Golfweek

Dufner relies on Titleist: Jason Dufner’s putter was on fire in the HP Byron Nelson Championship, but his clinching 72nd-hole birdie was set up with another club – his Titleist 910D2 driver, which he skillfully maneuvered between a fairway bunker and a water hazard, leaving himself a wedge shot to the final green.

Flying under the PGA Tour’s distance radar, Dufner clearly fits into the “sneaky long” category. At the Nelson, he finished ninth in driving average at 316.6 yards.

Dufner’s bag (all Titleist): 910D2 driver (9.5 degree, with Mitsubishi Diamana ’ahina 60x shaft), 910F 3-wood (13.5 degree, with Mitsubishi Diamana ’ilima 80x shaft), 906F2 5-wood (18 degree, with Grafalloy Prolite shaft), 910H hybrid (19 degree, with Project X hybrid shaft), AP2 712 irons (4-PW), Vokey Design SM4 wedges (54 and 60 degree), Scotty Cameron GSS Circa 62 No. 2 prototype putter. He played a Titleist Pro V1 ball. He wore FootJoy XPS-1 shoes

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Makeshift bag for Snedeker: So what if Brandt Snedeker’s clubs were lost by an air carrier and didn’t show up for the start of his first-round match at the Volvo World Match Play Championship?

All Snedeker did was gather ...

Winner’s Circle: May 14-20, 2012

Jason Dufner (PGA Tour – HP Byron Nelson Championship)

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (9.5 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana ‘ahina 60x shaft)

Fairway woods: Titleist 910F 3-wood (13.5 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana Ilima 80x shaft) and Titleist 906F2 5-wood (18 degree; Grafalloy Prolite)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (19 degree; Project X Hybrid shaft)

Irons: Titleist AP2 (4-PW; Project X 6.5 Flighted shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (56 and 60 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner shafts)

Putter: Scotty Cameron GSS Circa 62 No. 2 prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Footwear: FootJoy XPS-1

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Nicolas Colsaerts (European Tour – Volvo World Match Play)

Driver: Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5 degree; Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 8.1 shaft)

Fairway wood: Titleist 910Fd 3-wood (15 degree; Fujikura Rombax 8X07 shaft)

Irons: Callaway Prototype (2-PW;True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (53 and 59 degree)

Putter: Odyssey Black Series-i #1

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon

Glove: FootJoy StaSof

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Azahara Munoz (LPGA – Sybase Match Play Championship)

Driver: Ping G20 (8.5 degree)

Fairway woods: Ping i20 3-wood (15 degree) and 5-wood (17 degree)

Hybrid: Ping i20 (20 degree)

Irons: Ping i20 (4-PW)

Wedges ...

There is plenty to be learned from Matt Kuchar’s set makeup at The Players.

Kuchar is a Bridgestone staff member who became the first player to win on the PGA Tour with the new Bridgestone B330-S golf ball and the Bridgestone J40 driver.

But Kuchar isn’t reluctant to mix up his bag. He doesn’t carry a 2-, 3- or 4-iron. Kuchar’s longest iron (also Bridgestone J40) is a 5-iron. In place of long irons, he carries Ping i15 hybrids (23 and 20 degrees). This is a strategy that should appeal to many amateur golfers.

Following the examples of Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, Kuchar carries a super-lob wedge, in this case a 62-degree Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled. Although these super-lobs require precision and dexterity, they also allow flop shots to be hit with little rollout.

Kuchar’s bag: Bridgestone J40 driver (9.5 degree, with Graphite Design Tour AD DJ-6X shaft); TaylorMade Burner 3-wood (14.5 degree, with Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Blue Board 73X shaft); Ping i15 hybrids (20 and 23 degree with Matrix Ozik Program 95 shafts); Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back irons (5-PW, with AeroTech SteelFiber i95 Constant Weight S shafts); Bridgestone J40 wedges ...

The earth didn’t shake when Ben Curtis won the recent Valero Texas Open with a 75-gram Aldila RIP shaft in his Titleist 910D3 driver (8.5).

After all, Aldila has been making graphite golf shafts for more than 40 years, and its RIP collection includes some of the most recognizable graphite shafts on the PGA Tour.

Aldila has taken the RIP name and turned it into a family affair. The RIP series, or family, includes five shafts for 2012. Obviously the purpose here is to provide the right shaft for any golfer, regardless of his or her ball speed or swing characteristics.

This is a reflection of the modern fitting movement. Golfers want to be fit with precision, and golf companies want to offer products for a wide range of players.

Never before has club fitting been so accurate. Today’s shaft manufacturers offer shafts to practically any golfer, regardless of gender, strength, swing speed or shotmaking ability.

RIP OVERALL: RIP stands for Reverse Interlaminar Placement. Here is John Oldenburg, Aldila vice president of engineering, on RIP science:

“The RIP employs patent-pending technology and exclusive materials to completely transform shaft design from the inside out.

“Through the use of ...

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- TaylorMade has new wedges with the name ATV, which makes sense because the company is calling them all-terrain wedges.

The idea behind these wedges is simple: TaylorMade wanted to design wedges that could be used expertly from tight lies, heavy grass or sand.

This isn’t as easy as it might sound. Most wedges have dominate personalities -- they perform better off the turf, or else they produce better results from the sand. Designing a wedge to do both has been a major challenge ever since Gene Sarazen invented the modern sand wedge.

Justin Rose played a role in the ATV story, because it was Rose, a TaylorMade staff player, who continually asked for a wedge that would inspire confidence from the tightest lie or the softest bunker.

“We’ve never done very good with wedges,” said TaylorMade vice president Sean Toulon. “We really wanted to do something special with the ATV.”

Added noted instructor Jim Flick, who is employed by TaylorMade: “I think it’s the most innovative product we’ve ever done.”

So what exactly did TaylorMade do? First, according to Toulon, the company drew inspiration from the Ping Eye2 lob wedge of the 1980s. That Ping ...

Winner’s Circle: May 7-13, 2012

Matt Kuchar (PGA Tour – The Players Championship)

Driver: Bridgestone J40 430cc (9.5 degree; Graphite Design DJ-6X shaft)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner 3-wood (14.5 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 73x shaft)

Hybrids: Ping i15 (20 and 23 degree; Matrix Ozik Program 95 shafts)

Irons: Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back (5-PW; SteelFiber i95 Constant Weight S shafts)

Wedges: Bridgestone J40 (52 and 57 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts) and Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (62 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shaft)

Putter: Rife Barbados belly

Ball: Bridgestone 2012 Tour B330-S

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Ricardo Santos (European Tour – Madeira Islands Open)

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (8.5 degree)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (17 degree)

Irons: Titleist AP2 (3-5) and Titleist MB (6-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (52, 56 and 60 degree)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG #7

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy XPS-1

Glove: FootJoy StaSof

Winner’s Circle: April 30-May 6, 2012

Rickie Fowler (PGA Tour – Wells Fargo Championship)

Driver: Cobra AMP (9.5 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 73x shaft)

Fairway wood: Ping i20 3-wood (15 degree; Mitsubishi Diamana 70x shaft)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Black 9031 (20 degree; Matrix OZIK HM2 Hybrid shaft)

Irons: Cobra AMP Pro prototype Blades (4-9; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design (48, 50, 55 and 59 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select GoLo

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: Puma Super Cell Fusion Ice

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Francesco Molinari (European Tour – Open de Espana)

Driver: Nike VR_S (9.5 degree; Project X 6A4 shaft)

Fairway wood: Nike VR Pro Limited Edition 3-wood (15 degree)

Hybrid: Nike VR Pro (19 and 21 degree)

Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-PW)

Wedges: Nike VR Pro (52 and 58 degree)

Putter: Nike Method Core prototype

Ball: Nike 20XI X

Footwear: Nike Lunar Control

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Pornanong Phatlum (LPGA – HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup)

Driver: Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (8.5 degree)

Fairway woods: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 3-wood (15 degree) and Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 5-wood (18 degree)

Hybrid: Callaway RAZR X Hybrid (21 and 24 degree)

Irons: Callaway ...

First-time winner Jason Dufner carried 14 Titleist clubs and used a Titleist ball during his Zurich Classic of New Orleans victory.

Dufner’s bag included 910D2 driver (9.5 degree), 910F 3-wood (13.5 degree), 906F2 5-wood (18 degree), 910H hybrid (19 degree), AP2 irons (4-PW), Vokey Design SM4 wedges (54 and 60 degree), Scotty Cameron GSS Circa 62 No. 2 prototype putter. He played a Pro V1 ball.

• • •

Dufner’s putter grip of choice: Dufner used an oversized SuperStroke Slim Lite Splash grip on his putter. The company offers three sizes of grips (including an Ultra Slim, which Ryan Palmer used to finish T-4). Dufner first started using the grip the Monday of last year’s PGA Championship, where he lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Eighteen players used SuperStroke grips at Zurich, a record for the company.

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Euro winner carries Titleist: Meanwhile, Bernd Wiesberger won the Ballantine’s Championship on the PGA European Tour by five strokes. He, too, had a bag full of Titleist equipment: 910D3 driver (9.5 degree), 910F 3-wood (15 degree), AP2 2-iron, CB irons (4-PW), Vokey Design SM4 wedges (52, 56, 60 degree), Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport Fastback putter. He played ...

Winner’s Circle: April 23-29, 2012

Jason Dufner (PGA Tour – Zurich Classic of New Orleans)

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (9.5 degree; Mitsubishi Ahina 60x shaft)

Fairway woods: Titleist 910F 3-wood (13.5 degree; Mitsubishi Ilima 80x shaft) and Titleist 906F2 5-wood (18 degree; Grafalloy Prolite shaft)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (19 degree; Project X Hybrid shaft)

Irons: Titleist AP2 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Footwear: FootJoy XPS-1

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Bernd Wiesberger (European Tour – Ballantine’s Championship)

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (9.5 degree)

Fairway wood: Titleist 910F 3-wood (15 degree)

Irons: Titleist AP2 (2) and Titleist CB (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (52, 56 and 60 degree)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport Fastback

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon

Glove: FootJoy StaSof

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Stacy Lewis (LPGA – Mobile Bay LPGA Classic)

Driver: Mizuno JPX-800 (9 degree)

Fairway wood: Mizuno MP 3-wood (15 degree)

Hybrid: Mizuno MP CLK (17 degree)

Irons: Mizuno JPX-800 Pro (4-PW)

Wedges: Mizuno MP T-11 (52, 56 and 60 degree)

Putter: TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy Women’s FJ Sport

Glove: FootJoy StaSof

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Luke List (Nationwide Tour – South Georgia Classic)

Driver ...

Winner’s Circle: April 16-22, 2011

Ben Curtis (PGA Tour – Valero Texas Open)

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (8.5 degree; Aldila RIP shaft)

Fairway wood: Titleist 910Fd 3-wood (13.5 degree; Aldila RIP 80x shaft)

Hybrids: Titleist 910H (18 and 20 degree; Aldila NV Hybrid 85x shafts)

Irons: Titleist 712 AP1 (4-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design (52 and 58 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy DryJoys Tour

Glove: FootJoy StaSof

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Branden Grace (European Tour – China Open)

Driver: Callaway Razr Fit (8.5 degree)

Fairway wood: Callaway Razr Fit 3-wood (13 degree)

Hybrid: Callaway Diablo Edge Tour (18 degree)

Irons: Callaway X Forged (3-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X-Series Jaws (52 and 60 degree)

Putter: Odyssey Black Series Tour Designs #1 Wide

Ball: Callaway Hex Black Tour

Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon

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Lee Westwood (Asian Tour – Indonesian Masters)

Driver: Ping G10 (9 degree; Aldila NV VooDoo XNV6 shaft)

Fairway wood: Ping i15 3-wood (15.5 degree) and Ping Rapture V2 5-wood (19 degree; Aldila NV 75 shaft)

Irons: Ping i10 (3-PW)

Wedges: Ping Tour-W (54 and 58 degree)

Putter: Ping Redwood Anser

Ball ...

When purchasing irons, golfers should consider mixing their sets.

This means combining different iron models (short irons and mid irons of one model, long irons of another) or mixing irons with hybrids.

Most club manufacturers have responded to the needs of consumers by allowing golfers to mix and match their irons and hybrids.

Dick Lyons, vice president and general manager of Mizuno Golf USA, loves to talk about club fitting.

Mizuno, prominent around the world for its forged irons, is deeply immersed in fitting. How do we know this? The tipoff comes from Mizuno sales in the United States: According to Lyons, 20 percent of Mizuno custom orders are placed for mixed sets.

The most common mix is irons and hybrids. For Mizuno, DLR hybrids (sometimes called utility clubs, these were formerly known as FLI-HI) have assumed a new importance in the scheme of things.

Mizuno has a line of game-improvement clubs called JPX-800, available in three models -- the original JPX-800, the JPX-800 Pro, and the new JPX-800HD (High Distance).

JPX-800 long and mid irons are designed to be easy to hit. Regardless, Mizuno decided to introduce its DLR hybrids to give golfers an even broader choice in combining clubs ...

The biggest and most important lesson about club-fitting revolves around individuality: Every golfer is a distinct individual with a distinct swing.

This means two golfers may hit the ball the same distance but still require significantly different club specifications.

There is not a better example of customized, personalized fitting than Masters champion Bubba Watson.

For starters, what’s up with Watson’s grips?

Matt Rollins, Ping’s PGA Tour rep, is the man who oversees Watson’s golf clubs. Furthermore, he personally installs all of Watson’s grips.

“I told him there are several of our people who can put on the grips,” Rollins said, “but he always wants me to do it. There’s a lot of trust there.”

So, believe it or not, here is the inside story on Bubba’s unusual grips: He plays Ping’s 703 Gold grip, which is a rubber grip made by Golf Pride. It is oversized by one-32nd of an inch. After that, his grip setup gets pretty weird.

On the top half of the shaft, Rollins installs 10 layers of tape. On the bottom half, he installs 12 layers. One complete layer of tape goes around all that.

How big is ...

Winner’s Circle: April 9-15, 2012

Carl Pettersson (PGA Tour – RBC Heritage)

Driver: Nike VR Pro STR8-FIT (11.5 degree; Mitsubishi Fubuki Alpha 50x shaft)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner 3-wood (14.5 degree; Mitsubishi Fubuki Alpha 70x shaft)

Hybrid: Nike VR Pro (21 degree; UST Mamiya Attas 85 hybrid shaft)

Irons: Nike VR S Forged (4; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shaft) and Nike VR Pro Combo (5-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Wedges: Nike VR Pro (49, 55 and 60 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts)

Putter: Nike Method prototype belly

Ball: Nike 20XI S

Footwear: Nike

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Louis Oosthuizen (European Tour – Malaysian Open)

Driver: Ping Rapture V2 (9 degree; Project X Black 6B7 shaft)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Tour 3-wood (17.5° degree; Project X 6B7 shaft) and 5-wood (19 degree; Project X 6B7 shaft)

Irons: Ping S56 (3-9; True Temper X100 shafts)

Wedges: Ping Tour S (47 and 54 degree; True Temper X100 shafts) and Ping Tour-S TS (60 degree; True Temper X100 shaft)

Putter: Ping Scottsdale ZB

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy DryJoys Tour

Glove: FootJoy SciFlex

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Alex Aragon (Nationwide Tour – TPC Stonebrae Championship)

Driver: TaylorMade R11 (9 degree; Matrix HD ...

The Masters playoff matched two longtime Ping staff players – Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen. Watson, the Masters champion, has been using Ping clubs since he was a teenager, when he was befriended by Ping sales rep Bill Weir. As an amateur, Watson met Ping CEO John Solheim and the two became close friends.

Watson’s bag (all Ping except ball): G20 driver (7.5 degree), G20 4-wood (16.5 degree), S59 irons (3-PW), Tour-W wedges (52 and 56 degree), Tour-S Rustique wedge (64 degree) and Redwood Anser putter. He used a Titleist Pro V1x ball.

Watson used all True Temper shafts in his clubs: Grafalloy BiMatrx in the driver; Project X 8A1 in the 4-wood and Dynamic Gold in the irons and wedges.

• • •

Player starts with long drive: Gary Player, 76, used a Callaway Razr Fit driver to easily outhit 82-year-old Arnold Palmer and 72-year-old Jack Nicklaus as the three legendary golfers opened the Masters as honorary starters.

All three hit their drives into a steep hill on the first hole, thus getting no roll. The yardages, as measured by Golfweek with

a laser rangefinder: Player 236, Nicklaus 218, Palmer 185.

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By the numbers: Here are the equipment category leaders ...

Winner’s Circle: April 2-8, 2012

Bubba Watson (The Masters Tournament)

Driver: Ping Pink G20 (7.5 degree; Grafalloy BiMatrix shaft)

Fairway wood: Ping G20 4-wood (16.5 degree; Project X 8A1 shaft)

Irons: Ping S59 (3-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts)

Wedges: Ping Tour-W (52 and 56 degree) and Ping Tour-S Rustique (64 degree)

Putter: Ping Redwood Anser

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon

Glove: FootJoy Spidr2

• • •

Andres Gonzales (Nationwide Tour – Soboba Golf Classic)

Driver: Adams Speedline Fast 12 LS (10.5 degree)

Fairway wood: Adams Speedline Super XTD FW 3-wood (14.5 degree)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro a12 (20 degree; Aldila VS Proto shaft)

Irons: Scratch SB1 (3-9)

Wedges: Scratch

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Footwear: FootJoy FJ Icon