The PGA Tour kicked off the season in Hawaii Islands and made the return trip to California this week for The 2023 American Express at PGA West, La Quinta. GolfWRX was present at the practice rounds to view all the new gear players and equipment companies have just unveiled.
This week was packed with launches, switches and testing by big names like Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay.
You can view ALL our photos in the Forums or read on for my breakdown of notable gear news this week at The American Express.
1 Patrick Cantlay tests the Ping drivers
Cantlay, now a Titleist full-time staffer, arrived at the 2023 Tournament Sentry Tournament of Champions wearing an all-black Vessel bag. However, he was still using 14 Titleist club clubs. He was still carrying the Titleist TS3 driver from The American Express, but he also had two Ping G430LST drivers in his bag before the event began. His testing with other brands seems to have started as a free agent. It’s possible that things will get very interesting.
Patrick Cantlay WITB2023 (The American Express
2) Willy Z’s long-awaited switch to a golf ball
We covered the PGA TOUR website’s Equipment Report this Week. Zalatoris changed from a Titleist Pro V1 2019, golf ball, to a Pro V1x 2023 ball at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Zalatoris explained to us that his 2023 Pro V1 was producing too high spin rates with his driver. However, when he tried the new Pro V1x 2023 golf ball, he found the perfect match.
Zalatoris claims that the 2023 Pro V1x performs the same as the 2019 Pro V1, but it is better in wind.
Here is what he said to GolfWRX Wednesday:
“I was a V player for three or four years before switching to the X. The ball is very good in the wind… I didn’t do any testing. I hit a few shots downwind and a few shots into the wind to see which one did what I wanted.
“Titleist gave me the V because I was playing it at the time. My spin rates dropped to around 2,000 rpm (with driver). It was difficult to get it up in the air. So I tried the X and my numbers went back to how I was playing. It reacts exactly the same as my previous golf ball, but it performed better in the wind. It was kind of that.
“The golf ball, however, is the engine of all things. I have played Titleist balls my entire life. As long as it does what it thinks it will do, this (switch), was easy. It is the exact same ball. The wind fights it better. It’s not a huge difference. Maybe a yard. But a yard could make the difference between hitting one in a bunker lip and landing a 6-footer for birdie em>
3 Rickie Fowler’s new wild putter and the amazing story
Slab. City.
Fowler, who in 2022 changed putters more than a billion time, made it to The 2023 American Express with something totally different than what we saw last year.
Fowler took Ricky Romano’s putter home on Sunday before the start of the week. Fowler visited the Callaway Tour Truck Monday to ask Joe Toulon if he could build him something similar to Romano’s.
The result? The result? An Odyssey Versa Jailbird equipped with a Micro Hinge insert face insert, 20-25g of lead tape on its sole and a SuperStroke Tour 4.0 17 grip. He’s not using the grip as a broomstick or armlock, even though it is longer. He’s not changing his grip or stance, but letting the putter’s counterbalancing work its magic.
Fowler explained the origins of the putter and why he loves the new grip style.
Fowler said that he has been “not putting what I’m used too or how I want it to over the past few years.” He ranked 161st last season in Strokes Gained : Putting. Confidence wise, it’s not the same feeling I had as before. The right hand, not making confident strokes. But I wasn’t searching. I have been working on my normal stuff and grinding.
“I was shocked because I had never looked at anything longer, counterbalanced or similar. It’s fascinating, but it kind of liberates me. I am not altering my stroke or setting up, and I don’t grip anything differently than my usual length putter. It’s just something I feel. .”
Fowler also changed his driver and 3-wood in the off-season. GolfWRX told Fowler that he has been testing the Aerojet metalwoods from Cobra for a few months, but this is still Fowler’s first PGA Tour event with them.
He shared his thoughts on the new Aerojet designs and his experiences so far.
Fowler stated, “It’s true that I wouldn’t put in the 3-wood and driver if they weren’t better.” It’s something we always try to get new product but I was content with what I had. I had last year’s driver and a 3-wood from a few years ago. The new 3-wood felt a lot more flexible with some toe misses, but I felt it was a little more forgiving. I found the Aerojet 3-wood to be a bit more stable but with very similar flight characteristics. It was also a lot more forgiving so that was a nice plus.
“The driver is pretty similar. The numbers felt a little tighter at the top and low end of the face. I also found the spin to be a bit more consistent with higher-on the-face hits. The dispersion left and right was a bit tighter. From where I was, I went up about half a degree (in loft). I have found the LS to be a very low-spinning head which has been great.
Loft is your friend if you can have it. If you can get it .”, loft is your friend.
For my complete report on Fowler’s putter visit PGATOUR.com. Also, check out his 2023 WITB here at our GolfWRX Forums.
4) There are many new putters
GolfWRX spotted a bunch of new putters at PGA West, including Tour launches from Bettinardi and Ping, Scotty Cam, and EvnRoll. (Click on the company names to view all photos and model options…there are a lot of new models within each link).
5) Doug Ghim’s custom Scotty
GolfWRX (@golfwrx), shared this post
Yeah, wow. You don’t need any further commentary. Click Here to see more photos of Ghim’s custom flatstick.
6) Mizuno’s newest driver seen in the wild
Mizuno officially launched its new Mizuno STX 230 and STX 230 drivers this week. We spotted the STX 230 in Greyson Sigg, a Mizuno employee,’s bag this past week. The ST-X 230 option, which is more draw-biased and has a higher speed, is significantly faster than the STZ 230.
Find out more about Mizuno’s new drivers here and to see what people have to say about Sigg’s driver.
7) Patrick Rodgers tries out a giraffe neck
Rodgers was a Callaway employee and was playing an Odyssey Toulon putter before this year. His neck was long enough to allow him to use a plumber’s neck. We saw Rodgers at The 2023 American Express trying out a Scotty Cameron putter with a longer neck. He also tried out a LAB Golf Mezz.1 putter. We’ll confirm the putter he chose for the event, as he was still undecided. read what GolfWRX members have to say about his choices.
8 Jimmy Walker moves to an Axis1
Justin Rose introduced, a new Axis1 prototype putter, in the summer 2022. Although he did not end up switching, Billy Horschel played it for the 3rd & 4th rounds of the 2022 Tour Championship. After we saw Jimmy Walker putting with the Axis1 Prototype putter earlier in the week, we also took it into play this week.
9 Aaron Wise enters a Stealth 2 Plus with an unusual weight setup
Wise used a TaylorMade Stealth Plus last year. It’s not surprising that he switched to the Stealth 2 Plus this season. However, it is surprising to see Wise have the adjustable weight in the draw position with his new Stealth2 Plus driver, while he had the sliding weight of his previous Stealth Plus car in a neutral position. When we have more information, we’ll update you on the reasons he changed up the weights.
10 Custom Tour-Only Putter Covers
Before I close out this week’s Tour Report, I wanted to mention two new putter covers that we spotted.
First, the new Scotty Cam “Baller Boy” headcovers…
…as well Zac Blair’s new cover “The Buck Club” that was inspired by In-N–Out.
We’re all now craving In-N-Out cheeseburgers, so we bid farewell to The 2023 American Express at PGA West. Next week, we’ll be back on the cliffs in San Diego to take part in the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
