The New Year is always a good time to take a peek at the clubs tour players are using.
Many are still in what could be described as a ‘testing phase’ so what they are using now isn’t necessarily what they will be when the serious stuff starts.
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But one brand hoping players don’t make too many switches is Titleist.
The company were number on in every category at the Sony Open.
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Interestingly this was the first time they have won the driver count at a full-field event since the 2001 PGA Championship.
Titleist do have a fair few staff players in the field but the new TS2 and TS3 drivers have found their way into the hands of some of the free agents.
In previous years the non-contracted players have gravitated towards TaylorMade and Callaway models.
But widespread use of the Ping G400 range and now the new Titleist TS drivers shows the big four are pretty much level-pegging when it comes to the quality and performance.
Sticking with Titleist, Steve Stricker was helping keep the iron count at number one. But not with a model anyone would expect.
The veteran was seen playing a set of the 710 AP2 irons which were released in 2009.
One player who is using a new set of irons is Marc Leishman.
The Aussie has put a set of the Callaway Apex 19 Pro irons into play which we were drooling over in our recent review.
We don’t expect to see the original TaylorMade M2 irons – the brand’s (2016) super game-improvement model – on tour.
But Hideki Matsuyama is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to equipment.
Paul Casey was spotted using a set of Honma irons in Kapalua last week sparking speculation he was following Justin Rose to the Japanese brand.
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The Englishman has gone Japanese but is sticking with his trusty Mizuno MP-5 for now.
Away from hardware, Jason Dufner has a new shirt sponsor.
I had to Google ‘Dude Wipes‘ to check they weren’t related to anything naughty.
But it seems they are simply toilet wipes created because of a disdain towards normal toilet paper.
“Flushable wipes for on-the-go and at home shituations” – their words, not mine.
