in a driver that swings faster while still providing optimal CG control.
All seven of Koepka’s missed fairways on Thursday were right and came with the driver.
Koepka hasn’t been his normal dominant self off the tee since returning to the PGA Tour earlier this year through the returning member program. In his last full season on the PGA Tour in 2021, he ranked 7th in SG: OTT, picking up .631 strokes on the field. From 2014, his first year on the PGA Tour, until 2021, he never ranked outside the top-28.
So far this season, he’s gained just .111 strokes Off-the-Tee, ranking 76th.
What’s really interesting about these numbers is that, judging from photos taken of Koepka’s driver, both by GOLF and other outlets, it appears his driver has been in the B1 setting all season. Koepka told GolfWRX at the Valspar Championship he had switched settings, but did not confirm to what.
In fact, DP World Tour gear surveyor Inside Tour Golf tweeted they recorded Koepka being in the B1 setting on his driver as far back as July.
It just goes to show that even at the highest level, just a tiny equipment tweak can make a huge difference.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
