Equipment
Charl Schwartzel’s drilled-out Miura irons: A builder’s perspective
We see plenty of cavity back irons on the PGA Tour. Most of these irons have been strategically designed to position weight and center of gravity to maximize performance. Spotted this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: a nonconventional set of “cavity backs” in the form of Charl Schwartzel’s drilled-out Miura MB-001 blade irons.
As first reported by Golf.com’s Andrew Tursky, Charl, an equipment free-agent, bought the irons online, and after tinkering with them (obviously, Charl is a true gear nut), he felt the irons were just a bit too heavy at D6 swing weight and wanted to bring them down to around D3. These number will seem quite arbitrary to some, so to help explain swing weight, we have a short video below
Now, the question comes down to why would he drill out the irons instead of just having the clubs built to his desired spec?
In the case of Miura irons, a company founded in Japan. The iron head weights are heavier than others on the market because Japan spec irons are generally built to shorter lengths than their North American counterparts. The clubheads are noticeably heavier in the shorter irons and wedges (see chart below), which is why we see more holes in the pitching wedge vs. the longer irons.
Since the MB-001’s are a solid muscle design with no badges or weight ports in the head, there is no other way to remove the mass needed to hit a lighter swing weight for Charl—unless Miura was to produce a set heads at a lighter weights by grinding off mass during the final production steps before final finishing.
Head weight specs 3-PW starting at 245g at the 3-iron.
As a result, when built with heavier tour weight shafts (anything 110g or above) and at a standard North American length (37″ – 7 iron, or longer), the clubs will end up being heavier than what would be considered standard swing weight (usually between D1-D4). Let me please point out that in the golf club manufacturing world there are very few standard practices or measurements beyond the USGA ruler and swing weight scale. Although the phrase “standard clubs” is still common nomenclature, it applies very little to the custom club building world.
Beyond adding mass to the grip end of the club to counteract the heavier weight of the heads, a practice known as counterbalancing, the only other option is to drill mass out of the clubhead (see full video above for further explanation). Charl reportedly did the drilling himself when fine-tuning the clubs and after a few holes got them right where he likes them.
Based on the thickness of the iron muscle and the amount of mass removed from each head (roughly six grams), these holes have no effect on the performance of the irons (but have probably killed any potential resale value on the open market—bearing in mind that last part is tongue in cheek). If Charl wins another major with these, who knows what they would be worth.
Other examples
This process of drilling out mass has also been referred to as “porting,” and club builders have been doing it for a long time. In the case of wedges, porting not only helps reduce clubhead weight, but can also help (in a very, very small way) remove mass from lower in the head to raise the CG. It’s the exact reason Callaway introduced this design feature in the original PM Grind and continues with the design philosophy today in the JAWS MD5.
With Bryson’s wedges being more than 1″ over standard length, weight had to be removed from the head.
We don’t recommend you start drilling holes in your irons and wedges just yet and suggest seeing a professional club builder to help you sort out your specs and get you dialed in. For more pictures of the clubs Charl Schwartzel is using this week, head to the GolfWRX forum: Charl Schwartzel – WITB 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach
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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Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
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craig adams
Mar 12, 2020 at 12:42 am
Charles golf game has holes in it. He’s out of the top 200? A golfer as talented as he is shouldn’t have to tinker with clubs. Manufacturers should be throwing their clubs at him. Did his game go sour since moving to PXG? Why do golfers change a winning combination? Look at Westwood and Jiminez; been playing with Pings all their career.
Eldrick
Feb 20, 2020 at 3:38 am
Looks like his Gapr low is a glued non adjustable one.
Nack Jicklaus
Feb 12, 2020 at 1:02 am
He should have just drilled all the way through the faces like the old “Hammer” driver. Boom!!!!!!!!!!
Ima Fitter
Feb 10, 2020 at 5:02 pm
Love it! You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a new set of irons. As long as they are forged and you like the appearance, pre-owned irons can be fit to your swing. Change the loft & lie, change the shaft, change the grips…any qualified club builder can make them work for you.
Benny
Feb 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm
Great catch Wrx and article. Charl left PXG a while ago. But truly suprised he couldn’t get a set directly and have them custom grinded. Anyways great details and love the comments fellas.
bob stelben
Feb 8, 2020 at 3:01 am
Good video on swing weights. Can you explain tipping of the shaft and the reasons or advantages/disadvantages?
Steve
Feb 7, 2020 at 3:23 pm
I thought Schwartzel was a PXG guy? Guess I am mixing up who Parson’s friends are. And I agree….drilling holes in Miura irons is like adding your own touch up paint to the Mona Lisa. To each his own, I guess.
Funkaholic
Feb 7, 2020 at 4:55 pm
I doubt a pro is bagging those Miuras for status, he is going to play the grooves off of those babies, appearance is for weekend hackers.
Donn Rutkoff
Feb 6, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Palmer probably drilled out hundreds of clubs. Tinkering was common. To suit your own swing.
Fergie
Feb 6, 2020 at 12:33 pm
Drilling Miuras like that is, well, blasphemy. He should just get it over with and get CB’s.
Funkaholic
Feb 7, 2020 at 4:53 pm
CB’s are not the same idea at all, he is reducing swing weight, a CB redistributes weigh to lower in the head making raising MOI and them easier to launch.
Mike Cleland
Feb 6, 2020 at 10:32 am
I grew up playing D5 S/W clubs with standard lengths. Does any manufacturers make heavy headed clubs or do they just shove weight down the shaft & change the center of gravity. All my clubs are covered with lead tape. Any suggestions?
PS: I really enjoy your blogs
jgpl001
Feb 6, 2020 at 3:50 am
Nasty workmanship on a quality blade
He appears to be missing the drilled effect of hs old pig’s……
Dennis
Feb 6, 2020 at 1:28 am
Do all the pros go for swingweight instead of MOI-Matching?
Gurn
Feb 6, 2020 at 12:19 am
Those Miuras need that treatment like a hole in the head
bill bourne
Feb 5, 2020 at 8:01 pm
Does drilling out the backs affect the overall thickness spec?
JP
Feb 6, 2020 at 8:32 am
Huh? Overall thickness spec? What is that?
Tim Armington
Feb 7, 2020 at 7:54 am
You dont know what a thickness spec is??? Wow.
Funkaholic
Feb 7, 2020 at 4:56 pm
Ha! This guy doesn’t know what thickness spec is!
maroon
Feb 8, 2020 at 4:32 am
I know but it has nothing to do with golf 😉