How a Carly Rae Jepsen song started the wedge stamping craze on the PGA Tour

Wedge stamping has come a long way since the days when initials were hammered into the back of the head to give the scoring clubs come semblance of a personality. Then along came Rickie Fowler and singer Carly Rae Jepsen to shake things up in 2012.

At that time, Fowler was already disrupting the industry with bright colors and flat bill hats. Hoping to add some flair to his wedges, Fowler and Titleist Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill started kicking around some stamp ideas before hitting on a few that stuck — namely a catchy chart-topper by Jepsen titled, “Call Me Maybe.” (Warning: Do not listen to the song unless you’re OK with it being stuck in your head for the rest of the day.)

Dill proceeded to stamp “Call Me Maybe” on the back of Fowler’s 60-degree Titleist Vokey Design SM4 lob wedge and watched as his creation went viral on social media.

“Rickie’s funny and has a great personality and he’s full of great ideas,” Dill recalled on GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast. “We realized in the moment that it was just hysterical. It was that moment where the light kind of came on and we realized we could really take [wedge stamping] to another level. We could have some fun and personalize these things — tell stories. Kind of expose these really good golfers to the world and make them human.”

Since then, Dill has upped his game beyond simple song titles and lyrics. Some of his more impressive creations of late have included a recreation of the famed 17th hole island green at TPC Sawgrass and a “bacon” wedge for Collin Morikawa.

Dill remains a wedge fitter and builder first and foremost, but his stamping creations have forced him to carve out additional time to conceptualize designs in a sketchbook he totes around from one Tour stop to the next. With younger players embracing the idea of stamping their wedges, Dill views the creations as an opportunity to let the players show off who they really are.

“When you watch golf, they’re the best at what they do,” he said. “But no one really knows who they are. To be able to show these bits and pieces on the back of the golf club is a great way for golf fans to connect with players.”

To hear more gear insights from Jonathan Wall and True Spec’s Tim Briand, subscribe and listen each week to GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast: iTunes | SoundCloud | Spotify | Stitcher