Equipment
TOUR REPORT: Collin Morikawa’s sneaky gear change, Scott Piercy’s lead tape tutorial
Welcome to New Orleans, the home of Bourbon Street, jambalaya, yard-sized cocktails, Mardi Gras beads, jazz music, Lil Wayne, and the Zurich Classic.
Held at TPC Louisiana, the Zurich Classic is a two-man team event, making it a unique stop on the PGA Tour schedule. Being that it’s also set in New Orleans, the Zurich Classic has a more laid back and fun vibe than most other events throughout the season.
This week, despite all of the festivities and food, GolfWRX was live from the grounds to see what equipment the top players in the world are using, and what gear changes they’ve made recently.
Below is this week’s Tour Report from The Big Easy.
Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Zurich Classic here.
Viktor makes a subtle driver tweak
Prior to The Masters, Viktor Hovland, who naturally plays a cut off the tee, noticed that he wasn’t able to draw the ball as much as he’d like. To combat the problem, Hovland and Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates experimented with different driver configurations.
Eventually, they settled on changing the lie angle of his Ping G425 LST driver by 2 degrees upright. The more upright lie angle now helps Hovland turn the ball over from right-to-left more easily.
I spoke with Hovland about the tweak this week in New Orleans:
”We had a hard time drawing the driver, because it was too flat,” Hovland told GolfWRX.com at the 2022 Zurich Classic on Tuesday. “I have pretty low hands at impact, so we figured it’d be easier to make it more upright so I didn’t have to work as hard to draw it. When I do draw it, with that current setting, I tend to draw my irons too much. We just kind of matched it up to the rest of the set.”
Read the full report on Hovland’s driver switch on PGATOUR.com
WITB: Barstool Trent and Frankie Borrelli
Playing in the 2022 Zurich Classic Celebrity Shootout on Tuesday, Barstool Trent and Frankie Borrelli from Barstool Sports’ Fore Play podcast let us take a look at their WITB setups.
Check them out here:
Collin’s sneaky putter change on slow greens
Coming into the Zurich Classic, Collin Morikawa was using a TaylorMade TP Collection Juno putter with 2.5-gram weights in the heel and toe sections of the sole. While warming up on the practice putting green on Monday, Morikawa noticed that the TPC Louisiana greens were a bit slower than the greens he dealt with at Augusta National for The Masters.
To deal with the change of pace, Morikawa sought to change the feel of his putter rather than his stroke. So, Morikawa changed out the 2.5-gram weights for 5-gram weights, adding 5 grams of overall weight to the putter for a heavier hit.
“I just added a little more weight to the putter,” Morikawa said on Monday at the 2022 Zurich Classic. “For me, it’s what I do on slower greens, like what I did at The Open. Instead of trying to hit it harder, or do something different, it just matches my feel a little better, and helps me work my way from fast greens to slow greens.”
Click here for the full story.
Scott Piercy’s lead tape 101 explanation
Scott Piercy, the undisputed King of Lead Tape, provide an in-depth explanation of why he places lead tape on the rear portion of his Titleist TSi4 driver.
I asked Piercy if the lead tape was for forgiveness purposes, and here was his answer:
“It’s a spin and launch kinda thing. The more you move the weight forward, the more, yeah, the head gets less forgiving, but it also changes launch and spin. There’s glue back here, too. And this is the lightest weight they have [in the front weight port]. So, there’s a method to the madness.
“It’s a little bit of forgiveness, but it’s more like…back in the day, the CGs were farther back. What happens with CG is, if you don’t know…the CG tries to align with the shaft at impact. So what does that do with the face? It helps you shut it. I hit a cut that needs to start left and cut, so when I get the CG forward, the ball starts right. So I’m always trying to pull my CG back. From there it’s a shaft thing, and you start getting into the launch monitor numbers.”
Check out Piercy’s full WITB here.
Graeme McDowell: The Duke of lead tape?
If Scott Piercy is the King of Lead Tape, then maybe Graeme McDowell is the Duke. McDowell’s irons are slabbed all the way up with lead tape on his Srixon ZX7 irons, and his driver and putter are caked with tape, too.
Check out McDowell’s full WITB from the 2022 Zurich Classic, too.
Team Streb and Merritt have matching wedges
Being a team event, some player duos dress to match, such as defending champions Marc Leishman and Cam Smith in 2021.
Robert Streb and Troy Merritt kicked it up a notch this year by getting custom Titleist Vokey SM9 wedges with the same festive “Recipe for Success” stampings by Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill.
See what GolfWRX forums members are saying about the matching wedges in our forums.
Callaway reveals its new double-decker Tour Truck
This week at the 2022 Zurich Classic, Callaway officially revealed its new double-decker Tour Truck, which will travel with the PGA Tour to each event to help players get dialed into their equipment.
Want to see what the new state-of-the-art Tour Truck looks like on the inside? GolfWRX photographer Greg Moore got a full tour of the portable build shop.
And with that, we’re signing off this week from the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. We’ll see you next week from the Mexico Open at Vidanta!
Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Zurich Classic here.
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...
LuvMeSumClickBait
Apr 23, 2022 at 12:47 pm
Collin! You sneaky son of a b*!