The post How to navigate the 2026 club-launch season | Wunder Journal appeared first on Golf.

The post How to navigate the 2026 club-launch season | Wunder Journal appeared first on Golf.

Moving forward on a weekly basis I will be giving my opinion, thoughts and insight on equipment-world happenings. As someone who has navigated this business from a few different angles and now a year into my position as GOLF.com’s director of equipment, I wanted a space where I could be open and honest.

This is not an exercise in tearing things down but rather to give you the insight and intel that I have been able to unlock in my almost eight years doing this. It’s been an interesting ride to say the least, and I’m excited to learn, discuss and debate on this platform.

For starters, I’ll be posting a link to this article on my X account to spark conversation and answer your questions. I’ve always felt it’s better practice to explore and discover topics together than to do it in a vacuum so all your opinions are welcome. (But let’s keep it classy, people — this is golf, after all! Nobody is curing anything over here.)

With that out of the way, let’s go!

What Launch Season actually means

It’s here. Launch Season. That fun, fast moving part of the year where new product is dropped onto the market and we, the gear-head community, go absolutely bonkers. But why the pandemonium? Why does the driver that was so awesome on Dec. 31 become all but obsolete on Jan. 8?

The short answer: It doesn’t. Or shouldn’t. Same goes for the driver from 2024, ’23, ’22 or even down to 2020. Truth is, the days of hitting the ball 20 yards farther with a driver switch are gone. Of course, distance is only one part of a four-piece pie. I’d rank the importance of driver-performance categories like this:

This year’s lineup goes heavy on speed, because accuracy was such a pillar for most companies over the past few years. So the speed companies that tried to make Ping-like drivers (you know who you are) got close enough and now are returning to what they do best: making the ball go far.

What you, the club buyer, needs to know

So, how can you deal with this onslaught of information and make informed buying decisions? This is where we here at GOLF/Fully Equipped will do our best via honest content and our own discoveries to help you. So much to the point that we’ve created a new version of ClubTest that will launch in February that I think gives consumers a deeper look into what will work (or not) for their games.

At the end of the day, every club from the leading manufacturers is a banger. Even the companies that have specialized in one part of the bag over the others — i.e., PXG (irons), Srixon/Cleveland (irons/wedges) and Mizuno (irons) — have serious metal wood offerings for 2026.

My advice? Hit as much stuff as you possibly can and get a feel for the user experience. Also, with those first swings, ignore the numbers, because as you’ll see in my remarks below finding the right clubs for your game will come down to your fitter anyway. Pay attention to the look, feel (sound), curb appeal, enjoyment, etc. Once you find any club you are excited to explore, then you can figure out how to get it dialed with a fitter.

Get fit (this year especially)

2026 might be the most competitive year ever in the club market. Check that: It is the most competitive year ever. I won’t ever single out a club and say, “This is the best!” — I actually hate that word as it relates to gear, because it’s a lie. Best for who? When? How? It’s an empty statement and misinforms consumers. If I’ve ever said it, I retract!

This year will be a fitting war. For example, today TaylorMade is launching its Qi4D lineup, an outrageous offering by every metric. Great story: fast, forgiving, looks amazing, etc. It does all the things. But it’s also a nuanced piece of technology that requires a good fitter to crack it open. Kinda like an expensive bottle of wine — yes, you can pop the cork and start chugging but getting a seasoned sommelier to do it for you takes it from a nice drink to an unforgettable experience. Qi4D is like that.

It’s also my contention that if you are going to spend $700+ on a stick, make it perfect. Spend the extra dough to do it right. Some might say, “Yeah, but maybe next year something ‘better’ will arrive.” Maybe but a really well fit driver will last you way longer than what club marketers will tell you. Trust me, I’ve been on both sides. So, if you’re a serious buyer or just want to confirm that what you have is right for your game, do it with a fitter.

Only buy a new club if it substantially out performs your current gamer. My hunch is that this year in particular will be a year that the new beats out the old. That wasn’t true a ton over the past 4-5 years but 2026 is different.

When I say it’s a fitting war, I mean it. The OEMs have all stepped up their games this year knowing that their tech requires a sommelier to make it cook. I love that, and I experienced myself last fall when I tested all this stuff. And it’s not just TaylorMade. Callaway, Ping and PXG all have new releases in which a fitter will be the key to your success. My hope is that each OEM takes it upon itself to make sure that the brand-agnostic fitters — i.e., True Spec — knows every trick in the book to unlock a club’s potential. Every company has to look at fitting as the No. 1 priority, even more so than product.

Why? Because your fitting protocol is the key to making your club actually do its thing. That’s truer this launch season than I have ever seen, and behind the scenes all the major OEMs are either bolstering their processes or developing new ones. It’s that big of a deal.

So, if you’re one of those “grab it off the rack” buyers, I’d advise you to change your tactic — now. We in the media will give you a lot to consider and so will OEM marketing. But mark my words: It’s an absolute dog fight across the board in 2026 and the power is in your hands to find your driver rather than the one simply with the most buzz.

You cannot make a bad choice this year — but the process to landing on that choice is everything. Take your time, ask us a ton of questions, get honest about what you need.

We’re here to help

What I want for all of us is to play better golf, if not the best golf of our lives. But it’s a process. Just as fixing your technique is a process, so is buying new clubs. If my crew and I do anything at a high level, it’s assisting you in dialing in your process. Make no mistake, golf is expensive, and new clubs aren’t mindless purchases. They take time, diligence and self-reflection. In my first 11 months here at GOLF.com, I’ve been working hard to set the table with strategy and talent (Jake Morrow and Jack Hirsh) so that 2026 is the year that you the golfer have honest, unbiased information that you can actually use.

Equipment media is full of talented creators, but from where I sit, it’s time for us all to level up and inform the masses in a more nuanced way. You’ll see a deluge of content from the Fully Equipped crew this year: a must-have resource that you can rely on to answer all your gear questions.

We’re here to help you, and honestly I’m still trying to sort through it all myself. This year is a huge pivot point for my game, which has been woeful in recent years. I want to play the best golf of my life in my 50s, and this year is when I will truly prepare from a physical and equipment standpoint. I’m tired of sucking at golf; like the rest of you, I just want to get better. I’m pumped to hear what you guys experience this year and will relate it to my own journey. You can find me on Instagram here. My DMs are open.

Happy launch season! It’s gonna be wild.

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The post Will Callaway’s Apex MB prototype be the new ‘it’ iron? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The post Will Callaway’s Apex MB prototype be the new ‘it’ iron? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

If you all want to know the truth, the new Callaway Apex MB proto iron wasn’t even supposed to be a thing until way down the line.

It started as a tester iron that hit the Tour for feedback last fall, which is pretty normal, but at some point over the winter Akshay Bhatia requested a set to help dial in his iron game. And how can you say no to Akshay Bhatia? So the first set was built.

And then Min Woo Lee was sent a set to his home in Australia, again, just for feedback, and sure enough he fell in love with them. He brought them with him as his 2025 gamers and that’s when the flood gates slowly started to open.

I posted pictures on my IG, it went bananas and one by one Callaway’s Tour Staff started asking for the “Min Blade.”

On this week’s episode of Fully Equipped, Kellen Watson, Callaway’s Tour rep to Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Min Woo, joins to go deeper on whether these beauties will be so good that even the non-blade users on Tour will become “blade players” and lots more.

It’s always a blast having Kellen on the pod, as his insight is masterclass. To watch the full episode click here.

The post Will Callaway’s Apex MB prototype be the new ‘it’ iron? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The post Have Titleist’s T-Series irons solved the flyer-lie problem? appeared first on Golf.

The post Have Titleist’s T-Series irons solved the flyer-lie problem? appeared first on Golf.

There were so many impressive aspects to my T-Series fitting earlier this summer with TPI fitter Lucas Bro (below), and if you watched it you’d see the level of thoroughness the fitting brings.

The Titleist 3D-fitting platform (Distance, Dispersion, Decent Angle) is designed to build efficiency across the bag and no — it’s not all about distance. Yes, that’s a part of it but ultimately the goal is to ensure that you, the player, is equipped to deal with any situation you may have out on the battlefield.

Here’s how it works, per Titleist.

You hit 3-5 shots with your current 7-, 5- and 4-irons. Using a launch monitor your fitter will look at: 

In this particular video (below) we focused on the control out of the rough. Titleist and Vokey wedge R&D grinded in on the grooves of the T-Series to create a groove that lives right in between what you might find on a Vokey and previous Titleist irons.

Why is this important?

Flyers and loss of control out of the rough is a serious thing at every level. That type of shot flies 10-15 yards farther out of the rough because of the drastic loss of spin. Although on Tour, some players prefer that, but the number is small. Other OEMs have tried to combat the flyer lie by putting more grooves on the face (think older Nike irons or Callaway’s Tour-only thin grooves).

But the T-Series offers that benefit to all the irons in its line due to its progressive groove design, giving the player a more “standard groove” in the longer irons and getting progressively more aggressive in the scoring irons.

I’ve heard a ton of marketing around things like this, but after watching the video below I was shocked at the difference in numbers. When a normal 7-iron out of the rough gives me 4,000 RPMs of spin (sometimes lower) and you hand me an iron that lives in the high 5,000s, my brain explodes.

Check out the video below to learn more.

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The post Inside Jon Rahm’s bag: Deep-dive look at his full setup | Bag Spy appeared first on Golf.

The post Inside Jon Rahm’s bag: Deep-dive look at his full setup | Bag Spy appeared first on Golf.

Of all the bags in professional golf, the one I know, understand and have a very small hand in belongs to Jon Rahm. Going all the way back to 2021 when I began my time with Callaway Golf, one of my big tasks was to create content and stories around Rahm, who at the time was also in his first year with Callaway. My boss at the time, Jeff Neubarth, told me simply, “get to know him, hang out, spend time because he’s a huge part of your job.”

After so many hours on the range, walking practice rounds, texts, calls and content shoots, I have a ton of knowledge about Jon and his game — nowhere near that of his caddie, Adam Hayes, or coach, Dave Phillips…but pretty damn good. I even slipped a club in his bag before the 2023 Ryder Cup, and it’s still in there today.

He’s without a doubt my favorite player, and I’ll give you all one more nugget: He’s a better person than he is a golfer. Best words to describe him are humble, thoughtful and honorable. I’ve learned so much from this guy in the 5-plus years I’ve been in his orbit. He’s special.

The foundations of Jon’s bag:

*Jon typically carries 15 clubs with him to each event. His only swaps are between the 5-wood and utility iron

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X

NOTES: SPIN SPIN SPIN. Jon always wants to be in a spin surplus no matter what. The Tour X ball has been huge for him over the years, especially with the short irons and wedges. Having the ability to hit off-speed shots while maintaining spin is one one of the main reasons he swapped into this ball.

Callaway Chrome Tour X Golf Balls

Chrome Tour X is the new gold standard in Tour Balls. From core to cover, every detail in the new Chrome Tour X has been optimized for the best players seeking speed and the ultimate in control. HYPER FAST SOFT CORE New Hyper Fast Soft Core is designed to produce maximum ball speed for long distance. SEAMLESS TOUR AERO New Seamless Tour Aero delivers a consistent penetrating ball flight on every shot. HIGH-PERFORMANCE TOUR URETHANE SOFT COVER New High-Performance Tour Urethane Soft Cover consistently delivers maximum greenside control.  

$54.99 $44.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Driver: Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond 10.5@11 (9GF/12GB)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45.25 EOG, Tipped 1, D4)

NOTES: Believe it or not, the Callaway Elyte TD driver has been Rahm’s favorite thus far. Why? Mainly forgiveness, but to take it a step further it’s been the lack of a BIG MISS that has allowed him to ramp up speed. Not to say he hasn’t loved ’em all, but this one in particular, he has told me, is fast, forgiving and he trusts it. The other fun thing here is the shaft switch that he made with Watson back in late 2023. That shift away from his Aldila Tour Green 75TX that was in the bag since his college years at ASU has leveled up his already elite driver game. Perfect stock numbers for Rahmbo with a driver are 11-12 launch/2300-2500RPM Spin/178-184 mph ball speed.

Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond Custom Driver

Tour-Proven Performance       The Elyte Triple Diamond model is designed for players who desire a smaller footprint, lower spin and launch, and a neutral to fade bias shape off the tee. Featuring a gloss carbon crown and a clean topline, this model has interchangeable front-back weights to allow players to choose between more stability (heavy weight back) or lower spin (heavy weight forward). The Future of Composites The Elyte Triple Diamond driver features an all-new Thermoforged Carbon crown. This aerospace grade carbon fiber enables fast head speeds while optimizing launch and spin.   Ai Advancements for Optimal Distance, Control, and Launch Our most advanced Ai face to date, the new Ai10x Face delivers 10x more control points than the Ai Smart Face™. Designed to produce exceptionally fast ball speeds, tight dispersion, and optimized launch across the face.

$549.99 $499.99 from Fairway Jockey

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3-wood: Callaway Ai-Smoke Triple Diamond T HL 16.5@15.8 (12GF, 7GB)
Shaft: Graphite Design AD DI 8X (43.25 Inches, Tipped 1.5, D3.25)

5-Wood: Callaway Ai-Smoke TD T 18@18.6 (14GF, 14GB)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI (Black) 8X (42 Inches, Tipped 2, D4)

NOTES: The fairway woods haven’t changed since 2021. The Triple Diamond T platform was designed specifically for Rahm and also Tony Finau and Jonathan Byrd — no one else has it in the bag. The most notable feature of the “T” is the camber in the sole design that allows Rahm to hit down on it and get it through the turf (almost like a wedge). He wanted a profile that lived in the mid-spin range that wouldn’t dip too far down in spin on right-to-left shots, and this one has been perfect year after year. The Ai-Smoke is a carbon Copy of the OG Epic Speed TD T he had in 2021. Rogue and Paradym had a couple of tweaks to the design weight-wise, but this Ai-Smoke setup has been the team favorite. I don’t see these coming out of the bag anytime soon. Callaway didn’t make an Elyte version. In regards to the Graphite Design DI shafts in both, essentially it’s a feel-and-spin thing that he’s preferred all along. The profile vs the Ventus black is different but keep in mind that his angle of attack is much steeper with his fairways, which results in different needs shaft-wise. The DI works well in fairways for a ton of players because of its softer features from the handle to the mid section and a stiff tip. This allows the ball to get up with spin, which is ideal for a 3- or 5-wood.

Apex UT: (21@20.5) Used as a 3 1/2 Iron (10G Sole weight)
Shaft: KBS Tour Hybrid Prototype 105X (40 Inches, D2)

NOTES: The “chicken stick,” as we like to call it, sits pretty close yardage-wise (not carry) to his 5-wood and finds its way in when courses are running fast. It’s the only real swap to the bag he ever makes. The Apex UT that’s in the bag is over 10 years old (launched in 2014) and has been a cult classic ever since. In testing, Jon hit a bunch of options, but when he struck this club it was instant love. Now, the trick is finding back-ups.

Irons: Apex Pro (4) Apex TCB 24 (5-PW) All Irons D3 and +3/8 in length IE 38.375 in 5-iron
Lofts: 23.5/27/30.5/34.5/38.5/42.5/46.5
Shafts: (4-PW) PX 6.5

NOTES: Continuing the minimal variables theme, the TCB irons haven’t changed since Day 1. Specs are the same (shafts, grips, etc). TCB seem to work in this case because of the off-set of the iron and mid-bounce sole. Rahm typically hits a cut with every club and the offset of the TCB allows his start line to stay on or left of the center line. In regards to the “club I slipped in the bag,” the Apex Pro 4-iron made its way in during a content shoot in 2023. When the Apex Pro was launched that summer, I had a feeling JR would love the higher launch of the line all while keeping the speed and spin the same, which was the essence of that iron. If you watch the video below, you’ll see it all go down.

Watch 3:53-4:20…that’s when it happened. Literally. After the shoot, they tried to take it from him assuming it would never go in the bag; he grabbed it back and said, “this is staying with me.” The club has been cemented in the bag ever since.

Wedges: Jaws RAWM (52/10, 56/12@55.5) W/ PX 6.5, OPUS SP PROTO (60/06T)
Shafts: PX 6.5 (52/56) True Temper Dynamic Gołd Tour Issue S400 (60)

NOTES: Besides the LW, the wedges have also remained the same since Day 1 at Callaway. Jon likes the 52/56 because of the shorter heel-to-toe profile, and with the 60, he’s been in the Opus T grind since the 2023 U.S. Open at LACC and this new Proto since January of this year. The new LW has added lead tape to get it to the desired swing weight. Jon told me that the new SP has a fast feel through the ground and seems to launch lower with more spin.

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S
INSERT: Micro Hinge Star
SHAFT: Steel Stepped
LENGTH: 37 Inches EOG
GRIP: Odyssey 56 (4 Wraps) 
LOFT/LIE: 2.5/68
TOTAL WEIGHT: 544 Grams 

NOTES: Quick nugget on swapping out of the Ai-One Rossie S Rahm has had in the bag since late 2023: The blue finish on that putter would dent when they put it into the loft/lie machine, creating two unwanted sight lines. Although subtle, Jon would notice them and it would affect how he aimed the putter. As a player that hates alignment aids, his silver OG Rossie S is a blank canvas and allows him to only focus on the red line on the ball. He also won both of his majors with that putter so there’s another reason.

Grips: Golf Pride MCC Mid Red/Black (1 wrap)

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The post Patrick Reed’s winning putter at LIV Dallas had sentimental meaning appeared first on Golf.

The post Patrick Reed’s winning putter at LIV Dallas had sentimental meaning appeared first on Golf.

Patrick Reed’s winning bag at LIV Dallas last week was a gear-nugget extravaganza.

After his second round at Maridoe GC on Saturday gave him a three-stroke lead heading into the final round, Reed revealed that the TaylorMade Qi35 3-wood head he was gaming had been store bought by his wife, Justine, at a local Golf Galaxy.

“She found one of my old shafts and we put it in play,” Patrick said. “As a whole, the club’s been amazing.”

But turns out that wasn’t the only family-oriented piece of gear news to come out of Reed’s bag in Dallas.

After prevailing in a four-man playoff Sunday to claim his first-ever individual LIV title, Reed said his putter — an Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 — held special meaning because of the name printed on it.

“It says Windsor-Wells all over it,” Patrick said, referring to his 11-year-old daughter.

Patrick’s putting was not exceptional — he finished 30th in putting average in the field of 53 — and on Sunday he described his putter as “flat,” adding “I didn’t really make anything beside hitting it close there on the first hole. From that point on, I couldn’t quite figure out the speed, didn’t really have it dialed.”

But when Reed most needed a putt to drop, it did. On the first playoff hole, Reed faced a slippery downhill 20-footer for the win. He struck the ball with perfect pace and it dripped over the right edge of the cup and into the hole.

Reed later said that when he was at address he’d looked down at his putter and said to himself, “Come on, honey, we’ve got to make one.”

“For that putt to go in it meant a lot,” Reed said. “Not only to get the win but to do it after changing quite some things in the golf bag leading into the Open [Championship], and to come out and win against a field like this gives me all the confidence in the world going forward.”

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The post Patrick Reed’s clubs: Inside his LIV Dallas-winning setup appeared first on Golf.

The post Patrick Reed’s clubs: Inside his LIV Dallas-winning setup appeared first on Golf.

To the gear heads, Patrick Reed has been a pretty fun topic of conversation over the years.

Since his win at the 2018 Masters and his unusual decision to choose an open bag the next season and eventually design his own iron with startup Grindworks, Reed has been the poster child for gear swapping. I can’t think of a player who makes more small tweaks week to week than “Captain America.”

This week at LIV Dallas, Reed survived the absolute BRUTAL test at Maridoe Golf Club to win the four-man playoff against Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey and Jinichiro Kozuma. The victory marks Reed’s first win on LIV and his first professional win in his home state of Texas.

The bag setup is interesting in a few ways, but let me bullet point the highlights, as it’s quite interesting, and I could write about this guy for days.

Here is the rest of Patrick Reed’s gear setup:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1X +

Driver: Titleist GT3 8.0 (A1 setting)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 70TX

Titleist GT3 Custom Driver

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.

$649.00 $449.99 from Fairway Jockey

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3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 15@13.5
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 7X

TaylorMade Qi35 Custom Fairway Wood

$349.99 $299.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Irons: (2) Titleist 716 T-MB (4) Grindworks PR202 (5-P) PR101A
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: (52) RTX Tour Rack 52 Mid, Vokey SM10 56/08M@55, Vokey SM10 60/04T
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Titleist Vokey SM10 Raw Custom Wedge

For every shot, every lie, every course, there’s a grind fit for your swing. Finding the right grind to match your swing and playing conditions will give you the best turf interaction, contact and shot performance. Master Craftsman Bob Vokey has spent decades crafting, developing and improving his tour proven grinds to fit players of all levels.Anyone can manufacture a wedge, but it takes a master to turn a piece of high-performance technology into an instrument of creative control. Bob’s six tour-proven grinds are designed to offer maximum creativity, versatility and consistency, all meticulously developed through years of working with the best players in the world. PROGRESSIVE CENTER OF GRAVITY SM9 features a progressive center of gravity (CG) throughout the lofts, which optimizes ball flight, accuracy and forgiveness. Using tapered top lines and varied hosel lengths, the Vokey R&D team has raised the height of the CG in the higher lofts, which promotes a lower, more controlled flight.The CG is also forward of the face, resulting in increased MOI, exceptional feel and a club face that simply wants to square up at impact. SPIN MILLED GROOVES SM9’s patented Spin Milled grooves are meticulously engineered through a new cutting process to maximize spin and durability. The process starts by cutting the face perfectly flat with a high-speed saw. Then every groove is individually cut based on loft and finish; low lofts (46°-54°) are designed with narrower, deeper grooves, while higher lofts (56°-62°) have wider, shallower grooves.Micro-grooves are individually cut in between grooves, which maximize spin on partial shots. A proprietary heat treatment is applied to the impact area which doubles the durability of the groove without impacting feel, making it the most durable groove in golf. The process is only complete when every Vokey wedge is 100% inspected for utmost quality and performance.

$225.00 from Fairway Jockey

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Putter: Odyssey White Pro #3

Grips: Golf Pride MCC Black/White 58R

Golf Pride MCC Grip

The MCC™ (New Decade® MultiCompound) is an innovative hybrid grip that fuses the positive performance of rubber and cord. The MCC boasts the Golf Pride® exclusive Brushed Cotton Cord in the upper hand area for firm all-weather control, and a performance rubber material in the lower hand for ultimate feel and responsiveness.

$11.99 from Fairway Jockey

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The post How Phil Mickelson’s top-of-the-bag choices can help your game appeared first on Golf.

The post How Phil Mickelson’s top-of-the-bag choices can help your game appeared first on Golf.

Like Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson approaches his equipment in a cerebral way.

Over the years, his choices heading into majors have been headline-making: the 64-degree wedge he employed at Winged Foot in the 2006 U.S. Open; the two-driver system he rolled out at Augusta that same year (he won); the extra-long driver and mini-driver setup he used to capture the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah.

Mickelson thinks things through in detail, and he’ll do whatever it takes to gain an edge.

From what I see this year, heading into the U.S. Open at Oakmont, his thoughts are once more focused on the top of the bag. This is always the trickiest part of the bag to get right because of the distances those long clubs cover. If we do the math for Phil, there’s close to an 80-yard gap between 4-iron and driver. For context, 80 yards through the irons (assuming the standard 12-yard gap) would be six clubs. At the top of the bag, that coverage comes from three or four clubs, max.

This week at LIV Virginia/DC, Mickelson rolled up to the first tee with an eclectic bouquet of head covers. Beneath them were a driver, 3-wood, and two 5-woods.

Mickelson has made it plain on his YouTube channel that as he ages into his 50s, hitting bombs is no longer a top priority. If he’s going to compete with the big hitters, he’ll need to outthink them. That starts with a deep look at his bag.

Here’s the thinking behind his setup:

Ping G440 LST 7.5 w/ Graphite Design VF 6X: Ping’s G440 platform is as stable as anything in the industry. It allows Mickelson to play a forgiving head at a lower loft so he can get it out there when he needs to. Ultimately, though, he’s leaning on forgiveness and spin retention for accuracy. 275 to 300-yard gapping.

PING G440 LST Custom Driver

The G440 driver family (MAX, LST, SFT) is optimized to deliver more ball speed through multiple advancements, including PING’s deepest CG in a driver to date and a shallower, thinner face, while continuing to ensure the game-changing forgiveness expected from a PING driver. The G440 LST (Low Spin) design appeals to players with faster swing speeds, providing lower spin and more control in 9° and 10.5° lofts with the three-position back weight. HIGHLY FORGIVING Lighter head weight allows for heavier back weight.  FASTER FACE  Shallow, thinner, face increases ball speed for more distance, higher launch.  SOUND DESIGN New shaping, carbon crown and internal ribs produce muted impact experience.  FREE-HOSEL DESIGN Saves weight to lower CG, increase forgiveness. Allows for more heel-side face flexing for consistent ball speed across face. 

$619.00 from Fairway Jockey

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Ping G430 Max 15@13.25 (43) w/ Graphite Design VF 7X: Here, Mickelson is opting for maximum launch, spin and forgiveness. The 430 Max has a high MOI head that gets up into its launch window quickly and affords a ton of forgiveness with its back weighting. 255 to 270-yard gapping.

Ping G430 Max 18@16.25 (42.25) w/ Graphite Design VF 8X: This operates as a 4-wood, complementing the low-lofted driver and strong 3-wood. This club most likely covers the 240 to 255-yard range.

Ping G430 Max 18 (41.5 EOG) w/ Graphite Design VF 8X: Phil looks at this as he would a 7-wood or a 3/4 iron combo that he can hit high with spin with a wide yardage gap. I see this club covering the 220 to 240-yard range.

From there, Mickelson’s setup moves to a hot Rogue ST Pro 5-iron, bent to around 23 degrees of loft. Phil can fly this club some 215 yards, a distance that blends nicely into his Callaway XF 6-iron, bent to around 27 degrees.

It might seem strange to see Phil opting for 4-woods instead of a long-hitter’s set up. But his shift is part of a broader ego-less trend that has elite golfers looking at the top of the bag in a more economical way. From the standpoint of strokes-gained, it makes sense. The top of the bag is where many strokes are sacrificed as the cost of power is often precision. Fred Couples understands this. It’s why he has 4 hybrids in his bag. Tommy Fleetwood gets it, too. His set up is similar to Philes: driver, mini-driver, 5-wood, 9-wood.

Point is, even the best players in the world are punting on long irons in favor of more user-friendly clubs. Golf technology has evolved to the point where there’s no need to be a hero by trying to make 4-iron or 5-iron “work”. In my own bag, I go driver, mini-driver, 5-wood, 4-hybrid, and I have a 5-hybrid coming. I’m not short by any stretch (160-165 mph with a driver) but I know I lose shots with my longer clubs. My strategy now is making sure every club in my bag helps me make par. If I card a birdie, great. It’s bogey or worse that I’m trying to avoid.

Where did I learn that? On the Tour trucks, listening to players strategize with coaches and tour reps.

Golf is chess, not checkers. The smartest player wins.

Five years ago, the thinking was different. These days, though, we can look to Tour pros for smart bag setups. If the best players in the world are looking for help, the rest of us should, too.

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The post Is AI the future of fitting or just a really smart assistant?  appeared first on Golf.

The post Is AI the future of fitting or just a really smart assistant?  appeared first on Golf.

If you’ve had a club fitting in the last couple years, or been researching where to get fit, you’ve probably heard some buzzwords thrown around: “machine learning,” “data-driven recommendations,” and yes, the big one… “AI.”  

What does that really mean for you, the golfer standing on the mat trying to figure out why your 6-iron only goes 150 yards while your buddy swears his goes 190 yards, with a little draw? 

Let’s dive into how AI is stepping up in the world of club fitting, and where it still needs a little human help.  

First off, AI doesn’t mean a robot is handing you clubs and giving you swing tips like it’s Iron Man on the range. When it comes to fitting, AI is more of a behind-the-scenes data wizard. 

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Here’s how it plays its role: 

– Data crunching at light speed: 
AI takes your swing data, clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, spin rates, smash factor, and more. Then, processes your numbers against thousands (sometimes millions) of shots stored in its database. It knows what combinations have worked for players like you, and it can spot patterns and outliers faster than any human can. 

– Recommending clubs based on trends: 
Instead of the trial-and-error approach of trying every club in the shop, AI can narrow down your options. It might say, “Hey, players with your swing speed and tempo tend to perform best with a low-spin driver and a mid-launch shaft.” That can save a lot of time and guesswork. Not to mention all those swings it’s saving your back from making.  

– Smart optimization: 
Some advanced fitting systems use AI to simulate thousands of potential setups. The AI model can make recommendations for shaft flex, lie angle, loft, head model, grip size, among other things. Then, rank them based on how well they’d likely work for your swing. That means you might get suggestions you’d never considered but will actually perform better than what you thought you needed. 

In a brand agnostic world, where the manufacturer doesn’t influence your decision, AI can narrow down tens of thousands of combinations to the top few contenders.  

– Consistency and objectivity 
AI doesn’t have a favorite brand. It doesn’t care if you swear by TaylorMade, Callaway, or Titleist, or if you think blades are just prettier. It’s about performance numbers, period. Being data driven helps to remove any human bias from the fitting process. That applies to the player and the fitter.

Gear

The pros of AI in fitting 

The cons of AI in fitting 

The human element: The ultimate variable 

Here’s the thing, golfers aren’t robots. We’re moody. We change our swings. Our “feels” change day to day. We react and are results driven. What feels like “the perfect swing” on Tuesday might feel dead on Thursday. That’s where the human fitter still reigns supreme. 

A good fitter knows how to interpret both the data and you. They’ll notice if you don’t like the look of a club at address. They’ll ask if that last driver felt better, even if the numbers weren’t top of the chart. And they’ll help you balance what the AI is recommending with what you actually enjoy playing with. AI + Human fitter = the sweet spot 

Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K Custom Driver

NEW FUTUREFIT33 ADJUSTABLE HOSEL The FutureFit33 system features 33 unique loft & lie settings to unlock more customization options than ever before. For the first time, loft & lie can be adjusted +/- 2 degrees independently from each other, allowing for more fine-tuned fitting customization. The innovative SMARTPAD design enables the face angle to remain square regardless of the setting. MORE EXTREME AERO DESIGN An improved aero shape features a higher crown peak, and a more streamlined shape with smoother curvatures for further drag reduction and maximized speed. SHAPED FOR SPEED AND FORGIVENESS A refined clubhead shape blends speed with forgiveness for an elevated look at address that inspires maximum confidence on the tee. NEW ADAPTIVE WEIGHTING SYSTEM The MAX-K model achieves a combined 10,000 MOI (in the 9.0* & 10.5; the 12.0 features a total of 9800 combined MOI) using an external fixed back weight and internal back weight pad to position the CG as low and back as possible to drive MOI to the extreme. The result is our most stable and forgiving head. LARGER H.O.T. FACE INSERT A larger forged face insert with H.O.T. face technology delivers improved face flex for more robust distance and ball speeds.

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Also available at: Cobra Golf, Amazon

So, is AI the future of golf club fitting? Absolutely. But it’s not the only future. Think of it as a super-smart assistant. One that never gets tired or distracted, but it still needs a skilled human to interpret, translate, and connect it to the golfer being fit. 

Because no matter how advanced the AI model is, it still can’t tell if you hate the sound of that titanium driver head. And it can’t feel that instant “click” when you know a club just fits and jumps off the page. 

The best fittings aren’t about man or machine, they’re about both. AI brings science; the human brings the art. Together, they help you find that perfect setup that doesn’t just look good on paper, it feels right in your hands and performs when it counts. 

At the end of the day, clubs are fit to your numbers, but they’re also fit to you. And that part? AI is just not quite there yet. 

Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Is AI the future of fitting or just a really smart assistant?  appeared first on Golf.

The post Buy premium gear for less during this pre-owned club sale appeared first on Golf.

The post Buy premium gear for less during this pre-owned club sale appeared first on Golf.

As you dust off your clubs for golf season, you may realize that some of them aren’t pulling their weight anymore. Maybe you’re ready to graduate to a more workable iron. Perhaps you’ve had your eyes on a driver, like the one Rory McIlroy used to win the green jacket. Or maybe you’re just a gear junkie who wants to test out something different. 

Whatever your reasoning, the price of new equipment can be hard to justify for many of us. Luckily, Fairway Jockey’s pre-owned clubs make it a little easier. 

Their top-of-the-line selection allows you to purchase premium brands — without the premium price tag — and right now they’re having a sale, making it even more affordable to upgrade your equipment this season. 

Shop brands like Miura, Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Mizuno and more during the sale and get up to 50 percent off the original sticker price. And when you shop with Fairway Jockey, you can purchase with confidence knowing that what you see online is what you’ll get. Their detailed condition guide ensures you’ll know what shape your club is in so there won’t be any surprises when it’s delivered to your door.

Pre-Owned TaylorMade Qi10 Max 12° Driver w/ UST Mamiya Quantum Speed 3 F1

Used TaylorMade Qi10 Max 12° Driver with UST Mamiya Quantum Speed 3 F1 shaft.

$499 (originally 808) from Fairway Jockey

Not sure what equipment is right for you? No worries. You can schedule a free club fitting over the phone to talk with an expert and better understand what your game needs.

You can shop the links above or click here to browse their full selection of premium pre-owned clubs today — but act fast, these deals won’t last long.

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The post Inside Xander Schauffele’s fairway wood fitting (and what you can learn from it) appeared first on Golf.

The post Inside Xander Schauffele’s fairway wood fitting (and what you can learn from it) appeared first on Golf.

Ed. note: This is Part 3 of a special six-part fitting series from the minds of the world’s most skilled club-fitters.

Previous installments: How to find the perfect golf ball | How the pros get dialed for their drivers

***

For Part 3 of our Tour fittings series, I turned to the gear rep who taught me the most in my time on Tour: Kellen Watson of Callaway Golf.

Kellen oversees the bags of Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Min Woo Lee, Blades Brown and a gaggle of others. His approach to fitting stems from years of experience as a rep, club builder, player and just generally having an intense love of equipment. His skill for shepherding his players bags has resulted in countless Tour wins and, since 2021 alone, four major championships: 2021 U.S. Open, 2023 Masters, 2024 PGA, 2024 Open.

So, yeah, the results speak for themselves.

For this assignment, I asked Kellen for his approach to fitting fairway woods. He did not disappoint. There is so much to learn here far beyond just fairway woods that it’s one of those explainers I’d encourage you to bookmark and revisit any time you’re in the market for a new stick.

Enjoy!

My Approach to Fairway Wood Fittings

By Kellen Watson, Sr. Tour Performance Representative, Callaway Golf

Every proper fairway wood fitting begins with the consultation process, which sometimes takes longer than the fitting itself. What are you looking for? What are your needs? What purpose should this metal wood serve?

In some cases, I find myself fitting a player for something that has a singular purpose, but in others — like with Xander, for example — the goal is to find a versatile club that travels with him everywhere. That means a fairway wood that attacks longer par-5s and also is a weapon off the tee when driver is too much. With my players, the consultation process begins only when one of their clubs isn’t performing or their bag is lacking harmony and needs an immediate tune up.

There is no finer feeling for a fitter than when a player can take the clubs off the plane, roll into an event that requires a higher lofted 3-wood to hit in four crucial places each round and know they already have that club at their disposal based on the work we have done. The bag is set early in the year and rarely changes. Their pool of clubs usually includes 16, 17 or 18 options, which should cover every need at every Tour stop. It’s chess, not checkers, and being wise beats being smart.

These are the kinds of questions we’ll ask a player during the fitting and testing process:

—What do we want this fairway wood to do?
—Are we hitting this on tight par-4s off the tee?
—Is this being played off the ground 70% of the time?
—Are you considering the long par-3 on the back 9?
—The 4-iron is spot on, but is the gap between that and the 3-wood still an issue?

These questions aren’t answered only by the player but also the caddie. Ultimately, it’s the player who will be looking at this metal wood at address and starting the backswing, but the caddie, if experienced, already will know the course and any changes that may have been made. Simultaneously, the coach, if well versed in equipment and how to process feedback, also will be an asset in finding a solution before, during or post testing.

Fairway Woods

Last but certainly not least, taking on board historic data from the player is also key, along the lines of these kinds of nuggets:  

—“This 3-wood I had in high school was amazing.”
—“I’ve always played a 2 iron.”
—“This shaft was my favorite, but didn’t work in my driver.”
—“I hit his club, and…”

The foreword is complete! Now, we’re ready to look at “real time” decisions and strategy.

I. What role(s) will this club play?

1. Tee club
2. Short/tight course 
3. Right to left tee club for a player who cuts driver
4. Par-5 club
5. 50/50: Great launch off the deck with a drawing pattern off the tee/layup yardage
6. Par-3 club
7. 3 iron/UT replacement?
8. Hybrid replacement?

II. What characteristics/aesthetics are important?

1. Deep face
2. Shallow face
3. Smaller head
4. Contrast of top line to body
5. Scoring lines
—Full scoring lines
—Sharpie the scoring lines to hide the loft that we have decided on while making said head look open at address
6. Face angle
—“I want to see loft”
—“Please filet that open”
—”I need it to be Square”
7. Lie angle
—Flat (Start Right)
—Up (Start Left)
—Love everything else upright, but if it looks flatter it will be easier to hit a cut into par 5s and I can turn anything over.
—I struggle so much with metal woods when they match my iron lie. If it looks upright/flat, it will trick my mind into playing the shot called for IE player reacting
8. Aiming icon
—I need that thing on top to feel where middle is
—Clean slate

III. What shaft is going to best satisfy all the needs?

1. Weight
—Typically a touch heavier than the driver shaft, but nothing suggests that this common assertion is best.
—In more lofted cases, we reference the UT iron (if played), iron shafts, swing mechanics and pair these with the dynamics of the head
2. Handle feel
—The stiffness, or lack thereof, of a handle can match up to a player’s feel, whilst providing the performance needed
—What seems to be the feel that the player likes in the iron shafts he plays
3. Mid section
—Do we want something uber stable in the middle to mitigate drooping and deflection on the vertical plane
—Do we want to cause drooping to center hit location based on CG of head
4. Tip feel
—Active tip for added spin and ball speed
—Stable tip to match iron feel
—Goldilocks tip to make club a reliable unicorn
5. Tip-to-butt relationship
—Do we want a shaft that launches, but doesn’t spin too much
6. Historic data
—Reference above
7. Swing Pattern similarities
—Every swing is a snowflake, but the striking resemblances of swing patterns allow the fitter to recall what has worked for others and possibly add this to the matrix for testing
8. Player Input: “I use this one in my driver, could you build me a 3 wood with this shaft?”
—OK
—This could work
—The driver swing is drastically different than the metal wood swing
—You’re asking to draw this 3 wood, but you hit beautiful cuts with driver
—You want this to land on the green like a butterfly with sore feet, but your driver goes knee high to a grasshopper
9. Length: Most important piece here is how far do you want this to go?

Fitting case study: Xander Schauffele

Xander plays what some call a “high lofted 3-wood” and others call a “4-wood.” This was an adjustment we made a few years ago as he continued to get faster. The 4-wood fits him perfectly because a traditional 3-wood is too fast (175+ ball speed) and doesn’t launch nearly high enough for him. So we have to add speed limitations in his build, which you will see below.

Xander’s common denominator in his swing: a huge pull of the shaft handle while maintaining a stable face. He can move the ball either way with the whole bag, but again, his 4-wood has its roles.

What Xander needed

1. We need a club that can be hit off the tee most places with cut or draw and a great spin number
2. We need this club to be used off the ground on “go for it” par-5s where the statistics say “push it closer to the green” with a great launch and spin number to hold firm greens
3. We like a clean slate on the top with a bit deeper face IE Triple Diamond
4. We like the ease of the cut with this club, so we love a slightly open face angle
5. We’re flat (lie angle) across the board in most cases as well as weaker in loft
6. We’re still fast…with everything
7. We’re going to go heavier shaft wise to slow the ball speed down, we don’t want this club to compete with his driver

Where we landed

1. Elyte Triple Diamond 3 HL 16.5

Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond Custom Fairway Wood

FEATURES & BENEFITS Penetrating Flight With Low Spin       The compact shape and deeper face of the Triple Diamond fairway wood allow players to shape shots with ease and control. A forward weight screw promotes a lower spin rate and a more piercing ball flight for added workability.       All New Tungsten Speed Wave for consistently fast ball speeds Featured on the 3-7 wood, the new Tungsten Speed Wave is a 35g weight that positions mass low and forward to promote fast ball speeds. This new, innovative design is engineered specifically to enhance misses low on the face. Ai 10x Face for Optimal Launch and Tight Downrange Dispersion     Our most advanced Ai face to date, the new Ai10x Face delivers 10x more control points than the Ai Smart Face. Designed with our C300 Face cup to produce exceptionally fast ball speeds, tight dispersion, and optimized launch across the face. 

$419.99 $349.99 from Fairway Jockey

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2. He loves the Mitsubishi Diamana PD in his driver so we just crank up the weight to SLOW it down
3. Weaker handle allows him to pull that shaft through impact without fear of it catching up and shutting down the face
4. Let’s go a touch shorter than standard length to mitigate distance and spin, he’s going to be down in attack on this so shorter will feel more connected
5. He likes a touch the lie flatter….let’s go a touch flatter, if hit location goes toe-ward, we can dial that back
6. In Triple Diamond, we have a lower spinning head with a touch of open clubface at impact. If need be, we subtract some of the sole weight and add it internally in the back to promote face closure
7. We’re going to sort for our highest lofted 3HL and then bend a degree strong leaving us around 15.5 ish loft
8. We maintain loft with an open clubface

Notes from Xander’s testing process

1. First shot – great starting line, great pattern downrange; sound is off so we add 2 grams of internal glue (hot melt) dead center on crown, anything on the crown will dampen sound

2. Second shot – great start, great pattern, better sound

3. Questions from Xander:

—”Major season is in our sights so it has to be perfect — is it? What do we know now that we didn’t before?”
—”Can we create an option that is better off the tee and do we really need a ‘par-5 club?'”
—“What do you think about a mini driver?” “You know better than me. Cook something up?”
—“This mini is pretty nice, but a small cut is a touch difficult.”
—“If we’re going to try the mini, can you build me a stronger UW to get closer in gapping?
—“There is too much manipulation that needs to happen to make this Mini work. Can we do a stronger TD?”

To finish, I build a “normal” 3-wood at “normal” 3-wood length for his tee-priority option, add another “weapon to the arsenal” but my player is ready to tackle any ball park on TOUR and I can rest easy. Now in the travel bag his fairway strategy looks like this. When the 3-wood goes in, a 21 (19.5 actual) degree UW goes in. When the 4-wood goes in, a 23 (20.7 actual) UW goes in. It’s all course dependent but at the end of the day he’s prepared, always.

Xander’s gamer fairway wood specs

3-wood: Elyte TD 15 (14.4, 57 lie)
Shaft: MCA Diamana PD 80TX (42.5 EOG, D1.7, Tipped 1.5)

4-wood: Elyte TD 16.5 HL (14.7, 57 lie)
Shaft: MCA Diamana PD 80TX (42.5 EOG, D1.7, Tipped 1.5)

Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond Custom Fairway Wood

FEATURES & BENEFITS Penetrating Flight With Low Spin       The compact shape and deeper face of the Triple Diamond fairway wood allow players to shape shots with ease and control. A forward weight screw promotes a lower spin rate and a more piercing ball flight for added workability.       All New Tungsten Speed Wave for consistently fast ball speeds Featured on the 3-7 wood, the new Tungsten Speed Wave is a 35g weight that positions mass low and forward to promote fast ball speeds. This new, innovative design is engineered specifically to enhance misses low on the face. Ai 10x Face for Optimal Launch and Tight Downrange Dispersion     Our most advanced Ai face to date, the new Ai10x Face delivers 10x more control points than the Ai Smart Face. Designed with our C300 Face cup to produce exceptionally fast ball speeds, tight dispersion, and optimized launch across the face. 

$419.99 $349.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Apex UW 21 (19.7, 57.3)
Shaft: MCA Diamana D+ 90TX (40.75 EOG, D3, Tipped 1.5)

Apex UW 23 (20.7, 57.3)
Shaft: MCA Diamana D+ 90TX (40.75 EOG, D3, Tipped 1.5)

To find the perfect fairway woods for your game, consult a fitter at your local True Spec Golf.

The post Inside Xander Schauffele’s fairway wood fitting (and what you can learn from it) appeared first on Golf.