What Brooks Koepka said about his new player

Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly tour gear report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if the news calls for it), GOLF Equipment Editor Jack Hirsh brings you some of the biggest news about golf clubs on Tour, including changes, changes and launches.

For one round at least, Brooks Koepka finally capitalized on hitting his prime on the PGA Tour, firing an opening 63 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Koepka was once again called upon in the approach, where he leads the Tour in Strokes Gained for the season, but he seems to have found something even with a new flatstick. Koepka’s +2.56 Earnings: The putt in Round 1 was not only 10th in the field, but also the five-time major champion’s second-best day on the green this season.

The new player in question — a Scotty Cameron Fastback 1.5 with a center hammer — is Koepka’s fourth different player this season, after spending most of his career using models with Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Teryllium blades. Koepka was using the Fastback 1.5 at last year’s Irish Open when his putting began to slip.

Koepka started the year with his Newport 2 before making a switch 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 Spider Tour V prototype.

That lasted just one week, as Koepka was 63rd in the Aronimink. He appeared in Texas this week saying he wanted a nail with a slightly more natural release.

“It’s something that feels good in my hands,” Koepka told Fastback on Wednesday, before the tournament. “I feel like I’ve been struggling with the toe release a little bit, fighting it, kind of keeping it, and this putter seems to have a little more toe hang, to be kind of scientific with it or more in depth.

“It’s a little more toe-hung than what I’ve been using all year, kind of blade-like. I know the CG is closer to the front of the face, which is something I’m looking for.”

A more forward CG makes a hammer thrower feel more like a blade through impact. This was apparently the same concept behind Koepka’s Spider Tour V that he used last week. While we don’t know the technical details for sure, the previous generation Spider Tour V had the most forward CG in the TaylorMade lineup.

Scotty Cameron Style Studio Fastback 1.5 Custom Putter

STUDIO CARBON FACE INSERT (SCS) Designed to deliver the unmistakably smooth sound and feel of carbon, the new precision-cut Studio Carbon Steel (SCS) face insert is treated with an electroless nickel coating for added durability in a re-engineered concept that incorporates new line technology and a milled-tuned chain tuning. sound, feel and performance. CHAIN ​​FACE MILLING TECHNOLOGY New chain link face milling technology reduces cutter face insert contact points at ball impact using a sound-dampening texture and provides improved roll characteristics while maintaining cutter face feel and response. FULL CONTACT SLIM GRIP With a comfortable chain-link texture to match the new scissor face milling design, the custom-designed Full Contact Slim spade-style grip was designed to complement the movement and performance of the blade and mid-hammer irons. Its uniquely contoured profile and flat top provide superior comfort and contact between hands and shooter, and improved 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 features a precision-milled 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum plate, expertly engineered into a 303 stainless steel insert head, as well as a black anodized aluminum sole plate, which allows for weight distribution, balance and engineered feel.

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The main 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 spin at impact. Koepka’s prototype Spider Tour V has an elongated L neck, which likely makes it more balanced with the face.

“Something that feels like it’s loosening up on its own, something that I’ve been trying to do — I’m struggling a little bit and I feel like it’s probably going to loosen up a little bit,” Koepka said of the player.

Koepka said he had been doing a lot of work in a “little warehouse” at home with a studio, trying to improve his fundamentals like grip and alignment.

Interestingly, he also mentioned on Wednesday that returning to the PGA Tour this season It’s given him some new thoughts to explore with his bag, especially now that he’s a gear-less agent behind Split from Cleveland/Srixon three weeks ago. Koepka said he had never explored using a mini driver until he saw them being used on the PGA Tour.

“Maybe in the offseason, you start doing a little bit of testing just because all these options are now out there,” Koepka said. “Like the mini driver, I don’t even — I don’t want to say, but it’s kind of — it feels like a PGA Tour club because I’ve never seen it until maybe late last year. I’ve seen guys hit it. It’s just out here. I haven’t seen a lot of other guys use it.

“Yeah, looking at that, it’s funny, I was talking to Shane Lowry in Zurich about it, and Augusta kind of fits it. 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.”

Could we soon see a complete revamp of the Brooks Koepka bag? Only time will tell.

Taylor Moore speeds up

Koepka was beaten one stroke 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 it’s gone to a head with a half degree lower loft and more front weight via hot fusion. He is also back on the Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 TX axle he used last season.

Why the sudden change for one of the top 25 drivers on the PGA Tour? Because Moore has gotten faster over the course of the season.

When Moore adapted to the new 440K last offseason, Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates said his speeds were down, in the mid-170s, which led them away from the GT and onto a softer Diamana Whiteboard 63 X, not the TX flex he was using before. Oates said that’s not all that unusual.

PING G440 K Custom Driver

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“It happens to a lot of guys throughout the year. It’s cold on the West Coast. You’re coming out of winter,” he told GOLF. “Then we’ll definitely be playing a little warmer now.”

Moore went to the softer swing because it 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 get the loft back down.

“I would think he’s going to be 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 he likes,” Oates said.

The driver change was something Moore has been working on with Ping Tour representative Jeff Brown, who first brought Moore to Ping as a junior. Brown believed an Anser-style hosel would work better for Moore than the steep neck he currently used.

The Ally Blue H, which has found a few bags recently, won out thanks to its square shape, which fits Moore’s visual preferences for stretch. It also has a flat ground face, as Moore likes to see the ball come off the hot face.

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 interesting photos we’ve taken 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.

Odds and ends

A few more gear changes and notes we’re following this week.

Like Woo Kim, Chris Kirk and Noah Goodwin all added the Odyssey prototype … Hank Lebioda added a Titleist GTS2 10.0 and 15.0 driver, marking the 70th player to field a GTS driver on the PGA Tour … Luke Clanton added the P7CB 5- and 6-iron to his bag, giving him three patterns in his iron kit … LAB Golf launched its new VSN.1i hammer while Graphite Design launched three new Tour AD profiles.

3 things you must read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.

What you can learn from Tommy Fleetwood’s mini-driver setup – Jake Morrow dives into the mini driver setup of golf’s most prolific mini driver user

What happens when JAKE KNAPP hits a game-enhancing iron!? – We ran PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp through each of the irons in the PXG lineup just to see what would happen.