Of all the bags on TOUR, I’m getting to know the Sam Burns bag REALLY well. The Tuesday practice rounds and conversations with Callaway Tour Rep Kellen Watson, Sam’s Coach Brad Pullin, and Caddy Travis Perkins have given me a nice front row seat as to what makes a good golf club for Sam.
Check out the story of Sams switch into Epic Speed!
Since his rookie year, Sam has been all but married to his Apex Hybrid that he got while on Web.com in 2018. It was a club that not only bridged the gap between his 3-wood but also replaced a trusty 2-iron that he had in the bag all thru his college days at LSU. The issue with the 2-iron at the time was it only had one shot (low bullets), and on Tour, that’s leaving a ton of meat on the table.
The Apex Hybrid took him a few steps further; it allowed Sam to add some height to shots in that 235-240 region and also, with the way it was built, eliminated a hard low spin left shot that basically, every golfer despises.
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro ’15 4HY (23@21.6)
Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Blue Hy 8X (39.5, Tipped 1, D3)
These were his numbers with the Apex Hybrid based on on the main 3 shots Sam likes to hit:
Stock (Straight) : 4000, 240-245yds
Cutter: 4400, 235-240yds
Draw: 3600, 250yds
According to Sam’s coach Brad Pullin, the Apex was fantastic but it did have its limitations:
“The Apex was a seriously good club for Sam for a long time but there were a few shots that would creep in that we had to stay away from. To hit a draw Sam would have to more or less turn the face down and catch it perfectly to maintain height and the proper spin and on occasion when he had to hit a hard cut, it could get floaty and drift right with too much spin. Might sound nit-picky but this kid is trying to be the best player in the world so it all matters.”
See Sam’s WITB from his win at Sanderson HERE:
Now we get to the Apex UW:
I have been saying this for a while now; the secret sauce of the Apex UW is spin integrity. Essentially it spins where and when it needs to for a long time. Sam’s switch makes perfect sense as UW addresses everything he wants. The cutters now don’t overspin; the stock shot stays as is, and the draws stay in the air with the proper spin, and Sam doesn’t have to manufacture the shot to hit the window he likes.
The new numbers look like this:
Stock (Straight) : 4000, 240-245yds
Cutter: 4200, 235-240yds
Draw: 3800, 250yds
As you can see, he narrowed the gap in spin between his draws and cutters while making the right to left shot something he could just hit without having to do any manipulation to execute.
These are small tweaks, but under the gun on TOUR, it could mean something huge for a player like Sam. If a player can gain 2-3% more trust in his bag or a specific club, it could be the difference between a win or a top 5.
In all honesty, we could all look at our bags this way. Yes, it takes time and energy, but we all want to play our best, so why not? If you care, you care.
Happy Hunting
JDub
