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TOUR REPORT: Henrik Stenson goes DEEP on his Callaway Legacy Black irons from 2013

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If you love Florida golf, I have sad news to report: This week is the finale of the four-week long Florida Swing on the PGA Tour. What started in Palm Beach Gardens for the Honda Classic in February ends with the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor this week.

Now for the good news: We have an awesome Tour Report from the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort this week.

What makes it so great? Well, for one, I finally tracked down Henrik Stenson for a deep dive into his Callaway Legacy Black irons that he’s been playing since 2013. I had so many questions for him about the irons that needed answers, and I finally got them.

Also, world long driver Maurice Allen stunned us with some truly incredible irons and wedges, Zach Johnson revealed new unreleased irons, and Tommy “2 Gloves” Gainey thrills us with his unique putter.

Let’s get into this week’s Tour Report where we send off the Florida Swing in style.

Cam Smith speaks on his Players Championship winning gear

Before we get into the gear from this week, we have a bit of news about the winning gear from last week. Cam Smith, the 2022 Players Champion, joined our “Two Guys Talkin Golf” podcast to talk about his equipment, including his blacked-out T100 irons.

While I do suggest listening to the entire podcast, Smith’s appearance comes in the last 12 minutes of the episode (around the 45-minute mark). Check it out on SoundCloud below.

Zach Johnson reveals all new PXG irons

PXG staffer and two-time major champion Zach Johnson came to the 2022 Valspar Championship with brand new, unreleased PXG “Black Label Elite 0311T Gen5” irons. From the looks of things, it appears that the back cavity features a multi-material construction, presumably to raise forgiveness on off-center strikes based on the different-colored material on the toe and heel sections.

If I had to guess, I’d say the silver sections are made of heavier Tungsten to shift weight toward the perimeter, but since PXG hasn’t yet spoken publicly about the irons, that’s all just speculation.

To see what GolfWRX forum members are saying about the new irons, check out the comment thread here.

Tommy “2 Gloves” Gainey is using a rarely seen putter

Mr. Two Gloves doesn’t do things the way most pro golfers do. He doesn’t have a cookie cutter swing that hits perfect planes, he wears two gloves, and he also uses a putter that, if memory serves, no other PGA Tour player uses.

Since at least 2015, Gainey has employed an Odyssey Backstyrke Blade putter that was released to the public back in 2010. Being that the shaft enters the club head in a uniquely rearward position, the design helps put golfers’ hands into a forward press position that encourages hitting up on the golf ball. It also provides an unimpeded look at the club face for easier alignment.

Obviously, the Backstryke is far from traditional looking so most golfers haven’t given it a chance. 2 Gloves is not a traditional golfer, though, and the Backstryke has remained in his bag all these years.

Check out Tommy Gainey’s full 2022 WITB here.

Henrik Stenson speaks on his Callaway Legacy Black irons

Since 2013, Stenson has used Callaway Legacy Black irons that were a limited release in 2013 and were never available in North American markets. Stenson’s longtime affair with the irons, and their ultra-limited availability, has made the Legacy Black irons certified classics.

It’s fascinating to me that Stenson has used the same model irons for 9 years now, so I was excited to finally have the chance to speak with him in-depth about them.

Our full Q&A with Stenson is over on PGATOUR.com, but here’s a few interesting snippets from the talk:

“I came off the U.S. Open in 2013, and I hit too many fliers at Merion. My caddie Gareth [Lord] at the time walks into Callaway and asks them to give us some options that don’t fly too much out of the rough, and the boys in Europe built up the Legacy Black. When the irons showed up, they felt great and looked good, and I didn’t hit too many fliers with them. They’ve been in the bag ever since…

“Callaway comes out with some good looking irons every year. It’s just been, I guess I’m a little old school. I know what works for me and I like the look of that. We don’t really have much of an off-season. It’s not like we have two or three months at home to test new stuff. That’s probably the one thing in the bag that it’s like, OK that definitely stays. When they come out with new wedges, we put them in and test them, and new fairway woods even.”

Tommy Fleetwood’s bag tag

Honestly, not much needs to be said about Fleetwood’s TaylorMade bag tag. It’s simply glorious, and I wanted everyone to see it.

Although, he did recently shave his beard after being in a bad mood, so the bag tag may need an update unless he plans on growing it back out.

Sam lets the traditional gap wedge Burn

Valspar’s defending champion made a very interesting wedge switch in the off-season that could be part of a new wave of equipment choices on Tour.

Recently, we saw Dylan Frittelli start using a 1-of-1 Callaway Apex TCB iron for his sand wedge instead of using a traditional wedge shape like most golfers do.

Burns has prescribed to a similar tactic by replacing his Callaway Jaws MD5 50-degree wedge with an “Attack Wedge” that’s part of the Apex TCB set. After noticing his wedge game from 100-150 yards needed some improvement, Burns realized he needed a more forgiving option than his traditional blade wedge to clean up his distance control.

That leaves us normal golfers to answer the question, “Why do we use less-forgiving traditional wedges instead of wedges that are part of the iron set?”

I think it’s time for all of us to do some wedge testing to figure out that answer for ourselves.

For the full story on Burns’ wedge switch, check it out here on PGATOUR.com.

Are these the coolest irons and wedges you’ve ever seen?

World long driver Maurice Allen showed up to the Valspar Pro-Am with a set of absolute stunners for his irons and wedges.

The angular surface and copper rainbow finish gives these Itobori clubs a staggering level of bag appeal. For those who may not know, Itobori custom golf clubs are designed by Mayuki Takai, based in Nagoya, Japan.

Allen is bagging the company’s Cavity Irons, but there’s a slew of different models as per the Itobori website.

We haven’t spoken just yet, but my promise to you is that we will get Maurice Allen on the TG2 podcast to speak on how he got a hold of these gorgeous irons, how they feel, and how they perform. The world needs to know.

And with that, we close out the final Tour Report from the Florida Swing in 2022. We’ll be back next week in Austin, Texas for the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Get your match play brackets ready for golf’s version of March Madness.

Check out all of our photos from the 2022 Valspar Championship here.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: TOUR REPORT: Adam Scott’s latest club switch, and a 5-wood from 12 years ago – GolfWRX

  2. HR Fernández

    Mar 20, 2022 at 11:26 am

    Reading Stenson’s irons story, among others of the same, only tells me that OEM’s and fitters are full of it. All they want is for you to buy new equipment every year, and in reality, it won’t be much different than your current setup.

    Unless you are a tour player and you wear out your grooves chances are your clubs are going to outlive you.

    Save your money, and if you buy a new set of clubs is because you want to, not because some jebroni is trying to get you to spend money on equipment which will do nothing for you.

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play one degree upright to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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Whats in the Bag

Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X

Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X

Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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Whats in the Bag

Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX

3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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