We caught up with world number 25 Ian Poulter and asked, “What’s in the bag?”

Here’s Poulter's response:

Driver: Cobra Speed Pro S 8.5˚

Fairway Woods: Cobra X Speed 13˚, Titleist PT906F2 18˚

Irons: Cobra Pro MB

Wedges: Titleist Vokey 54˚ and 60˚

Putter: Odyssey DFX 5500

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Titleist ambassador Davis Love III combined with his new Titleist 909D3 driver to claim PGA Tour win number 25 at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Florida.

Davis Love wins Children's Miracle Classic

The 44-year-old averaged over 300 yards off the tee this year and the Titleist professional also uses the Pro V1x, 909F3 fairway metals, 680 irons, Vokey Design wedges and a Scotty Cameron Newport SS putter.

Titleist’s 909 series – 909DComp, 909D2 and 909D3 - is the most comprehensive driver line-up in their history and come packed with technological advancements.  

Titleist 909D2, Titleist 909D3, Titleist 909 DComp driver video reviews

Titleist 909D2 and 909D3 driver reviews

The drivers are created with modern, high performance, tour approved shapes each with a distinct, precisely positioned centre of gravity designed to provide optimised launch conditions and ball flight.

Since their introduction in June, five players have triumphed with the Titleist 909.

Love joins Chez Reavie, Parker McLachlin, Zach Johnson and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the winners' circle.  

Winner of the PGA Championship in 1997, Love powered his way to victory this weekend with his Titleist 909D3 which included two final 8-under par 64s, and in so doing he ensured a lifetime exemption on the PGA Tour.   

When I was growing up watching golf, I always looked at Scotty Cameron putters as the Holy Grail of short game equipment, and rightfully so. The list of tour players that use, or have used, Scotty Cameron products is long, and illustrious.

Current customers include Tiger Woods, Camillo Villegas and Ben Curtis. When I was asked to review two putters from the new Studio Select range I, unsurprisingly, jumped at the opportunity.

First, I tried the Newport, which has the “classic” appearance of a Ping Anser. The stainless steel body and cherry dot graphics, which come with any putter from the Studio Select range, are breathtakingly attractive and make me want to slide the Newport under my jacket when I leave the GM office tonight.

One feature of this putter that also aided it aesthetically is the stepless shaft, which meant there were no distractions in my periphery vision, something I’ve struggled with when using some of the more elaborate shafts available.

The lack of a sight dot on the topline also helped me to focus on the ball, although if you feel you can’t putt without one then they can be added in the custom shop.

Every putter in the Studio Select range has a raised toe profile, which helps when addressing the ball, and interchangeable weights, which might be Scotty Cameron’s answer to the new Ping iWi Series.

With the Squareback 1 Mr Cameron takes that technology one step further. Named after its distinctive shape, the Squareback 1 has different weights to the rest of the Studio Select series, because of its wider profile.

That said, I’ve never been a huge fan of large-headed putters, so when I lined up with the Squareback I wasn’t expecting as much as I had from the Newport.

However, when the ball touched the putter-face, something happened. The impact was so smooth that I had to make sure I’d hit the ball further than a few feet.

This is down to the double bend shaft-over-spud setup. The topline is also slightly thicker than the other putters in the range, which contributes to the silky feel.

Of the two putters, I was fully expecting to prefer the Newport, based on my own preference for the “classic” appearance, but after I’d used the Squareback, the Newport seemed cold and unforgiving.

If you were to ask me which one of these putters I would stash under my jacket at the end of today, I would have to go for the Squareback 1, if only for its superior feel.

Callaway FT-5 Driver helps Alvaro Quiros become the European Tour's longest hitter

Alvaro Quiros, the 2009 Portugal Masters winner, has bombed his Callaway FT-5 Driver to emerge as the 2008 Longest Driver on Tour.
The Callaway Golf Staff Professional was recognised for the achievement at the annual Genworth Statistics Awards Dinner in Valderrama recently.
Quiros, 25, powered his way to victory at the Portugal Masters with his Callaway FT-5 Driver, averaging 320 yards from the tee.
And the latest year-end statistics reveal that the Spaniard averaged a massive 309.9 yards, a full 6.5 yards ahead of his nearest rival. 
"My Callaway FT-5 driver has given me great confidence to go for my drives and hit it a long way all year," said Quiros.
"I'm working with Callaway's Tour Dept and testing the new line-up of drivers for 2009 and am confident I will be hitting it even further next year."
That’s bad news for his rivals and worse still is the prospect of the big-hitter having the choice of the new Callaway Fusion FT-9, the new Callaway Big Bertha Diablo and the recently launched FT-iQ.

Callaway FT-iQ and FT-iQ Tour drivers review
Callaway FT-iQ and FT-iQ Tour video review

The new Callaway FT-9 driver introduces Hyperbolic Face Cup Technology to increase ball speed across the entire face.

Callaway Big Bertha Diablo driver and Callaway FT-9 driver picture gallery

With Callaway’s largest ever face, the FT-9 driver is shaping up as the longest and most accurate driver – a dangerous combination for the already long Quiros.   

 

PING S57 irons custom-fit report

Regular readers of my irregular blog will know I recently went up to Ping HQ in Gainsborough and had a fitting for the Ping Rapture V2 driver and very well it’s been performing too.

PING Rapture V2 driver video review
Ping Rapture V2 driver Golf Monthly review

At the same time as the driver fit Julian Clay, Ping’s fitting guru, also ran me through a fitting for a set of Ping S57 irons. As with the driver, I wasn’t actively looking to change from my MacGregor MT Pro irons that I’d been very happy with since putting in the bag in February. However, with such a lot of good kit on the market and the effect a proper custom-fitting can have (the MacGregor’s were not fitted), a man must have an open mind to these things.

Ping S57 irons - Golf Monthly review

From the word go I liked the look of the S57s. They were a shallow enough of a cavity not to look too different from the RAC TPs and the cavity backed irons (4,5,6) in the MacGregor set. The top line was just right and the amount of offset perfect. 

With the looks sorted it was on to specs. Julian quickly found out I needed my irons 1 degree flat. I already knew this but had not had my last two sets (TaylorMade RAC TP Forged before the MacGregors) adjusted as neither were custom-fitted to start with, and becuse I'd been
hitting them as well as I ever hit my irons.

OK but could be
better especially in the longer irons which has always been my weak
spot.

But, where Julian really showed his expertise was in getting the right shaft for me. I'm quite difficult to fit because for me its as almost as much about how the club feels as to the numbers on the launch monitor. Just because the ball is going straighter and longer, I'm not immediately sold. I'm difficult, I know.

My last two sets have had stiff flex Nippon NS Pros in – 850s in the RAC TPs and 1150s in the MTs. The former was too probably too light and the later too heavy. Flex wise the Nippons have been great for me because their stiffs come out slightly softer than say a Dynamic Gold stiff that I have always struggled to work with.

We started off by looking at the Ping AWT shafts (almost the same weight as a Nippon 1050s) and using a process called "step to soften" where the 9 iron is fitted with an 8 iron shaft and so on to make them play a bit softer and although flight and dispersion were good (certainly better than the MacGregors) they just didn’t feel the same as the Nippons! In the end we opted for the Nippon 1050s, fitted with Golf Pride Multi Compound grips.

The result? There's no discernible loss of feedback from the S57s being a cast club (as opposed to forged like my last two sets) which I must confess to having worried about and, more importantly, I'm hitting them about a club and half longer with a lot more forgiveness.

One of the most noticeable benefits has been me getting the four iron out on a much more regular basis. Before it was a club for the 185-195 yard shots, but only when I was feeling confident. Anything more, or if I wasn’t feeling right and I was straight to the utility either choking down on it or trying to hit it soft, neither of which were ideal.

Just how long and accurately I'm hitting the 4 iron was underlined at the recent Challenge Golf Monthly match vs Northamptonshire County where I teamed up with Jezz Ellwood to dish out a 6&5 beating to our opposing pair. 

Jezz and I were having little £1 a hole longest drive side bet and after he finally nudged one past me (mine was off the bottom and his was his Sunday best) on the 11th I had 198 to the front with the stick on about 10. I could see Jezz looking puzzled when I reached for an iron and even more quizzical when I got it on pin high. Predictably the old boy tried to match me but from 10 yards closer came up short. 

As a result of the S57s switch, my line-up has had somewhat of a makeover recently. So, as we speak here's What’s In The Bag

Driver: PING Rapture V2, 10. 5 degrees Mitsubishi Diamana BlueBoard regular shaft

Fairway: PING G10 4wood. 17 degrees. PING TFC stiff shaft

Utility: Titleist 585H. 19 degrees. Graphite Design YS6 hybrid stiff shaft

Irons: PING S57 4-W Nippon NS Pro 1050 stiff shafts

Wedges: Crews T310 51 deg loft/8 deg bounce, PING Tour W 56deg/12 deg bounce and PING Tour W 60deg/8 deg bounce

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select. 34 inches

Ball: TaylorMade TP Black LDP

This could be subject to change on the driver front though as I am trialling a TaylorMade Tour Burner and an R7 Limited. How did this happen when you were so happy with the Rapture V2 I hear you ask? Well that’s a story for another time…

Ping S57 irons - Golf Monthly review
Ping Rapture V2 driver video review
Ping Rapture V2 driver Golf Monthly review

 

Cleveland Golf are back with a new addition to their highly successful HiBORE series. The XLi irons boast greater distance, increased forgiveness and more consistency than their predecessors.   

The XLi’s consistency comes from the fact that they are the only set of hybrid irons to be made with full hollow construction, making it easier to follow a three iron shot with a pitch on to the green.

The new additions to the HiBORE range utilise Distance Driven Geometry, which gives them a deep and low centre of gravity, for maximum distance and forgiveness.

Cleveland Golf, whose list of professionals includes Vijay Singh, Boo Weekly and David Howell, built their XLi’s to support a shallow attack angle with the long irons and a progressively steeper angle with the short irons.

This technology helps to create optimal launch conditions, as does the iron’s toe and heel relief zones, which increase golfer’s control from any lie. Customers can expect to pay £279 for 4-PW with steel shafts, and £339 for 4-PW in graphite shafts.

Sergio Garcia: What’s in the bag 

TaylorMade Staff Professional Sergio Garcia powered his way to victory at the Castello Masters last weekend with his new r7 Limited driver.

The Spaniard, who finished on 20 under par, averaged an impressive 294.38 yards off the tee around the course where he grew up playing.

The new r7 Limited driver uses Movable Weight Technology to enable a trajectory change of 35 yards, and does so with only three weights weighing 16-grams, 1-gram and 1-gram.

Twelve players used the r7 Limited driver in Spain, and TaylorMade were also the No.1 Driver, Fairway, Utility and Irons, plus the No. 2 ball.

New world No.3 Sergio Garcia’s bag:

Driver: TaylorMade r7 Limited
Fairway: TaylorMade Burner TP
Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred
Putter: Rossa Daytona
Ball: TaylorMade TP Red

We caught up with former Volvo Masters winner Jeev Milkha Singh and asked, “What’s in the bag?”

Here’s Singh’s response:

DRIVER
I use a Callaway FT-3 that says 8.5˚ but has been bent to 6˚. I’ve damaged my wrist so I set up with the club open at address, the 6˚ loft ensures the ball doesn’t go too high.

3-WOOD
I have a 12˚ Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead with a Diamana x-flex shaft, the same as in my driver. I carry that between 250 and 260 yards.

5-WOOD
I have a classic 17˚ Callaway Big Bertha that’s great for hitting into par 5s in two and long par 3s.

IRONS
My Calllaway FT irons have extra stiff UST KB Tour shafts. They have a great feel and I love having a more forgiving head.

WEDGES
When it comes to my clubs, I’m old school! I use Ping Zing wedges, 56˚ and 58˚. I have to order them specially as Ping don’t make them anymore.

PUTTER
I use a Scotty Cameron Circa ’62 No.6. I’ve always liked this shape of putter and this has a really soft feel that I like.

BALL
I’ve used the Titleist Pro V1x for three years. I think it’s particularly good in the wind.

SHOES
I wear FootJoy DryJoys because my right foot has no arch and these offer great support.

Ping G10 driver, Cobra Speed LD F 3-wood, Callaway Steelhead 5-wood, Titleist Forged 704.CB irons 3-PW, Titleist Vokey wedges 54 & 58 degrees and a Scotty Cameron Red X putter – welcome to my golfing life.

To change or not to change? That is a question – not a mind-blowing revelation I know but it is a question that is troubling me and even causing me the odd restless moment as dawn begins to break.

In fact to be honest it’s worse that than, it’s making me look in disgust at my equipment every time I hit a bad shot, which can’t be healthy.

Now I am not expecting any sympathy here because I am well aware that this is the best job of all time (well apart perhaps from being a taster for Stella Artois) but at times I do feel like a fat and very full kid being let loose in a sweet shop. I have got a fantastic bag of kit already but my eye and indeed my stomach can’t help but be caught by the shiny shelves.

Would the new Callaway FT-9 go that little bit straighter than my G10? Should I slip the Nike Victory Red irons in the bag and get myself another couple of Stableford points? Are the new Titleist Vokeys going to perform better than my well worn but tried and trusted ones?

This should give you some idea of how terrible my swing-thoughts are…

Perhaps I should really learn from my own experience – when I joined the GM team (happy days) two years ago I was a competent putter. Nothing better but nothing worse and good enough to be a consistent single-figure golfer.

One look inside the GM Grotto and I was sold – a shiny new See MoreMoney was the first flatstick to catch the eye. When it started wobbling from 3ft I moved on to a TaylorMade Rossa Tourismo, next it was a Scotty Cameron Detour Newport… and then the Priory. I was a fully paid-up member of the “yipp club” and I couldn’t even look at a putter without feeling sick.

The answer of course was medication (not in the form of morphine sadly) – but putter medication. Pick one, stick with it and address your technique was the loud and clear message from all sides.

Twelve months later and the Red X has been a constant. The putting may not be quite Brad Faxon-esque (think John Daly on a Margarita day) but at least it’s consistent.

They say that all great men learn from their mistakes… but perhaps I’ll just have one more look in the Equipment Cupboard and see if that Ping Rapture V2 really is as good as Mike says…