Equipment

Andrew Von Lossow: Why I joined GolfWRX

Published

3 months ago

Feb 26, 2026

Hello GolfWRX world, this is Andrew Von Lossow, and I’m joining you from my Instagram page Lead Tape Chronicles. I am ecstatic to be part of the team!

A little about me: I grew up in Seattle, Washington, very close to the game of golf. My Dad, Jim Von Lossow, operated Von’s Golf and Putter Studio. He took care of the region’s players for 30 years, providing club repair and club fitting. He was the first to have Trackman in Washington State in 2005. My Dad worked on the whole spectrum of golf, from beginners to touring professionals. On a daily basis, I would see things from a beginner set, to a set of clubs for a former NFL quarterback with 12 wraps of tape under the grip, and bending to lie angle one degree for a very well-known feel-based tour player.

Seeing all of the options there were in the world of custom clubs, I was curious about what it would do for me to get the ball to get into the hole in the most efficient way possible. Little did I know it would be a new world.

My beginnings in the game

I got my start in golf with my parents handing me a club when I could walk. That grew into playing junior tournaments and into high school and community college. In high school, I worked in the bag room at Sand Point Country Club in Seattle and my Dad’s golf shop. In college, I caddied in Montana during the summers.

During college, video editing and then graphic design were my off-the-course passions, but there was always the pull back to the course. For the last six years, I have been working with decorating apparel for golf courses with events and pro shops.

On the course, I have loved tournament golf and competing. I have had some highlights over the last number of years such as qualifying in four USGA Championships. Highlighted by the US Amateur in 2022 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. I made it into match play through a playoff and was the 63 seed. That meant my match was slated against tournament favorite and number two seed Michael Thorbjornsen. A great match was had, and I was fortunate to be victorious with a 3 and 2 victory. The next day I lost to the eventual runner up Ben Carr in the Round of 32 by the tally of 1 down. I have been fortunate to win the Rosauers Open, which is a Pacific Northwest PGA Section major, and win the Washington Golf Player of the Year once and the Washington Golf Mid-Am Player of the Year three times.

It is my favorite to prepare and compete in tournaments for this wonderful game, which begins with equipment. What clubs are going to be battle-tested? I am of the belief that every time you practice or play golf there is a moment for a breakthrough that can change your game for the better.

Enter @LeadTapeChronicles

The Lead Tape Chronicles Instagram page started in July 2018. I noticed the beginning of niche golf pages highlighting certain elements of the game. With my experience growing up in the club shop and seeing all of the custom clubs over the years, this was a creative outlet to express.

A page highlighting amateur players’ clubs from all over the world and shots of tour professionals’ clubs. I thought about how this page can cover the world of golf equipment with a personal touch for each player. To me, lead tape on clubs is a symbol of ownership: how a club should feel in your hands, making it yours, not something off the rack. Growing up in a custom club shop, some element of the club had to be worked on. A club is great right out of the factory, but if you can’t feel the club head enough, it’s time for lead tape to help it align with your feel.

Lead Tape Chronicles has been built by players sending in their photos of their clubs. Their way of playing the game and showing what makes a club feel good to them. It has also been a page that draws inspiration for other players on how to adjust their clubs. It is great because it brings together many other elements of the game, such as golf courses, tournaments, and shared experiences.

How I see the world of golf gear

As I look at the gear world these days, I reflect on what I like in my own bag. Today, with so many new clubs entering the market, when do you make your decision to change yourself?

I look at drivers and wedges frequently: the modern-day scoring clubs. New driver technology each year seems to amplify with better mishits, but how do those mishits with the clubs react to your swing? That’s one of my keys: finding the best club for your game with mishits.

Fresh grooves on a wedge are a great feeling. It’s been amazing seeing the amount of grinds available for retail when you used to see them only in tour bag scenarios. The world of wedges is wide and underreported on.

Putters are always intriguing, and with so many new models today, especially with the arrival of zero torque. Multiple putting categories are there to review. My Dad had a putter line from the late 90’s to 2010 or so. Even featured on the original GolfWRX forums, his putter was made of 303 stainless steel, a once-notable material that is now commonplace, so I have plenty of history in the realm of flatsticks.

Another area I find fascinating in today’s equipment world is the technology with shafts. The ability to fine-tune a graphite shaft, seeing all of the different available weights and the shaft profiles. There have never been more options, from driver to putter.

What you can expect from me in the future

Looking forward, I would like to dive deeper into what makes our bag setup what it is. And how a course management philosophy can be based off equipment decisions. So many options come into play now — such as driver, mini-driver, fairway woods, hybrids, and driving irons — even wedges can be part of the iron set down to the gap wedge with ease.

Being into the equipment world as deeply as we are, we are aware of the new gear that hits the market year after year. The dopamine rush is worth it to see where the new clubs came from their predecessors. I also wonder what makes a club’s staying power in the bag? We see it with fairway woods, putters, and drivers until they reach the COR limit. I am curious about what makes a club stay in a player’s bag, and I want to explore that further.

Of course, as a competitive player myself, I’ll be bringing you insights from that aspect of the game. Building a bag for competition is quite a bit different than picking your 14 for a weekend round with the guys.

Look for all of this and more in my content, and a focus on lead tape use, naturally!

Equipment

Spotted at the PGA Championship: Koepka’s new putter, L.A.B. Golf’s latest prototype and custom Philly gear

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

Aronimink Golf Club takes center stage for the 2026 PGA Championship, as the world’s best, along with America’s top club pros, take on the Donald Ross classic, just outside Philadelphia in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

Even on the first official practice day of the championship, there was plenty of gear news and storylines to dive into, with a three-time champion going through an extensive putter testing, as well as new prototype putters spotted and custom gear galore. Let’s dive into it.

Brooks Koepka’s putter testing

Three-time PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka spent plenty of time Monday morning and into the afternoon on the practice putting green in front of the Aronimink clubhouse, working with coaches and Tour reps and putting plenty of different flasticks through their paces, after apparently recently breaking his new TaylorMade Spider Tour X last time out at the Myrtle Beach Classic.

Koepka tested out a couple of Scotty Cameron heads, similar to that of Cameron Young’s Phantom 9.5R with a full sightline. It’s not the first time a Tour pro has asked to follow in Young’s footsteps. Justin Thomas had the same request last week at the Truist Championship. Why not follow the hot hand?

Koepka’s custom Cameron featured the same style Teryllium insert that he has used previously, most notably during his PGA Championship wins in a Newport-style blade. The putter, however, that looks to have the best chance of making its way into the bag come Thursday is a TaylorMade Spider Tour V, the model of head recently launched on Tour at the RBC Heritage.

What’s unique about Koepka’s new Tour V putter is the custom length L-Neck (plumbers) hosel that he has equipped. The extended version looks ot reduce the toe-hang of the putter along with adding stability to the stroke.

The putter change comes with a plethora of additions to Keopka’s bag after his split with Srixon/Cleveland. Along with already playing a Titleist ist Pro V1x golf ball, Koepka added Vokey wedges to his Grove XXIII staff bag last week in South Carolina. The 36-year-old is using SM11s in 48.10F, 52.12F and 56.10, along with the WedgeWorks 60B, a special grind with an interesting letter choice.

Look at Koepka’s full bag here.

L.A.B. Golf’s new vision

As GolfWRX continued the long tradition of capturing players’ bags and equipment, we got a glimpse of the latest L.A.B. Golf putter in the bag of Adrian Saddier. The Frenchman, who’s making his PGA Championship debut at Aronimink, is rolling with the newly added VZN.1i putter, which features a closed-back, winged-mallet design, resulting in a square cutout in the middle of the mallet.

Saddier’s new stick is center-shafted with two thick white alignment lines. The VZN.1 is the latest L.A.B. putter to be spotted. It comes after the traditional blade-style LINK.2.1 & LINK.2.2 were released on Tour, featuring a heel-shaft.

Take a look at the full gallery here.

Custom Philly-themed gear

As with every major championship, the PGA sees a bevy of custom gear from equipment manufacturers to highlight the theme of the week. With Aronimink sitting just west of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love takes full focus.

Callaway is ringing the Liberty Bell with its Philly special-edition staff bag that tour players will be rocking at Aronimink. The bag features a pin-striped design, embossed with the Liberty Bell itself and a special green-fluff strap for the Philadelphia Phillies’ mascot, the Phillie Phanatic.

TaylorMade is also theming the staff bag around the birth of a nation, with a specially crafted staff back to celebrate the city where American independence was born. The bag features Philadelphia’s fingerprints with Independence Hall lives on the ball pocket, the Liberty Bell graces the valuables pocket, and Benjamin Franklin holds court on the back. The bottom collar reads – City of Brotherly Love – and custom “LOVE” zipper pulls pay tribute to the iconic Robert Indiana’s sculpture situated in the city center.

Tileist has adopted a different design for its GTS headcovers, going with Kelly Green, for the 2025 Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.

Check out more custom gear in the forums.

Whats in the Bag

Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2026 (May)

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

9-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (5-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (46-10F, 50-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-A+)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (46, 50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #7S

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Equipment

Lead Tape Hall of Fame: Hideki Matsuyama

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

Today is a very special day for the Lead Tape Hall of Fame. Our second inductee is announced, and with great honor, we welcome Hideki Matsuyama to the Silver Jacket ceremony. Hideki’s meticulous attention to detail and precision have earned him his place in the Lead Tape Hall of Fame.

Hideki turned professional in 2013 and began his career on the Japan Tour. He was the first rookie on the Japan Tour to lead the money list, highlighted by five wins in his first season. His first appearance on the PGA Tour was the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, where he came in 10th place in his debut. In 2014, he won his first PGA Tour event at Memorial. Hideki is currently at 11 PGA Tour wins, including a scoring record at The Sentry in January 2025 at 35 under par. In 2021, he won The Masters. An incredible career and still full of momentum, what kind of tools does Hideki use to get in the mix week in and week out?

Matsuyama has been a career Srixon and Cleveland staff player. Typically with Graphite Design shafts in his woods and True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts in his irons. A unique trait is that in his wedges, he will play X100 shafts that suit his launch preferences. Rarely do you see a stiffer profile in wedges compared to irons.

Speaking of wedges, Hideki plays the Cleveland RTX4 Forged wedges. These debuted in 2018, but due to his level of detail, this is what he plays today. You can see the lead tape placed on the wedges in different places on the back flange. Usually erring towards the heel promoting certain launch characteristics and if anything a slight draw ball flight. In a 2021 GolfWRX interview, we found Hideki does not want to see the ball fall to the right. He wants the ball to fall to the left.

We see the use of lead tape on clubs like his fairway metal, where we see a small strip near the ferrule and even at the base of the grip. Looking at the details, Hideki operates; everything is done with purpose and measured for his stats. Not the type of feel player that doesn’t know how much weight is where and says, “That’s fine.”

Srixon told us, “We also travel with pre-cut lead tape in half-gram and one-gram increments, and Hideki will apply the tape to different areas of the club (muscle, flange, hosel, shaft), depending on how the club feels while testing.”

Hideki and his team have his club spec’d to the half gram for what to add or subtract from his set. This is Hall of Fame level here, nearly alone, but with Hideki’s meticulous attention to detail for each club is amazing to see.

This attention to detail carries down to the putting green as well. Hideki rotates through a series of Scotty Cameron Newport putters with subtle changes on sightlines, bumpers, and welded plumber’s necks. Sometimes on the bottom of the putter? A strip of one-inch lead tape. The tape has been on there so long that you can see the hand-stamped logo underneath. That is absolutely Hall of Fame grade!

It is incredible to see through the lens of the level of detail that Hideki operates in. We see lead tape anywhere from the shaft, above the hosel, in different positions on the back flange of wedges, and on the bottom of the putter. The precision he brings to the course has translated into a record of winning results from the beginning. We will have to stay tuned if his new Silver Jacker accompanies his Green Jacket in the trophy room!