Equipment
10 Revealing Photos from the Crowne Plaza Invitational
We’re underway in the PGA Tour’s pseudo-Texas swing (which only lasts two tournaments) this week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club.
Most people know Colonial as Hogan’s Alley, and it’s fitting that the course puts a premium on ball striking with its tight fairways and small greens.
GolfWRX was live this week from Hogan’s old stomping grounds, and you can see all of our photo galleries here.
Now let’s see what those galleries offered us in this week’s Revealing Photos.
The Ducks’ Thomas Lim with an intriguing WITB
Iomic AND Golf Pride grips? It’s tough to pull off the mid-bag grip switch up, but the University of Oregon standout does it.
It looks as though the once Volt-colored swooshes on his irons are running out of electricity. Time to plug them back in and recharge?
Also, Lim has a 20-gram weight in the toe and a 10-gram weight in the heel of his Odyssey Tank 330M putter, which is most likely used to slow down the release of the toe of the putter.
Golfers with the case of the pulls on the greens, take note.
Ben Crane’s caddy: “Whoa! Slow down and take your time, Ben.”
Everyone else: “NOOOO!”
Train yourself to putt better for dollar-menu prices
Want to groove your putting alignment and stroke? A long string, two rods, two tees and something with a straight edge is all you need, even if you’re on the PGA Tour. This is a very comprehensive putting training station that you can have for less than $10.
Here’s another good one from Adam Scott.
Get yourself an alignment aid, draw a chalk line to the hole, and stick a tee behind your putter head to limit stroke-length, which encourages acceleration into the ball.
Another drill from Kevin Chappell. All this one takes is an alignment rod, which you probably already have laying around somewhere. This drill will encourage golfers to rock their shoulders and release their putter at impact.
Max Homa’s Kobe Bryant-inspired stampings
Kobe gave himself the nickname “Black Mamba” after watching Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, and thought the snake, which was used as a code name for a deadly assassin in the movie, was a perfect description of his basketball game.
In his veteran years, the 36-year old goes by the name “Vino,” meaning “wine,” implying that his game gets better with age. “KB24” is self-explanatory (hopefully).
Nike Vapor irons just don’t look the same for lefties
Because of the design of the club, the Nike Swoosh sits backward on the lefty’s irons. That’s gotta mess with Cody Gribble’s mind just a little. At least it puts my brain in a pretzel.
John Huh’s wedge stamp has to be one of the coolest ever
John HUH?!
The simple luxuries of the PGA Tour
Testing putter grips for most people means taking grips on and off of the same putter. Testing grips for PGA Tour pros means two of the same putters with different grips. Must be nice.
Congrats to KingMade Jerky on making the Wall Of Champions at Colonial!
KingMade Jerky: The mouth-wateringly tender champion of golf snacks. A well-deserved induction.
Here’s Charles Macdonald’s bag, the 1895 U.S. Amateur Champion
He defeated Charles Sands 12 & 11 at Newport Country Club 120 years ago. It’s impressive to see him teeing it up at the Crowne Plaza at Colonial in 2015. Talk about career longevity.
Hunter Mahan’s weak cover up
We’re on to your tricks, Hunter. One layer of lead tape isn’t enough to hide from GolfWRX. We know you’re testing a Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind wedge.
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...
Benny
May 24, 2015 at 11:13 am
Love this new section. Awesome stuff!
Colin
May 25, 2015 at 10:27 pm
Yes! Definitely keep this section going for future tournaments.
Chuck
May 23, 2015 at 8:33 pm
What’s the name of the green Adam Scott putting device?
Chuck
May 23, 2015 at 8:31 pm
What does Vokey call that very dark finish on Max Homa’s wedges? If they were simply unchromed, they wouldn’t have such an even finish, and they wouldn’t be so blue-gray, right?
That finish really looks nice.
AndyB
May 25, 2015 at 5:27 am
I think it is probably the raw black finish that has been tinkered with to give it that even and darker raw finish. I stripped my raw black sm5’s with CLR, and this is about the color they were after the first soak and a light rub with scotch brite pad. I continues to work on mine until they looked like a typical raw wedge, but after seeing these, I am starting to regret it. Great looking wedges.
Rich
May 22, 2015 at 9:28 pm
Hunter Mahan testing a mack daddy pm grind. That’s hilarious! He used to use an eye2 so it’s even funnier that he’s gone elsewhere for the same design! I guess Callaway did it better. Karsten will be rolling over in his grave!
Chuck
May 23, 2015 at 8:12 pm
Well that Callaway/Mickelson wedge looks the way it does precisely because Callaway was imitating an old Ping design that Mickelson longed for, right? The Ping guys ought to stamp “PING” into the lead tape.
Here’s another golfwrx thread, featuring Mickelson’s Ping wedge with logos covered up via lead tape, just like Mahan’s Callaway:
http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/955275-phil-and-a-ping-wedge/
RG
May 22, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Keep’em coming Andrew, look forward to this every week.
Agreed
May 22, 2015 at 4:25 pm
The PM grind is a Ping eye 2
RG
May 22, 2015 at 7:38 pm
Yeah, I don’t get why they are getting so much hype. I game the Eye 2 XG and the Cally is a straight clone of a wedge design that’s been around for 30+ years. Ping invented the U grind.
Well if your gonna rip-off something, that’s a good one to rip-off caus the Eye 2 is the greatest sand iron ever.
LorenRobertsFan
May 22, 2015 at 12:52 pm
You’d think that Ping would easily mill grooves out on the toe of a EYE 2 Gorge for Hunter so he wouldn’t have to test the PM grind..
Teaj
May 22, 2015 at 2:09 pm
+1
KCCO
May 22, 2015 at 6:13 pm
The height of toe looks a lot higher in person than any other oem’s wedge….may be the grooves making an optical illusion. But my comment is kinda pointless as I didn’t sit another wedge next to it to see height at top of toe if there is a significant difference