The zenith of the Precept MC Lady golf ball came in 2001, when many men were bold enough to play with a ball that said Lady on it.

Touted to provide maximum distance for golfers with slower or moderate swing speeds, the MC Lady was a commercial hit – appealing to women and men alike.

Now, there is a new version of the ball – the Bridgestone Lady Precept. The new ball has a 330-dimple Surlyn cover that is 12 percent thinner than the cover of the MC Lady, according to the company. A thinner cover generally means a larger core, and Bridgestone provides one in the new model, utilizing what it calls a Gradational Cover Core. Utilizing data from more than 14,000 live fittings, Bridgestone says the new ball was developed to best suit the average female golf swing.

Although the Precept has been retained, the Bridgestone Lady Precept has achieved an updated status under the Bridgestone umbrella. It is now an official part of the flagship brand.

Bridgestone is widely known for is E series golf balls, as well as its balls in the RX and B330 families.

The new ball is offered in white, optic pink and optic ...

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Justin Rose became the first English golfer to win a U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin won at Hazeltine National in 1970. His all-TaylorMade bag: TaylorMade R1 driver (9.5 degree, with a Matrix Ozik 6M3 Black Tie shaft), RocketBallz Stage 2 Tour HL fairway wood (16.5 degree, with a Matrix Ozik 7M3 Black Tie shaft), RocketBladez Tour (3-6) and Tour Preferred MB (7-PW) irons with KBS C-Taper shafts, ATV wedges (52, 56 and 60 degree, with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts), TaylorMade Spider Blade putter. He played a TaylorMade Lethal golf ball.

Rose’s Spider Blade was a 37-inch, counter-balanced model. Previously, he had used a 34-inch version. Rose said the switch enabled him to be more comfortable putting with a taller posture.

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Long irons in demand at Merion: A predictable trend at the U.S. Open was the addition of long irons by several players.

Three TaylorMade staffers made the move: Stewart Cink played a RocketBladez Tour 3-iron bent to 2-iron loft at 1-iron length. John Senden added a RocketBladez Tour 2-iron. Jason Day played a Tour Preferred MC 2-iron.

Meanwhile, Cobra staff member Rickie Fowler added a Cobra AMP Forged 3-iron to his bag, removing ...

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Justin Rose became the first English golfer to win a U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin won at Hazeltine National in 1970. Here is a list of the equipment he used at Merion:

DRIVER: TaylorMade R1 (9.5 degree) with a Matrix OZIK 6M3 Black Tie shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Tour HL (16.5 degree) with a Matrix 7M3 Black Tie shaft

IRONS: TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour (3-6), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB (7-PW) with KBS C-Taper shafts

WEDGES: TaylorMade ATV (52, 56 and 60 degree) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

PUTTER: TaylorMade Spider Blade

BALL: TaylorMade Lethal

ARDMORE, Pa. – Billy Horschel, who earlier this season won the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, shot 67 on Friday at Merion Golf Club during the second round of the 2013 U.S. Open. Here is a complete list of the clubs he used:

DRIVER: Ping G25 (9.5 degree) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 63 shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Ping G25 (15 and 18 degree) with Oban Kiyoshi 75 X shafts

IRONS: Ping S56 (3-PW) with Ping ZZ65 shafts

WEDGES: Ping Tour with Gorge Grooves (53 and 60 degree) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

PUTTER: Ping Redwood Piper S

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

ARDMORE, Pa. – Luke Donald shot 70-72 in the first two rounds of the 2013 U.S. Open. Here is a list of the Englishman's equipment at Merion Golf Club:

DRIVER: TaylorMade R1 (9.5 degree) with an ACCRA XC 65X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: RocketBallz Stage 2 (14 degree) with an ACCRA XC 75X shaft

IRONS: Mizuno MP-H4 (2, 3), Mizuno MP-64 (4-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts

WEDGES: Mizuno MP-T4 (54, 60 degree) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts

PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG #7

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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ARDMORE, Pa. — Phil Mickelson potentially winning the U.S. Open without a driver in his bag is not exactly what the U.S. Golf Association had in mind when it brought the national championship back to this 101-year-old golf course.

USGA officials regard the U.S. Open as a stern examination of all the clubs in the bag and all the various skills expected of a national champion.

Driving the golf ball with distance and accuracy is a fundamental skill associated with the game of golf. A major champion hitting zero drivers during 72 holes of competition? This is not the brand of golf played by the 25 million to 30 million golfers in the United States.

When purists argue against any form of bifurcation – or separate sets of rules for elite golfers and everybody else – they invariably say it is important for all golfers to play the same game with the same equipment.

Mickelson, who carried a 3-wood, a 4-wood and no driver in the first round of the U.S. Open, violated this principle. He not only played a game with which the rest of us are unfamiliar, but he also left his driver in his vehicle.

How ...

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If you have a question about the latest golf clubs and equipment or are wondering what gear PGA Tour players are using, send a Tweet to Golfweek senior writer David Dusek at @David Dusek

Some recent inquiries:

• • •

Lee,

As you noted, Tiger Woods switched to Nike's new VR_S Covert fairway woods earlier this season. He removed his Nike SQ II 5-wood before the start of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral and took out this Nike VR Pro Limited Edition 3-wood before the start of the Masters.

All of the Nike VR_S Covert drivers, fairway woods and hybrids are designed with a hole in the back-center section of the sole, which redistributes weight to the heel and toe areas and, according to Nike, increases forgiveness. They also feature an adjustable hosel system that allows you to change the club's loft and face angle.

The clubs come in two models, the VR_S Covert Performance series and the VR_S Covert Tour series. From a distance you can tell them apart because the clubs in the Performance line have a silver-toned face; the faces of the Tour clubs have a black face.

The primary difference between the VR_S Covert drivers is the ...

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ARDMORE, Pa. — Caddies have a reputation for enjoying a beverage or two when they are away from the course. But when Chris Callas looks down in Shawn Stefani's bag this week during the U.S. Open and sees two 3-irons, he won't be seeing double.

"One is a 3-iron that's been jacked down to a 2-iron loft," Stefani explained on the range Wednesday at Merion Golf Club. "I've tried hitting some of the hybrids and they just don't work for me, so I took a 3-iron and dropped it down to a 2-iron loft."

Stefani, 31, uses Mizuno MP-68 irons with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour issue shafts. That set includes a 3-iron with 21 degrees of loft. His extra 3-iron is a Mizuno MP-69 with the same shaft, but the club has been bent to 18 degrees.

"My stock numbers with the clubs change from week to week," Stefani said. "The 2-iron is about a 235 club, but this week [at Merion] it's probably more like 225 carry." He said the standard-loft 3-iron carries the ball about 10 yards less.

A resident of Houston, Stefani said he uses the lower-lofted 3-iron off the ...

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ARDMORE, Pa. — At the Masters, Adam Scott covered his Titleist Scotty Cameron Futura X long putter with a special Masters headcover designed by Cameron himself.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Scott officially replaced his Masters putter cover with his new U.S. Open putter cover, also designed by Cameron.

The new one is mostly blue, with splashes of red.

Cameron, it turns out, creates a new putter cover for each major championship. He gives one to each Titleist staff player carrying one of his putters. Ironically the winner of last year’s U.S. Open was a Titleist staff player, Webb Simpson, who did not use a Cameron putter (his longtime putter is a belly version of the Ping Craz-E).

Some players admitted – off the record – that they never use their manufacturers' special putter covers. Instead they save them as collector’s items. Among consumers, Cameron’s colorful putter covers have commanded a loyal following for years.

Besides its Cameron putters, the big news for Titleist at this year’s U.S. Open is wedges. A preliminary count indicated that about 76 players in the field of 156 will carry at least one Titleist Bob Vokey wedge.

ARDMORE, Pa. - When the U.S. Open starts Thursday, how will a soft, water-soaked Merion defend itself against the best golfers in the world?

Five words: tough rough, hidden hole locations.

Let’s take a look at hole locations. Forget the misguided belief that pins have to be least 12 feet – or four paces – from the edge of the greens. It’s not true. Although the U.S. Golf Association does not provide exact distances, it is clear that some U.S. Open hole locations are less than 10 feet from the aprons. The same is true of the Masters.

“We try to be fair,” said USGA executive director Mike Davis, “but it is reasonable to have some very demanding hole locations, particularly if players are hitting wedges in there.”

The penalty for missing a green can be severe, because the grass around the aprons is long and tangly. Spectators will see some golfers – held captive in this greenside rough – taking full or three-quarter swings to escape their predicament.

One result of tough rough and hidden hole locations will be a reliance on the lob wedge. Any wedge with 58 or more degrees is considered a lob wedge, although most ...

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ARDMORE, Pa. -- Contrary to speculation that he might be fretting about the governing bodies' recent decision to ban the anchored stroke, Webb Simpson is not.

The 2012 U.S. Open champion has been using the same Ping Craz-E belly putter since he was a junior in high school. But two weeks before the ban was announced, he told Golfweek: "You know, I'm really comfortable with the short putter. The only reason why I haven't switched is I don't care to bring a whole lot of attention to it now."

That doesn't mean that the former Wake Forest All-American is happy about the decision. Simpson was an outspoken defender of anchored putting.

Simpson is prepared to make changes, but they'll come later. "I'm going to keep going with what I know and with what's helped me so far."

In an exclusive interview with Golfweek senior equipment writer David Dusek, Simpson shares his thoughts on other equipment topics and his preparation for this week's U.S. Open.

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Q. Before last season's U.S. Open, you put a new set of Titleist 712 AP2 irons into play, but then in San Francisco you switched ...

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Professional golfers are free to chose from a closet full of free shirts, pants and accessories most of the year. But during major championship weeks, they often receive a little fashion help.

To ensure that everyone looks his best – and no one is wearing the same outfit – companies such as Nike Golf script what its staff players will wear each day. Here's a glimpse at what Tiger Woods will be wearing at Merion this week.

Here is Nike's scripting for Rory McIlroy

Harris English finished two shots better than Scott Stallings and Phil Mickelson at the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour win. Here's a look at the clubs the former University of Georgia star used at TPC Southwind.

DRIVER: Ping G15 (9.5 degree bent to 10.5) with a Project X 8B4 shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Ping G5 (16 degree) with an Aldila RIP 80X shaft, Ping G20 (18 degree) with a UST Mamiya VTS Black 8X shaft

IRONS: Ping S56 (4-9) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts

WEDGES: Ping Tour with Gorge Grooves (47, 52 and 56 degree), Fourteen RM-12 (60 degree) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts

PUTTER: Ping TR Nome

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

FOOTWEAR: FootJoy DryJoys Tour

GLOVE: FootJoy Pure Touch Limited