Welcome to this week’s Tour Report from the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina. In case you missed our Two Guys Talking Golf podcast, it was a wild week for golf equipment at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
New equipment got launched, clubs got broken, big switches went down, and a player’s agent even had to “borrow” a club from a course member’s bag. I’ll recap all of it down below so you don’t miss any of the gear entertainment from the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina.
Let’s get into this week’s Tour Report:
1) Scottie Scheffler switches out his Masters-winning putter
The week started with a shocker from Scheffler, who was the world No. 1 golfer when the week started. On Tuesday ahead of the event, we spotted Scheffler testing out a new Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto mallet putter, which ultimately replaced his previous Scotty Cameron Special Select Tour Type GSS proto blade putter that he started using at the beginning of 2022 (he won 4 times with the old putter in 2022, including the 2022 Masters).
It just goes to show, even winning the Masters with a putter doesn’t mean it’s exempt from getting benched when the putts stop dropping.
Scheffler discussed the switch in-depth, and I covered the full story over on PGATOUR.com. For more photos and discussion of the putter, check out this GolfWRX Forum thread.
2) Shane Lowry speaks on new Cleveland-Srixon gear
Lowry’s bag was packed with previously unseen Cleveland-Srixon equipment when we shot a full WITB with him on Wednesday. Luckily for us, Lowry was willing to share some of his initial thoughts and insight on the new equipment here.
3) Lowry’s five-putter event, explained
On Wednesday, we shot photos of Lowry’s Odyssey White Hot Pro 2-ball putter. It was the same putter he used to win the 2022 BMW Championship in September, and he still had it in the bag on Wednesday at Congaree.
In an innocent kicking accident on the 9th hole on Thursday, however, Lowry’s putter broke. He was forced to use his lob wedge for 2 holes, then he finished the round using a Scotty Cameron putter that his agent took from a course member’s bag (don’t worry, they returned the putter).
Accidentally broke my putter on the 9th hole today…Hour drive to get a replacement. Thanks to the staff at the PGA Tour Superstore in Bluffton for their help. ?? pic.twitter.com/9hpfhDtg1J
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) October 20, 2022
The following day, Odyssey shipped a White Hot OG 2-ball putter to a local PGA Superstore, which was an hour away in Bluffton. When Lowry went to the Superstore to pick up the putter, he also bought a backup version for $229.99.
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) October 20, 2022
He used the White Hot OG putter that Odyssey sent to him during Friday’s round.
Then, on Sunday, Lowry was spotted using an Odyssey DFX 2-ball putter. That means Lowry used 4 different putters during The 2022 CJ Cup, including his original White Hot Pro 2-ball, the borrowed Scotty Cameron, a White Hot OG 2-ball, and a DFX 2-ball. PLUS, he used a lob wedge to putt for two holes, bringing the tally to 5. Five “putters” in one event! That has to be a record. It simply has to be.
4) Tom Kim goes deep on his putter and putter shaft
Budding superstar Tom Kim has been using ultra-custom Scotty Cameron putters and LA Golf putter shafts throughout his record-setting start on the PGA Tour; Tiger Woods and the 20-year-old Kim are the only two golfers to have multiple PGA Tour wins before turning 21 years old.
We went in-depth with Kim on the backstories to his putter choices over on PGATOUR.com.
4) Tommy Fleetwood faces a dilemma
On Wednesday, we caught up with Fleetwood, who was still deciding between a custom TaylorMade TP Juno putter, and a custom Scotty Cameron Buttonback Masterful putter.
He told GolfWRX that he liked the TaylorMade putter a lot, but he was seeing a bit too much loft. The Scotty Cameron, due to the insert, was presenting a touch less loft, according to Fleetwood.
Ultimately, Fleetwood decided to use the TaylorMade Juno this week at Congaree.
5) Bettinardi reveals new prototype putters
As part of its tour-custom Hexperimental series, Bettinardi launched three prototype mallet putters this week on the PGA Tour (including a lefty version).
Check out all of the Bettinardi Hexperimental prototype putters here.
6) Cam Young’s wild week of equipment
Like Lowry, the long-hitting Cam Young had quite a roller coaster of a week in equipment.
Prior to the event, Young switched into a new Titleist TSR2+ 14.5-degree 3-wood, and a TSR2 5-wood, each of which are equipped with incredibly stiff shafts. He also switched into a SuperStroke Traxion Flatso 2.0 putter grip on his custom Scotty Cameron putter. I asked him about all the changes on Wednesday, to which he replied:
“Yeah, just some tinkering,” Young said in his press conference. “The 3-wood and 5-wood I just feel like I haven’t — I don’t hit the 3-wood very often. I had a 4-wood and I just didn’t hit it that often, so we were just looking to change the setup a little bit to give me some more options. I didn’t play great last week, but those changes we made in those clubs I think worked out really nicely. I kind of like the way that they worked for me in the tournament. And the putter grip is just, I’m always tinkering with something, just trying something new.”
If all the changes weren’t enough, there was more gear news from Young during The CJ Cup.
As the story goes, Young felt like something was off with his driver head on Friday, so he borrowed a driver from Webb Simpson for Saturday’s round. It was a Titleist TSi3 9.5-degree head, and Young switched out the shaft for his gamer Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX shaft.
Check out the full story here.
7) Hideki makes a driver shaft change
Hideki Matsuyama tests numerous driver shafts every week, so that’s nothing new, but he typically plays the event with a Graphite Design Tour AD-DI orange shaft in his driver. This week, however, he switched into a Fujikura Ventus Black 8TX driver shaft to lower spin.
Per @FujikuraOnTour, Hideki has gone Ventus Black in driver and fairway woods (8 TX, 9 TX, 10 TX). Was looking to bring apex and spin down and dial in landing angle.
— Ben Alberstadt (@benalberstadt) October 20, 2022
9) Kisner’s switch
For years, Kisner had been using Callaway Apex Pro Forged irons, equipped with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 shafts. On Wednesday, though, we spotted Kisner with a bag full of Callaway Apex TCB irons, each with a custom sole grind, and equipped with Nippon N.S. LSL3 115-gram shafts.
According to a Callaway rep, Kisner was searching for a slightly higher launch and more spin. Kisner was also spotted with a Wilson driver in play this week.
And, with that, we conclude this week’s Tour Report from The 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina.
Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, and tune into the latest Two Guys Talking Golf podcast below!
