One of the things I have NEVER heard a TOUR player say is…”I want to hit it further.”
It never happens. And another thing that rarely happens on-site is a ball switch…it’s very rare. Why? Because a ball change affects every inch of your bag, our PERFORMANCE will guard against doing that at all costs UNLESS there is a REALLY good reason to do it and who the player is.
This week at The Travelers, Adam Svensson was looking to get a little more out of his bag. Not distance exactly, but maybe a little less spin across the bag if that was at all possible.
On TOUR, Adam is known as a ball-striking savant. There are VERY few players (if any) that strike it as well as this kid, does. If there is one area in his bag that he fights, it would be spin. Spin at a surplus.
I’ve sat in on about 50 range sessions with this kid, and his spin numbers can creep up there on certain days. What that might look like is a 6-iron that spins at 6500-6600 RPMs which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but can get funky when the wind blows or if he has to hit it high. This week at TPC River Highlands, he wanted to test the CSX LS ball VS his current gamer CSX. In all honesty, it’s precisely a situation like this that attracts a new CSX LS player.
Right on cue, the numbers started to jive.
Apex MB ’18 6-iron (30 degrees) w/ PX 6.5 (37.5 inches, D3) *he just put in a fresh set at LACC.
Stock with CSX: 129.4 MPH/14.2 launch/6234RPMs/181carry
Stock with CSX LS: 131.8/15.4 launch/5987RPMs/185 carry
As you can see, the switch decreased spin slightly, and he picked up ball speed and carry with every iron. On AVG (across the set), he picked up 5-6 yards of carry, spin dropped roughly 350 RPMs, and launch increased by 1 degree. That’s the kind of improvement that matters. Around the greens was a negligible adjustment as the CSX LS ’22 has a soft cover that reacts pretty dang close to CSX.
Something similar happened with Xander Scahuffele during the summer of 2021:
He also made a driver shaft switch going into the Fujikura Ventus Black 6TX (45 1/8th length, D4.75, 57 Lie, 9.6 Actual), which has a VERY STFF Handle and Tip section giving Adam the stability he was looking for. The ball switch really opened this combo up as well…
Previous set-up (stock w/ CSX): 172 MPH/2350RPM/10.5 Launch
The new set-up (stock w/ CSX LS): 175MPH/2100RPM/11.5 Launch (+9 yards carry)
Nine yards of carry on-site is substantial; that’s almost a full club closer to the green based on 12-yard gapping. So, this is a ball test where the result was clear as day.
Now, time will tell if LS holds up for Svenny in tournament conditions, but THIS is how a test goes from an idea to another LS on the TOUR ball count. That’s the kind of performance you want to see.
LFG
JDub
