Posts filed under 'Vokey'
Titleist Brand Ambassador Robert Karlsson continues his return to form, having recently won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters on the European Tour. After a successful 2008 season during which Robert captured the European Tour Order of Merit and rose to number six in the Official World Golf Rankings, the lanky Swede missed four months during the heart of the 2009 season due to an eye injury. With the win and several other strong results since returning to competition late last year, Robert is back inside the top 20 of the OWGR. Always looking to improve, he worked with the team from the Titleist Tour Van during the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on an adjustment to his set composition resulting from the new groove regulations.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Robert Karlsson looks on as Chris Tuten from the Titleist Leadership Team checks Robert’s irons on the loft and lie machine.
Click here for more images.
Practicing and playing with the new 2010 conforming grooves in his wedges over several months, Robert has found that his Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C 60° produces a higher trajectory and shorter carry distance than did his previous Vokey 60° wedge. With four wedges in his bag as well as a long game yardage gap between his 18° 909F3 and MB 4-iron, Robert and the team decided it was time to fit him into a set composition with tighter yardage gaps while allowing for the requisite short game versatility.
Robert had been playing his MB irons with 1° strong lofts (6-iron at 30°). To bridge the gap between his 18° fairway and 4-iron, the team built him an MB 3-iron at standard 21° loft and adjusted his 4-iron back to standard at 24°. The remainder of Robert’s irons were adjusted to 1° weak, with his pitching wedge at 48°.
Next, the team built Robert several sets of wedges to help him determine the correct models, lofts and bounce angles to meet his short game needs. Robert worked with all of the wedges in the short game practice area, hitting the various shots he needs for his game, and determined that a 53° and 58° set-up was ideal. Robert previously carried 49°, 55° and 60° wedges in addition to his strong pitching wedge.
Details on the Titleist equipment in Robert Karlsson’s bag:
Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 909D2 (9.5°, Aldila RIP 80X, 45″)
Fairway: 909F3 (13°, Grafalloy ProLaunch Red X, 43.25″ tipped to length)
Fairway: 909F3 (18°, Grafalloy ProLaunch Red X, 42.25″ tipped to length)
Irons: MB (3-P, 1° weak loft (5-P), True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, +1″ length, +2° lie)
Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C TVD 54 (at 53°, True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, 37″ length, 66° lie)
Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C TVD 58 (True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, 37″ length, 66° lie)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Newport 2 GSS (4° loft, 37″ length, 71° lie)
Grips: Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound 60R (Red/Black, 2 extra wraps)
To learn more about the fitting opportunities available for your Titleist equipment, be sure to visit FittingWorks.com.
February 25th, 2010
Much like countryman Marc Leishman, Titleist Brand Ambassador Michael Sim also spent a portion of his practice days for the Farmers Insurance Open visiting the various Titleist facilities near Torrey Pines Golf Course to help him prepare for his 2010 PGA Tour season. Michael hopes to continue the strong form that saw him capture the 2009 money title/Order of Merit on both the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia, Player of the Year honors on the Nationwide Tour, a “battlefield promotion” to the PGA Tour courtesy of three wins on the Nationwide Tour, and a spot in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Michael worked with Titleist fitters at the Acushnet Test Facility on Wednesday to help with a wedge gap fitting as well as a 2-iron replacement. He told his fitter that there was too much of a yardage gap between his AP2 9-iron (+1/4″ and 43° loft) and Spin Milled C-C 248.06 (standard length and bent to 47° loft). After testing several pitching wedge variations on the launch monitor, Michael was fit into a Spin Milled C-C 248.10 at +1/4″ and standard loft. His yardage gap between the two clubs was reduced from 18 yards to 12.
Making his return to the States from playing back home in Australia, Michael was also looking for a club to replace the 695CB 2-iron he had been gaming. Michael told his fitter that the 2-iron was a good club in Australia, but not as good on the PGA Tour due to the low trajectory and shallow landing angle. He prefers the look of irons rather than hybrids at address, though, so the team built him an older Tour Prototype 503i with a Project X 6.5 shaft that matches his irons. After a few shots on the launch monitor with the new utility iron, it went straight in the bag for this week’s event.
Michael’s final stop before heading back to Torrey Pines for the tournament was at the Scotty Cameron Putter Studio. Here’s what he had to say about the visit after his round Friday:
“I’ve been rolling the putter tremendously the last two days. I went to the Scotty Cameron studio on Wednesday afternoon and had a look at my putting stroke with Paul Vizanko, and it wasn’t as good as what it was last year when I went in there, and managed to correct that in probably 20 minutes. Yeah, just rolled the ball pure the last two days, and even with the greens a little bit bumpy with the Poa and the amount of rain they’ve had, it didn’t really affect my ball. I’ve probably got to thank him a lot for that.”
Despite a rough start on Thursday (4-over through three holes), the preparation seems to have Michael on form once again. He finished Thursday’s round on the difficult South Course strong to get back to 1-over 73, and after a sizzling 10-under 62 on the North Course on Friday, he finds himself only two shots back heading into the weekend.
What’s in Michael Sim’s bag this week at the Farmers Insurance Open:
Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 905R (8.5°, Mitsubishi Diamana White 83X)
Fairway: 909F2 (13.5°, Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 93X)
Utility: Tour Prototype 503i (19°, True Temper Project X 6.5)
Irons: AP2 (3-9, True Temper Project X 6.5)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C 248.10, Spin Milled C-C Prototype 54.12, Spin Milled C-C 60-T (all wedges with True Temper Project X 6.5)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Newport Squareback
Titleist Brand Ambassador Michael Sim preparing
for his first start of the 2010 PGA Tour season.
January 29th, 2010
Titleist Brand Ambassador Marc Leishman visited the Acushnet Test Facility in Oceanside, California this week as he prepared to compete in the Farmers Insurance Open at nearby Torrey Pines Golf Course. Marc is entering his second full season on the PGA Tour, and he’s looking to improve upon his 2009 Rookie of the Year campaign that included eight top-25 finishes, over $1.7 million in earnings, and a trip to the season-ending TOUR Championship. Qualifying for the TOUR Championship also earned Marc a spot in this year’s Masters Tournament, and he had Augusta National in mind as he worked with the Titleist fitters at Oceanside this week.
First, Marc was fit for a 19° 909H hybrid to replace his Tour-only AP2 2-iron. Marc has been a 2-iron player for a number of years, and it’s a club that performs well in the firm, fast, and windy conditions of his native Australia. On the PGA Tour, however, Marc needs a higher launching and softer landing trajectory for long distance approach shots that the 2-iron was not delivering. After working with both steel and graphite shafts in the 19° 909H, Marc went with the UST Mamiya Axivcore Tour Black Hybrid 100X and put it straight into the bag this week at Torrey Pines.
Marc also spent some time working with different lob wedges. He is currently using a Vokey Design TVD 58, but feels that he catches the ball too high on the face from time-to-time. The fitters had him try a few different wedges with less bounce, and Marc left with a 60-L bent to 58°. Although that wedge isn’t in the bag this week, don’t be surprised if you see it once conditions get a bit firmer on Tour.
Finally, the fitters had Marc try a few driver/shaft options to help him turn the ball over more easily. Marc predominately plays a fade and typically likes to eliminate the left-hand side of the golf course, but mentioned that he wouldn’t mind having the option of moving the ball from right-to-left for a certain tournament in early April. Using the SureFit system, Marc was able to quickly try out a few different shaft options and determined that the Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6X (now available through Titleist Custom Clubs) performed similarly to his current gamer with the added workability he was seeking. Like the new wedge, this new driver set-up didn’t make it in the bag this week, but we’re sure Marc will be working with it in the coming weeks as he gets closer to his first round starting time in Augusta.
What’s in Marc Leishman’s bag this week at the Farmers Insurance Open:
Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 909D2 (8.5°, Oban Devotion 6X)
Fairway: 909F2 (13.5°, Oban Devotion 8X)
Hybrid: 909H (19°, UST Mamiya Axivcore Tour Black Hybrid 100X)
Irons: AP2 (3-9, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C 248.10 (bent to 47°), Spin Milled C-C TVD 54 (bent to 53°), Spin Milled C-C TVD 58 (all wedges with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 T10 Select
Titleist Brand Ambassador Marc Leishman testing wedges at the
Acushnet Test Facility in Oceanside, California.
January 29th, 2010
Geoff Ogilvy, the defending champion of the SBS Championship, enters the season-opening, winners-only event as the newest Titleist Brand Ambassador. Geoff agreed to a multi-year deal that includes playing the Titleist golf ball, Titleist golf clubs, wearing Titleist headwear and carrying a Titleist golf bag. He will also wear a FootJoy glove and shoes.
The six-time champion on the PGA Tour enters the 2010 season ranked No. 14 in the World Rankings. He joins Titleist’s full product line stable that features 11 of the Top 50 players in the world, including Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher, Zach Johnson, Robert Karlsson, Nick Watney, Adam Scott, and Michael Sim among others. Ogilvy was a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR last year, also capturing the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Geoff Ogilvy’s Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges.
Geoff’s bag for the year’s inaugural event includes:
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
Titleist 909D3 driver (9.5°)
Cobra S9-1 fairway metal (15.0°)
CobraS9-1 fairway metal (18.0° bent to 20°)
Titleist MB irons (3-9)
Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (50°), sand (55°) and lob (60°) wedges
Scotty Cameron Prototype putter
For more on Geoff’s new Titleist equipment, be sure to check out David Dusek’s post on the Golf.com Equipment Blog.
Ogilvy isn’t the only new Titleist Brand Ambassador teeing off on Maui this week. Bo Van Pelt joins Team Titleist this year and qualified for the SBS Championship following his victory at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Bo’s bag includes:
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
Titleist 909D2 driver (8.5°)
Titleist 909F3 fairway metal (15.5°)
Titleist 909H hybrid (17°)
Titleist CB irons (4-6)
Titleist MB irons (7-P)
Vokey Design Spin Milled gap (51°), sand (56° bent to 55.5°) and lob (58° bent to 59.5°) wedges
All of the Titleist wedges played on Tour are the new Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C (Condition of Competition) models that adhere to the new USGA and R&A specifications regarding grooves. The new “groove rule” was implemented for Condition of Competition events beginning January 1, 2010. For more information on the new groove rule visit Titleist.com.
January 7th, 2010
Titleist Brand Ambassador Rickie Fowler capitalized on his sponsor’s exemption into last week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open by finishing tied for seventh after shooting four rounds in the 60s at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. That top ten finish earned him a spot into this week’s Frys.com Open at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he is again in the hunt after rounds of 5-under 65 and 6-under 64 have given him a share of the 36-hole lead. Another top ten finish this week will allow him to continue competing on the PGA Tour at next week’s Viking Classic, and the high finishes and subsequent prize money have Rickie on a potential path straight to the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament finals.
With PGA Tour special temporary member status, if Rickie’s official earnings for the season are equal to or greater than the 150th place finisher on the Official PGA Tour Money List, he will be exempt into the final stage of qualifying from December 2-7 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Otherwise, he’ll be competing in first stage qualifying starting next week at Lantana Golf Club in Texas.
We caught up with Rickie this week as he prepared to compete in the Frys.com Open and got a close-up look at what’s in his bag. As you can see from the images in the photo gallery, Rickie’s bleeds OSU orange in tribute to his former college golf team. That’s what we call custom paint! Here are the specifics on Rickie’s Titleist equipment:
Ball:
Pro V1x
Driver:
909D2 (7.5°) – Mitsubishi Diamana White 73X
Hybrid:
585.H (17°) – UST Mamiya Proforce V2 Hybrid 104X
Irons:
MB (4-9) – True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (standard length, lie angle 1° upright, 4-iron loft 2° strong, 5-iron loft 1° strong, other lofts standard)
Wedges:
Vokey Design 248-06 (bent to 47°) – True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (standard length, lie angle 1° upright)
Vokey Design 254-10 (bent to 53°) – True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (standard length, lie angle 1° upright)
Vokey Design Spin Milled 60-L (bent to 59°) – True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (standard length, lie angle 1° upright)
Putter:
Scotty Cameron Circle-T Prototype
Grips:
Golf Pride Tour Velvet cord – 1+1, logo underneath
Rickie Fowler lines up his tee shot on the ninth hole during round one of the Frys.com Open.
Click here for more photos.
October 23rd, 2009
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