Guan Tianlang tried some new shafts in his irons and was hitting the ball 7-8 yards farther. (Pennington/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Morgan Hoffmann was spinning his wheels after two rounds at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Even-par for the tournament heading into the weekend, the PGA TOUR rookie made a mid-tournament putter change that turned the weekend into a successful one for the 23-year-old. 

"The ball striking was great the whole week," Hoffmann said on Sunday afternoon. "The first two days I literally didn't make one putt. I switched after the second day, so it worked out after that."

Hoffmann started the week with a Scotty Cameron GoLo putter before going back to an old Scotty Cameron Newport. The 23-year-old shot 66-66 (8-under) over the weekend with the putter to post his first top-5 finish on the PGA TOUR. 

Dufner switches putters again: Struggling with his speed on the greens this season, Jason Dufner switched to a Scotty Cameron Futura X Prototype putter for the last two rounds of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and THE PLAYERS Championship. 

On Tuesday, Dufner was spotted working with another putter -- a Scotty Cameron GSS Circa 62 No. 6 prototype, which happened to be the same model he used to win last year's HP Byron Nelson Championship. Dufner went back to the putter in hopes of finding his putting stroke. 

Colored backline helps Gonzales' putting: Using a custom Odyssey Versa (black-white-black) #2 Longneck putter for the first time in competition, Andres Gonzales felt it needed something extra to remind him where the center of the putter face was. 

To help him out, Odyssey added red paint to the backline to give Gonzales the visible reminder her was looking for. Gonzales said he aims the new putter better than his old Odyssey White Hot #6 Longneck. 

Day testing new iron shafts: Jason Day made noise early in the week when he put a custom TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour 1-iron in play at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. 

Instead of going with his standard True Temper Rifle 6.5 shaft in the iron, Day tried out a UST Mamiya Recoil 125 F5(X) shaft and liked it enough to have a whole set of RocketBladez Tour irons built with the same shafts to test in the coming weeks.

Oosthuizen tests PING G25 fairway woods: Louis Oosthuizen has changed most of his equipment over the last few years, but his PING G5 fairway woods (3- and 5-wood) have remained in the bag.

Even though Oosthuizen had the fairway woods in play at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, he started testing a PING G25 3- and 5-wood with a Mitsubishi Diamana 'ahina shaft (70x in the 3-wood and 80x in the 5-wood). Oosthuizen put the same shaft (60x) in his PING Anser driver at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Adams sets hybrid record at HP Byron Nelson Championship: According to Adams Golf, the company set a new PGA TOUR record with 59 hybrids in play at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Equipment counts rarely register on a week-to-week basis, however, the figure was more than double Adams' next closest competitor.  

Guan Tianlang gets additional yards with different iron setup: You're never too young (or old) to try out new golf equipment — especially if it can help you get a few extra yards. Take Guan Tianlang, for instance. The 14-year-old tested out UST's Recoil shafts — heavier weighted graphite shafts — in his irons and wedges and gained 7-8 yards with the new setup.

Divots: Ben Kohles felt his Titleist 913D3 (8.5 degrees) was spinning too much, so Titleist Tour reps built him a 7.5-degree 913D3 that was 44 inches instead of 44.5. The shorter shaft and lower loft combination allowed Kohles to reduce the spin coming off the driver face. ... Chris DiMarco changed shafts in his PING G25 driver, going from a Project X 6.5 to a Fujikura Speeded 6.2x. ... Justin Hicks became the latest player to switch into TaylorMade's Daddy Long Legs counterbalanced putter. ... A season-best 12 players put Adams Golf's DHy driving iron in play, including Marcel Siem (T-33). ... Looking for extra bite with his wedges, Charl Schwartzel put a new set of Nike VR Pro wedges (47, 54, 59 degrees) with fresh grooves in the bag. ... Scott Langley tried out a UST VTS 6x Red shaft in his PING G25 driver. ... Steven Bowditch (2-iron) and Cameron Percy (3-iron) had Cleveland 588 TT long-irons built.

Keegan Bradley says he has received strange looks because of his two 4-irons. (Pennington/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

IRVING, Texas — Keegan Bradley's course record 10-under 60 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship was impressive for a number of reasons. Bradley managed to post the score with back-to-back bogeys on his card, and went 7 under over his last eight holes.

Another interesting tidbit about the round? Bradley had two Cleveland 4-irons in the bag during his record-setting round. You read that right: two 4-irons. We've seen players employ two drivers in the past (Phil Mickelson at the 2006 Masters comes to mind), but rarely do you see a pro carry two of the same iron.

Even though the numbers are the same, Bradley said the irons are slightly different when it comes to yardage and ball flight. The first 4-iron, a Cleveland 588 MT, has 21 degrees of loft and is a game-improvement long-iron that features a hollow head design that allows weight to be distributed for a lower, deeper center of gravity.

Even though the MT irons are sold as a set, a number of Cleveland staffers have been replacing their long irons and hybrids with the MT this season — including Bradley, who used a 3-iron at the beginning of the season before switching to a 4-iron.

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

The minimalist running shoe movement has produced some ultra-light golf shoes over the last few years, with a few models tipping the scales at just under 10 ounces.

While it's unclear if there's a limit to how light golf shoes will get going forward, PUMA Golf became the new leader in the ultra-light clubhouse with the introduction of its Faas Lite Mesh shoe.

Weighing in a 6.5 ounces, the spikeless, minimalist golf shoe was designed to be worn "from the street to the course in lightweight, maximum comfort and trend-setting style." The shoe features a zero heel-to-toe drop that gives golfers the feeling they're playing barefoot, thereby allowing for a more natural stride and posture during the swing.

Even though the shoe is spikeless, PUMA added SmartQuill traction technology to Faas List Mesh that provides "directional grip elements to enhance ground contact for improved stability and traction." The shoe also includes corrugated flex grooves for more natural movement, increased flexibility and ground contract throughout the swing.

Along with Faas Lite Mesh, PUMA Golf also released a lightweight (8.7 ounces), waterproof version called Faas Lite. The shoe features Microfiber leather with stormCELL for waterproof protection, and comes with the same SmartQuill traction technology and zero heel-to-toe drop as Faas Lite Mesh.

Faas Lite Mesh will be available in three colorways (Brilliant Blue/Limeade, Vibrant Orange/White and White/Black) and retails for $90. Faas Lite will also be available in three colorways (White/Vibrant Orange, White/Black/Brilliant Blue and Black/Castle Rock) and retails for $100.

Nike Golf's new TW'14 shoe will come in three colors and will retail for $180. (Courtesy: Nike Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Tiger Woods won his second PLAYERS Championship title with a new Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 73x shaft in his Nike VR Tour driver on Sunday afternoon. But it wasn't the only change the 78-time PGA TOUR winner made at TPC Sawgrass.

For the first time in competition, he was also sporting Nike Golf's TW'14 golf shoe, which, according to the Beaverton, Oregon-based company, "brings enhancements and a modified look" to the second edition of Woods' footwear line.

Like last year's version — Nike debuted the TW'13 late in the 2011 season before bringing it to retail in 2012 — the TW'14 was created using Nike's Free technology and has a number of new additions, including a new upper that delivers added ventilation, as well as an improved "natural motion engineered outsole" that allows Woods to keep contact with the ground longer during his swing.

“With this shoe, we worked diligently to take every detail to a new level,” said Tobie Hatfield, Nike's Athlete Projects Innovator in Nike’s Innovation Kitchen. “Tiger’s relentless focus on getting better makes us better. His insights force us to never stop innovating and delivering technology that will enhance a golfer’s performance. In the TW ’14, he wanted more stability with mobility and we've accomplished that by using Nike's Dynamic Flywire technology which moves with him, but stabilizes his foot when he swings. We also increased breathability of the shoe by using a full mesh tongue."

Along with the release of three colors in the TW'14 line (white, black and grey), Nike also unveiled a fully customizable TW'14 iD version that will allow golfers to choose from a wide variety of color combinations, two uppers (waterproof or breathable) and two different outsoles (spike and spikeless).

The waterproof upper is made from multi-stretch synthetic leather that repels moisture; the breathable upper — only available through NIKEiD — features a lightweight mesh that's geared towards players looking for a hot weather shoe.

Nike's TW'14 will be available in white and black on June 7 for $180. The "cool grey with vivid blue and venom green" colorway is coming to retail on August 1.

Odyssey Golf will award staff pros patches for putts made from 10 feet or longer. (Photo: Odyssey Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Callaway Golf's X Bomb patch is no longer the only patch in town. Building on the buzz surrounding Callaway's patch — awarded to staffers for drives hit over 325 yards with an X Hot or RAZR Fit Xtreme driver — Odyssey Golf followed suit and unveiled a "drain patch" for staff pros that sink putts of 10-plus feet during the month of May. Odyssey staffers are also carrying special staff bags.

Odyssey has a "Drain Tracker" that allows fans to track the status of the competition. Phil Mickelson is the current leader with 16 drain patches.

The group of Ernie Els, Dustin Johnson and Billy Horschel tees off at 1:39 p.m. ET in Friday's second round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

You can watch every shot from that group exclusively on PGATOUR.COM (click here for details).

To get you ready to watch that threesome, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall provides an equipment update on each player. Check it out below.

The group of Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker tees off at 8:39 a.m. ET in Friday's second round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

You can watch every shot from that group exclusively on PGATOUR.COM (click here for details).

To get you ready to watch that threesome, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall provides an equipment update on each player. Check it out below.

Luke Donald has been testing three drivers and might make a change soon. (Lecka/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Update (3:07 p.m.): As expected, Luke Donald swapped drivers on Thursday and went with a 9.5-degree TaylorMade R1 (Accra XC 65x shaft). 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Comparison testing on the range doesn't always lead to a quick equipment switch. Luke Donald spent that last couple of months doing driver testing between TaylorMade's R1 driver, RocketBallz Stage 2 and TaylorMade RBZ (9.5 degrees) — the model he's currently playing — but it wasn't until Tuesday at THE PLAYERS Championship that he seriously considered making a change.

Working on a launch monitor with the three driver models, Donald noticed the R1 was performing better than his RBZ driver and RBZ Stage 2. Aside from the sheer statistical advantage, he also noted he was very comfortable with R1's launch characteristics, consistency and shot dispersion.

Playing with Thorbjorn Olesen in a practice round on Wednesday, the Dane snapped a photo of Donald teeing off with the new driver. Donald retweeted the photo later in the day.

Equipment changes aren't official until a player steps on the tee for the first round of the tournament, but based on the photo and the positive feedback Donald received early in the week, it appears a driver switch is imminent.

Donald opened the 2013 season with last year's clubs in the bag before adding a 14.5-degree TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 at the Northern Trust Open. Needless to say, the Englishman is incredibly particular when it comes to his equipment.

Donald was still playing the 2005 model of Titleist's Pro V1x until late last year when he switched to the 2013 model and won the Japan Golf Tour's Dunlop Phoenix tournament.

Fans will have a chance to buy a rare Ashworth shirt honoring Fred Couples. (Photo: Ashworth Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

To commemorate Fred Couples' induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame on May 6, Ashworth will release 300 individually numbered Fred Couples edition shirts.

Each shirt in the collection will be numbered inside the placket, with Couples receiving the first shirt (1/300). According to Ashworth, the color of blue (azure) is Couples' favorite and features double-knit EZ-TEC2 performance fabric.

“When you think of Ashworth, you immediately think style and of course Fred Couples,” said Susan Bush, VP of Ashworth. “We are very excited for Fred to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and are extremely honored to create a special shirt that truly reflects his personality and favorite elements.”

The shirt also features Couples' signature in green on the inside neck and green thread on the top button of the placket in honor of his 1992 Masters victory.

A black TaylorMade R1 driver has been spotted on the USGA's conforming driver list. (Photo: USGA)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The USGA's conforming driver list has become a popular place for equipment gossip during the last few weeks. The first photos of Callaway's Phrankenwood driver showed up in the database right before the first round of the Masters, leading to a flurry of rumors and speculation before Phil Mickelson set the record straight during his press conference.

Just a couple weeks removed from the first major of the year, TaylorMade joined the equipment rumor mill when a black TaylorMade R1 driver appeared on the site.

While the photo doesn't offer up a whole lot of details — except that it's a left-handed R1 driver with a TaylorMade logo alignment mark and black paint on the crown — TaylorMade Public Relations Manager Dave Cordero confirmed the model is a smaller-headed 400 cc (the current R1 is 460 cc), left-handed R1 prototype, but that it wouldn't be coming to retail.

Even though the driver is just a prototype, the fact that TaylorMade designed a black R1 in a left-handed model would lead you to believe the club was being built for a left-handed tour player to test at some point.