It was an insane week for the Callaway Media Productions team as we had inside-the-ropes access at Bay Hill. What that looks like for my function is a lot of chaos, running around the golf course, chasing players, and filming for CMP, The Golf Channel, and The PGA Tour. So, there was not enough time to get my average 500 pics and troll the range/trailer like normal, but we got a few nifty little nuggets.
On-site for the Callaway performance team, we had Tour Manager Joe Toulon, Odysseys Cody Hale, Callaway Performance Reps Kellen Watson and Johnny Thompson, and Tour Tech Greg Shaw.
Nico Hojgaard puts an Apex CB 4-Iron in the bag.
Nico wanted something that spun a hair more and got into the turf a bit better than the Apex Pro 4-iron he had before. The Pro came out slightly hotter than he likes to see.
Bez puts new Ai-Smoke Triple Diamond woods in the bag
I will keep you posted if they see any action this week. He was in all Paradym products up to this point, but with the hard work of Tour Rep Kellen Watson, I believe this new set-up is right in the pocket. The main hurdle was that previous setups were spinning in excess in combination with the correct start line.
Emi Grillo also puts an Ai-Smoke TD in the bag
Emi moved off the TD Max he had in on the West Coast; he saw some good things with it but ultimately wanted something that spun a little less. Emi tends to play a lot of shots, which he drives down with a negative AOA, and the Max tends to float on him. This TD 9.0+ gave him an uptick in ball speed and kept the spin down in a window where he could hit all his shots.
Chris Kirk has some new toys this week…
I’m unsure what gets action this week, but he had about 20 clubs in his bag. I’ll get more feedback at The Players Championship.
Some Cool Odyssey gems…
Quick Notes: The new Fujikura Ventus Blue with Velocore + has infiltrated a few bags this week. It’s the first week I’ve seen it being actively built up and tested. The main feedback is an uptick in ball speed vs the OG Blue, which was famous for its consistent center-face contact and versatility from head to head.
This build below was for a non-staff 2023 Europe Ryder Cup member. I walked with him on Tuesday, and he was hammering this thing. It will be in the bag this week at Bay Hill. Kudos to Kellen Watson for getting this one in play.
