Ahead of next week’s DP World Tour Playoffs, SMS on Tour, the DP World Tour’s gear survey service, posted address photos of each shooter used by the top 70 qualifiers.
Only seven of them, 10 percent, were considered blade holders by modern standards. Go back 15 years and knives are likely the vast majority.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, Odyssey Tour Representative Cody Hale joined the show and told co-host Johnny Wunder that the use of the Odyssey in the The PGA Tour trends toward the hammers at an 80 percent clip.
But Wunder raised the question, can players ever return to blades? The next guest this week was PGA Tour pro Justin Lower, who still uses an Anser-style PXG prototype blade.
Wunder suggested that the trend would only change when gearheads decide they want to go back to what worked for them before.
Custom Odyssey Tri-Hot Square 2 Square Jailbird Putter
We have moved Zero Torque Forward. Odyssey’s new line of S2S TRI-HOT gauges is a revolution in the Zero Torque category. By using multi-material construction, we’ve been able to move the CG of these rigs far enough forward to get the shaft into the head on the topline, eliminating the need for shaft ligation and thus eliminating one of the biggest barriers to entry for this style of casting. Forward CG and Hose Position By moving the CG forward, we were able to position the hose spud on the top line, much closer to the face than typical Zero Torque setters for a more natural, intuitive and comfortable installation position. Multi-Material Construction By strategically using aluminum, steel and over 140 grams of tungsten, we’ve been able to design a “Zero Torque” gauge with more than 80% of its weight below the topline and allowing for our forward CG position and hose. New FRD Groove This new Forward Roll design groove is deeper and more aggressive. With a 19° slope it works together with the two-layer design to improve forward rotation up and down the face.
View Product
ALSO ALSO IN: PGA Tour Superstore, Odyssey
Hale didn’t push him away. He also noted that while zero-torque gauges are gaining ground in the retail market, usage has remained relatively flat at the professional level over the past year. But it also explained why so many players are drawn to the hammer.
“We can build hammers that play like blades,” Hale said. “And obviously, hammers with more stability, but you get all the benefits of different hammers.”
But with “zero torque” leg lift.could OEMs eventually build bladed devices that play like jackhammers? Only time will tell, but Hale said there’s still plenty of intrigue surrounding that category.
“So it’s going to be interesting to see where it goes because some of the zero-torque models have, you know, there’s still a lot of testing going on and we’re still introducing a lot and we still feel like there’s a lot of players that can benefit from it,” Hale said. “But in terms of being used on the Tour, I mean, it’s kind of on par now.”
