March 21 2013

10:28 AM

Moore now using Stage 2 driver

Ryan Moore has a different driver than the one he used earlier this season. (Petersen/Getty Images)
 
By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider
 
TaylorMade's R1 driver made an early statement at the start of the 2013 PGA TOUR season with two wins -- Dustin Johnson at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Brian Gay at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
 
While R1 has remained the No. 1 driver on the PGA TOUR, TaylorMade's new RocketBallz Stage 2 driver has popped up in a number of bags in the last week -- including Ryan Moore's.
 
Moore, who actually switched to R1 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, decided to switch to a 9.5-degree RocketBallz Stage 2 with an Aldila Tour Blue 65 TX shaft last week at the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank. Moore used the original RocketBallz driver to win the 2012 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and liked how the shape and launch characteristics closely resembled the model he used last season.
 
Casey Wittenberg also played a 9.5-degree driver in Tampa, and Martin Laird tested a 9-degree version with a Matrix 8m3 shaft for first time on Monday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

The switch to RocketBallz Stage 2 for Moore marks the third equipment switch he's made in the last three weeks. At the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, he went back to his PING S56 irons and switched to a Rife Barbados center-shafted putter.

Filed under:      
| Permalink

March 7 2013

7:03 PM

Moore goes back to Ping irons

Ryan Moore went back to his old Ping S56 irons this week.

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

DORAL, Fla. — Following his first start of the year at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Ryan Moore, who joined TaylorMade during the offseason, went to work testing a number of new TaylorMade products at his Las Vegas home, including the new R1 driver and RocketBladez irons.

When Moore showed up almost a month later at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, it was with a completely overhauled bag that included R1, RocketBallz Stage 2 fairways woods and RocketBladez irons.

He finished in fourth-place at Phoenix and followed it up with a T27 at the Northern Trust Open, his last stroke play start before this week’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.

Moore wasn't playing poorly coming into the WGC-Cadillac Championship, but when he arrived at TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral, he had a set of Ping S56 irons in the bag — the same set he used to win last year's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

"I'm going to back (the Ping S56 irons) this week," Moore confirmed on Wednesday. "I've been working with a lot of different things and had some reasonable success with RocketBladez, but I just felt like I could control my trajectory a little bit better with the (S56 irons). Coming to South Florida, you really need to control your trajectory, so that was a big key for me."

While the S56 irons are the same set he used last season, Moore made one adjustment, putting the Aerotech SteelFiber shafts he had in his RocketBladez irons in the S56 irons.

Moore also made one other equipment switch, adding a Rife Barbados center-shafted putter to the bag. The 350-gram model has 2 degrees of loft and is the same model Matt Kuchar used last season during his win at THE PLAYERS Championship victory.

Filed under:      
| Permalink

January 30 2013

12:58 PM

Woodland finds another 10 yards; more

Gary Woodland switched out his Callaway X Hot Pro (above) for a RAZR Fit Xtreme at Torrey Pines. (Gross/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Gary Woodland switched from a Callaway X Hot Pro driver to a RAZR Fit Xtreme following the Humana Challenge — he felt the X Hot Pro was spinning a little too much for his liking — and promptly finished T27 at the Farmers Insurance Open. 

While Woodland was pleased with the new driver's performance, he made one slight change to his current setup on Tuesday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Testing out his 9.5-degree (set to 9.1 degrees) against an 8.5-degree (set to 8.7), Woodland noticed the 8.5 was going about 10 yards further than his current setup. Not one to pass on additional yards off the tee, Woodland decided to put the 8.5-degree in play at TPC Scottsdale. 

Moore goes with TaylorMade R1, RocketBladez Tour irons: After testing out new equipment during a photo shoot in Palm Desert during the week of the Humana Challenge, Ryan Moore put a new R1 driver and RocketBladez Tour irons in the bag at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He opened the season at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a set of Ping S56 irons.

Moore's also the first player to put Aerotech's Steel Fiber shafts in a set of RocketBladez Tour irons.

Teater makes changes to R1: You rarely see players make adjustments to their equipment following a big week, but Josh Teater spent some time on Tuesday making some tweaks to his TaylorMade R1 driver following his T2 at the Farmers Insurance Open. 

Teater switched from an Aldila RIP 60 (soft-tipped X) to a new Aldila Blue 65 X shaft that immediately straightened out his ball flight. He also picked up 3 mph ball speed and will likely put the shaft in play on Thursday. 

Divots: TaylorMade finally got Joe Ogilvie, one of the company's most traditional staffers, to put the company's new R1 in the bag. Ogilvie, who was a holdout because he disliked the crown graphics on the driver, tested the driver again this week and loved how it performed during a test session and practice round. He's leaning towards putting it in the bag. ... Chez Reavie tested a new set of RocketBladez Tour irons.

Filed under:            
| Permalink