New equipment to look out for at the Masters
By James Savage
The first major of the year gives golf equipment manufacturers the chance to showcase their new clubs, shoes, shirts and bags.
But, being honest, there won’t be too many new clubs on show that we haven’t already heard plenty about.
What we will see this week is the odd equipment tweak, a new wedge here, a lofted fairway wood there.
So before the action gets underway, here’s a few things to look out for at Augusta National this week.
Jason Day’s irons
The long-time TaylorMade staffer hasn’t been in action that much in 2018 with just four events under his belt.
But he’s coming into the Masters with a brand new set of irons.
We’ve seen the 2015 PGA Champion using the TaylorMade P750 irons for the past 12 months or so but he has switched to the P730.
It’s the same model as the Rors, DJ and Rose Proto irons which we’ve seen Day’s stablemates using since last Autumn.
Day claims the P730 have given him a more controllable ball flight with less spin and height.
Rory McIlroy’s shoes
Nike pulled out of the golf hardware game a while back now but have arguably the biggest shoe and clothing presence in golf.
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Alex Noren, Thomas Pieters, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and Tony Finau to name but a few will all be rocking the latest Nike looks at Augusta.
We noticed McIlroy in a custom pair of Lunar Control Vapor 2 during a practice round so keep your eyes to the ground for more fancy footwear from the Northern Irishman during the week.
Fred Couples
One of the best things about the Masters. We get to see Freddie’s golf swing and cool, casual demeanour which have been synonymous with the Georgia venue in recent years.
And it was actually the 2010 Masters where Couples changed the face of golf equipment forever.
He brought spikeless golf shoes to the fore with the Ecco Golf Street. Now there’s about an 80/20 split in favour of spikeless shoes.
Couples will be wearing a special edition version the Ecco Biom Hybrids with his signature engraved on this week to mark his 1992 victory.
And using a five-year-old driver in the TaylorMade SLDR, released in 2013.
Remind me to refer back to his when people start moaning about ‘today’s’ equipment making to ball go too far.
Wesley Bryan’s Callaway wedges
Former trick-shot star Wesley Bryan is always worth keeping an eye on.
He had the Taco Bell logo printed on his Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls earlier this year after celebrating his first PGA Tour win with a meal at the fast food outlet.
The American has now had ALL the names of the holes at Augusta printed on his his three Callaway Mack Daddy 4 wedges.
You can now go and cheat on our recent quiz here.
Tiger and Rory’s new driver shaft
When players have success with new equipment it’s remarkable how quickly it catches on.
Think back to last year’s Masters when Sergio Garcia won with the Spider Tour Red putter. You couldn’t move for them on the practice green at the next event.
It also went on to be one of the best-selling TaylorMade putters ever in the pro shops.
So it was no surprise to see Tiger Woods, Alex Noren and Ian Poulter all switch into the Mitsubishi Tensei Orange driver shaft after McIlroy’s victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Woods also has it in his 3-wood. More details on Tiger’s gear for the week can be found here.
TaylorMade Tour bags
Look out for TaylorMade’s big guns (with the exception of Tiger Woods) rocking one of these retro tour bags this week.
We’ve seen some pretty hideous offerings down the years but these are right on the money.
Our new 2018 Major Edition bag is a real peach.
Take a look at the design process: https://t.co/4vLS3DCRXe pic.twitter.com/YnvA3zvJxA
— TaylorMadeGolfEurope (@TaylorMadeTour) March 30, 2018
Bubba and Phil’s shoes
Bubba Watson is going early with this special G/Fore ‘Azalea’ model for the par-3 tournament.
And his selections for the actual tournament will raise a few eyebrows.
As will the G/Fore models worn by Phil Mickelson.
Rickie Fowler
So what has Rickie got in store for us in 2018?
Well, nothing too ‘out there’ actually. His Sunday Orange outfit is very reserved.
All his gear can be found on the Puma website and check out our review of his Ignite Pwradapt shoes here.
WITB: Jason Day – Wells Fargo Championship
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
