Tour Equipment
 

Hi John,

I am an equipment junkie. I would love it if you could post on the equipment that you guys get to play on tour, how different it is from retail etc.

Also appreciated if you could go into how you guys are pampered by the tour reps.

Many Thanks...

Justin

tour equipment
 

well lets start by saying it is like a little kid going to toys r us.i am very old school when it comes to my clubs.i don't like to change my clubs until i wear them out.these days it is really tuff,because every 3 months it seems we have new drivers,balls,shafts and so on.i let it be known years ago if i wanted to try something new i would come to the tour rep.otherwise you would be trying something new all the time.i do all my testing while i am at home.all the tour reps respect the players not and try new products,but if they see you testing something new then its all over.it is a tuff markert out there for some of the smaller companies.the saying on tour is if it is free then give me three.
my garage is pretty slim.i have 4 extra sets of irons 6 putters,3 drivers.the only thing i have alot of is vokey wedges and 3 woods.i will show my specs and equipment i use at the bootom here.
driver-taylormade r7
3w-taylormade 200 steel
wood shafts are grafite design gat shaft s-flex tipped 2 in.
irons-mizzuno mp 33 2-w
sw 55 vokey 8 degree bounce custom made v grooves
lw-60 vokey 6 degrre bounce v grooves
putter-handmade scotty cameron looks like an old karsten co.

iron shafts s-400 2-w x-1 in sw and lw
3 degree upright half in long d-4 swingweight

everthing in my bag has been there for 4 years except the driver
golf ball original x ball

There's ProV1X and There's ProV1X
 

John,

I first heard of the difference between the Pro V1X 'original versus new' from Larry Nelson. Can you explain this to our members? Also, how does the 'original' Prov1X compare to the current ProV1? Thanks!

x ball
 

yoda i really don't know all i have ever played is the x ball.the new x is suppose to spin less with the wedges but it also spins less with the driver.the prov1 spins more than both x's.it feels a little softer with the irons.the original x is perfect for me so until titleist stops making it i will play it.hope this helped

tour clubs
 

85% of the clubs on tour are the same as you can buy retail.it is mostly putters and wedges that are custum.there is not to much custom grinding of irons anymore.there are not to many players playing blades.when i was with wilson in the old days i use to go and grind my own irons,those where the good ole days.

Thanks Mr Riegger for your insights, I have always been intrigued by the whole "Tour Preferred" deal.

I hope to be able to peek into some bags at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines this week. Are you going to be playing?

schedule
 

not playing buick.i will be playing phoenix,la open tuscon,doral,bay hill and players.i will update if anything changes

Who's the Fairest of them Balls?
 

Yes, the 'original x' seems to be 'TOUR preferred' (among those using the 'x'). Thanks, John!

(My take):

(It will not really help an 18-handicapper at all......tour clubs DO feel heavier, sometimes feel better upon Impact (more solid), have custom face angles, are made from better quality materials....most importantly though....TOUR clubs are built for TOUR players!......

This means: higher centre of gravity...which means- LOWER SPIN for players with HIGH swing speeds....(to stop balooning).

This is absolutely great for someone who can take advantage of it.....but....

Not good AT ALL for someone who does not generate high swing speeds...

Unless they just want to look cool... :))

John: Is your 3 wood a smooth top,retail ridge top , tour issue ridge top? Do you have your shafts Pured? Did you arrive at your shaft specs by trial and error or was this determined by a fitting session where a launch monitor was used?