Dean Burmester trusted a Titleist driver, Ping woods and Srixon irons and ball to win LIV Chicago
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It was bound to happen.
This year, South African Dean Burmester has played some of the best golf of his career and also become somewhat of a YouTube celebrity with his engaging appearance at LIV Duels Dallas alongside George Bryan of the Bryan Bros.
This week at LIV Chicago, Burmester outlasted Jon Rahm and young star Josele Ballester in a one-hole playoff to claim his second career LIV victory and a team win for The Stingers.
Known as one of the longer hitters on LIV, Burmester used a Titleist GT3 driver and a Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball to navigate the brutally difficult and dried-out Bolingbrook Golf Club. Ranking third in driving distance on LIV with a 326-yard average, the rest of his bag is built for control with a combo set of Srixon ZXi7 (4) and Z-Forged MB (5-PW) irons.
GT3 is an interesting piece in terms of Tour usage. From where I sit, it seems to be the driver that many non-staffers have in the bag. My take is that the very neutral CG, in combination with face progression, allows the driver to mitigate a left miss while not being right-biased compared to its competitors in the same “Tour Driver, Lower spin” category.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out at LIV Indiana, the final individual tournament of the season. Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann are still in play for the overall season title.
Z-STAR SeriesWhether you’re chasing major championships or your next personal best, the all-new Z-STAR series is the choice for serious players everywhere. Featuring reformulated cores and covers across the line, this generation of Z-STAR golf balls delivers greater distance, optimized spin, and tour-level stopping power around the green. It’s a formula designed to give you one thing: pure performance when it matters most. Z-STAR XV provides maximum ball speed for unmatched Driver and Iron distance. Its premium 3-piece construction gives skilled players complete tour performance, tee to green.
GT3 – Speed-Tuned Distance & Control 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. Seamless Thermoform Crown A reimagined ultra-lightweight design, born from a new Proprietary Matrix Polymer. The tunable acoustic properties of this unique composite allow Titleist engineers to realize new material gains while maintaining our signature sound and feel. All wrapped in a clean look that inspires total confidence. Split Mass Construction 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. Advanced Aerodynamics 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.
NEW FOR 2022! Introducing a new profile to the lineup, VENTUS TR. Born from the continuous quest for improvement and backed by enso®–driven analytics and Tour feedback, VENTUS TR builds upon one of the most trusted and best-selling wood shafts in Fujikura history. Jockey Tip: The TR Black is the stiffest VENTUS profile to date. Ultra-stiff tip and handle sections work in unison to support players with Tour-like speeds that prefer the feeling of minimal to no flex during the swing. As a shaft designed for players with a fast transition, spread tow fabric reinforces the mid/handle section even further, holding up to even the most aggressive moves to the golf ball.
The G440 fairway family (MAX, LST, SFT) advances PING’s reputation as a Tour-preferred model of choice through a re-designed face structure and low CG system. The face is taller for more confidence off the tee while maintaining a CG location that delivers high- launching performance off the ground. The MAX model (which fits most golfers) is available in five lofts (including a new 4-wood) to provide more gapping solutions. HIGH MOI Easy to launch, stable design increases forgiveness. FLEXING FACE Maraging steel face flexes for more ball speed, optimizes spin. TALLER FACE PROFILE Improves performance off the tee, maintains low CG. FREE-HOSEL DESIGN Saves weight to lower CG, optimize launch/spin and increase forgiveness.
All-new RTZ Wedges are made with Z-Alloy, a completely new steel formula that enables a zero-compromise design approach for incredible feel, better durability, and more consistency for our best performing tour Wedges yet. Plus, there’s an all-new ADAPT grind featuring full-face grooves, to give RTZ Wedges more versatility than ever before. Z-Alloy Z-Alloy is a brand-new steel with better feel. It’s softer, lighter, and remarkably durable. It gives RTZ Wedges superior feel, better forgiveness, and more consistency. On RTZ Tour Rack Wedges, Z-Alloy’s rust-resistant properties ensure longer-lasting, like-new performance. HydraZip HydraZip is a unique system of face blasts and laser-milled lines formulated to maximize spin performance under wet conditions. This technology is dynamically configured by loft groupings, which helps balance spin across lofts, while maximizing spin in adverse conditions. ZipCore This low-density core technology replaces heavier material in the heel and hosel area with a lightweight, low-density, vibration-dampening material. This proprietary core allows us to shift the Center of Gravity closer to where you strike the ball, while simultaneously adding MOI. UltiZip UltiZip’s sharper grooves cut through grass and debris at contact, while deeper grooves help make space for grass, sand, dirt, or water to clear the impact zone, giving RTZ Wedges stronger, more consistent spin from the fairway, rough, or bunker.
Johnny currently serves as the Director of Equipment at Golf.com, contributing to platforms like Fully Equipped Golf. Prior to this role, he was the Content Marketing Manager at Callaway Golf, where he led “Callaway Golf’s World of Wunder,” a platform dedicated to in-depth golf equipment content. Before joining Callaway, he was the Director of Original Content and host of “The Gear Dive” podcast at GolfWRX.com. Beyond his professional endeavors, Johnny is an avid golfer with a deep passion for the game, having played since his youth in Seattle, Washington.
