Insider reveals how stat-tracking can help optimize your gear setup

During the course of the season, Titleist Tour rep JJ VanWezenbeeck combs through tournament stats for Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas to see what, if any, equipment finding can be gleaned from the data.

You read that right: equipment findings. It’s up to Cameron McCormick and Mike Thomas to rectify any swing issues, but when it comes to targeting potential equipment changes, VanWezenbeeck and the rest of Titleist’s Tour team run point for Spieth, Thomas and the rest of the players on staff.

In an era where data is being utilized more than ever to make decisions on the course, it’s also helping shape the gear setups of the best players in the world.

“We pull stats together frequently and sit down with that team and look at areas that we think we can help or areas that they’re doing great in,” VanWezenbeeck said. “We’ll always be tracking stats throughout the year, especially around product launches, and it allows our R&D team to also track trends and things like that, whether it’s bag makeups and things like that.

“When you look at somebody like Webb [Simpsonn] who carries five headcovers, he’s pretty efficient outside 200 yards compared to tour average because he’s hitting a headcover into everything, not a blade 3-iron. We help to drive performance a little bit. Then find opportunities where we can help players get better.”

Gear

Simpson is a perfect example of someone who’s thriving with a fairly unconventional equipment setup. With five “headcovers” in the bag, including two hybrids, Simpson has found it easier to dissect courses off the tee and from the fairway.

“Unless you’re a scratch handicap or better and have really high spin rates and hit it high, you need a 3-iron hybrid and you need a 4-iron hybrid,” Simpson told GOLF.com. “The hybrids, in my opinion, are way easier to hit up in the air, and that’s what I wasn’t seeing with my 4-iron of my regular set.”

Working with Titleist has reinforced Simpson’s belief that five headcovers is the best route forward. There’s a chance you could benefit from a similar setup, too. According to VanWezenbeeck, all it takes is a little bit of stat-tracking to figure out your strengths and weaknesses.

“It’s really how much keeping track you want to do,” VanWezenbeeck said. “Do you want to do simple fairways hit? Then you can take it up a notch. How many do I miss left, how many do I miss right?”

From there, VanWezenbeeck suggests taking your detailed notes to a certified club-fitter — 8AM Golf sister company True Spec Golf is a good place to start — and giving them the chance to figure out a way to negate your big miss.

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“You can tell them, every time I miss the fairway, 75 percent of the time it’s left. Ok, well that’s powerful stuff for your fitter to know. I’m at an advantage, I get to work with these players week in and week out, look at stats, have ShotLink data and know everything, so when an average consumer … the more information you can keep track of, when you go into your driving fitting or iron fitting, you keep track of greens in regulation from different yardages, you can go, ‘Hey, if I’m between 200 and 225, I never hit a green.’ Well, ok, let’s look at a TSi2 7-wood. Let’s look at a TSi3 hybrid.

“You have options. You have U510, you have U500. People look at the Titleist stuff and ask ‘Why do you have so many options in that part of the bag?’ Because that’s the hard part and that’s what a lot of amateurs are used to going into the shop and buying 3-PW. You look out here and no one is using 3 irons. Adam Scott’s using a 7-wood. You want to take advantage of technology and find ways to shoot better scores.”

So the next time you’re preparing to tee it up, consider the idea of tracking some simple stats on your cell phone or a notepad to get a better handle on where your game is at. It could give your fitter a chance to turn those misses into a strength with a few gear tweaks.

Want to overhaul your own bag for 2021? Visit the expert fitters at our sister company, True Spec Golf.