The onion logo on McIlroy's putter cover belongs to the Ohoopee Match Club, an exclusive hideaway designed by Gil Hanse in Cobbtown, Georgia.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
The gear team at GOLF.com spends a lot of time at tour events photographing the equipment used by the world's best players. Posting pictures of the club out of context sometimes works, but it doesn't help the weekend golfer understand why behind the pro's setup.
In this GOLF.com series, equipment editors Jonathan Wall and Ryan Barath answer those questions by highlighting interesting clubs in golfers' bags, unique weights, loft sleeve settings and more. Welcome to “Bag Spy.”
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There are almost seven weeks left in the PGA Tour season, which is hard to believe when you think about it. With the final due diligence coming up next week now feels like a good time to take stock of the things that caught our eye while studying the golf bags of this season's tour celebs.
Some of the finds are obvious, while others have taken other digs to unearth them. Let's get to it.
A gear giant
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
BagSpy's latest reports confirmed something we've known for years: The Pride of Golf has played a role in the tourism boom. I'd venture to guess that it's more than 80 percent-plus field for many weeks. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland – and the list goes on.
During the recent deep dive into tour grips, we only noticed Akshay Bahatia, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson using a non-Golf Pride grip. You'd be hard-pressed to find a piece of gear that has more power for touring use.
Golf Pride MCC Grip
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MCC™ (New Decade® MultiCompound) is a new grip compound that combines the best performance of rubber and string. MCC boasts Golf Pride® Exclusive Brushed Cotton Cord on the upper for tough weather control, and active rubber material on the lower hand for feel and response.
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Tour Velvet remains golf's most popular pride among the pros, but the New Decade MultiCompound has quietly found its way into the bags of Scott, Schauffele and Hovland. And don't forget about McIlroy who helped put MultiCompound on the map.
He came down
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Professional golfers are the tastemakers of equipment, especially when it comes to the novice crowd. Anything that is successful, trendy and visible on the PGA Tour has a good chance of doing well in sales. The same can be said for the shaft setups that have worked well over the years, including one of the most popular: Choosing a soft flexer shaft in scoring clubs.
Scroll through the current top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking and you'll find seven players who currently use a softer shaft flex in their wedges compared to irons.
True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue of Iron Shaft
$44.99
The True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue is perfect for the player looking for a low launch, low spin shaft designed for ultimate control and accuracy. You can buy a True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue built to your exact specifications. True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue The Gold Standard by which all other irons are measured. It is the most successful shaft in golf history and continues to dominate the professional tour year after year. Tour Issue shafts hold industries that can withstand the weight for the hard work that top players demand. You can purchase the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue in the following flexes: S400, and X100.
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How many are using the same setup? It's impossible to give an exact percentage because players are always testing new wedges and shafts, but it's likely to be somewhere around half the field during a given event. Popularized by Tiger Woods — True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 in the irons and S400 in the wedges — during his prime, there's an advantage to this shaft makeup if you're a novice golfer.
Although it varies from player to player, most will notice a slightly lower ball flight and feel in the hands with a softer swing. For some, it can also help maintain spin compared to using the same shaft across the board.
Considering most tour players prioritize feel, consistency and control on short shots, it's easy to see why many are down with swings and wedges.
Keeping it personal
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Covers are always the most popular way to express your personality in a course. Sure, some pros are playing it safe and sticking with covers emblazoned with the name and logo of the check-cutting equipment manufacturer, but more than ever, we're seeing a different look from some of the biggest names on tour.
The blue and gray putter cover that protects the mallet of McIlroy's TaylorMade Spider Tour X (above) is not something you can find at your local store. The onion logo is for the Ohoopee Match Club, a very exclusive hideaway designed by Gil Hanse in Cobbtown, Georgia.
Adam Scott is another professional who uses a different set of covers is Golden Soul Golf. Aussie driver and classic fairway wood covers, made from cowhide, wool and corduroy.
The current guardian of Viktor Hovland's wand is a fearsome Viking staring straight into your soul. Look closely and you'll see a few Easter eggs featuring sides that symbolize her life and interests. The orange and black stitching is no doubt a nod to his time spent at Oklahoma State University. And of course, he still lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Simple scoring tools
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Wedge stamping has come a long way from the days when initials were stamped on the back of the head to personalize scoring clubs. Then along came Rickie Fowler and singer Carly Rae Jepsen to shake things up in 2012.
At the time, Fowler was already disrupting the industry with bright colors and flatbill hats. Hoping to add some flair to his wedges, Fowler and Titleist Vokey Tour representative Aaron Dill began kicking around stamp ideas before hitting on a few that stuck – namely Jepsen's catchy chart-topper, “Call Me Maybe.”
Dill proceeded to stamp “Call Me Maybe” on the back of Fowler's 60 degree Titleist Vokey Design SM4 lob wedge and watched as his creation went viral on social media.
Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks SM10 A+ Grind Custom Wedge
$225
The A+ Grind is a new addition to the Vokey WedgeWorks lineup. A+ Grind comes from the same origins as A Grind. The two are similar in that they both came from modifying the grind lines of other vintage Vokey grinds. The name A+ comes from the idea that it is similar to the A Grind but has more width and more bounce than the A grind. So it's a plus. The A+ will still have a smooth, fast feel through the center but will suit players who need the club to dig below the A Grind. The A+ Grind is played by world tour players and recent tour winner Davis Riley. The WedgeWorks A+ Grind has a middle-bounce sole and is available in lofts of 58° and 60° Right Hand with a serious finish.
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Wedge stamping is always a popular way for professionals to display their hobbies, favorite songs or whatever else they have in mind, but we've seen a return to simple creations on the back of the head. Think of first names, baby names and song names.
“I feel like they've changed because they're always looking for sharp edges,” said GOLF's Ryan Barath on the Fully Equipped podcast. “I remember Aaron telling me that if it's a slow day they'll do funny things, but if they're cooking, they can't do it.”
Alive and kicking
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Advances in shaft technology have made it easier than ever to justify trying the latest and greatest. That being said, not all are receptive to change. Brian Harman's Titleist TS2 3-wood example, fitted with a Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution II S shaft dating back to 2016.
Not only is Harman using the old 3-wood model, but the shaft choice ensures that they have not made any changes to the overall design. Again, stick to what works. It's a mantra that some pros also live by when it comes to their shafts.
As a gear head, the shaft choice makes me shy as you don't often see old shaft models in the Tour. But they are still there. The Speeder 661 Evolution II was a highly anticipated product with metallic red, orange, and yellow colors that glistened in the sun.
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