Ryan Barath/Golf
The gear crew at GOLF.com spends a lot of time at tour events taking pictures of the tools used by the world’s best players. Posting clubhouse photos online without context sometimes works, but it doesn’t help the weekend golfer understand why the pros are setting up. In the new GOLF.com series, equipment editors Jonathan Wall and Ryan Barath answer these questions by highlighting interesting clubs in players’ bags, unique weight, upper sleeve settings, and more. Welcome to “Bay Spy”.
Sam Bennett hit it big at the Masters in April, when his T16 finish was the lowest by an amateur since 2005. The Texas A&M golfer has since turned pro, signing an equipment deal with Ping and making his professional debut at last week’s Memorial ( finished 63rd). We caught up with him at the RBC Canadian Open this week to go inside his golf bag.
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Old school cord
One of the things I like to look at when it comes to player clubs is often one of the most overlooked. In most cases, the best players in the world are creatures of habit, meaning they don’t change often, and Sam Bennett falls firmly into that category.
Sam plays the grips of the Golf Pride Z-Cord, and while they may look like the standard model, they’re actually ribbed (have a reminder) to help put his hands in a stable position. The other interesting thing to note is that even though it uses the Ping G430 adjustable drive and fairway wood, along with the G425 hybrid, it still uses the ribbed grip, which shows that it doesn’t do much fiddling when it comes to its hose settings. .
hushel settings
Many golfers incorrectly assume that the settings of an adjustable body should match all of their adjustable clubs, but this is not the case. Adjustable clubs need to be set to the position that best suits their purpose in the bag, and Sam is a great example of having different settings.
In Sam’s case, his driver sits in the neutral position while his 3-wood setup adds loft to help lift the ball into the air and spin it more. The hybrid sits completely flat, which keeps the face neutral but helps create a profile More anti-left clubs.
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about this hybrid
I’ve always told golfers that when you find a club you like that fits a hole in your bag – hold onto it for life.
Obviously, Sam has been doing this with his G425 hybrid for quite some time. From the shaft that is no longer made, to the face that has seen enough golf balls that you can actually see where the face insert material has changed from the body of the hybrid. This club is a work horse and I don’t imagine he will leave his bag for quite some time.
Sam is aggie
If you didn’t already know, Sam went to Texas A&M University.
Trust rust
Let me be very clear – the rusty pegs don’t create extra spin, but they do help reduce glare (and they look really cool).
Unlike his grips, Sam’s rusty wedges are something you can get yourself, since Ping offers the Glide Forged Pro on the initial end, and just like Sam, you can get your customization done with a selection of laser-etched graphics straight from Ping.
Did I say rust?
If there’s one thing Sam’s bat and wedges tell us, it’s that he doesn’t really like the look of short match clubs. Sam’s Ping PLD Oslo is quite raw and the only difference between its model and the standard model is a slight change in the sight line configuration that places the mark on the top line closer to the face rather than the trailing edge.
Eye dominance and club alignment play a huge role in not only setting up on the ball correctly, but they also help make contact with the center face, which puts a better roll on the ball. For Sam, that means he prefers to see the line closest to the ball, but every player is different, so be sure to find the right one to help sink more shots.
Want to fix your bag for 2023? Find a suitable location near you at True Spec Golf. And for more gear news, check out the latest episode of our fully stocked podcast