It was an INSANE week at Kiawah, absolutely insane. Typically a major brings a quiet truck as most players are dialed in beforehand but for whatever reason the truck was active and our guys were in full battle mode.
On the truck this week was Tour Manager Jacob Davidson, Kellen Watson, Simon Wood and Odyssey’s Joe Toulon.
Phil Mickelson was and continues to be the talk of the town. The big left hander put his new Epic Speed Driver in play (6@5.5, 47.75, D5, 3GF, 2GB) with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6TX
Matt Wallace wanted some bounce taken off the back of his Jaws MD5 60/08T. Wallace was looking for something that would combat the hard, tight lies around the greens at Kiawah. As if the place isn’t tough enough. 🤷🏻♂️ All of Matts’s wedges have Nippon Pro Modus 120X shafts. Matt also had a new TCB 4-Iron built up to replace his gamer that was damaged in transit. Like his wedges, the iron set had Nippon Pro Modus 120X shafts. I’m on the edge of putting these in my irons, they are so good.
Alex Noren tested a Raw PM Grind 60/12@59 this week but ended up staying with his MD5 Jaws Raw 60/12X@58.
Byron Nelson Champion K.H Lee had a backup Epic Max LS built up to match his gamer exactly. He has been so excited about the performance of his current setup even before the victory that he wanted to ensure he had another in the trunk just in case.
Dylan Frittelli put a brand new set of MD5 Jaws custom grinds in the bag. Dylan has been working with Simon Wood on a grind that was similar to his previous gamers and they finally found the recipe. The new wedges come shafted with Nippon Pro Modus 105X. The new setup is a 56/12X and 60/08T boh with a modified C grind to take some bounce off.
Emiliano Grillo will be doing some driver testing after the PGA. He had an Epic Speed 💎💎💎 DS with a Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X (9@7.9, 8GF, 8GB, 45.5 D2, Tipped 1). 2 other shafts were made up to test, a Project X Hzurdus Black 75G, 6.5, and a PX RDX Smoke Black 70G, 6.5. Grillo has been in a Mav SZ (10.5@8.5) since last season and is looking to bring spin down a bit as well as compliment a hard draw that the DS head is perfect for. His current setup is also open 2 degrees and Emiliano wants to test playing with a more square look.
Brendan Grace put a new 57 Gram Auto Flex SF 505XX bull whip shaft into his Epic Speed 💎💎💎 LS (9@9.6). Grace was previously in the MCA Diamana TB 60TX
Lots of Lofts and Lie checks this week. Every time we turned around another bag was being dropped off. Simon Wood was a busy man Thomas Detry, Xander Scahuffelle, Christian Bezuidenhout, Tom Lewis, and Jon Rahm all got dialed in. Bez also had his 7 iron ferrule repaired and put fresh new Golf Pride Tour Velvets (58R, Logo Down) on his whole set.
Like the lofts and lies, there were a number of Utility irons that went out the door for staff and non-staff. Tom Lewis put in an X-Forged ’18 (18) with a KBS $Taper 125 S+ shaft.
Champions Tour player and 2002 PGA Champion Rich Beem put a Raw PM Grind 58/12 in the bag this week. He also had a backup made with some serious Anthony Taranto “Willie Nelson” love. Both wedges have Nippon Pro Modus3 105 Wedge shafts.
On the Odyssey front, Joe Toulon who has been working with Jon Rahm on his some putter options may have found a recipe that works. Rahm switched to the Micro Hinge Star insert in his 2 Ball Ten this week. His speed has been slightly off as of late and he wanted something that would feel a little faster off the face. The improved roll of the MH star insert gave him that feel and he instantly felt more comfortable with his distance control.
UPCOMING W.O.W SCHEDULE
Sr. PGA Championship (Southern Hills)
Memorial (Muirfield Village)
KFT BMW Charity Pro-AM (Thornblade Club & The Cliffs Valley)
US Open (Torrey Pines)
KPMG LPGA Championship (The Highlands)
Rocket Mortgage Classic (Detroit Golf Club)
