Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.
At least for one round, Brooks Koepka finally took advantage of his PGA Tour-leading ball striking, firing an opening 63 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Koepka was once again dialed in on approach, where he leads the Tour in Strokes Gained for the season, but he seems to have found something with a new flatstick, too. Koepka’s +2.56 Strokes Gained: Putting in Round 1 was not only 10th in the field, but also the five-time major champion’s second-best day on the greens this season.
Getty Images didn’t get a direct shot at the face of the new wand, but from this angle, it looks like a silver face and the chain-link milling which would likely indicate the SCS insert.
The new putter in question — a Scotty Cameron Fastback 1.5 mid-mallet — is Koepka’s fourth different putter this season after spending most of his career using Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Teryllium blade models. Koepka used the Fastback 1.5 model at last year’s Irish Open when his putting started to slip.
Koepka started the year with his Newport 2 before making a change at the WM Phoenix Open, his second event after rejoining the PGA Tour from LIV Golf. He used a TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-neck putter until last week’s PGA Championship, when he tried a prototype Spider Tour V.
That lasted just one week, as Koepka was 63rd in putting at Aronimink. He showed up in Texas this week saying he wanted a putter with a bit more natural release.
“It’s something that just feels good in my hands,” Koepka said of the Fastback on Wednesday, before the tournament. “I feel like I’ve struggled with the toe release a little bit, kind of fighting that, kind of holding it off, and this putter seems to have a little bit more toe hang, to get kind of scientific with it or more in depth on it.
“It’s got a bit more toe hang than what I have been using all year, kind of similar to the blade. I know the CG’s up closer to the front of the face, which is kind of what I’m looking for.”
A more forward CG makes a mallet putter feel more like a blade through the stroke. That presumably was the same concept behind Koepka’s Spider Tour V he used last week. While we don’t know the technical details for certain, the previous generation Spider Tour V had the most forward CG in the TaylorMade lineup.
Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Custom Putter
STUDIO CARBON STEEL (SCS) FACE INSERT
Designed to deliver the unmistakably soft sound and feel of carbon, the new precision milled Studio Carbon Steel (SCS) insert is treated with an electroless nickel plating for enhanced durability in a re-engineered concept that includes the line’s new chain-link face milling technology and aerospace-inspired vibration damping for tuned sound, feel and performance.
CHAIN-LINK FACE MILLING TECHNOLOGY
New chain-link face milling technology reduces the putter face insert’s touch points at impact with the ball using a texture that softens the sound and provides improved roll characteristics while preserving feel and feedback off the putter face.
FULL CONTACT SLIM GRIP
With a comfortable chain-link texture to match the new putter face milling pattern, the custom crafted Full Contact Slim paddle-style grip was designed to complement the stroke and performance of blade and mid-mallet putters. Its uniquely contoured profile and flat top provide superior comfort and contact between the hands and the putter, and enhanced body alignment.
MULTI-MATERIAL CONSTRUCTION
The Studio Style Fastback 1.5 extends Scotty Cameron’s proven design methodology of incorporating complementary materials to achieve desired performance characteristics. The Fastback 1.5 has a precision milled 6061 aircraft grade aluminum sole plate expertly designed into the 303 stainless steel putter head, as well as an aluminum heel-toe inlay anodized black, which allows for designed weight distribution, balance and feel.
The major difference between Koepka’s TaylorMade putter last week and his Scotty Cameron this week is the Fastback has a short jet neck, designed to increase toe hang and rotation in the stroke. Koepka’s prototype Spider Tour V has an elongated L-neck, likely intended to make it more face-balanced.
“Something I feel like released on its own, something I’ve been trying to — been fighting a little bit, and I feel like it definitely releases a little bit,” Koepka said of the putter.
Koepka said he had been doing a lot of putting work in a home “little warehouse” with a putting studio, trying to hone his fundamentals like grip and alignment.
Interestingly, he also mentioned on Wednesday that being back on the PGA Tour this season has given him some new thoughts to explore with his bag, especially now that he is a gear-free agent after splitting from Cleveland/Srixon three weeks ago. Koepka said he had never explored use of a mini driver until seeing their usage on the PGA Tour.
“Maybe during the off-season, start doing a little bit of testing just because all of these options now are out there,” Koepka said. “Like the mini driver, I haven’t even — I don’t want to say, but it’s kind of like — it feels like a PGA Tour club because I never saw it until maybe the end of last year. I watched guys hit it. It’s only out here. I haven’t seen many other guys use it.
“Yeah, looking at that, it’s funny, I was talking to Shane Lowry at Zurich about it, and Augusta kind of suits it to the ground. Like you look at 1, it might be a perfect hole for that mini driver, 2, 5, 7, 9 is kind of perfect for it, 10. You can go down the list. Just little things like that, I guess, broadens your capabilities of options.”
Might we see a full Brooks Koepka bag makeover coming soon? Only time will tell.
Taylor Moore speeds up
New driver and new putter for first-round Byron Nelson leader Taylor Moore this week.
Went to a new G440 K driver head with about a half degree less loft and more weight forward via some hot melt. He also changed shafts back to the Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 TX he used last year.… pic.twitter.com/FrVjUiI9Eo
Koepka was clipped by one shot Thursday for the overnight lead by Taylor Moore, who has a new driver and putter this week.
The driver may not look like a huge change on its face, as it’s still a Ping G440 K driver, but he’s gone to a head with a half-degree lower loft and more weight forward via hot melt. He’s also gone back to the Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 TX shaft he used last season.
Why the sudden change for one of the 25 best drivers of the ball on the PGA Tour? Because Moore has gotten faster over the course of the season.
When Moore fit into the new 440 K last offseason, Ping Tour Rep Kenton Oates said his speed was down, in the mid-to-high 170s, which led them out of the GT and into a softer Diamana Whiteboard 63 X, not the TX flex he previously used. Oates said that’s not all that uncommon.
“That happens for a lot of guys throughout the year. It’s cold on the West Coast. You’re coming out of the winter,” he told GOLF. “Then obviously playing a little warmer now.”
Moore went to the softer flex because he needed a little more spin and flight, but now he’s swinging about 4 mph faster, allowing them to go back to his old shaft and bring the loft back down.
“I would think he would stay in this for a really long time because he’s had success with it in the past and now it’s working in the head that he likes,” Oates said.
The putter change was something Moore has been working on with Ping Tour Rep Jeff Brown, who originally brought Moore in to Ping as a junior. Brown believed an Anser-style hosel would work best for Moore than the slant neck he was currently using.
The Ally Blue H, which has been finding a few bags of late, won out thanks to its square shape, which fits Moore’s visual preferences for alignment. It also has a flat milled face, as Moore likes to see the ball come off the face hot.
In his opening-round 62, he was 8th in SG: Putting and 27th in SG: OTT, so needless to say, both changes paid dividends quickly.
Check this out
This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet.
This week, check out Jordan Spieth’s four-year-old Titleist TSi2 hybrid.
Jordan Spieth’s hybrid is the oldest club in his bag.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Odds and Ends
Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.
Si Woo Kim, Chris Kirk and Noah Goodwin all added Odyssey prototype putters … Hank Lebioda added a Titleist GTS2 10.0 driver and 15.0 fairway, marking the 70th player to put a GTS driver in play on the PGA Tour … Luke Clanton added P7CB 5- and 6-irons to his bag, giving him three models in his iron set … L.A.B. Golf launched its new VSN.1i mallet while Graphite Design launched three new Tour AD profiles.
3 things you should read/watch
A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.
