Equipment

Rickie Fowler on his new 3D printed prototype putter (and iron shaft switch)

Published

3 years ago

May 5, 2022

Rickie Fowler, who once led the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting (2016-17), currently ranks 184th in the same category. It’s no secret: Fowler hasn’t been putting up to his standards. In his first 12 events of the 2021-22 season, Fowler has finished inside the top 40 in just one event – a T3 at the 2021 CJ Cup – and missed the cut six times.

He’s not just sitting idly by and trying to get different results from the same approach, however. Fowler has been making frequent equipment changes to better suit his game and preferences.

In his latest changes ahead of the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship, Fowler went back to his familiar KBS Tour C-Taper 125 S+ shafts in his irons, and he’s put a brand new Cobra King Stingray 20 prototype putter in the bag.

On Wednesday before the Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Fowler to get his takes on the new changes. Here’s what he had to say…

On going back to KBS Tour C-Taper iron shafts

Back in January 2021, Fowler switched into Mitsubishi’s MMT graphite iron shafts to help reduce spin and gain stability. Now, in May 2022, Fowler is switching back into KBS Tour C-Taper shafts that he played for years prior to switching into the MMT shafts.

On Wednesday, he explained why.

“Obviously [the shafts are something] that I’ve had plenty of success with in the past,” Fowler told GolfWRX. “I went to the (Mitsubishi) MMTs because I saw it was helping get spin down. Now, (with my swing) being back in a better delivery spot, I was almost too low on the spin spectrum.

“The C-Tapers help get me back to where I want spin to be at. And yeah, I can manipulate loft and stuff like that to get spin where I want and all that, but like I said, something I’ve had success with, know it works, so yeah, I’m just in a good spot right now equipment wise. Not that we were in the wrong spot by any means. The MMTs did what I wanted originally. As things continued to get better, I was looking to add a little bit of spin.”

On his new Cobra King Stingray 20 proto putter

Fowler’s Cobra King Stingray putter also has a different face on it compared to the retail model. It has a solid construction, rather than the retail insert.

Fowler, a longtime Scotty Cameron user, has been experimenting with a number of different putter styles and brands in the last few months and years. In 2021, Fowler used a Cobra putter for the first time in his PGA Tour career, and most recently, he’s been using a TaylorMade Spider GT putter.

This week at the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship, though, he showed up with a custom Cobra 3D-printed Stingray 20 that’s a bit different than the retail model. Can you spot the difference?

Here’s what Fowler had to say about the new flatstick:

“I was messing with the Spider for a bit, which has rolled great. One, I liked the stability part. Two, it was easy to line up. Everything was matching up well. I feel like I was in a spot where I was just struggling to trust where I was lined up, and trusting that it was going to start there. So just making better strokes.

“Then with the Stingray, the one that’s in line has some wings on it. So we made one without those just to condense it a little bit and make it a little more…I don’t like having too much weight in the rear. A lot of mallets, you get weight in the back, where I feel like I’m kind of dragging a lot of times if it’s not a face balanced putter, the face will swing open and I feel like it kind of stays there. So that was the reasoning taking those off. There is a touch of toe hang on it, just to where there is a little bit of swing. The guys at Cobra were able to make that up, and I spent the last two weeks with it at home…

“A little touch up. They’re 3D printed, so that’s what’s nice with a lot of that, and the technology where we’re able to make little tweaks. Instead of having to make a completely new head, they can put that data in and print it up.”

Check out more photos and reactions from GolfWRX members in our forums.

Related Topics:Cobra featured recommended Rickie Fowler

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

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Equipment

BK’s Breakdowns: Cameron Young’s winning WITB, 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Brian Knudson

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

Whats in the Bag

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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

Check out more in-hand photos Malnati’s clubs here.

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

Check out more in-hand photos Malnati’s clubs here.

Equipment

GolfWRX Members Choice presented by 2nd Swing: Best driver of 2025

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

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%