Equipment
Wie trusts iron game, lucky ball marker in U.S. Open win
Being a favorite to win a major championship, like Michelle Wie was this week at the U.S. Women’s Open Pinehurst No. 2, is usually more of a curse than a blessing.
It was especially daunting this week because of the USGA’s decision to play the tournament the week after the U.S. Men’s Open… on the same course. That brought more eyes to this women’s professional golf tournament than any in recent memory, making it all-the-more impressive that the 24-year-old was able to accomplish golf’s toughest feat.
Many expected her to win and she did.
Pinehurst’s greens were firm, fast and repelled everything but the best-struck iron shots. That was a huge advantage for Wie, who is one of the few women on the LPGA Tour who has enough swing speed and skill to play muscleback irons (7-PW) and slightly more forgiving forged cavity-back middle irons (5, 6).
She has her 6-foot-1-inch frame and David Leadbetter-approved mechanics to thank for that, and she hit towering cut shots into Pinehurst’s turtleback greens that — unlike most of her competitors — stopped pretty much where they landed. That helped her hit 50 of 72 greens this week, about 11 more than the field’s average.
Click here to see photos of all the clubs Wie used to win the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open.
Wie also averaged 263.5 yards off the tee this week, which doesn’t sound that impressive until you consider her conservative style. In her closing nine holes she hit only one driver off the tee, opting to use her 13-degree Nike Covert 2.0 Tour fairway wood for most of her tee shots.
Those who know a little something about golf equipment also know that most LPGA Tour players don’t often use fairway woods with so little loft. They’re tough to elevate and even tougher to stop on the green. That’s why Wie said she uses the club mostly as slightly shorter, straighter option than her driver, but it’s what she said next that’s more impressive.
“I hardly ever have a shot into a green that’s more than 250 yards, so I don’t really ever have to hit it off the ground,” Wie said.
Why not have two driving clubs then?
And of course there’s Wie’s putting, which most golf analysts have targeted as her weakness and the reason why she hasn’t won the dozens of tournaments they expected from the golf prodigy when she was barely a teenager. It was the best club in her bag this week, though, which might have to do with something she picked up in her home state of Hawaii.
In April, she grabbed her third LPGA Tour victory at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii, but also picked up a ball marker adorned with the Hawaiian state flag. She hadn’t used it since then, but she used it to mark her ball this week. The results? No three putts and the most clutch putting performance of her career.
Could a lucky ball marker really have helped Wie win this week? A better question is this: What happens when one of the LPGA Tour’s best ball strikers starts putting better and feels more confident about her game?
That’s the funny thing about luck. Winners tend to have it; losers don’t.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Jake Fro
Jun 24, 2014 at 12:38 am
Can’t wait to see her in adult films….especially in her putting position!!
RSinSG
Jun 23, 2014 at 8:54 pm
She made some clutch shots under pressure on a very hard course. The girl is only 24 – lot’s more to come from her.
larry wilson
Jun 23, 2014 at 5:55 pm
she should send her parents home….to stay, they almost ruined this soon to be great player
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snowman
Jun 22, 2014 at 11:42 pm
Like many, I questioned some of the decisions that Michelle and her parents made earlier in her career, but I am very happy to see her playing well and winning her first Major. When she is “on” she is a force. This is a great win for her, great for Womens golf and Golf in general. Well done Michelle.
JJ
Jun 23, 2014 at 1:00 am
Couldn’t agree more, well said.
Rich
Jun 23, 2014 at 4:38 am
Ditto. Well done Michelle. It’s also great to see how gracious the comments of Stacy Lewis were after the tournament. She had nothing but praise for Michelle. What a class act. Women’s golf is awesome!