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It wouldn’t be a major tournament without an intriguing gear modification from one of the biggest gear tinkerers in professional golf – Phil Mickelson.
This is the same Phil Mickelson who used two drivers to win the 2006 Masters, a driverless setup to capture a Claret Jug in 2013 and a 47.9375-inch big stick (yes, it’s important to be precise) to become the biggest major winner in golf history in 2021.
Certainly, Lefty’s wild equipment outfit did not always It worked, but not every science experiment will work. It’s about finding the smallest edges and exploiting them whenever possible.
This brings us to the latest equipment change that Mickelson has in mind on the eve of the opening round of the Open Championship. On Wednesday, Mickelson was seen with a Ping G430 LST driver 9-degrees and 15-degree G430 Max fairway wood in the bag during a practice ride—we haven’t seen the two six-time winning teams in the past for good reason.
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While Mickelson has played his fair share of non-Callaway clubs over the years, he has usually been a single wood or wedge. The sight of two Ping clubs led to questioning the decision behind the potential change, particularly with Callaway’s long-standing relationship with Mickelson.
It should be noted that Callaway has always offered Mickelson the flexibility to try out different clubs to suit his game, returning to his original deal in 2004. In other words, Mickelson using a non-Callaway club isn’t far from the norm.
It’s also important to mention that Mickelson’s deal with Callaway has been “on hold” for over a year, following his controversial comments to golf writer Alan Shipnuck, so it’s unclear if the addition of the non-Callaway is a big hype about nothing. Mickelson didn’t comment on the potential changes, however golf Fully equipped crew Try to provide some ideas behind it.
With steady winds expected at Royal Liverpool, having a stable and stable driver to deal with the gusty winds can be a huge advantage. Ping has historically produced some of the most stable drivers in the industry over the years, and the numbers seen during the ClubTest 2023 bot test support that claim. While lower launch/spin characteristics—and the LST is the lowest launch and spin in the G430 lineup—tend to come at the expense of off-center hits, given its forward center of gravity, this year’s LST bucked the trend.
With a single-digit carry distance delta (9.7 yards)—comparing the carry’s geometric center to the 8 other mishit locations on the face—the G430 LST outpaced many “game-improving” models by 6 or 7 yards. A high toe misses? They ended up just 2 yards short of center field kicks. Tolerance is always a good thing, especially when it comes to consistent carry distances.
“[G430 LST is] said Ryan Barath, senior equipment editor at GOLF. “When you’re trying to swing hard and fast and you want the ball to go as straight as possible, it’s hard to beat a driver who provides a lot of stability.” [Moment of Inertia]. Especially in the wind, as soon as the axis of rotation starts to tilt, you lose that vector. You are essentially destabilizing the ball’s flight as the axis of rotation tilts. So if you were able to reduce the tilt of the axis of rotation, that ball would suddenly fly much straighter, even in the wind. For Phil, he has a lot of faith in Callaway’s ball that performs well into the wind. So how do we tighten stability more in the wind? A driver who creates stability certainly helps.”
The Golf Laboratories co-founder, who is also a fully equipped co-host, backed up Barath’s insights about spin by assuring stability is one way to ensure the ball has a fighting chance of staying online, especially when conditions go wrong during the round.
“Once you put the spindle element in there, a sphere [in gusty winds] Parente said. “It’s just awful to have a bit of impact on the ball, so having a driver with a higher MOI to reduce spinning axle, in conditions like those in the UK, is really helpful for a week like this.”
For the G430 Max Fairway wood Mickelson tested, it has been performing admirably for the past several weeks and is still seeing an increase in use. It also boasts a level of stability that Mickelson hopes will keep him out of trouble as he prepares to face Liverpool FC.
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