Ryan Barath
Welcome to Wall-to-Wall Gear, the wrap-up of GOLF’s Gear Editor’s Monday morning gear Jonathan Wall It takes you through the latest trends, rumors and breaking news. This week’s Wall-to-Wall is presented by Jonathan’s Gear Technology Partner, Senior GOLF Gear Editor Ryan Barathwho was on earth At the Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Ricky wins again!
As a change of pace from our traditional weekly gear wrap-up, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Ricky Fowler’s gear setup – not only to cover what he had in the bag last week for his Rocket Mortgage Classic win, but also to create greater context on how he got here with some of his own unique club specs. with it.
driver
When it comes to his driver, Fowler has found something to match his Cobra Aerojet LS. Although Cobra, like many other OEMs, introduces a new driver version every year, Fowler wasn’t always quick to switch to the latest model and returned several times to the Cobra F9 from 2019—which it just so happens to be. Last year he won.
Fowler moved up to his new Aerojet LS with a 70g Diamana prototype at the start of the year and hasn’t looked back since, pulling off a stellar finish at the Tour. Judging by the impact pattern we drove earlier this year, I think this new club works as well as anything I’ve ever used.
All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by our editorial team. If you purchase an associated product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Prices may vary.
3-wood
Just like his driver, Fowler moved to the Cobra Aerojet LS model after going through a number of options from Cobra and other OEMs earlier this year, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the shaft it uses: an Aldila Synergy 75X.
What makes this combo unique is that when moving from his driver to his fairway wood, the pole weights are closer than most players traditionally use. Although Fowler is not the only player on the tour to set up the top end of his bag like this, it is very common to see a 10 to 20 gram increase in weight (uncut shaft) instead of 5 grams when moving from driver to fairway wood pike .
5-wood
Fowler’s 5-wood is not only unique to him, but it’s a club we can point to as the start of a trend on the tour.
What makes it so interesting has less to do with the model itself and more to do with the way it’s set up – it’s a stronger 5-log wood that’s only 40.25 inches long, or about the same length as a standard 3-4 hybrid. .
This combination of a smaller rail wooden head with a shorter shaft provides improved shot making, especially from rough material, and the ability to fly the ball lower when needed. Fowler uses these generic specs from a Cobra F6 released in 2016 that show it’s possible to upgrade models without having to overhaul how these clubs fit into his kit.
We spotted a similar club in Gary Woodland’s bag as he was preparing for this year’s US Open.
irons
Just a few years ago (2020-21) when Fowler was having one of his worst years in shooting and approach play in the round, he fell to 157th in approach shots earned. During that time, he went through a number of changes with his irons, including switching to a set of proprietary RF blades – which, if we’re honest, were actually quite nice clubs. He also replaced the iron poles on multiple occasions.
Fast forward to the present day, and Fowler is back to a more common hollow iron Cobra King Tour irons And all the way up to 7th in the round in the hitter gained approaches, which is an incredible jump.
Instead of using a combo like Fowler did in the past, his combo consists of the same form from the longest iron (4 iron) all the way to his wedge. Speaking of returning to a familiar feel, Fowler also returned to the KBS C-Taper S+ shafts.
wedges
Although most of the clubs in Fowler’s bag can be found at golf stores or online, one thing you won’t find anywhere are his cobra wedges. Designed for Fowler and other members of Corba’s touring crew, these wedges offer a completely raw finish and heavy head weights giving Cobra’s touring gear techs the opportunity to match the grind and soles needed for each player, including Fowler.
hang around
Just in case you weren’t into gear news, Fowler, along with a number of other players – including recent US Open winner Windham Clark – wield an Odyssey Jailbird mid-length putter.
Fowler turned Odyssey into a racket this January after going through a revolving door of rackets over the past two seasons, including some great one-off designs from both Scotty Cameron and Cobra. But on Sunday, it was Jailbird who delivered the goods on the 72nd hole and then in the playoff.
ball
After growing up and turning professional with a Titleist ball, Fowler switched to the TaylorMade TP ball in 2019 and saw immediate results with a win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Since then, he has continued to rely on the TaylorMade TP5 for a combination of distance off the tee and spin around the greens.
Although he previously used the TP5X, he relied on the standard TP5 for the 2023 season, which goes to show that just like the Wood 5, once you find something you can rely on, there isn’t much reason to switch.
Want to fix your bag? Find an industry-leading True Spec golf course near you, and for more on the latest equipment news and information, check out our latest fully equipped podcast below.