In prep for the US Open at Torrey Pines, Xander Schauffele paid a visit to the Ely Callaway Performance center last week to work with our team led by Tour Operations manager Tim Reed. The point of the visit was to get the bag super dialed in heading into a major that has added cache for Xander. He’s a San Diego native and grew up playing at Torrey (like Phil) so this being in his backyard, he wants to be firing on all cylinders.
The main point of focus was trying to find a way to reduce spin (200-300 rpm) across the bag. On TOUR when this happens there are two ways to do it:
- Look into swapping shafts, lofts, etc. The easier choice.
- Start testing new golf balls which is a serious endeavor as it can affect literally everything, even sound off the putter if you want to get really deep into the rabbit hole.
If you read my breakdown of our Chrome Soft line you would know that the Golf Balls live for 3 types of players.
Chrome Soft (Red Box): Slower swing speeds, need forgiveness
Chrome Soft X (Black Box): Higher speed players looking for more spin and maneuverability
Chrome Soft X LS (Silver Box): High speed, high spin players looking to bring spin down into playable windows.
Xander and his father have worked hard over the past year on his physical fitness and it has shown. He has gone from a low 170’s MPH ball speed player into the high 170/low 180’s with the driver. That speed has bled down thru the bag and with his current ball (CSX) the spin windows were starting to live outside the comfortable windows.
As mentioned above this is where our Tour team has to solve a riddle and in this case, the fact he was looking to kill spin across the bag made it a bit easier. At times the request comes focused on a specific club, Driver, Fairways, Irons, etc. Those situations can be tweaked with a shaft change, a different style head, or groove configuration.
Once the Chrome Soft X LS was introduced into the testing the riddle was ultimately solved. Xander dropped 200 RPMs roughly across the bag and once again he was living in a spin window he was familiar with. To get more in-depth, Xander would be considered on the higher end of the spin chart. With a 6 iron for example he lives around 6100 RPMs with his current speed and CSX LS (came down from 6500), and with the Driver 2100 RPMs (from 2400 before the switch) that decrease is IDEAL. The rule out here is basically 1000 RPMs for the number on the club IE 7 iron at 7000 + or – 200 RPMs up or down depending on the launch and descent angles of the player.
Believe it or not, this TOUR story applies to you and me. It’s a great example of how important a properly fit golf ball is to the harmony of your ENTIRE golf bag. It was great thing Callaway did introducing this ball to the market, it gives all players an option when needed. CSX is a great foundation for any better player but there are some that might over spin that ball a bit. Now you have a place to go.
We all love to hit it a mile but spin management is key. Get to know your golf ball well, work from the green backwards and make sure it checks off every box. I’ve noticed in my time with WRX that a lot of players pick the ball based on what it does off the driver, DON’T DO THAT!!! On average you hit only a few shots with that combo, the ball has bigger fish to fry than just flying off the driver.
See Xander’s Full WITB Below:
Driver: Callaway Epic Speed 💎💎💎 (9@8, 6GF, 6GB, Flat Cog)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7 X (Custom Black, 45.5, Tipped 1, D3)
3-wood: Epic Speed 💎💎💎 (15@14.5)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X (43.25, Tipped 1.5, D3)
7-wood: Mavrik Sub Zero (20@18.8)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X (Black, 41.5 Inches, Tipped 2, D3)
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB “Raw” (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Callaway Jaws MD5 (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (56-10 @57), Titleist Vokey Design SM8 WedgeWorks (60-T @61)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Grips: Golf Pride MCC (Black/White 58R, 3 wraps top, 2 wraps mid, 1 total)
Putter: Odyssey O-Works #7 w/ Arm Lock CH Red, White Hot Insert
Ball: CSX LS ’21
