Equipment
WRX Insider: Jimmy Walker going back to steel at Colonial
It all started with an experiment during lockdown. It’s late March and 2016 PGA Champion Jimmy Walker is bored…so he breaks out his old 42-inch Titleist 970 3-wood with a Dynamic Gold X100 shaft (circa 2000) and starts ripping a few.
Odds are it’ll feel great but the numbers won’t actually hold up…right?
Now it needs to be said that I interact with Jimmy from time to time via text having met last year through Claude Harmon at the Canadian Open. He’s an awesome human being, one of the best out there. How can you not like a guy that’s kind, humble, loves BBQ, four fingers of whiskey, a good telescope, and talking gear. Hell, the guy is a unicorn in my book.
One of the most entertaining aspects to him is his pure love of gear and especially the classics. When I say classics, I mean late 90s/early 2000 classics. The guy knows his stuff. So for both of us to see the numbers above and realize what was possible was a total nerd parade. The question at that point was, if the 970 does this, what will TS3 do?
Zap ahead a month later and I get this picture…
Jimmy then proceeded to start testing this thing, and low and behold the numbers were solid. Even better, it felt like a hammer. That’s the feeling he was chasing.
Now, at this point, I’m inspired. I’m online trying to find 45-inch X100’s, which are hard to find FYI. JJ Van Wezenbeeck (Titleist tour rep) had to dig around and dust off some old stock to get this done for Walker.
So now what? He won’t take this any further will he? Is it possible to go steel in a TS3? Will it even function?
Then I get this picture…
Followed by these numbers…
To which I replied….
Will it pan out? Who knows but for a gear head like me, I’m rooting hard for a win. I’m grateful I was able to be a small fly on the wall for this experiment.
I love this guy.
Driver, 3-wood specs
Driver: Titleist TS3 (8.5 degrees @ 7.75, C1 setting)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X-100 (44 inches, tipped to length)
3 wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees @ 14.25, C1 setting)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X-100 (42 inches, tipped to length)
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...
Imafitter
Jun 9, 2020 at 10:21 pm
Will be fun to watch him play with these clubs this week. Met him when I was a volunteer driving players at the PGA two years ago…very nice guy!
Tom
Jun 9, 2020 at 10:17 pm
Not a club building expert, so please be gentle… if I wanted to try to build a 3 wood like this could I use a X100 1 iron shaft (42 in) or would that not turn out right
DeepRed
Jun 9, 2020 at 2:14 pm
Great, I just converted my fairway wood to graphite, mostly because my favorite club in my Maltby 23* hybrid, now I need to dig out the steel Rocket shafted three wood and consider yet another driver, either another of my Rocket shafts, a Rifle 6.5 or a Microtaper S.
Neil Cameron
Jun 9, 2020 at 1:29 am
Jimmys shafts were tipped to lenghth,same as Tiger did
I think Matt was using non tipped shafts(i think) which would be too soft for Matt.I remember the x100 shaft for woods was not very stiff.
ps I am a huge fan of TXG
brian
Jun 9, 2020 at 8:16 am
His dispersion was fine, but he lost something like 6mph of clubhead speed, his efficiency numbers took a dive and, of course, the ball speed some some 11mph lower with the steel shaft.
Rob
Jun 8, 2020 at 11:29 pm
I would agree with the 3 wood as I also have a steel shaft in my old Adams 3 wood…the heaver shaft just seems to work great in the 3 wood….I tried the steel shaft in an old Callaway driver but was not happy at all with that one.
Benny
Jun 8, 2020 at 6:56 pm
Awesome article and even better comments. Thanks boys!
Rule 15.3a
Jun 8, 2020 at 4:56 pm
Is he still backstopping for his buddies?
Delbert
Jun 8, 2020 at 11:33 am
I hit X100s straight and decent length. That’s all that matters is getting it in play on most days. It will be interesting to see how others react if he wins or places. Finding the right graphite shaft is like trying to find the right pair of jeans. With steel, you just hit it hard.
Topher
Jun 8, 2020 at 11:32 am
Any idea of the swingweight of these woods?
Dave
Jun 8, 2020 at 4:24 pm
D-Heavy. Or, Heavy D. Either way I’m super curious what it feels like.
Kevin Ricciardelli
Jun 8, 2020 at 4:25 pm
D5
joro
Jun 8, 2020 at 10:57 am
A lot of people think that heavier is still better than the light stuff being used today. I was a Master Wood Maker for Cobra and in my own game hit the steel shafted Driver around 260 pretty consistently and that was with a Wood hear with a COF of 7.5 which is nothing compared to todays Ti Meta, Graphite, bounce, faces that go to a COF of 8.3 and more. So I can see where with the extra weight and a fast swing good distance and especially more accuracy can be achieved. I think a guy like Phil would be better off with the accuracy of steel and maybe give up a few years to keep it on the Planet. But of course his ego will be affected if he is not the longest out there. Accurate he is not, long he is but where it goes nobody knows.
stanley
Jun 8, 2020 at 10:31 am
interesting. i hate to be a doubter but i think it’s safe to say that he will go back to his graphite shaft sooner than later.
gwelfgulfer
Jun 8, 2020 at 10:11 am
Golfworks here in Canada blew the remaining stock of DG woods shafts a couple of years ago, so I picked up a few to try out. Currently have an X100 in a 10.5* 9015D @ 44″. Feels great, lower flight that rolls out nicely. I also picked up some OG Rifle 7.0 and 6.0’s years ago and have them in some fairway woods, interesting to say the least with the 7.0’s in a wood (currently in a Wishon 949MC 16.5*).
Tommy
Jun 8, 2020 at 9:16 am
I’d want to know how the TS3 numbers with a graphite shaft compare to the TS3 steel shaft numbers, including ball speed, spin rate and dispersion. Hard to say whether it is worthwhile going back to steel without that comparison…
gwelfgulfer
Jun 8, 2020 at 10:06 am
These guys go more by ‘eye’ than numbers when you’re at the top. They have different needs/wants than just being ‘optimized’ for distance. Take the experiment that Woodland did a couple years ago dropping down to a 4wd and steel shaft and still flying it over 300. With graphite, his gapping was bad at the top of the bag.
Brandon
Jun 8, 2020 at 10:35 pm
In another article on Walker’s shafts it said he lost a little distance in the steel but it was good because his gapping was better. His next club is 3 iron with he can hit 240 so now he can add a 64 degree instead of the 5 wood or whatever he dropped.
brian
Jun 8, 2020 at 9:10 am
The TXG guys did a video on this and their results did not match Jimmy Walker’s.
chip75
Jun 8, 2020 at 9:50 am
Matty was losing a lot of club speed with the steel shaft, if Jimmy is losing an equal amount he’d be giving up a club or two. Would be interesting to see comparison numbers. 121.5 mph is pretty fast for the X-100. Being a “Steel Guy” I’ve always wanted to see the test, but after TXG’s results, I’m not sure if further study is required, perhaps another few brave souls are needed …
Jack Nash
Jun 8, 2020 at 8:55 am
Would love to see Jimmy in the winners circle again. Plus winning with a steel shaft? The graph boys would be spinning.
EastpointeCC
Jun 8, 2020 at 8:49 am
This is priceless. I would love to see a large sample size. My guess is that the dispersion will be much larger than modern graphite but who knows. This also highlights just how insanely good these guys are.
William
Jun 8, 2020 at 8:15 am
I had to email True Temper about X100 driver shafts. They don’t make them anymore but still have a few “in stock” that can be custom ordered.
Picked up a 970 15* and a 7.5* underline 975D to build out a Tiger Slam bag. Who knew the X100 shafts would be harder to acquire than T blades or a 970 fairway wood now.